I was thrilled to see our very own Florida Panthers bring home the coveted Stanley Cup trophy this week. What a great hockey season they had! We’re so proud that our team is the best in the NHL this year. It was a historic win that we won’t soon forget.

To congratulate the Panthers, the City of Fort Lauderdale is going to host a spectacular celebration for the team! It starts with a parade and ends with a rally on stage. We’d love to have you join us for the festivities.

Here are the details – Save the Date!

This Sunday, June 30th, at 11 a.m., at Rio Mar (A1A and Riomar St.) to Las Olas Oceanside Park (across from Hotel Maren).

It’s free, and the whole family is invited.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Mayor Dean Trantalis

Each year on June 19th, we remember that two long years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, word finally made it to Galveston, Texas to free the last enslaved people in the U.S. in 1865.

Today, and every day, we celebrate Black history, culture, and community. Here in Fort Lauderdale, we are blessed to benefit from the many achievements and brilliance of Black Americans and immigrants. Black culture flourishes in every corner of our city in such an incredible tapestry of backgrounds, including Haitian, Bahamian, African-American, Dominican, and Brazilian.

Through our city’s history, we also know the ways that the past has placed barriers to equality. That includes how slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other racist policies have resulted in disparities in income, health, and housing that many Black communities face in our city.

That’s why I think of Juneteenth as a time to take action. Together, as a community and through our leadership, we will put forth the effort to fight for equality so that we can make Fort Lauderdale an even better place for everyone to live. Help by donating today so that I can continue to fight for justice here in our city.

I hope you have a peaceful day,

Dean

Our city has experienced phenomenal growth these past several years, and it has been our challenge to manage that growth in order to welcome new folks while at the same time maintaining the quality of life we have all come to expect and have enjoyed. Seeing Fort Lauderdale prosper has given me such pride, and it has been an honor to serve as your mayor.

For years, our attention has been drawn to our beach area, working with neighbors to fashion a destination that has now become the envy of seaside resorts around the world. But that alone was never our goal, as we recognized the need to recreate a downtown, bring vitality to areas long considered dormant and underserved. Together, we’ve created a cosmopolitan downtown that’s drawn positive attention, especially since the end of COVID-19. We together fulfilled the neighborhood master plan, and today it has become a primary economic driver in our county with an annual economic impact of $35 billion, up $6 billion since 2019.

Key to our economic sustainability is maintaining and supporting our industries which depend on our waterways, such as tourism and recreation. Even during COVID-19, we collaborated with health authorities to make sure we could still host the popular Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show by implementing strong health protocols. And going forward, we were able to secure a permanent home for the boat show, and in doing so, we significantly reduced the size and scale of the Bahia Mar redevelopment, while making it more accessible to our local folks.

Those kinds of collaborations have served the city well. For instance, we created strong and enduring partnerships with the private sector to bring new amenities to the city. That includes major league soccer with our local champion Leo Messi, an Iceplex at Holiday Park where children and families can gather and enjoy the competition on ice, the renovated War Memorial Auditorium where shows and entertainment will once again return, a state-of-the-art aquatic center, including the highest dive-tower on this side of the world, and a pickleball complex, soon to be the venue for local use and national competition.

This is what draws companies to want to locate here, providing good-paying jobs, and giving that child who just graduated from college a reason to come back home, build a career and maybe start a family. An example of this is the recent groundbreaking of a full-service production studio with sound stages, movie sets, a backlot for location filming, and an accredited film school on a brownfield site. We also launched a high-tech startup incubator in Fort Lauderdale with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Energy to expand and diversify our industries.

This is how we have been able to keep our millage rate the same for the past 17 years. And, because of sound fiscal practices, our city once again has been able to achieve a AAA bond rating.

Thank you for all of your support,

Dean

Happy Pride Month, everyone!!

June has been the month in which the LGBTQ+ community has traditionally celebrated the achievements – and reflected on the challenges – that it has encountered over the years.

It harkens back to that moment in time in which the community fought back against repression, particularly in New York in 1969, when the patrons of the Stonewall Bar pushed back against those who sought to deny the community its right to personal expression and individual freedom.

But today, the LGBTQ+ community has much to be thankful for, all because its members and allies chose the right path of equality for all. We in Ft. Lauderdale pride ourselves on being a welcoming community, embracing people of all faiths, nationalities, skin color, and gender identity. We live the experience each day, and we are enriched by the fine tapestry of people that comprise our beautiful city.

So let’s take a moment to appreciate one another, to love one another, and to look forward to the great things that we can accomplish together.

So if you see a rainbow flag or a parade marching by this month, stop, pause for a moment, and share a smile with the next person. Chances are, it’s someone you probably already know.

We are FTL.

Dean

I hope you’re having a peaceful Memorial Day, spending time with loved ones and enjoying the warm weather and sunshine.

While this long weekend is a time to get together with family and friends, Memorial Day is also a somber time when we remember the courageous service-people who lost their lives in combat to protect our rights, our freedoms, and our American values. Today, we honor them as heroes and reflect on their commitment. We also recognize the immense sacrifices of their families and mourn with them.

This upcoming election, it’s important that we exercise the right to vote — a sacred right so many have fought and died to protect. It’s also the basis for our entire democracy. We are so lucky to be able to elect leaders we trust to improve our lives, the places we live, and the world — and it’s thanks to these fallen heroes.

I want you to know that you can trust me to continue to be your Mayor and to help our city grow and flourish in the coming years.

Wishing you a wonderful day,

Dean

We are working toward making Fort Lauderdale an inclusive community that is affordable to all.

South Florida continues to be a popular destination for young and old alike. For some, being able to afford our quality of life has become a challenge. That’s why, as your Mayor, I’ve worked hard toward the goal of ensuring every Fort Lauderdale resident can afford housing.

Here are some ways my administration made headway over the past few years to meet that goal:

Through a city incentive, we supported the construction of hundreds of housing units that are affordable to average workers and seniors on fixed incomes.

We supported the efforts of the Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority and nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity to improve and expand publicly financed housing options.

In the Community Redevelopment Area, we have sold city-owned lots for the construction of single-family homes that have to be marketed to the public at affordable prices.

Through our Community Development Block Grant program, we helped improve existing homes and businesses in redevelopment areas with funding for repairs, painting, landscaping, and façade improvements, particularly in neighborhoods like Sweeting Estates-River Gardens and Dorsey-Riverbend.
I am dedicated to finding other innovative ways and partnerships that will keep you and all of our neighbors in homes they can afford.