Miami man spends 55 hours in animal shelter cage to push pet tax
Michael Rosenberg used extreme tactics and persistent advocacy to influence local policy in Miami-Dade, from water billing to theater attendance.
By Giulia Marshall ·
In October 2012, Michael Rosenberg spent 55 hours inside a cage at Miami-Dade Animal Services. He did this to draw attention to the Pets’ Trust initiative. His protest generated widespread media coverage. The measure received 65 percent voter approval, though the tax was not implemented.
Rosenberg is a pianist and entrepreneur living in the Calusa neighborhood of Miami-Dade. Over the past 50 years, he has attended more than 330 Broadway productions. He is currently submitting a 60-second video to judges to compete for the title of Broadway’s Biggest Fan. His goal is to gain a platform to encourage new theatergoers, a group he says is missing from current audiences.
His persistence with local issues began decades ago. At age 12 in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, he wrote a letter to a local paper criticizing neglected properties. A rabbi advised him to keep a lower profile because he was a Jewish boy in the South. Rosenberg decided then that he would never lay low. He now lives with his wife Nancy in Miami and travels more than 200 nights a year. His destinations include Antarctica, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Canada, and Blue Ridge, Georgia.
In Blue Ridge, a conservative community, locals affectionately call him “our liberal Democratic Jew from Miami.” Rosenberg has used similar persistence in his professional life. In 1991, he launched Imagine Your Photos after seeing a photograph transferred onto a coffee mug. The company partnered with Kodak and now produces more than 200 personalized products for major retailers. Before that, he sold nearly two million personalized lullabies over ten years. Huggies featured these songs in a nationwide promotion.
His approach to civic problems is direct. When his water bill jumped from $50 to $450, he spent four years challenging billing procedures. This effort changed how Miami-Dade residents dispute unfair charges. At an AMC theater, he challenged a popcorn refill policy because the sign said “refills” rather than “a refill.” He took the argument to corporate headquarters, resulting in signage changes in AMC theaters nationwide.
Rosenberg has served as president of the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations for 14 years. His office desk holds newspaper clippings of issues that need fixing. He passed his love of theater to his daughter Dara, who studied musical theater at NYU and has narrated more than 500 audiobooks. When advocacy work becomes exhausting, Rosenberg returns to his seven-foot Steinway piano. He says, “I play and I’m reborn.”
He majors in piano at the University of Kentucky, practicing five hours daily. He later earned a master’s degree in music at the University of Miami. He now teaches piano and remains active in the community. His current focus is convincing judges of his dedication to the theater. The competition aims to recognize the most dedicated fan on Broadway.
