Key West Mayor Dee Dee Henriquez joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the city.
The city has provided grants for non profits recently.
Henriquez said, “On Friday, I was able to take two more pictures. We’ve already distributed to AH Monroe. Then we had Bethel AME Church, and then Positive Step. So we’ve already dispersed 22,500. The deadline to apply is December 31. We do have some applications pending. So please, if you are in need, please go ahead and apply online, so we can go ahead and cut those checks if approved.”
A Citizen Review Board meeting has been canceled for tonight.
Henriquez said, “The Citizen Review Board meeting has been canceled for tonight. The next meeting scheduled will be on January 26 of 2026 starting at 5pm. They did not have a quorum for this evening, so it has been canceled, and probably rightfully so, with the holidays, there could be people out of town, but the next scheduled meeting will be January 26 of 2026 at 5pm. There will also be no bus service on Christmas Day to allow our drivers to be home with their families, and then they’ll resume the following day. And just to let everybody know, City Hall will be closed this week for Thursday and Friday, which is Christmas day, Thursday, December 25 and Friday, December 26, the City Hall will be closed. There is no plogging for the next two weeks. The next plogging date will be January 9 at the Key West Women’s Club. For the last four years, we have collected 599 gallons of cigarette butts and 44,993 pounds of trash and 4611 pounds of recycling in the last four years. It’s remarkable what they do every Friday for our city.”
Open door meetings with the mayor are ongoing.
Henriquez said, “Even though it’s the holiday week, I’m going to be here, so please come on by from two to four. You don’t need to make an appointment. You could just come on in and discuss any concerns or issues or even giving me some ideas of how we can better our city of Key West. So yes, we have taken a few pictures, not too many, but we have taken a few pictures, but it’s been a very successful program thus far. I was a little concerned. I’m like, well, is anybody going to show but I will tell you that the two hours goes by really fast because we have them waiting in the lobby, one right after another.”
The utilities department has an announcement.
Henriquez said, “The utilities department wanted me to announce this before our next commission meeting again. So it says in September 2025 the Municipal Code ordinance amendment was approved by the City Commission outlining the containerization of yard waste. What this means is no green or blue waste management issued carts may be used for yard waste. Residents that own acceptable yard waste containers, please continue to use them. If you need to purchase containers, the black or gray 40 gallon open top cans or paper yard waste bags are recommended. Please start transitioning to the recommended containers as waste management will resume collection of carts after the new year. All of this information is also available on our city of Key West utilities website, so the utilities department thanks you for allowing me to read this to all of your listeners.”
Martin Luther King Jr. day is a big deal in Key West.
Henriquez said, “Martin Luther King Jr. Day registration form for the march is now online on the Special Events page, so please go online, fill out that registration form so we can start putting everybody in line. So the lineup will start at 12 noon at the Nelson English park, and the march will start at 1pm on January 19, 2026.”
Next week will begin the New Year celebrations.
Henriquez said, “Next week, I’ll be letting you know where all the drops are going to be located. The police department, our fire department, our community services department are already preparing for next week, so it’s a lot of planning, a lot of scheduling and they’ve already started working on that. We’d like to wish you and everyone a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday and a happy Kwanza to you and all of your listeners.”

