By Rafael Hernandez
On a quiet Saturday afternoon in a Coral Gables neighborhood just north of the Granada Golf Course, Heledy Fleites, 79, was tending her front garden last month, waiting for the mail and a visitor. She didn’t realize her routine was about to be shattered.
As she worked, she would eventually notice a man in a grey hoodie deliberately hiding his face.
Out of nowhere, the man broke into a sprint towards her.
“He gave me this weird feeling,” she recalled. “But the way he was coming, I didn’t have time to get up and go inside.”
Moments later, he reached out and snatched something she kept close to her heart: a gold cross once worn by her mother. Once a successful businesswoman and owner of a general store in Cuba, she imparted the chain to Fleites after reuniting with her in the U.S.
“I felt safe with my cross and my chain,” Heledy said. “It’s a weird thing, but I felt like she was there with me. It made me feel protected.”
Fleites, who came to the U.S. alone in 1962 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, never expected to be robbed on her own front lawn. The theft marked a turning point, highlighting what she sees as a breakdown in Coral Gables’ once-vigilant support system.
After the attack, Fleites called 911 and even tried to chase the thief around the block, but was told to come back home by the dispatcher because police officers were waiting at her house.
Five police trucks carrying ten officers had arrived on her property, but in her eyes, the city did not send her their best.
“They were all asking me the same questions. I told them, ‘Go get the guy. Don’t stay here,’” she said. “They said they were in training. I don’t need training. I need action.”
The robbery wasn’t the first time she felt forgotten by the Coral Gables. Months earlier, her car was broken into, with her neighbors telling her they’d been targeted too.
“This has been going on for a while. They haven’t caught anyone,” she said.
Beyond crime, she says basic services have declined: garbage pickup is inconsistent, sidewalks are crumbling, and overgrown trees threaten homes.
Chief among her frustrations is a black olive tree outside her property that’s caused significant damage over the years. Its fungus has killed her jasmine, stained her walls and roof, and contributed to a fall that left her in three years of physical therapy.
She sued the city after the fall but says the settlement doesn’t even cover a quarter of her medical bills.
Though not endangered, Coral Gables is a designated “Tree City,” and Black Olive trees make up about 20% of the total shade trees in public areas. Rather than chop them down, the city injects the trees with pesticides to kill the caterpillars and mites responsible for the stains.
“They say they can’t touch the tree. It’s protected. But what about our homes?” she said. “It’s already in my backyard. It’s growing into my roof. And nobody helps.”
She’s met with city managers, contacted commissioners, even tried to speak with Mayor Vince Lago and invited him over to see her struggles firsthand, all without success.
“I voted for him three times. But he’s never come,” she said. “I don’t feel safe here anymore. This isn’t the Coral Gables I’ve known for 60 years.”
After six long decades, Fleites feels she no longer lives in the “City Beautiful.”
Her wishes for the city are simple: more police visibility, consistent trash services, and the ability to trim trees that endanger homes.
“I just want what we used to have,” she said. “A safe neighborhood, a little support, and someone to listen to.”
This Post Has 20 Comments
This is so upsetting, but not a surprise. The police department is down many officers, with lots of very new officers. We must take care of our officers here in Coral Gables. We can’t afford to lose them to other agencies.
TAKE CARE OF OUR POLICE!!
Welcome to biden’s America who let in millions of criminals through the wide open border.
That is an absolutely silly, ignorant and inflammatory statement. You have no idea who the perpetrator is.
Lady get a grip. This town like the rest of Fl is run by Republicans. And you can’t expect the city much like the country not to evolve. Maybe you should look in your own backyard before you start pointing fingers at a non existent boogie man.
What makes you assume the thief was an undocumented man? Maybe it was one of the January 6 convicted criminal who broke into the US Capitol and was pardoned by Trump?
So sorry for the loss of her cross. Its value was priceless.
How can one replace something given by a loved one no longer here? Hopefully our police will be more effective and extremely harsh when dealing with the increasing number of burglaries in our city.
Catch the thieves! Isnt City Hall talking about a “surplus” in the budget? Cannot some of this money go to the police department?
If one is not safe at home, is one safe when walking
along Miracle Mile? Will we have to dress differently when going food shopping? Or will unease and carrying pepper spray be our new normal?
city. If one is not safe at home, will one be safe when walking
along Miracle Mile?
“I voted for him three times” begs the question – WHY? Obviously, she’s been dissatisfied with the City under his leadership, yet she continued to support him. You get what you vote for.
I’ve lived here for 58 years and I don’t see any problems different from 50 years ago…No matter where you live there will always be crime and the police can’t be everywhere all the time,,people think the cops are magicians and they are not..Coral gables cops have an average response time of 5 minutes while the rest of the county is 8 minutes..Thats 38% faster response time than the rest of dade county,so i don’t see the problem…The thing is people don’t have reference points so they will complain about anything..Bad things happen wherever you live and under the best circumstances
HELEDY, I pray your cross finds its way home. You must be so sad & traumatized after being violated in your front yard. I agree Coral Gables has slipped on multiple levels. Too much time wasted with in-house bickering at City Hall & the throughout the city. Real it in elected officials & focus on your residents.
Heart breaking.
Our voters no longer control our City.
Lago’s Developers do.
And they have made Coral Gables an
unsafe place to raise children.
This is the mess from Lago’s administration. Crime is everywhere but how they handled it is unacceptable. Instead of trying to push us out of our homes with a $55,000 septic tank charge, or spending time approving more construction, or fighting with each other, why don’t you do something that directly helps your city. Police officers, taxes, congestion, over building, trying to move elections that is illegal and the likes. As we said before the election, our mayor needed to be replaced along with Anderson and the rest of the commission. You are running our City into the ground.
I have lived in Coral Gables for over 50 years.The Coral Gables Police Department really needs help. Coach Hudak was my PE teacher at Gables High. He was my son’s football coach. That gives you a sense of my history in Coral Gables. I have encountered multiple self centered, “entitled” young men (yes, men) who seem intent in “imposing their will” on citizens, or to see how they can get out of helping citizens. I have a few specific examples…this is not a general statement without specific examples. I understand the recruitment challenges. I understand it’s a difficult job. But we pay their salaries. They are here to protect and SERVE. Not to “impose their will” on citizens…SPECIALLY Coral Gables citizens.
Agree 100%! City officials are only interested in anything having to do with Big Development! they have forgotten the individual residents owning homes.
why especially coral gables citizens? it should be the same everywhere
Ms. Fleites, whom I feel very sorry for, lives in North Gables, the City’s red-headed stepchild. There is no police presence here in Easy Lickings City, and Ms. Fleites lives smack dab in the middle of it. Chief, we’ve asked many, many, many times for more patrols up here. Surely your officers can spend some time here instead of illegally parking on medians and in other “no parking” zones so they can wander Giralda, ogle women downtown, or grab coffee at Starbucks. There will be three police vehicles at the Coral Gables Farmers Market, yet one has a better chance of catching a leprechaun than seeing a patrol officer anywhere between 8th Street and Alhambra/Red and Granada. It is a big area, but surely we’re worth something, right? The mayor, vice mayor, commissioners, manager, chief and line officers are failing residents in this regard. You obviously can’t stop all crime, but you won’t stop any if you don’t try, and that is what has been happening in the North Gables for years.
The cynic in me wonders if this is related to the Mayor’s long-standing goal of incorporating Little Gables into the City: Withhold police protection to allow crime to increase, and blame it on the trailer park in the hope that voters will agree it can only be stopped by incorporation. But that can’t be possible, right? I mean, no one could be that horrible, right?
The north Gables as an old time neighbor referred to as “the ghetto”. Pleas for any assistance, public works, overgrown foliage on the power lines, trees in need of trimming in the middle of hurricane season, police presence, you name it- are ignored and overlooked .
It seems that some people can never figure out when it is time for a change in life? Given all the complaining by Ms Fleites, my question is why are you still living in a home by yourself with all the work that requires?? There are now multiple choices in the Gables for assisted living – choose one after you cash out[way over a million dollars in gains based on MiamiDade property records]!
i have seen and lived thru seeing two men in a parked car surveilling a house near mine for 4 days ( i thought that they were waiting for someone ) and finally hitting it .But the alert homeowner placed a rifle on the face of the robber as he broke thru the front door .by kicking it in and as they fled he deposited three bullet holes in the rear quarter panel of the car. one was caught . my outdoor cameras caught the car and police had the shot. i think it went to trial. so what now …well ? simple .even here in our Cora Gables carry your gun and be always prepared . police can only do so much and based on the comments here i find blue state deniers and red state awareness. guess who will be targeted by the criminals ???
The patrol cars we used to see in our area have been absent for a long, long time. We have had quick response times when we’ve needed it. However, while even speeders used to say they wouldn’t ever speed in the Gables because it was a sure ticket, those days are long gone.
My heart goes out to Ms. Fleites. Losing something of deep sentimental value is awful. Having it yanked off your neck while on your own property, is a horrendous experience. I’m glad she wasn’t physically hurt in the process, but the emotional pain will continue for a long time.
To the empathy-absent “Quien”:
You should be ashamed to make the stupid comments you contributed in such a nasty way. But it’s not the first nasty judgmental comment I’ve seen you make.
Grow a conscience, please.
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