Saturday, March 28, ushered in a new era for the development of Northwest 18th Avenue, one of the main commercial thoroughfares in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. Hosted by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon, the 18th Avenue Coming to the Jam Block Party honored the legacy of some of the premier music artists that have shaped Miami’s cultural identity.
Historically, Northwest 18th Avenue was known as a “High Street” with restaurants, juke joints, supermarkets and barbershops. It was a hub not only of local entrepreneurship, but also of music and nightlife.
“It was a thriving place when I was a child,” said Cuthbert “Broadway” Harewood, founder of the 305 Hip Hop Museum and a lifelong Liberty City resident. “We had every kind of corner store you wanted. Freddy’s supermarket was there; Buddy Williams’ corner store was there. Moonlight Bar was on the street. Mr. Ferguson’s shoe store was here. We just had so much. We had everything.”
A resident sits on the curb along Northwest 18th Avenue.
(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)
Following the McDuffie Riots – protests in response to the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating death of Arthur McDuffie in 1979 – the avenue faced decades of economic hardship and disinvestment.
A native of Liberty City himself, Hardemon is determined to restore the 18th Avenue corridor to its former glory as a center of culture.
“I was born in Liberty City, I was raised in Liberty City, and I still reside in Liberty City,” said Hardemon. “When I was growing up, people were largely encouraged to do well and leave. That’s not something that I was interested in doing. I wanted to be able to come back to our community, sow my own seeds, and then make the community a better place for me and my children to live in.”
In 2006, Northwest 18th Avenue received an official designation as “Broadway Avenue” to reflect the corridor’s cultural legacy and its role as a mainstay for music, creativity and community life. In recent years, several steps have been taken to encourage the revitalization of the area, including the opening of the 305 Hip Hop Museum by Harewood and the proliferation of infrastructural improvements under Hardemon’s leadership.
Trina is one of the many artists after whom a street along Northwest 18th Avenue has been named.
(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)
Those infrastructural improvements include drainage, water and sewer upgrades, roadway pavement restoration, traffic calming measures, and sidewalk improvements.
“When you have a lack of investment from the government and you don’t have a financial incentive for business owners to invest into the space, it usually goes into decline,” said Hardemon. “What our responsibility is as a government is to help change that, and we do that by creating an incentive.”
Incentives include financial motivators, land transactions and most recently, signage. In 2025, legislation introduced by Hardemon co-designated 24 streets and terraces along Northwest 18th Avenue with names inspired by local music artists, iconic songs and well-known lyrics.
DJs featured at the event included Bo The Lover and Pure Funk DJs.
(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)
“I think if we change how we feel about these areas, then largely the areas will begin to change themselves,” said Hardemon.
The residents of Liberty City are ready for change. Despite the economic hardship they have endured, the community culture of the area still thrives. The 18th Avenue Coming to the Jam Block Party drew hundreds of residents from surrounding neighborhoods, including resident Cynthia “Shorty” Dowell, who has lived in the area since 1991.
A group of women relax at the 18th Avenue Coming to the Jam Block Party.
(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)
“I’m in Liberty City every Friday,” she said. “I call everyone here my 18th Avenue fam.”
During the event, Dowell spent her afternoon dancing and chatting with friends along the avenue. For Dowell, 18th Avenue isn’t just a commercial thoroughfare. It’s home.
18th Ave. Market is a grocery store serving the Liberty City community.
(Elisabeth Campbell for The Miami Times)
But the development isn’t over yet. Harewood said his primary goal “is to put a supermarket on 18th Ave.”
“I just want to do my part as far as saving my community,” said Harewood. “I grew up in this community. I’ve lived my entire life in this community… I just got to stick to the mission, and the mission is to make my community better than it was.”
For Hardemon, it’s about serving the area’s residents and the county as a whole.
“The 18th Avenue Coming to the Jam event was really an introduction to the projects that we’re making on 18th Avenue, but there’s still more to come,” said Hardemon. “We still want to make greater investment in the park space, to give children an opportunity to actually recreate. We also want to ensure that many of those vacant lots that are there actually have development on them, and so we need to partner with people in the community to do that.”
Hardemon hopes to involve his community in the revival of the area as much as possible. He hopes to create a buzz around the nation for Liberty City, giving it a reputation of rich Miami history, as well as food and music culture.
“The goal is to ensure that 18th Avenue returns to being an entertainment center in Miami-Dade County,” said Hardemon. “What [the block party] was about was showing people that we can, in fact, have a great time on 18th Avenue”