Little Haiti

Little Haiti La Petite Haïti
—  Neighborhood of Miami  —
Businesses in the heart of Little Haiti
Nickname(s): Lemon City (historic name)
Little Haiti neighborhood within the City of Miami
Coordinates: 25.824385°N 80.190711°W / 25.824385; -80.190711
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Miami-Dade County
City	Miami
Subdistricts of Little Haiti	Neighborhoods list Little River
Government
• City of Miami Commissioner	Richard Dunn
• Miami-Dade Commissioner	Audrey Edmonson
• House of Representatives	Daphne Campbell (D) and Cynthia A. Stafford (D)
• State Senate	Larcenia Bullard (D), and Oscar Braynon (D)
• U.S. House	Frederica Wilson (D)
Elevation	7 ft (2.1 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	29,760
• Density	9,946/sq mi (3,840/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-05)
ZIP code	33127, 33137, 33138, 33150
Area code(s)	305, 786
Website	Little Haiti neighborhood

Little Haiti or La Petite Haïti, and traditionally known as Lemon City, is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States known as a traditional center for Haitian immigrants, and Francophone culture in the city. Little Haiti is adjacent to Liberty City.

History

Lemon City, early farming days

In the early 1900s, a small farming community, Lemon City, developed in this area, but it was a city only in name. The area had many lemon groves from where the town took its name. Though not as abundant as in the past (due to urbanization and eradication from citrus canker outbreaks), lemon trees still grow in several residents' backyards. The town even had its own railway depot on the Florida East Coast Railway. The growing city of Miami to the south, however, was looking for more property to add to their town. In 1925, Lemon City was annexed by Miami, along with the town of Little River to the north, and the town of Buena Vista to the south. Many residents and visitors continue to use the Lemon City name.

Through the years, the community has changed from agricultural to residential, from middle class to lower class and middle class again. Part of this change was driven by immigrants from Haiti, and in the late 1980's the area was sometimes called Little Haiti (La Petite Haiti). In the 1980s and 1990s, Little Haiti was one of the poorest areas in Miami and was known for its crime and drug trade. Some of this still exists today, however the area is experiencing a cultural renaissance with new investors and new residents from many countries gentrifying the area. The 2010 Federal Census showed 12,800 residents vacated the area since 2000. Many were Haitians fleeing for better neighborhoods. As Haitians vacated, old homes were demolished.

In 2009, human remains from Lemon City Cemetery were discovered at a housing construction site on NW 71st Street; the Miami Historical Preservation Board "in principle" issued a non-binding unanimous vote that the cemetery site remain undeveloped as a memorial site. Lemon City and Little River stakeholders had notified the City of Miami and the low income housing developers who coveted the site that the cemetery exists. They were ignored until their shovels dug up graves.

Little Haiti today, urban neighborhood

Wall mural on the corner of Northeast 2nd Avenue and 79th Street in northern Little Haiti

To an extent, the Haitian Creole and Francophone culture left years ago. The 2010 Federal Census showed 12,800 residents vacated since the 2000 Federal Census. Attempts are underway to make Little Haiti into an ethnic enclave, but this has been hampered by the fact that many Haitian residents have moved away in search of better housing opportunities. Original residents the area prefer the Lemon City, Railroad Flats, Little River and Buena Vista names.

One can not ignore that there are powerful forces that strongly dislike the Little Haiti Name. A movement fed by some long time African-American residents, Hispanic residents and some Anglos residing in the Buena Vista Area have angered many Haitian Leaders who opposed any move by outsiders to remove the Little haiti name from the City of Miami neighborhoods. It actuality, so-called Haitian leaders do not live or work anywhere near the area. The quest to maintain the Little Haiti Name is failing as frictions arise between Haitian immigrants who no longer live in Miami and other groups from the Hispanic, Anglo, African American communities that have invested in the area. Further, many Caribbean immigrants dislike to associate themselves with the Haiti name. As the area becomes more attractive due to long time residents feeling empowered and new investors renovating properties many Haitians have moved to the northern neighborhoods such as El Portal, Miami Shores, City of North Miami, Biscayne Park, and the City of North Miami Beach.

Factors contributing to the district's gentrification are the close proximity of the Miami Design District and the development of the new nearby Buena Vista and Edgewater communities, where construction of multimillion-dollar high rises, night clubs, restaurants, entertainment, and cultural centers are well under way, effecting increases in property value. As real estate prices continue to soar, Haitians and other residents of the low-income area are being rapidly displaced. Residences needed extensive renovations. New businesses and new residents are attracted to the original Buena Vista, Lemon City and Little River Business District names.

However, "La Petite Haiti" continues its failing effort to be a cultural heart for the Haitian Diaspora, as demonstrated by the inauguration of a large, statue of the father of Haitian independence; The General Toussaint Louverture. La Petite Haiti also has a distinct Caribbean-Francophone flavor. Little River is home of the Edison Courts housing developments and Miami Edison Senior High School. The area boasts various poor performing art shops. Haitians continue to move away at a rapid pace.

Little Haiti was also depicted in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as its same name Little Haiti, one of the neighborhoods in the game. Grand Theft Auto further stigmatized Little Haiti as a crime ridden ghetto.

Geography

Little Haiti is north of Buena Vista, west of the Upper East Side. The neighborhood boundaries are roughly bound by Little River to the north, N. Miami Avenue to the west, NE 2nd Avenue to the east, and NE 54th Street to the south.

Little River

The eastern part of Little Haiti is also known as the Little River Business District.

Little River is a neighborhood that existed before Little Haiti. It still exists. The rough boundaries are the Little River to the north (for which it's named), NE 59th Street to the south, Miami Avenue to the west, and NE 4th Court to the east. The river also serves as the boundary for the city limits of Miami in this neighborhood. It is located at 25.848°N 80.193°W / 25.848; -80.193, with an elevation 7 feet (2.1 m).

In 1925, Little River was annexed by Miami, along with the towns of Lemon City and Buena Vista to the south. Today, the area historically known as "Buena Vista" is still called Buena Vista. The Design District runs from NE 36th Street north to NE 41st Street. Many long time residents use the Lemon City name exclusively.

Haitian-named locations

Several restaurants, stores, parks, and even public schools have names to famous Haitians or Haitian-Miamian events. Some of these include:

• Little Haiti Cultural Center
• Toussaint L'Ouverture Elementary School
• Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance

Demographics

Little Haiti's 54th Street.

As of 2000, Little Haiti had a population of 29,128 and 30,066 residents, with 9,368 households, and 6,181 families residing in the neighborhood. The median household income was $18,887.49. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 64.92% Black or African American, 4.78% White (non-Hispanic), and 15.56% Other races; 14.74% was Hispanic or Latino of any race The 2010 census has shown signs of Haitians leaving the neighborhood and being replaced by incoming Hispanics. The 2010 Census showed that over 12,800 residents had vacated the area.

The zip codes for the Little Haiti include 33127, 33137, 33138, and 33150. The area covers 3.456 square miles (8.95 km²). As of 2000, there were 14,708 males and 15,357 females. The median age for males were 31.0 years old, while the median age for females were 33.8 years old. The average household size had 3.0 people, while the average family size had 3.7 members. The percentage of married-couple families (among all households) was 27.6%, while the percentage of married-couple families with children (among all households) was 13.8%, and the percentage of single-mother households (among all households) was 20.7%. 2.1% of the population were in nursing homes. The percentage of never-married males 15 years old and over was 21.7%, while the percentage of never-married females 15 years old and over was 22.0%.

As of 2000, the percentage of people that speak English not well or not at all made up 17.6% of the population. The percentage of residents born in Florida was 41.1%, the percentage of people born in another U.S. state was 11.6%, and the percentage of native residents but born outside the U.S. was 3.1%, while the percentage of foreign born residents was 44.1%.

Education

Historic Miami Edison Middle School in Little Haiti

Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools. Schools within Little Haiti include:

Public schools

Elementary schools

• Shadowlawn Elementary School
• Toussaint L'Ouverture Elementary School
• Edison Park Elementary School
• Morningside Elementary School
• Jesse J. McCreary Elementary School

Middle schools

• Miami Edison Middle School
• Saint Mary's Cathedral School

High schools

• Miami Edison High School
• Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School

Libraries

Miami-Dade Public Library operates all area public libraries:

• Edison Center Library
• Little River Library
• Lemon City Library

Museums and cultural

• The Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance
• The Haitian Heritage Museum

Parks

• Lemon City Park
• M. Athalie Range Park
• Legion Park
• Little Haiti Park
• Soar Memorial Park
• Lachmont Gardens Park
• Eaton Park