http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/10/2060729/flagler-memorial-makes-cameo-in.html#ixzz1Dbv7LPYUWhen Miami-Dade voters agreed to spend $1 million to restore the Flagler Memorial on Monument Island, many hoped beautifying of the county’s most revered historic structures would attract new visitors.
They probably didn’t count on porn stars to be among them.
The lushly landscaped island between the Venetian and MacArthur causeways, which boasts a 110-foot obelisk honoring Florida pioneer Henry Flagler, is now the backdrop for an online porn video produced by RealityKing.com.
The film shows a redhead credited only as “Brooklyn” showing off what could loosely be described as her acting chops with fellow thespian “JMac.”
Miami Beach officials – and at least one local historian – are not amused.
“This is not an uninhabited island miles off the coast,” Assistant City Manager Hilda Fernandez said. “It’s in the middle of a very busy bay. You can’t go filming pornos in public parks.”
On Feb. 5, RealityKing.com posted the adult movie, called Island Adventure, and credited the posting to “Captain Stabbin.” The film runs about 50 minutes, including travel time to the island.
The Freudian implications of filming a sex scene in the shadow of a soaring obelisk is ripe for debate.
Also up for debate: whether the filming broke any laws.
Lawrence Walters, an attorney who represents Reality King, said his clients didn’t break any rules.
Though state laws prohibit exposing oneself in public, Walters said the rules apply only if someone witnesses the act — and that no one did.
“The last thing they want to do is create problems,” he said, noting that the Reality King crew are “good corporate citizens” who donate to charity. “It was apparently produced on a deserted island with no people around to witness the filming.”
Graham Winick, Miami Beach’s film and event production manager, said any commercial venture needs a permit to film in the city, but a permit for a movie involving a pornographic scene at a public park would not have been granted.
“I can say without even looking in my files that we did not permit that,” Winick said.
Winick said Island Adventure was hardly the first pornography filmed within the city limits without a permit. “We occasionally get calls, but it’s rare they actually fulfill permits,” he said.
He said that usually isn’t an issue because adult films are generally shot indoors, and unless a neighbor complains, no one is the wiser.
But Island Adventure was shot at a city park, during daylight hours and while it was open to the public.
And it was posted on a for-profit website just two days after city commissioners discussed ways to curb illegal drinking and disruptive parties on the island – which has a growing reputation as a party spot.
Even the waters around the island are attracting debauchery, according to a Venetian Islands resident who last summer complained to the city that a charter boat for swingers was docked next door – Fernandez said the city is looking into the allegations.
Officials are also looking into the filming of Island Adventure, though it isn’t clear if they will take any action.
Detective Juan Sanchez, a Miami Beach police spokesman, referred questions to Fernandez, who said the city’s legal staff is reviewing the film.
Adult films have a long and storied history in South Florida – the 1972 porn classic Deep Throat was filmed in a Coconut Grove mansion – and Reality King is a major player in what is now a booming industry here.
The Flagler monument was commissioned more than 70 years ago by Carl Fisher, another local legend, but had fallen in disrepair over the years.
Voters approved a bond that included funding for the million-dollar restoration project, completed in 2009.
Local historian Seth Bramson said JMac, Brooklyn and the rest of the Reality King crew need to seek out a different locale if there is an Island Adventure II.
“They should not be desecrating that island,” he said. “It’s hallowed ground.”
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