{"id":225895,"date":"2026-04-10T05:28:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225895\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T05:28:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:28:36","slug":"ron-desantis-destroyed-miami-beachs-rainbow-crosswalk-so-they-moved-it-brick-by-brick-into-a-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/225895\/","title":{"rendered":"Ron DeSantis destroyed Miami Beach’s rainbow crosswalk. So they moved it brick-by-brick into a park."},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday morning, Miami Beach unveils its answer to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis<\/a>\u2018 (R) officially sanctioned demolition in October, when, at the presidential administration\u2019s order, he bulldozed and sledgehammered the city\u2019s Pride crosswalk out of existence.<\/p>\n

This weekend, one day before the oceanside resort\u2019s annual Pride parade, Miami Beach rededicates the crosswalk, now relocated to Lummus Park and transformed to a sidewalk, just steps from its original location.<\/p>\n

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The iconic crosswalk has been reassembled, brick by brick, in a defiant show of community resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo take what was considered an assault to some people, a tragedy to others \u2014\u00a0and definitely an affront to most of us \u2014\u00a0and turn it into a moment of strength and pride \u2014\u00a0what\u2019s better than that?\u201d asked Miami Beach Commissioner Tonya Katzoff Bhatt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have Tallahassee spending its time manufacturing culture wars,\u201d Bhatt told News 10 Miami<\/a>. The crosswalk\u2019s removal was the answer to a non-existent problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was empirically the safest intersection on Ocean Drive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Bhatt called the removal \u201ca real slap in the face to our residents and visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bhatt\u2019s colleague on the commission, out member Alex Fernandez, credited the community\u2019s straight allies for helping right the rainbow crosswalk wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the State forcibly removed this crosswalk, it was our straight allies on the Miami Beach City Commission who ensured our gay community would not be pushed into the shadows,\u201d Fernandez told Out South Florida<\/a>. \u201cOur allies understood that this crosswalk symbolizes a history of perseverance through the stigma of HIV\/AIDS, the injustice of military exclusion, workplace and housing discrimination, and the long fight for the right to marry and to build a family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese crosswalks were a symbol of that progress, and when they come strip it away, it\u2019s very clear message.\u201d The reinstallation \u201cis a powerful reminder that our allies will help us overcome this moment,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new crosswalk \u2014 more art installation than pedestrian crossing \u2014 is built from 3,606 rainbow pavers salvaged from the original crosswalk. It\u2019s scheduled for unveiling Saturday morning on the final weekend of Miami Beach Pride. The new installation bypasses the state\u2019s ban on street art by being located entirely within a park.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so important and gratifying to be able to rise above the manufactured culture wars to build something lasting, recognizing the struggle and celebrating the love that this new installation represents,\u201d\u00a0Bhatt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the crosswalk was removed, we came back stronger,\u201d said city Commissioner Joe Magazine. \u201cThis installation is Miami Beach\u2019s answer to anyone who thought they could legislate away our community\u2019s pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the\u00a0LGBTQ Nation newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Saturday morning, Miami Beach unveils its answer to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2018 (R) officially sanctioned demolition in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[409,1548,101877,123,1642,101878,125,124,23588,101879,4382,412],"class_list":{"0":"post-225895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-good-news","10":"tag-law-policy","11":"tag-miami","12":"tag-miami-beach","13":"tag-miami-beach-pride","14":"tag-miami-headlines","15":"tag-miami-news","16":"tag-post","17":"tag-pride-crosswalk","18":"tag-rainbow-crosswalk","19":"tag-ron-desantis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}