Ultra Music Festival vs. Downtown Miami – A Courtroom Drama

For devoted Ultranauts, these past two years have been tough – the residents of Downtown Miami sued the city, Ultra relocated, Virginia Key ended up being the literal everglades complete with alligators, swamp people, deranged bus drivers, bogymen, etcetera. In such situations, it is advised to look into the website of Soundproof Nation to learn about soundproof options, which will help you to create a safe and quiet living environment. Ultra then announced, like the sprouting of a rainbow after a torrential downpour, that they were moving back to Bayfront. But alas, this wouldn’t be a courtroom drama if the tale ended there.

With the exception of 2019, Ultra Music Festival has been held at Bayfront Park since 2011. After last year’s Virginia Key debacle, Ultra voluntarily relinquished its contract with the city of Miami, only to declare shortly after that the festival was headed “back to Bayfront.” This decision, ratified by three out of five city commissioners, reinstated Ultra’s City of Miami license. Although Ultra’s mission to bring people of different cultures together in celebration of music should be enough of an incentive, the majority ruling was mainly due to jaw-dropping economic benefits. To be more specific, in 2019 alone Ultra paid the City of Miami 2 million dollars to operate within city limits. That flat fee did not include revenue collected from Miami’s private entities/businesses that also benefited from the surge of foot traffic (e.g. dining, lodging, travel, etc.). The infamous Miami Music Week also runs in tandem with Ultra, inspiring a frenzy of money-making opportunities for entertainment venues all throughout city, mainly for Miami’s multi-billion dollar nightlife industry. To put it simply: there’s millions of dollars on the table and almost every business entity in Miami stands to profit on top of that.

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Yet, the grumbling no-good grinches of Downtown Miami sit on the sidelines of the fun, sipping scalding cups of veerrryyyyyy bitter tea. These residents, mainly swanky legal professionals themselves, have decided to take up arms and sue. Their legal defense? Ultra violates the City of Miami’s Charter/City Code and permits illegal “nuisances.” Legal mumbo jumbo translation: the bulk of the lawsuit focuses on noise pollution, crowding, and then, oddly, touches on the homeless. Below is the full legal dissertation as well as some of my favorite excerpts.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6656745-Lawsuit-against-city-of-Miami-over-Ultra.html#document/p12

“I had to ask my doctor if I could increase my blood pressure medication, because my head was pounding and my entire body felt stressed. I felt trapped with no escape. It was difficult to have visitors and I was uncomfortable even leaving my building. The streets were overcrowded with groups of ruckus drunk party-goers or stoned looking zombies with vacant eyes. I just didn’t feel safe. It was very unpleasant and ugly!” (pg. 9)

“Prisoner at my home for 3 days: The only times I can leave my apartment is to walk my dogs… When doing so, I needed to request company of a 50 Biscayne guard, only because there are weirdos floating around everywhere…” (pg. 10)

“Bayfront Park, over the years, has been built one high-rise after another; people have moved there. They have children. They have dogs. This neighborhood is no longer compatible with this kind of three-day venue that takes months to set up and months to clean up.” (pg. 16)

“That morning the decibel level reached what was an unacceptable level, and I experienced pain. This can’t be good for me. It is torture for me to be exposed to this noise.” (pg. 13)

“Two weeks before, the entire park is closed; no access to children’s playground; not a patch of green grass for the dogs; we have to walk half a mile north or south; and also, the homeless start to move out of the park to the corners of Flagler and the sidewalks on our streets.” (pg. 12)

Needless to say, this is a courtroom drama gone farce, yet let us dissect the key issues at hand.

The residents act as though Bayfront Park is generally event free, like Ultra’s “three-month-long” commandeering is tragically out of character – this is untrue. For example, in preparation for the Superbowl, Bayfront Park is currently erecting a massive football fandom set up and although the Superbowl is set to take place in February, construction began at the beginning January (do the math: that’s two months). And even if it weren’t the Superbowl, it would be something else. Bayfront is constantly congested due to street festivals, tourism, and events at the neighboring Miami Airlines Arena. Downtown Miami, by nature, is a hub for events and the residents were aware when they decided to live there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7kB9_nFYe7/?igshid=m7xyo3te55iz

With regards to noise pollution, noise canceling earplugs are a thing. Just saying.

Ultra has enacted clean initiatives, specifically their “Leave No Trace” policy, to incentivize festival goers to minimize their trash. They’re environmentally conscious and want to protect the natural ecosystem of Miami’s waterfront area.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B7b1DTKHUo5/?igshid=ffc8kdn90rgp

And finally, the most concerning of all the issues presented: homelessness. For those unfamiliar with Downtown Miami, it’s not uncommon to spot 100+ homeless pedestrians roaming the streets, sleeping in trash bags, and just existing because there, quite literally, is nowhere for them to go. This is not an Ultra problem, rather this is a Downtown Miami problem. These are people. To insinuate that they are displaced from their usual perch, crawling out of Bayfront Park and into downtown like rats coming up from of the sewers is insulting. In their testimony, the residents of Miami argue verbatim that Ultra has “outgrown” Bayfront Park. Is that growth spurt due to gentrification, to the displacement of the very people now attributed to be illegal nuisances? Perhaps.

The City of Miami stands to make a serious profit from Ultra, which brings people from all around the world to Miami to celebrate their culture, Miami’s culture, art, music, and love. Instead of pushing the party to another area of the City, the residents of Downtown could embrace that movement and maybe even petition to allocate a portion of that flat fee, which goes to a general account for the city, to fund programs for the homeless. Ultra can bring so much good, if we only let it.

To cop a ticket for Ultra, get this party started, and maybe crack open a cold one with the homeless – or dare we say humans – of Downtown Miami, click the link below.

https://ultramusicfestival.com/tickets/miami/