As power players eye Nikki Beach site, city officials attend their pricey event for free

The stars were out this past weekend at Carbone Beach, a four-night, pop-up restaurant event in South Beach to celebrate the Miami Grand Prix that featured a caviar bar, a four-course meal curated by chef Mario Carbone and surprise musical performances by Diana Ross, Diddy and Lauryn Hill. Among the notable guests were Jeff Bezos, Jimmy Butler, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Also in attendance: several Miami Beach elected officials.

The officials’ receipt of complimentary tickets, valued at $3,000 apiece, is now raising eyebrows among city residents concerned about potential conflicts of interest regarding the future of the Nikki Beach site, as well as experts who say the gifts could run afoul of state ethics laws.

Carbone Beach was hosted by Major Food Group, parent of the acclaimed Carbone restaurant. According to city permit documents, the event was produced by Boucher Brothers, which operates concessions up and down Miami Beach.

Those two entities are at the heart of discussions about the future of Nikki Beach, the waterfront day club where city officials voted last month to give Boucher Brothers a leg up in negotiations to manage the property after a lease agreement expires in 2026. Boucher executives have engaged Major Food Group in talks about opening a restaurant there.

The idea of giving Boucher Brothers the inside track has led to backlash from Nikki Beach ownership and residents who say the site’s future should be determined by a competitive bid process. The issue is expected to be reconsidered at a commission meeting next week.

“Attending an event does not in any way influence my vote — clearly, because I voted against what they wanted,” said Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who along with Steven Meiner was opposed to the proposal by Commissioner Ricky Arriola last month. “There are public events that we’re asked to attend because they take place in a world-famous city and [people] want to see their local city officials participating there.”

But by accepting the Carbone Beach tickets, city officials have also run up against questions about compliance with Florida ethics statutes.

Elected officials can’t accept gifts worth over $100 from city vendors or anyone who has lobbied their city in the past 12 months, nor from the clients those lobbyists represent.

Representatives of Boucher Brothers and Major Food Group are listed as active lobbyists with the city of Miami Beach on issues unrelated to Nikki Beach, and Boucher Brothers is also a city vendor.

Last year, when Fernandez and Commissioners Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and David Richardson listed Carbone Beach tickets on their required gift disclosure forms, they named Major Food Group as the donor. That could indicate a violation of state rules about accepting gifts from lobbyists or their clients, given that entities tied to Major Food Group were registered at the time to lobby the city on issues related to the group’s HaSalon and Carbone restaurants.

Whether ethics rules may have also been violated this year depends on who paid for the tickets — something the officials who attended Carbone Beach last week don’t seem to know for sure.

Those who attended — Mayor Dan Gelber and Commissioners Fernandez, Arriola and Laura Dominguez — said it wasn’t clear which entity paid for their tickets, or whether American Express, the event’s sponsor, may have helped cover the costs.

After publication of this story, a spokesperson for American Express said the company “did not provide complimentary tickets to Carbone Beach to any of the elected or city officials, candidates for public office or lobbyists named in your story.”

Representatives for Boucher Brothers, Major Food Group and Carbone Beach did not respond to multiple inquiries from the Miami Herald.

Violations of the state’s gift laws for public officials can result in civil penalties up to $10,000 and punishment as severe as suspension or removal from office.

“You need to be careful,” said Caroline Klancke, executive director of the Florida Ethics Institute. “If the entity that is providing [the gift] is paid to persuade you, you should not be accepting gifts from them.”

‘An intimate performance’

On Thursday at Carbone Beach, Gelber presented a key to the city to American Express CEO Stephen Squeri. Gelber’s wife and two members of his staff also attended the soiree, the mayor said, as Ross performed hits like “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Stop! In The Name Of Love.”

Fernandez, Dominguez and former commissioner and current mayoral candidate Michael Gongora were also in attendance Thursday. Fernandez and Gongora each brought their significant others, social media posts show.

“Wonderful evening in Miami Beach at American Express Carbone Beach featuring an intimate performance by the legendary Ms. Diana Ross,” Gongora posted on Facebook.

On Sunday, the final night of the pop-up event on the beach near 18th Street, Arriola attended with a plus-one as LL Cool J and Lauryn Hill performed.

Klancke said elected officials shouldn’t have gone to the event if they weren’t sure who was paying for their tickets or whether they were complying with ethics laws.

“That’s a perilous approach to gift acceptance for a public officer,” she said. “They should be certain regarding who they’re taking hundreds of dollars of gifts from before they accept it.”

Gelber said he was invited by Jeff Zalaznick, co-owner of Major Food Group, while Fernandez said he learned about the event from Boucher Brothers co-owner Steve Boucher. Arriola said he got his tickets “through American Express” but couldn’t provide evidence they were paid by the company.

Meiner and Richardson said they didn’t attend and weren’t aware of receiving an invitation. Rosen Gonzalez didn’t respond to the Herald’s inquiries about whether she was invited.

Gongora, meanwhile, declined to answer questions about his tickets, noting that he is not subject to gift disclosure requirements as a candidate for office.

“It’s really nobody’s business where I go or who I go with,” he said. “It’s one of the benefits of being a private citizen at the moment. I don’t need to discuss my private life.”

Gelber told the Herald he wasn’t sure if the gift disclosure requirements applied to him in this case because he was attending in his “official capacity,” delivering a key to the city.

Last year, when Gelber went to the event and gave a ceremonial key to Zalaznick, he did not report his ticket as a gift, records show.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who was also spotted at the event each of the past two years, didn’t include last year’s event on his gift disclosure forms, either. The disclosures are filed quarterly.

But Klancke said elected officials are subject to gift disclosure requirements in most cases, even when they are attending an event in their official role.

“The only reason why you’re being offered the tickets is because you’re the mayor,” she said. “That’s why your independence and impartiality needs to be protected.”

This story has been updated to include a statement from American Express.