HYNCA Members and Ybor Residents:
 
It’s not to late to let Tampa City Council know that Closing 20th Street is not right for Ybor City.  We need you to speak out against the Sheriff’s plan to shut down part of our historic street grid in the name of national security! 
 
The final vote by City Council will take place this Thursday, Feb. 21.  See agenda item below:
 

Item number 82 -  9:30 a.m. File No. C07-21
[Ordinance being presented for second reading] - An ordinance vacating, closing, discontinuing and abandoning a certain right of way (all that portion of 20th Street, lying south of Palm Avenue, north of 8th Avenue, east of 19th Street, and west of 21st Street) in plan of an addition to Ybor City, a subdivision located in the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida; the same being more fully described in Section 2 hereof; providing an effective date.

Attend the City Council meeting or email City Council at tampacitycouncil@tampagov.net to let them know, as a resident of Ybor City, you are strongly opposed to the Sheriff’s plan to close 20th St. and create a gated and armed campus in the heart of the district.  There our other methods the Sheriff could employ to protect his building (blast proof walls and windows, synthetic coatings, screening with trees and shrubs, etc.).  Closing 20th Street in the name of national security is nonsense.  SHOW US PROOF OF THREAT!!!!!

See you ALL on Feb. 21,
 
Tony LaColla
HYNCA President
alacolla@hynca.com

From St. Pete Times:

Sheriff: Close Ybor street

    Preservationists protest the idea, but the City Council is swayed by vague talk of danger.

By ALEXANDRA ZAYAS, Times Staff Writer
Published February 8, 2008
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"People say this is exaggerated," Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee said. "These threats are real."
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TAMPA - Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee stood before City Council members Thursday clutching a report from the Department of Homeland Security he said detailed all the dangers that could befall his operations center in Ybor City.

But he wouldn’t tell them what it said.

"I don’t think it’s responsible for me to expose our vulnerabilities," Gee said.

Instead, he asked the council to let him close off 20th Street, which borders the center, from Palm to Eighth avenues.

The Barrio Latino Commission, assigned to protect the historic fabric of Ybor City, advised against it. Neighborhood leaders protested it. City Council members questioned it, but didn’t get many answers.

In the end, the council voted 5-1 to let him gate it off.

Two sides argued they had something to protect.

Preservationists said Ybor City’s street grid is as integral to the historic character of the district as its cigar factories.

Gee said that after the Sept. 11 attacks, his office recognized a threat to "critical infrastructure" inside his complex at 2008 E Eighth Ave. He wouldn’t get specific, but said his communication facilities and command and control are within the building.

With a temporary city permit, his office put up concrete blockades at Palm and Eighth avenues that remain today. Now, the Sheriff’s Office has acquired abuilding next door, across from 20th Street.

So last year, the sheriff submitted his plans to permanently gate off the street between the buildings and put a barrier around both properties.

If the Sheriff’s Office ever leaves the block, the street will return to the city - gates removed, lighting, streets and curbs intact.

The Barrio Latino Commission recommended against it 5-2. The City staff looked to the National Park Service for guidance, which gave examples of the blockades in front of the U.S. Capitol and the White House.

"It’s the Capitol for crying out loud, not Ybor City," said Eric Schiller, who owns Gaspar’s Grotto. For months, he and neighbors have stood at the barricades with signs that read "Stop the lies."

He said a security threat would have already presented itself, contending that "any old truck bomb" could use other surrounding roads.

Council member John Dingfelder interrupted him: "I’m going to urge you not to give anybody ideas."

Gee said he wants to protect the pedestrians walking between both buildings. The sheriff said dangers exist apart from explosives but didn’t say if the office had received specific threats.

"People say this is exaggerated," Gee said. "These threats are real."

The council took his word for it.

Even council member Mary Mulhern, who is opposed to closing off streets, made an exception: "There are so many other areas that have been closed off for less important things. This is a necessary thing to do."

The only dissenter was Linda Saul-Sena, who emphasized the importance of connectivity in her vision of Ybor as an urban village, with residential and commercial uses instead of government-owned campuses.

After the hearing, Tony LaColla, president of the Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association, was disappointed.

"In this country, a lot of scare tactics are thrown out in the name of national security and it’s slowly chipping away at our rights," he said. "And unfortunately, it has started to chip away at our historic district."

A second, final vote will take place Feb. 21.

Alexandra Zayas can be reached at azayas@sptimes.com or 813 226-3354.

Ybor resident and active member of our neighborhood, Manny Leto, articulately expressed many resident’s and business owners position on the HCSO and proposed closing of 20th St.

By MANNY LETO

Published: February 7, 2008

Today Sheriff David Gee will appear before the Tampa City Council to request that the city vacate a small portion of 20th Street in Ybor City. He’ll request the street closure in an honest effort to provide a measure safety for his staff and his operations center.

However, council and the public should be aware of the sheriff’s long-term goals. The closure of 20th Street is the first step in an effort to completely enclose the facility, creating a walled "campus" around all of the sheriff’s properties in Ybor.

Not only should the council reject the sheriff’s request to vacate 20th Street, which disrupts the historic street grid, but also, leaders at all levels of our local government should begin to re-examine the operations center and its long-term impact on the redevelopment of our historic district.

The sheriff’s operations center is actually three parcels of land, which include an auto maintenance facility and several parking lots. The main facility, which occupies about two square blocks, sits on top of sections of 9th and 8th avenues.

Not only does the building disrupt Ybor’s street grid pattern, but also the sheriff’s office provides little benefit to the historic district. The sheriff has no jurisdiction in Ybor; policing the area is the responsibility of the Tampa Police Department. The sheriff (and other county facilities) does not contribute property taxes to Ybor’s CRA fund, and the building itself is a daunting fortress in the middle of a mixed-use, tourist-friendly, historic neighborhood.

What’s more, every time local reporters cover county-related arrests, they report "live from Ybor City," reinforcing the perception that Ybor is full of criminals.

People have been arguing for years over what Ybor City should or should not be. However, whatever the vision, it will never be fully realized without a critical mass of dense, residential development.

I mention this because, ironically, early urban renewal plans and sketches called for residential units to be constructed where the sheriff’s office and EPC buildings now sit.

One suggestion? Follow the lead of the West Tampa armory. I’m sure, even in a down residential market, private developers would jump at the chance to buy the land the sheriff now occupies and turn it into the kind of mixed-use development Ybor needs. The selling price could include the sheriff’s moving costs.

Rather than trying to figure out which streets to close and how to further isolate the operations center from the neighborhood in which it is located, maybe it’s time to look at what was originally intended for the sheriff’s site.

Local agencies and elected officials could take a step toward correcting the failures of urban renewal by finding a way to relocate the sheriff out of Ybor City.

Manny Leto is the managing editor of Cigar City Magazine and a resident of Ybor City.

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.

 

Ybor Flavors, a new City of Tampa television show will air this month on Brighthouse Channel 615 and Verizon Channel 15.  This new monthly television show is 30 minutes and will run for the entire month of February.  The show will air at prime time slots starting February 1st.   

Show times:

• Friday at 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday at 7:00 p.m.
• Monday at 11:00 a.m.  

The show has three segments:

1. History and Architecture 
2. Flavor of the Day, and
3. What’s happening? 

This month, the show highlights three top historic sites to visit in Ybor City, the making of a famous Cuban sandwich and festival clips from this past New Year’s Eve Outback Bowl Blast and Parade on 7th Avenue.  The show’s host is Veronica Swiatek, Chairman of the Ybor City Development Corporation, Inc.

For more information, please contact Brenda Thrower, Ybor City Development Corporation at 813/274-7917.

On Thurs. Dec. 18 at 9:00 am the Barrio Latino Commission (315 E. Kennedy Blvd. 3rd Fl. – Tampa City Hall)  will consider the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office request to vacate (close) 20th St. between 9th Ave and Palm Ave. 

HYNCA is strongly opposed to the closure of 9th Ave. which blocks access and prohibits movement of residents and visitors.  Ybor was created with a grid system of streets. The closure of this portion of the street degrades the historical integrity of our street system and chips away at the character and historic design of our district.  

Please plan to attend the BLC Regular Meeting Dec. 18 to speak out against closure of 9th Ave.  For more information contact HYNCA Secretary Tom Knueppel.
 

If you ask most people what they think about Ybor, they would say it is Tampa’s entertainment district or perhaps describe it as the "Latin Quarter". This image needs to change and the neighborhood must make an effort to dispell its reputation as a single-use district. We, as neighbors and business owners in Ybor, should strive to portray Ybor as a mixed-use neighborhood: not just an entertainment destination but a great place to live and work. Tony, HYNCA president, explains more in detail in the following letter (printed in the St. Pete Times). Joe Howden, one of our founding members also touches on the subject:

Unfortunately two decades ago the city of Tampa and many in the business community set Ybor City on a course for failure by declaring the area an "entertainment district." Establishing Ybor City as a drinking mall was supposed to bring the community back to life and allow it to thrive once again. But what those same leaders didn’t realize were the problems that would follow because of the homogeneity of the bar and nightclub oriented businesses.

Because of the term "entertainment district" and what the proliferation of unchecked wet zoning has brought, many citizens and businesses can’t afford or are afraid to move to the area. Today Ybor City lacks a truly mixed-use commercial and residential community due to the "entertainment" stigma that exists. Many buildings have been converted into large nightclubs that threaten the structures themselves and destroy historic storefronts and facades. Many structures are in a state of disrepair, and no thanks to urban renewal in the 1960s, vacant lots still continue to make up a very large part of Ybor City.

The next step in the redevelopment of Ybor City is to correct where our leaders went wrong and put an end to classifying the area as an "entertainment district." The city of Tampa, the business community and media must realize that Ybor City is first and foremost a National Historic Landmark District. One of only three in Florida. The history and heritage of the area must be preserved and returned to what it used to be, a mixed-use community.

Ybor City is a community in constant transition, still trying to find itself in a modern world. We insist that the city, business community and media realize the treasure that exists and finally give Ybor City the respect that such an esteemed Historic Landmark District designation deserves, thus allowing Ybor City to move forward into the future as it was in the past, as a thriving mixed-use community.

Tony LaColla, president, Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association, Tampa

Dispell the stigma

As a longtime resident of Ybor City, I agree wholeheartedly with the opinions expressed in this editorial. But the problems go beyond two nuisance clubs and the solutions go beyond those offered. Yes, the city should explore being as tough and as stringent on entertainment venues as legally allowed.

Enforcement should be rigorous. After all, those who will perform responsibly in our neighborhood and meet the standards set for them will succeed as viable businesses, and those who don’t will depart. Should any one entity or group profit at the expense of an entire community?

I wonder if entertainment venues located on south Howard Avenue performed in this fashion with guns and shootings spilling over into New Suburb Beautiful (as it has in my neighborhood) would it be tolerated for very long, if at all? Why is it happening in Ybor City?

Perception is reality. The responsibility falls on our city government for conducting a 15-year experiment in which they have used the label "entertainment district, " where radically indulgent, overly dense wet zoning was permitted. That experiment has failed. It has now become a toxic stigma, a reason bad things happen here. It’s become an excuse. It limits us. And how will a critically needed residential base continue to grow while held down by this negative "branding" and the crime that is associated with it?

Ybor City’s only real definition is as a federally recognized Historic Landmark District. It is the wellspring of Tampa’s history, culture and architectural heritage. This accurate definition allows for Ybor City to be all that it can be. As for development and business, heritage tourism is a much greater moneymaker than being a "beer zone." Everyone who visits Paris wants to see the Eiffel Tower. Ybor City’s only hope for a sustainable future where businesses will flourish and residents will thrive is to adopt a course of action that puts Ybor City officially back on track as a mixed-use historic district and for it to be defined as such by the city of Tampa, the police and the media.

Once these changes are made, I predict that clubs and the crimes associated with them will not be the problem they are today.

Joe Howden, Tampa