Joy Malakoff is a Miami Beach City Commissioner. Her first visit to Miami Beach was as a one-year-old in 1937. Her grandparents, Max and Emily Iralson, had been living on the Beach since 1928. She and her parents spent winters on Miami Beach. Later, they permanently moved down. Ms. Malakoff reminisces about the wonderful times spent in their family's rented cabana. It was practically a culture of its own. Families usually rented the same cabana each year or in the same vicinity and got to know people in nearby cabanas. The children were given swimming lessons in the pool while the adults socialized and played cards. She recalls as a child being taken to night clubs with her parents and grandparents. Her grandmother was shocked by the performance of a foul-mouthed Sophie Tucker. Ms. Malakoff talks about the development of Miami Beach into more than just a winter resort. She also discusses the challenges of dealing with rising sea levels and what strategies are being employed.
