Anti-Prostitution Activities in Seminole Heights - Part 3

This is a follow up to Anti-Prostitution Activities in Seminole Heights - Part 2 and Anti-Prostitution Activities in Seminole Heights - Part 1
For years Seminole Heights residents attempted to get rid of the prostitution activity. The following is a set of articles that appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on the subject. The Tampa Tribune did a more extensive and detailed job on the subject, but you can't read their articles without paying for them. These articles should give you a good flavor as to whats occurred.

This long winded series will end up talking about the various anti-prostitution activities including the Exercise Club, the June 2001 meeting, the Prostitution Task Force, the Neighborhood Watch Patrols, TPD reorganization and how all of this led up to the fact that Seminole Heights is no longer the place to go for prostitution.

20 charged with solicitation; St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: May 27, 1989. pg. 10.B
TAMPA - In the third crackdown in three weeks on prostitution in north Tampa, undercover police officers arrested 20 men early Friday and charged them with solicitation, police said. The arrests bring to 49 the number of people - including one woman and a 14-year-old boy - who have been charged in the anti-prostitution sweeps in the Sulphur Springs-Seminole Heights areas. The latest sweep occurred between 9 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday around Robson Street and Nebraska Avenue. Those arrested were charged with solicitation and a variety of other charges, including drug and driver license offenses, police said.

Residents fight crime their own way; DAVID BRACKMAN. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Jun 5, 1989. pg. 1
TAMPA - Rather than rely on an overburdened police department to rid Nebraska Avenue of prostitutes and illegal drugs, homeowners and renters in north Tampa have employed a few tricks of their own to take their streets back from the streetwalkers. "Miss Ridolfi is the spokeswoman for the Citizens of Evelyn City, a neighborhood watch group made up of people living east of Nebraska between Sligh Avenue and the Hillsborough River. Evelyn City comprises the northern portion of Tampa's Seminole Heights neighborhood. Thursday about 75 Evelyn City residents and business owners attended a Neighborhood Watch meeting. Miss Ridolfi said they logged about 30 specific complaints, most of them related to prostitution and drug dealing along Nebraska and its side streets."

100 picket to protest prostitution;SUE CARLTON. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Mar 4, 1990. pg. 1.1
Between Saturday-morning appointments at a Nebraska Avenue hair salon, hairstylist Tom DeForest had about 15 minutes to make his views known.
About 100 people, mostly residents of the Sulphur Springs and Seminole Heights neighborhoods, gathered along several blocks of Nebraska Avenue for several hours Saturday, carrying signs and yelling to motorists. Some brought dogs, some brought children, and some even dragged folding chairs curb-side for a more comfortable protest. Neighbors around Nebraska Avenue say they are tired of living with the notorious reputation Nebraska Avenue has gained as the place for prostitution in Tampa. While they doubt it can be eliminated, they say they do not want it in their back yard.

Residents in southeast Seminole Heights are working to close off 70 alleys. NADINE SMITH. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Dec 13, 1992. pg. 3
The Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association is circulating petitions to get the city to close off 70 alleys in the neighborhood. Residents complain that the alleys have become convenient hideouts for prostitution, illegal dumping and burglars. If successful, the alleys will be closed, and the property divided between adjacent property owners.

A publicity stunt, not policy EDITORIALS; St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Mar 3, 1997. pg. 10.A
Bob Buckhorn, a Tampa City Council member, wants to seize the cars of people arrested for soliciting prostitutes. The idea is reckless but politically appealing. No wonder the council has toadied along. Buckhorn said the law "allows us to go after the johns . . . and basically, for the first time, shame them." Good luck. Some criminals - and some politicians - aren't easily shamed.

Crime-fighting can go too far: EDITORIALS; St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Aug 22, 1997. pg. 16.A
Tampa needs to use caution to prevent a crackdown on petty crimes from becoming an extralegal roundup. Several well-meaning ideas could curb prostitution and drug sales, and protect businesses from costly nuisance crimes, such as trespass and graffiti. Residents of the urban neighborhoods north of downtown, Tampa Heights and Seminole Heights, are overdue for relief. The attack is two-pronged and modeled after the "broken windows" theory. Using city ordinances and police deployments, Tampa will try to stem petty crimes - the broken window - before whole neighborhoods fall prey to apathy, disrepair and violence. Police commanders will use a computer-mapping program to get a better idea of when and where certain crimes take place. The plan will give residents a larger stake in their own security and reinforce the city's commitment to community policing. That is good. It also will give police far more discretion to detain and search, to judge the limits of tolerable social behavior, to declare parts of Tampa off-limits to certain people and to act independent of central authority. That is troublesome.

A TV program some won't want to see; St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Feb 27, 1998. pg. 3.B Frustrated that tougher laws and more aggressive enforcement haven't stamped out prostitution in Tampa, City Council member Bob Buckhorn proposed a new crime-fighting tool: public shame.

Tampa officials unveil new plans to tackle prostitution; JEFFREY GETTLEMAN. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Mar 27, 1998. pg. 3.B
Go to Nebraska Avenue after dark and a certain business is flourishing - prostitution. It's been part of the neighborhood fabric for years. But on Thursday, fueled by complaints from people who live along the Nebraska corridor, the City Council decided it's time to stamp out streetwalking, or at least to try. Council members and police unveiled at a council meeting Thursday a wide-reaching plan that bolsters prevention efforts and raises penalties for those convicted of solicitation or prostitution.

Prostitution defies community vigils, police action; TAMARA LUSH. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Jan 7, 2002. pg. 3.B
The older neighborhoods around Nebraska and Hillsborough avenues are magnets for prostitutes. But younger and wealthier people are moving in to renovate tired, inexpensive homes. The result is a renewed effort to rid the area of prostitutes. "Nebraska has been a monster ever since Nebraska has been around," said Officer Rick Sementilli, who has worked undercover prostitution stings for three years. Seminole Heights resident Tracy Miller talks to someone who she said is a man dressed as a woman on Nebraska Avenue.; Shows the area along Nebraska Avenue where Tampa police say most of their prostitution arrests are made and includes the number; of prostitution cases for 2000.;

East Tampa crime sweep includes counselors; [LATE TAMPA Edition] TAMARA LUSH. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: May 13, 2003. pg. 6.B
About 50 officers will patrol east Tampa neighborhoods through May 24. Halfway through the initiative, city officials will meet with neighborhood groups to get feedback. [Bennie Holder] intends to permanently beef up police coverage in the area after the sweep. Dan Kane, executive director of Tampa Crossroads, which provides substance abuse counseling and therapy for people who have broken the law, said counselors might be able to break the cycle of addiction and jail. David Banghart, a member of both the Southeast Seminole Heights Neighborhood Watch group and a the Prostitution Task Force, is grateful for the effort. Police Chief Bennie Holder and Mayor [Pam Iorio] announce the two-week sweep in a news conference Monday afternoon.

Teamwork to improve homes; hip site for club; [LATE TAMPA Edition] ERNEST HOOPER. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Sep 30, 2003. pg. 3.B
In Southeast Seminole Heights, a group of neighbors are no longer dreaming. Their civic association's Home Improvement Team actually helps fellow residents get one-day projects done. Every month, about 20 residents draw the name of one team member. The winner provides the materials and the team provides the labor.
Southeast Seminole Heights also has draw attention for its crime prevention efforts. Late night and early morning patrols by neighbors have significantly reduced the level of prostitution and drug dealing in the area. Through Tampa's Greenprinting Initiative, a 10-year project of the Mayor's Beautification Program, the park would undergo a $500,000 makeover similar to the renovation of Hyde Park's Kate Jackson Park.

Moral Courage nominees named; [LATE TAMPA Edition] SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Dec 13, 2003. pg. 1.B
Among others, the list of nominees includes strip club owner and constitutional rights activist Joe Redner, and seven Old Seminole Heights neighbors who chased hookers from Nebraska Avenue

Walking the beat EDITORIALS; St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Jan 21, 2004. pg. 12.A
Steve Hogue]'s redeployment plan splits the city into three patrol districts, instead of two. Each district will have a full complement of policing forces, from anti-drug and street crime units to detectives who develop some expertise in their geographic area. In the past, responsibilities bounced around, often making it difficult for police to spot trends in specific areas. Hogue wants the districts to focus on their particular problems. Grant writers will help each district obtain state and federal money to address their individual needs.

A nightly street fight; SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Mar 14, 2004. pg. 1.B
[Helen Harmon] keeps an eye out for prostitutes along Nebraska Avenue.; [Sherry Genovar-Simons] looks through mug shots of suspected prostitutes to identify a woman working the street.; A suspected male prostitute walks along Nebraska Avenue.; Problems; with prostitution: Map shows the number of reports of prostitution processed by the Tampa Police Department since January 2003. There is a concentration of prostitution along Nebraska Avenue, in particular the stretch between Hillsborough and; [Sligh] avenues in Seminole Heights.

Prostitution blitz opens TAMPA UNCUFFED: INSIDE DOPE ON COPS & COURTS; SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER, CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Apr 1, 2004. pg. 4.B
Orange Motel owner Babubhai J. Patel, 72, and Swann Motel owner Bhailalbhai I. Patel, 66, were charged with renting their rooms out for prostitution, a second-degree misdemeanor. They have since been released from the county jail. Olga Ortiz, a 36-year-old Tampa woman staying at the Haven Motel, was arrested and charged with prostitution, renting a room for prostitution and driving without a valid license. She remains in jail, according to jail records.

Police arrest 11 men in prostitution sting; Edition] St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Apr 27, 2004. pg. 3.B
As promised, Tampa police are targeting the men who solicit prostitutes along Nebraska Avenue in Seminole Heights with as much fervor as they target the prostitutes....

Neighborhood not amused about WLLD's hooker gag; SHERRI DAY. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Apr 2, 2005. pg. 1.B
The men apparently were not looking for johns, something [Sherry Genovar-Simons] has witnessed on numerous occasions as she patrols with her flashlight attempting to scare away prostitutes. To understand Genovar-Simons' anger, consider that Seminole Heights is ground zero for gentrification in a central Tampa area once plagued by blight, drug dealing and rampant prostitution. Given the station's programming and history of controversial publicity stunts, some residents, including Genovar-Simons, are not sure they want the station's help.