Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Plans to rename Miami street in memory of Fernandez placed ‘indefinitely on hold’
If you’re in Miami looking for Jose Fernandez Avenue, don’t expect to see it anytime soon — if ever.
More than two years after a resolution was passed to rename a street in honor of the late Marlins star pitcher, the Miami-Dade County Commission says those plans are “indefinitely on hold.”
On Nov. 1, 2016, commissioners approved a proposal to rename a 2 1⁄2-mile stretch of 17th Avenue as ‘”Jose Fernandez Avenue,” in memory of the Miami pitcher. Fernandez, 24, died two months earlier in a boat crash that also killed two passengers on his boat.
But after two years, no street sign or any sign of progress has been made to physically rename the avenue, which would’ve run from Northwest North River Drive to U.S. 1. — a stretch just west of Marlins Park.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners told the Sun Sentinel the proposed renaming is at an impasse. The sponsoring commissioner usually shepherds the process, but Bruno Barreiro is no longer in office after stepping down
in March.
“[The renaming is] indefinitely on hold until someone else takes up the initiative,” spokesperson Marie Bell said.
While the Cuban star was emerging as one the game’s best pitchers, his legacy is complicated. Fernandez, who was piloting the boat per a report from the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission, had alcohol and cocaine in his system at the time of the crash, according to an autopsy report.
The vote for “Jose Fernandez Avenue” came two days after the autopsy was released, but five months before the Florida Wildlife report was published. The proposal was sponsored by then-District 5 commissioner Barreiro, who represented Little Havana. At the time, he said it was a difficult decision to make.
“I thought long and hard about the issue, but I felt [Fernandez’s] life, all the good things he did throughout his life, overweighed this unfortunate situation at the end,” Barreiro said during the 2016 meeting. “He’s been a very good, solid citizen throughout his life here. He supported charities. His record stands on its own as a player. I decided to go [with it].”
All seven commissioners present voted in favor of the proposal.
Barreiro no longer serves as District 5’s commissioner after resigning in March to run for Congress – an attempt that proved unsuccessful. Eileen Higgins was elected as Little Havana’s new commissioner in June, defeating Barreiro’s wife, Zoraida.
In four seasons with the Marlins, Fernandez established himself as one of baseball’s premier young players. The right-hander spent his entire career with the Marlins after being selected 14th in the 2011 MLB Draft.
Fernandez made his bigleague debut in 2013 and instantly became a fan favorite with his dominance on the mound and passion for the game. He went 38-17 with a 2.58 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 589 strikeouts in 471 innings. He was a two-time All-Star and was named 2013 National League Rookie of the Year.