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NORTH MIAMI 鈥� North Miami resident Ursula Casta帽eda often spends time at the Elaine Gordon Enchanted Forest Park 鈥� a 22-acre swath of nature located in the heart of the city.
The popular park, where special events and programs are held throughout the year, features scenic trails, subtropical plants, and a barn that offers pony rides. It also boasts a petting zoo with goats, chickens and pigs, gardens, and grill stations. An LGBTQ monument 鈥� among Miami-Dade County鈥檚 first 鈥� was installed there in 2017.
鈥淭his is my kids鈥� backyard,鈥� Casta帽eda, a park volunteer, said of her three children, ages 11, 9 and 4. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pure鈥aw nature.鈥�
But now Casta帽eda and other regular park-goers have become increasingly concerned about the city鈥檚 years-long neglect of the facilities, lack of basic maintenance and improvements that they say are diminishing enjoyment of the park, which is named after Elaine Gordon, a longtime member of the Florida House of Representatives, Democrat and fervent supporter of women鈥檚 rights who died in 2000. She helped secure the funding to establish the park in the 1980鈥檚.
Both of the park鈥檚 two picnic shelters remain closed for public rentals, according to the city鈥檚 website, their roofs covered by plastic tarps. With its roof in danger of collapse, the West Shelter has been fenced off and curious passersby are greeted with a 鈥淜eep Out鈥� sign.
In addition, the park has been plagued by difficulty in removing massive piles of manure from horses in the barn and the lengthy closure of its Community Center, which has classrooms and had often been used by schools.
North Miami resident Leon Sylvain, who has been frequenting the park for over 20 years, said the broken down condition of the picnic shelters makes him feel 鈥渦nsafe.鈥�
鈥淟ook at the roof,鈥� Sylvain said in disgust, adding, 鈥淭hat place right there [the East Shelter] is the dirtiest place you鈥檒l find in a park in the whole world.鈥�
The ongoing picnic shelters鈥� closure left park-goer Cleeford Thomas wondering what the structures were.
鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 not [a picnic shelter] anymore,鈥� Thomas, who has been visiting the park for the last several years, said of the West shelter. 鈥淭his has been closed for quite some time.鈥�
In the past, the picnic shelters were rented out to host parties and events and were a source of revenue for the park. Today, they are 鈥渃losed until further notice,鈥� the website says. Casta帽eda said the picnic shelters have been unavailable for bookings since 2023.
Councilmember Kevin Burns, who represents North Miami District 1, where the park is located, said the West shelter is fenced off because the structure isn鈥檛 stable.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too dangerous to walk underneath it,鈥� Burns, a former North Miami mayor, said in an interview, adding that the East shelter has experienced water leaks, but the structure is 鈥渘ot in a position to collapse.鈥�
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Burns said the City Council approved funding to fix the shelters, but 鈥渢he money just sat there.鈥�
鈥淭his is ridiculous,鈥� Burns said, 鈥渢hat the city had these two shelters, that are really popular when they are running, closed down.鈥�
North Miami鈥檚 2025-2026 budget shows that funding for the Enchanted park has been raised to $463,000 for the current fiscal year, an increase of about $255,000 over the prior year. The funds are to be used to 鈥減rovide daily maintenance, supervision, programming, and operation鈥� of the park facilities.
The budget also says that one of the city鈥檚 鈥渕ajor projects and initiatives鈥� for the park is completing a 40-year certification, which documents describe as an electrical upgrade to comply with Miami-Dade County safety standards. The cost was estimated at $240,000.
North Miami officials are keeping mum. Parks and Recreation Interim Director, Yama Paillere declined an interview request, an aide said. Mayor Alix Desulme did not respond to an interview request by deadline for this story. City Manager Theresa Therilus and Senior Assistant John Lorfils did not respond to several attempts by phone and email to reach them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a difficult job,鈥� Burns, a Realtor in South Florida, said of repairing the shelters. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very simple roofing job.鈥�
In addition to the dilapidated picnic shelters, the park also has been facing problems removing manure left by the horses in the shed. It piles up behind the barn and during hot weather the animal waste can release significant levels of nitrogen that can kill nearby oak trees, some more than 100 years old.
鈥淭hat is a waste hazard,鈥� said Sara McDevitt, who serves on the board of 鈥淔riends of Enchanted Forest NoMi.鈥� The nonprofit group advocates for the park by promoting volunteer activities and hosting meetings with city officials to discuss budgeting strategies for the park鈥檚 maintenance.
McDevitt noted what she called 鈥渄istress and concern within the community鈥� with the condition of the park.
Burns said the huge manure pit is at least four-feet deep and 100-feet wide. He noted that an oak tree, surrounded by the waste, had died.
Burns said after a waste removal company left years ago, he arranged with his own hauler to take on the job. 鈥淲e have to get that done,鈥� said Burns, referring to the proper and regular removal of the manure.
There also have been problems with the park鈥檚 Community Center, which McDevitt said had been closed for several years.
Due to the lack of maintenance, the center鈥檚 roof was left deteriorating and once a contractor was finally hired to fix it, significant amounts of mold were found, lengthening the timeline for repairs.
Burns said the Community Center has just reopened.
He also said a contractor has been hired to fix the picnic shelters and the work will start within the next four-to-six weeks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been that story for a couple of years,鈥� a doubtful Casta帽eda said, noting previous announcements of upcoming repairs that never happened. 鈥淚t鈥檚 sad, because this is a very special place.鈥�
For her part, McDevitt said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a commitment that the city needs to make to its parks and its residents. The community is frustrated and tired of having poorly maintained things in our city.鈥�
The story was originally published by Caplin News, a publication of FIU's Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media, as part of an editorial content partnership with the SA国际传谋 newsroom.
