The first Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association (HYNCA) Meeting of the year!  - Thursday, January 31 – 6:30 p.m. at the Ybor Hampton Inn (1301 E. 7^th Ave.).

 We will discuss ongoing topics related to Ybor City including:

• Fight to reopen 20^th Street at Palm Ave.
• HART/TECO Streetcar Line Presentation
• Installation of decorative brick crosswalks in residential areas
• Decorative street lighting in residentail areas
• Community vision plan for CRA2 (areas south of 6th Ave. and north of Palm Ave)
• New business which YOU wish to bring up

Meetings this year will be held every last Thursday of every other month at 6:30 pm - January 31, March 27, May 29, July 31, September 25, and Holiday Pot Luck in December.  

If you are a business owner and would like to host a meeting, please contact HYNCA President Tony LaColla at alacolla@hynca.com.

Sheriff’s Office Petition to Vacate 20^th Street between Palm Ave and 8^th Ave. – Thursday, February 7, 9:00 am at City Council (315 E. Kennedy Blvd., Downtown Tampa). 

We must show up in full force in order to send a message to City Council that we will not stand for the closure of 20^th Street in our National Historic Landmark District.  SPEAK OUT against the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s plan to permanently close our neighborhood streets and block them off with gates. 

We must keep 20^th Street open to protect the historic grid system, provide easily walkable, bikeable, and drivable connections for residents and visitors, and protect our community against campus style offices that become self contained enclaves.  20^th Street has been closed “temporarily” since September 2001 in the name of national security.  It’s time to open the street back up!  The only way to fight the Sheriff’s Office plan is with YOUR participation.

We also encourage you to write City Council and let them know why our neighborhood wants 20^th Street to be reopened and remain open.  Take 5 minutes and write an e-mail to tampacitycouncil@tampagov.net TODAY!!!!  Please copy alacolla@hynca.com when you send the e-mail. 

A self defense course will be held in Ybor for all residents of TPD District III. The course will go over basic safety tips to make your home and valuables safer (not basic karate moves as the name might have suggested).  

From TPD: 

The Tampa Police Department will hold a self-defense and personal safety class in Ybor City on January 23 at 6:30p.m. General sign-up is now open! Space is limited!

The class will be at the Children’s Board located at 1002 E. Palm Avenue. There are many seats left. Anyone who is interested and who would like to reserve a seat can e-mail Robert.Barrett@TampaGov.net or you can contact CSO Chris Cochran on the District III Crime Prevention Hotline at 242-3817

From the YCDC:

RETAIL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
MEETING 1/9/08

Happy New Year!  Please join fellow retailers, property owners and merchants for the next roundtable discussion about Ybor City’s current and future retail opportunities.  This meeting will focus on business retention and retail incubation as well as report on follow-up activities.

WHEN:         Wednesday, January 9, 2008
9:00 - 11:00 am

WHERE:         YCDC Office (next to Elmer’s Sports Bar)
2015 E. 7th Avenue, Tampa, FL 33605

Retail Development Committee Chairman Joe Howden invites everyone to attend this meeting. “We want your ideas and grassroots solutions to develop successful retail business strategies for Ybor City.”

The meeting is open to the public and free parking is available in the parking lot (west side of the building).  For more information, please contact Brenda Thrower, Ybor City Development Corporation at 813/274-7917.

The Tampa Film Review will celebrate four years of showcasing local independent film on Friday, January 11 from 8 – 10 p.m. at the International Bazaar, 1600 E. Eighth Ave. in the Centro Ybor complex in Ybor City, by honoring both the best filmmakers of today and some of Tampa’s legendary artists. The event will be preceded by live music and refreshments at 7 p.m.

The January show will feature a “Best Of 2007” lineup. Each film showcased will also be presented with an award named in honor of a legendary Tampa artist.

The Tampa Film Review hopes such an event can bridge the gap between today’s artists and those Tampa artists who paved the way for the successes of Tampa’s current crop of artists. All of the filmmakers being honored will be present to accept the award. Many of the artists for whom the awards are named will either be on hand to present the award or have friends or family present the award in their stead.

The Tampa Film Review was founded in 2004 by Pete and Paul Guzzo as a monthly showcase for locally produced independent short films. During its first year, its average attendance numbered just 40. Today, almost 150 people a month are regularly in attendance with some months seeing close to 250 people in attendance. Films showcased at the TFR have also been screened at the Tampa Museum of Art’s Art After Dark events throughout the year. The TFR has also set up an exchange program with other monthly film fests around the world. In 2007, select films screened at TFR were shown in Canada, Australia and Oklahoma.

Tampa Film Review was awarded a 2005 Best of the Bay Award for BEST REASONS TO BELIEVE THE LOCAL FILM SCENE IS ALIVE AND WELL and another in 2007 for “BEST QUICK RECOVERY.”

Aggresive begging is a crime. If you are solicited more than once, it is considered aggressive, and is punishable by law. Make sure to contact TPD if this happens to you.

YBOR CITY - Michael Dunn had an unpleasant experience recently with what he calls an aggressive panhandler who wanted him to buy fake flowers made of twigs and leaves.

The incident happened in front of Dunn’s business, Stogie Castillo’s Cigar Lounge and Factory in Centro Ybor, where a cigar roller works behind the window, often attracting a crowd.

Dunn told the panhandler to move along and called the police when the man didn’t budge. The officer handcuffed the man but released him a few blocks away, Dunn said.

Back came the man to thumb his nose at the shopkeeper.

Dunn called Capt. Marc Hamlin of District 3 and was reassured that wouldn’t happen again.

"Capt. Hamlin feels our pain," Dunn said.

Hamlin said he’s determined to clean up begging on the streets of Ybor City. During a recent two-day sweep, his officers arrested 23 panhandlers in the historic district and took them for booking.

Some have felony records; others have outstanding warrants.

"In most cases, we’re dealing with career criminals here," Hamlin said.

He isn’t sure when the panhandling detail will work again.

"It could be a weekly thing or monthly," he said. "But one thing is for sure, we want to monitor this situation and maintain our vigilance. This should never get out of hand again."

That’s delightful news to Ybor City’s retail development committee. During a recent meeting at the Ybor City Development Corp., 2015 E. Seventh Ave., some of the 25 or so in attendance expressed gratitude for law enforcement’s crackdown on panhandling.

Through the years, Ybor City officials have asked for help. The city council passed an ordinance in 1993 outlawing aggressive panhandling, which is described as harassing or repeatedly asking for money.

Aggressive panhandling is common along Seventh, officials say.

"I’m pretty impressed with the police response," said committee chairman Joe Howden, who lives in Ybor City and works part time at King Corona Cigars on Seventh. "Their strategy is to keep the panhandlers moving right out of Ybor City and it’s working."

Vince Pardo, president of the development corporation, encouraged store owners to report panhandling.

"This is all about community involvement," he said. "We can’t say, ‘It’s not my problem’ and walk away. This hurts our attracting tourists and visitors. We need to minimize the characters on the street."

Tom Keating, president of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce, said the recent police operation was sophisticated.

"This wasn’t a casual thing at all," he said. "They moved in."

David Harvey, who operates Centro Ybor for M&J Wilkow, a Chicago-based real estate company, said the shopping and office plaza has full-time security.

"They patrol constantly," he said, although working with law enforcement is the only way to eliminate panhandling.

Beginning Jan. 27, Ybor City will have beefed-up patrols for retail customers and shop workers. Hamlin said two officers will patrol from about 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., either in golf carts or on bicycles.

"This could start earlier in the morning because people do come to the district for breakfast," he said. "But the point is to be in concert with the merchants. Our officers will get to know them and their issues."

The Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association is starting a crime watch. To learn more, e-mail crime watch@hynca.com.

To contact police District 3, call (813) 242-3800.

Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

Some people call the Ybor of today the "experiment that failed". When the City wet-zoned a large portion of the district it hoped to boost development and investment in the area. Instead, it created an unsustainable economy that has resulted in empty storefronts and languishing retail. There are new efforts to rectify old mistakes. Retail incubation is, as its name implies, a way to give promising entrepreneurs the means to succeed until they are able to fend on their own ("hatch"). It would be the first effort of its kind in the Tampa Bay area but other incubators have already proven successful in other parts of the country. Here is the article from the Tribune that explains in more detail:

By JANIS D. FROELICH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 26, 2007

YBOR CITY - It’s not that this historic district doesn’t have plenty of shops, agree members of the retail development committee for the Ybor City Development Corp.

It’s just that shoppers don’t equate a trip to Ybor City with hauling home loads of packages.

"Retail should be a cornerstone here," said committee chairman Joe Howden, who lives in Ybor City and works part time at King Corona Cigars on Seventh Avenue.

The way to boost retail is to nurture retail, the committee decided. So the concept of an incubator business is being discussed.

That could mean the development corporation would buy or lease a warehouse or storefront space and fill it with small, start-up businesses. The entrepreneurs would pay rent, but rates would be affordable because the space would be shared, as would services such as a receptionist and fax machine.

Other cities have found success with this idea. According to the National Business Incubator Association, there are more than 900 incubators in North America, including Hi-Crest Mini Mall in Topeka, Kan., and the Dallas Fashion Incubator in Texas.

Sharon Rose, owner of Mermaid’s Slipper, 1903 N. 19th St., told the committee of about 25 that she used to live in Baltimore, which housed 12 businesses in a warehouse.

"It worked with a real sense of pride in what everyone together was doing," she said at the group’s December meeting.

Tony LaColla, president of the Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association, said the goal is to increase nonchain merchants and offices. Within two to three years, those tenants would move out of the incubator location to other storefronts.

"You don’t have to have a master’s in business to get a business started this way," LaColla said. "This isn’t going to hurt your business. And this would be different from mall shopping."

LaColla said the public would find Ybor City "a cool, creative community." The business incubator possibly could be housed in structures such as the former Platforms nightclub, 1625 E. Seventh Ave., the former home of Metropolitan Deluxe in Centro Ybor or the former Badcock Furniture, 1315 E. Seventh Ave.

LaColla said deals could be struck with property owners because "this would be better than an empty storefront."

Christina Flannery, who works at Revolve Clothing Exchange, 1620 E. Seventh Ave., said, "Absolutely this idea would help. Nothing’s worse than empty buildings. We just don’t have the foot traffic we need here."

Marcie Hoffman Porges, owner of Hoffman Porges Gallery, 1907 E. Seventh Ave., said she likes the idea of multiplying small businesses.

"Small space is very European," she said. "Owning your own business is a dream for lots of people."

Hoffman Porges said an open-air atmosphere and street access could be factors in making the small businesses a success.

Howden said it’s now a matter of spreading the word about the incubator business idea so the retail committee can discuss how to develop and manage the concept when it meets Jan. 9.

"We need to keep the momentum going," he said. "This seems tailor-made for our area."

Michael Dunn, owner of Stogie Castillo’s Cigar Lounge and Factory in Centro Ybor, said the committee is moving in the right direction.

"We need new businesses to begin to change things," he said. "Right now, there’s not the draw there should be."

Rose said the shaky economy means the timing is right for an incubator business.

"People are waiting for this - an opportunity to be self-employed," she said.

For information on the retail development committee, call Brenda Thrower at the development corporation at (813) 274-7917.

Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.

In 2007, Ybor saw some change, both positive and negative. But the St. Pete Times thinks that 5 out of the 10 most significant local change & development news came out of Ybor and its vicinity. We tend to agree but perhaps we would have stressed the significance that our neighbors’ efforts had in those changes. Here is the list:

9 I-4 fountain

Drivers wondered about the project near the Interstate 4 overpass in Ybor. What could it be? How
about a big ole’ water fountain - that cost $1.3-million. The state won’t build on it any time soon. But officials feared that if the
property were left vacant, it might draw trash or "would attract homeless," Kris Carson of the state Department of Transportation told City Times in July. That didn’t sit too well with readers, especially homeless advocates. But the fountain remains, in all its trickling glory.

8 Crematories

People complained of smoke and odor that they said came from crematories. Crematory owners, however, were within their legal rights. That’s when neighbors in East Ybor, Seminole Heights and Tampa Heights pushed to change those rights. After months of research and such, the Environmental Protection Commission created guidelines this month for crematories in Hillsborough.

6 Ikea

The Swedish furniture store known for its modern, affordable designs announced plans to open an Ikea in mid 2009 in Palmetto Beach. At 350,000 square feet, it will be Ikea’s largest in Florida - a big deal for an astounding mass of Ikea fans who
apparently enjoy buying mass-produced furniture that they often have to assemble themselves. Woo-hoo!

3 Ybor nightclubs

Seventh Avenue’s booty-shaking hip-hop spots drew the ire of those who said noise and
violence started on the dance floor. Police conducted crime studies and boosted their presence. Club Empire’s owner met with neighbors to calm fears. By year’s end, Empire was still standing, but questions circled Club Fuel, which recently closed its doors and renamed itself the Factory Nightclub. Meanwhile, locals insisted that Ybor is a HISTORIC district, not an entertainment district. The Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association even voted to correct anyone who addresses them using
the e-word.

2 Centro Ybor

After some confusion, the city agreed to allow a Chicago company to remake the sinking Centro Ybor. Offices, a hotel and residences may be in the complex’s future. Will it be enough to make this entertai … oops, HISTORIC district succeed?