Tampa Tribune supports closure of 20th St.
Tampa Tribune continues to publish articles in support of closing 20th St. As one of Tampa’s important media outlets, we would have hoped that the Tribune did some research before posting commentary as misinformed as the ones posted on Feb 6th and Feb 18th. The Tribune argues that the Sheriff HQ is vital to the survival of Ybor and that building gates to close off 20th St. can protect us against terrorist attacks.
As residents and business owners in Ybor, we are happy to have the HQ in our neighborhood. They offer additional protection to our area, lending patrolling officers during the weekends and as needed. From the economic point of view, 400 employees do make an impact to our community. However, suggesting that the HQ’s presence is a make-or-break deal for Ybor, is a far stretch.
Whatever reasons the Sheriff has to building a compound, citing that there is infrastructure so important to our community that it needs to be terrorist-proof makes everyone slightly skeptic. If such were the case, can gates protect a bomb truck parked not 15 feet away? How about the Palm Ave.-facing side of the building? And if the infrastructure is so critical that it requires terrorist proofing, why was residential development allowed to crop up all around it? Many of these questions remain unanswered by the Sheriff.
Below are copies of the Tribune commentaries:
Published: February 6, 2008
The Barrio Latino Commission, the citizens’ panel charged with protecting the architectural integrity of Ybor City, is mistaken to oppose a proposal by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to close a street adjacent to the sheriff’s headquarters.
The sheriff wants the street barricaded to make his command center more secure. The Barrio says the closure would damage the "historic grid system" of the Latin Quarter. That’s right, the Barrio deems the grid system more important than safety of the county’s first responders.
The Tampa City Council, scheduled to consider the matter today, should promptly dismiss the trivial objections and give the go-ahead to the sheriff’s office, whose plans pose no threat to the architectural or historic integrity of Ybor City.
Indeed, the construction of the sheriff’s headquarters in Ybor City during the 1970s, when the historic district was desolate and crime-ridden, contributed greatly to its revival. And the sheriff’s office continues to be a good Ybor citizen, allowing, for instance, visitors to the Ybor City Museum to use county property for parking.
If the council compromises the headquarters’ security, then the sheriff eventually will have no choice but to relocate, taking nearly 400 workers elsewhere. And that would do far more harm to the community’s economic prospects than blocking a little-used street.
Council members should remember that the stretch of 20th Street in question, from Palm Avenue to Eighth Avenue, has been closed off by temporary barricades since Sept. 11, 2001.
Sheriff David Gee now wants to build a wall around the block that includes both the operations center and the old Environmental Protection Commission building that the sheriff will soon occupy. The project would include security gates on 20th Street, which bisects the sheriff’s compound.
The Department of Homeland Security calls the improvements "critical infrastructure" for the county’s law enforcement command center. The project also would increase the security of workers who come and go at all hours.
The change would not disrupt Ybor City’s pedestrian or traffic flow.
Gee says the brick roadway will not be disturbed and would be returned intact to the city should the headquarters ever be moved, something that some members of the Barrio seem to think would be a good idea.
Those who want to run the sheriff out of Ybor City might want to consult with business owners, residents and visitors on whether they like having a strong law enforcement presence in the community. They might also consult with Tampa Police Chief Stephen Hogue, who strongly supports Gee’s plan.
The choice before council is simple: Does the city care about "critical infrastructure" for law enforcement or closing a minute section of a "historic grid system"? How members vote will reveal a lot about their values and their common sense.
And the second one:
Thanks goodness for Charlie Miranda, who brings perspective and maturity to his seat on Tampa City Council.
The latest example happened last Thursday, when the council heard
from citizens objecting to Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee’s plan
to better secure his command center in Ybor City. The sheriff wants to
put gates on a small section of 20th Street, but critics say it will
disrupt the Latin Quarter’s "historic grid."Miranda knocked the bricks out from under those arguments with his command of Ybor’s history.
Miranda, who grew up in Ybor City, noted the numerous projects -
from Interstate 4 to Centro Ybor - that have done far more to alter
Ybor’s streets than the sheriff’s proposed gate. And he recalled the
city’s desperate attempts to convince the sheriff’s office to move to
Ybor City in the 1970s, when the area was little more than "tumbleweeds
and crime."The common-sense councilman emphasized the importance of keeping the sheriff’s station in Ybor.
Miranda’s colleagues, save for Linda Saul-Sena, demonstrated similar good sense and voted to allow the security improvements.
No one is more committed to Ybor than Miranda, who helped almost
everyone understand that historic preservation is not achieved by
ignoring history and reality.
