4 OctOber 26 - NOvember 1, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | “COHEN”-CALLING Filmmaker Billy Corben jousts with Coral Gables mayor over Jewish name reference. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN C oral Gables mayor Vince Lago appears to be following in the footsteps of City of Miami commissioner Joe Carollo when sparring with documentary filmmaker and outspoken civic watchdog Billy Corben — calling him “Cohen.” Lago would have constituents believe it’s nothing more than a procedural reference to Corben’s legal name, William Cohen. But for Corben, it’s a well-worn dog whistle meant to draw attention to his Jewish background – one he’s been dealing with for years. The latest incident of “Cohen”-calling oc- curred at an October 10 Coral Gables City Commission meeting at which Corben rose to speak out against the annexation of the High Pines and Ponce Davis neighborhoods, as well as to respond to rumors (partly pro- pounded by Lago) that a firefighters’ union is paying him to grouse. Corben seized the opportunity to unleash an unsparing litany of claims of corruption in Coral Gables government. The filmmaker finished off his public com- ment by asking commissioners to reject “the absurd annexation scheme” and request a federal investigation into the city and its offi- cials. “That incestuous cesspool of Miami cor- ruption cancer has metastasized to the City Beautiful via Vince Lago,” Corben proclaimed. Evidently displeased with Corben’s pre- sentation, Lago threatened legal action and said, “Mr. Cohen, you may sit down.” “What did you call me?” Corben said. “I called you Mr. Cohen,” Lago responded. “Why don’t you just say Jew,” Corben shot back. Corben, who is Jewish, has used the pro- fessional name Billy Corben since working as a child actor in the 1990s, saying he uses the moniker in response to anti-Semitism and to avoid being typecast, per the suggestion of his former agent. “That was the reason for it. So the idea that they’re going to use that to be anti-Se- mitic just kind of proves my point,” Corben tells New Times. “I think people don’t know the name Cohen is to Jews what like Smith is to Americans.” According to Lago, the “Cohen”-calling was simply a reference to Corben’s legal name, which was used on public-speaker identifica- tion cards for the filmmaker when he ap- peared at previous Coral Gables meetings. “I addressed Mr. Cohen by the name he has submitted previously on the speaker cards,” Lago tells New Times via email. He has not responded to a follow-up request for additional comment about the incident. Corben maintains he used “Corben,” not “Cohen,” on the speaker card at this week’s meeting and that the city clerk summoned him to the podium as “Corben.” During the meeting, Corben pointed out that Lago was sitting under a portrait of Coral Gables’ founder, developer George Merrick, whose legacy has been criticized over his pro- posal of a 1930s “Negro Resettlement Plan” to remove Black residents from Miami’s city limits. Corben and Lago have been butting heads as of late over Lago’s sporadic spout- ing of rumors that Corben is being paid by unions that are in dispute with the city, at times over the annexation plan and the in- creased burden the annexed communities would impose on public safety staff. During the meeting, Corben said he will take a “lie- detector test, a polygraph” on his podcast, Because Miami, to prove he is not being compensated by the local firefighters union — if Lago agrees to do the same regarding Corben’s claims of corruption. The filmmaker is no stranger to local poli- ticians referencing his legal last name during verbal skirmishes. Back in 2021, Corben was clashing with Carollo at a Miami commission meeting after he referenced Carollo’s previous arrest on a domestic violence charge. The commissioner mocked Corben repeatedly, calling him “little Billy Cohen.” Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola faced accusations of anti-Semitism after he too referred to Corben as “Billy Cohen.” “The fact that he immediately tore a page out of the Joe Carollo playbook was not shocking but certainly disappointing and in a funny way, satisfying because it proved my point,” Corben tells New Times. “They weap- onize my name in order to tell their constitu- ents that I am not one of them. It is tantamount to pinning a yellow star on me.” Noting the civilian massacres that took place in Israel over the weekend, carried out at the hands of Hamas, Corben adds, “In light of the fact that Nazis are marching in Florida and in Texas, that Israel is under attack, that we have just experienced the biggest slaugh- ter of Jews since the Holocaust, for him to go there is repugnant.” Lago told Corben he’d settle the matter in court. “But, out of respect for the residents, I will not allow you to make this into a circus like you make everything else into a circus,” Lago said at the meeting. “I hope you have a won- derful day.” Corben made a number of corruption claims while he had the microphone, point- ing to reports that Lago served as a real estate agent at a brokerage that received a large commission on the $35 million sale of a Coral Gables property to be developed by Rishi Ka- poor, whose relationship to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has been the subject of ethics probes and a federal investigation, according to the Miami Herald. Near the Coral Gables property, Lago and his associates owned a storefront that was leased to Kapoor’s company, Location Ven- tures, at more than $12,000 a month, the Her- ald reported. Lago abstained from voting on matters re- lated to the Coral Gables project and main- tained he received no money from the property sale. Local lobbyist Bill Riley, who was recently charged in a bribery case along with since- suspended Miami commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, was also a real estate agent at the Coral Gables brokerage. [email protected] Coral Gables mayor Vince Lago threatened filmmaker Billy Corben with legal action at an October 10 commission meeting. Photo by Romain Maurice/Getty Images for Haute Living | METRO | “THE FACT THAT HE TORE A PAGE OUT OF THE JOE CAROLLO PLAYBOOK WAS NOT SHOCKING.”
