In 2021, Angeleta Gray asked Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Renee Jadusingh and her staff to check into what Miami was doing with cryptocurrency. Gray serves on the CRA board.
Outside of that role, Gray also was wondering whether Delray Beach should have its own cryptocurrency coin, like Miami and New York City. Gray, a former city commissioner, is running for the open Seat 4 in the March 14 election.
At that time, Gray was part of the crypto industry. On social media, she was promoting herself as “FirstLadyCrypto.” Of her campaign to get Delray Beach into the cryptocurrency business, Gray posted, “I have been working to create another source of revenue for our residence (sic) and city by introducing a Delray Coin.” Gray promised “some amazing things.”
Those coins did do “some amazing things,” but not in the way Gray touted them. MiamiCoin lost 90 percent of its value. Analysts still are warning investors to avoid it. The city’s arena, home to the Miami Heat, was once named for the crypto exchange FTX. With the company’s collapse and the arrest of its founder, the arena has a new name.
Fortunately, Mayor Francis Suarez never realized his dream to pay city employees in MiamiCoin. Fortunately for Suarez—a Republican who had indicated an interest in running for president —he seems not to have believed his own hype. He reportedly invested just $11,000 in crypto, all of which he lost.
Delray Beach commissioners oversee budgets that total nearly $300 million. As she campaigns, Gray is criticizing her opponent, retired teacher Angela Burns, for the $50,500 investment Burns made in Studio 404. Burns’ son started the restaurant/bar on West Atlantic, which failed. The CRA had given the project a grant.
But Gray also ran a business that took CRA money and is no longer operating. More important to voters is her history of aggressively pushing crypto, which she said would provide stable returns “without the volatility of the stock market.”
On social media, Gray gushed that “100 percent of our members earn Rewards EVERY SINGLE DAY!!” She thanked Mayor Shelly Petrolia—who supports Gray against Burns—for “welcoming our Crypto Partners” for a meeting in the city.
A Delray Beach crypto coin, Gray claimed, could “fund redevelopment, our beach renourishing projects, infrastructure, housing, roads, sidewalks, City Hall, Pompey Park, Old School Square, Old Carver, the Tennis Center, beautification projects, transportation, education and so much more.”
All it would take is investors.
Christopher Sims, a technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, called cryptocurrencies “multi-level marketing schemes for a new generation.” As Mims explained, such ventures run on getting new members to enrich current members. Mims and others have characterized some of those ventures as nothing but pyramid schemes.
Gray told me that she was only trying to “educate people” about cryptocurrency. Some investors, she claimed, made money. Gray told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that she continues to receive money from crypto.
Not surprisingly, though, Gray hasn’t talked much about her “FirstLadyCrypto” past. She has not said whether she would try again to get Delray Beach into cryptocurrency. Nothing ever came of Gray’s wish for the CRA to check out crypto. It remains far more volatile than the stock market.
Financing in Delray’s upcoming election
In her most recent campaign finance filing, through March 2, Gray raised about $12,000, making her total roughly $49,000. Burns got $8,300, for a total of about $43,000.
Gray’s notable contributions include $1,000 from the Realtors’ political action committee. Gray holds a real estate license. Interestingly, Gray got $1,000 from Bonnie Miskel, the Boca Raton-based land-use lawyer who represents many developers before the city commission.
Like Seat 2 incumbent Juli Casale, Gray has campaigned against “overdevelopment.” Casale and Petrolia have criticized Casale’s opponent, Rob Long, for his votes on the planning and zoning board in favor of Miskel’s projects. Miskel has referred clients outside Delray Beach to Long’s marketing firm. A city attorney advised Long that he had no conflict.
Aside from Miskel’s money, donations continue to reflect the two slates—her and Casale against Burns and Long.
Long and Burns, who already had support from the city’s police and fire unions, got $1,000 from the union that represents Delray Beach’s non-public safety employees. Burns got $250 each from two former mayors, Rita Ellis and Tom Lynch. Ellis also gave $250 to Long.
Another former mayor, Tom Carney, gave $1,000 to Casale. His firm gave $1,000 to Long, who got $2,000 from the Realtors. Long took in $17,000, for a total of $65,000. Casale got about $12,000 and has raised $45,000. Her total includes a $5,000 personal loan.
Debate over Royal Palm townhouse project
Neil Schiller normally speaks in Boca Raton and Delray Beach in favor of development projects. Last week, though, the land-use lawyer was on the other side.
The project is a four-story, five-unit townhouse proposed for 343 East Royal Palm Road. Schiller represents property owners at 327 East Royal Palm Road, the condo that would be on the west side of the townhouses.
Speaking before the city council, acting as the community redevelopment agency, Schiller argued that the project is too large for the 0.1694-acre lot. Residents said the space between the buildings would be barely three feet. They forecast problems from deliveries and trash pickups. They said the project would block their views. One speaker suggested that a two-townhouse project would be better.
Representing the developer, Ele Zachariades argued that 343 actually was more in character for what had been a low-rise neighborhood. She offered a drawing that showed the project between the taller 323 condo and the approved but unbuilt, 193-unit senior living facility on the other side of her project.
Some council members seemed to agree with Schiller that the developer wants to exploit an ordinance for permission to overbuild on a very small lot. That ordinance allows the use of mechanical parking.
Mayor Scott Singer noted that the 343 development team includes some of the people who pushed for that ordinance as part of their campaign for the downtown Aletto Square project. Singer, however, also said, “A view is not a right.”
The property sold a year ago for $1.7 million. Council members asked the developer to meet with Schiller’s clients and present any revised plan by April 3. The project is scheduled to return to the council on May 8.
Schiller said, “I’m extremely hopeful” about a compromise. Zachariades did not return a request for comment.
Oceanfront lot suit goes to trial
The lawsuit against Boca Raton over a piece of oceanfront property is set for trial on March 20.
After the city council denied a permit for construction of a large home at 2500 North Ocean Boulevard, the owner sued. The city offered to pay the purchase price—$950,000—in return for the owner deeding the land to the city.
The owner rejected the offer. U.S. District Court Judge Rodney Smith will conduct a bench trial. The city argues that the council legally denied the permit.
Boca Bash battery case update
The criminal case from last year’s Boca Bash has another new hearing date.
Scheduled for last Friday, the calendar call for Cole Preston Goldberg now is set for May 31. Goldberg is charged with domestic battery by strangulation and faces a separate count of battery. According to the court file, “Depositions and plea negotiations are continuing.”
Feedback from golf course meeting
Former City Commissioner Jim Chard disputed my characterization of the forum Delray Beach held Feb. 22 for residents to hear about plans for the city’s golf course.
Though Chard acknowledged that some speakers were rowdy, he also blamed the city. Summaries of the four bidders seeking to develop a portion of the course were hard to read, Chard said, and there were no handouts. In addition, non-golfers who live near the course wanted to ask about traffic, but no one presented a traffic study.
A year ago, the commission hired CBRE to market the course. Commissioners hope to choose a bidder this month. The city will hold three more public meetings: 9 a.m. on March 17 at the Old School Square Fieldhouse, 6 p.m. on March 23 at Pompey Park and 9 a.m. on March 25 at the Delray Swim & Tennis Center.
