MIAMI – Residents at a downtown Miami high rise are complaining that they’re being robbed of their relaxation.
The building towers over the Federal Detention Center, and residents say their incarcerated neighbors are disturbing the peace.
They say the inmates are yelling from their recreational space, across from Downtown 5th.
“I don’t use the pool that much here because it doesn’t get sun very much, but it does get sun during the time that they’re in there,” said resident Ryan Rea.
Rea recorded video from the pool deck on the 15th floor on Monday, and while it’s hard to make out what the inmates are yelling, the whistling is clear, as are the intended targets of those whistles; some women who were sunbathing.
Rea said he moved in a little more than a year ago and pays $2,700 a month for his two-bedroom unit.
He said he knew the detention center was there.
“I moved in right at the peak of when everyone was moving to Miami and there was very little availability,” he said.
Downtown 5th has two towers, which boast more than 1,000 one, two and three-bedroom units. It’s stacked 52 floors high at the corner of Northeast Fifth Street and Miami Avenue.
It opened in 2021 on what was once a parking lot.
The Federal Detention Center, right across the street, has been housing men and women of all security levels since 1995.
Local 10 News’ Layron Livingston couldn’t get anyone on the phone with the developer to see what, if anything, is being done to mitigate the issue and he’s still waiting for a reply to his emails.
On-site, property managers told him the detention center does come up on tours.
He was told some residents have complained, but that the issue is, “not a problem.”
The Federal Bureau of Prisons may think otherwise and is taking the situation seriously.
In a statement sent to Local 10 News, a spokesperson said, in part:
“While for safety and security reasons we do not discuss internal guidance or security practices, we can tell you the issue presented in the video is under investigation and we are actively pursuing a solution that both addresses the concern of the public and is in accordance with American Correctional Association guidelines.”