Jimmy Tate Isn’t as ‘Helpful’ as He Makes Himself Out to Be

Mark Sell’s November 2021 story (“North Miami’s October Surprise”) wrote as follows about James “Jimmy” Tate: “Tate told the Biscayne Times that the city approached him on both the Wildcat and Allure deals rather than the other way around.” Sell added that the city “must seal the deal by Dec. 17, a very tight window for such a commercial loan.” He later quoted Tate as having said “I’m here to help, not to hinder.”

For quite a number of years, I had an office in a building owned by Stanley Tate, Jimmy Tate’s father – on 125th Street. Tate Sr. decided to retire, and he turned the management of the building over to his sons, Jimmy and Kenny. I got a notice at the beginning of the last month of my lease saying the rent was doubling. (A “very tight window,” indeed.)

I spoke to management to ask why they were throwing out all their tenants. They said they weren’t and didn’t want anyone to leave. I asked them what they thought their tenants would do when their rents were doubled. They had no answer. All they said was that the new management wanted to make some improvements to make the building more “high class.”

Three of us that I know of left that month; we all went to the same building elsewhere. If Jimmy Tate was looking to “help” in any way, it’s not clear what or whom he was trying to aid. I knew some other tenants of that building and called them to tell them what news they would suddenly get when their leases were about to expire. At least one of them left for another building in Miami Shores.

Three North Miami councilmembers appear to have been persuaded that Jimmy Tate is a friendly and helpful person. The tenants at an office building Tate manages might not agree.

Fred Jonas

Biscayne Park