The Village of Key Biscayne’s Disability Advisory Board extends our sincere thanks to Guillermo Garcia-Lay, Mar Azul Condo Board Association President, and its Board for opening your Observation Room to us for our first-ever Sensory-Friendly Fireworks viewing event. A special thank you as well to residents Silvio and Marivi Cardozo for your help and support in facilitating this event.
Independence Day is, for many residents and families in our community, a holiday they experience from the outside looking in. The noise, the crowds and the unpredictability of a traditional fireworks display can turn a celebration into something to be endured rather than enjoyed. By giving us your Observation Room, you didn’t just lend us a space, you gave those families a way back into a shared community tradition, on terms that worked for them.
There’s a particular kind of generosity in offering a resource like your Observation Room for something outside its usual purpose. It would have been simple enough to decline, or to not think of it at all. That you said yes, and that you did so for the Village’s first effort of this kind, tells us something about the character of this board and this building. You’ve helped set a precedent, not just for what’s possible at Mar Azul, but for what other properties and institutions in Key Biscayne might consider doing to include our residents who are equally part of the full fabric of this community.
With gratitude,
Ilise Binhak
Disability Advisory Board, Chair