**Article in the Times on the issue
Today the illegal rooming house at 1303 E. New Orleans has been found guilty by the Code Board. 1303 New Orleans is run by a non-profit corporation, Clifford Hill Community Outreach and the property has been owned and or operated by various members of the corporation over the years.
Here is a partial time line of official actions:
9/28/88 Granted Variance V87-29 ACLF Max 8 residents
8/7/92 No sprinklers, screens nailed to windows frames (Fire Marshal)
8/7/95 Smoke Detectors not working – batteries missing or not connected. Front emergency lights were not working.
10/5/05. Reinspected. No defiencies
Around 4/19/97 Complaint of hole in roof. Nothing found at inspection however a resident indicated the roof was recently repaired.
8/2000 Fire in laundry room. Tobacco materials ignited soiled laundry. Two rooms suffered water and smoke damage. (Fire Marshal)
2./23/00 Failure to repair and/or replace walls, ceilings, doors, door frames, window glass, window screen wire and frames, vent screen wire, porch ceiling, steps, eaves, rafters, electrical fixtures, bathroom tile in buildings. Failure to repair unsound framing in shed. Failure to install heating facilities in bedroom, remove gas heaters, scrape and paint burglar bars and scrape and paint exterior of structure. Failed multiple hearings and inspections. On 2/2/01 found guilty by code board.500.00 a day fine 9/30/02 Case closed as fines exceeded just value. (Fines =$21,600)
Around 10/23/01 Overcrowded conditions No violation observed
Around 1/28/02 Inoperative Vehicles – Church Bus blocking street No violation observed
7/12/02 In 2002 Clifford Hill Boarding House (AHCA license number 7286) had fines from the AHCA from several years of deficiencies totaling $30,750. (Case numbers 2000-05568, 2001-05487, 2001-055540, 2001-05541, 2001-06530). On 7/12/2002 the Agency for Health Care Administration denied their ALF license renewal. At this point, Clifford Hill should have shut the facility down and reverted back to a single family dwelling. However instead they began operation as a rooming house.
12/19/02 Commercial Vehicle – White Bus, overgrowth and accumulations 2/5/03 Failed inspection 3/10/03 No violation observed.
11/24/03 Accumulations of Junk and Debris 11/24/03 Failed 12/10/03 New Owner
6/21/04 Failure to Remove accumulations of junk, trash and debris from the property and abutting right of way, which is causing a public nuisance. Failure to make repairs to structure, including repairs of walls, door frames, eaves, floor coverings, electrical fixtures in rear of building. Also failure to repair or remove unsound shed Failed multiple inspections and hearings. On 11/18/04 Found Guilty by Code board with fines of $30.00 per day starting from 9/15/04. Sent to foreclosure. 6/26/05 Complied.
2/26/04 Rooming house prohibited in RS-50 8/18/04 Found guilty by Code Board with fines of $60.00 per day starting from 9/23/04. 1/21/05 sent to legal for foreclosure Case closed after Harold Scott and Bill Doherty mistakenly concluded the zoning violation was not correct.
Before 4/25/05 Inspected by DBPR and Tampa Fire Rescue and were found to have multiple violations. They were given 30 days to correct the violations.
3/13/06 "Overcrowded conditions, pressure wash and paint entire exterior of house and retaining wall and shed. Shed must be vacated and repairs finished. Remove all accumulations of trash and debris on property. All vehicles must be currently tagged and operable or removed. Pressure wash and paint fence in rear. Property is not zoned to be an assisted living facility and is only designated for single family use." Current case. On 8/23/06 found guilty and facing fines of $100.00 per day. Has 30 days to comply. Needs to change to single family usage.
They told code court only two people live there. Today FDLE lists 16 offenders living there. This does not include residents who are not offenders of which there is at least 1. Check FDLE to see how many are listed yourself.
Note: Had facilities at 1307, 1309, 1304 New Orleans and on Cayuga St. 1304 and Cayuga were shut down by code. No licensure of any type on those.
Prior:
http://seminoleheights.blogspot.com/2005/04/illegal-boarding-houses.html
and
http://seminoleheights.blogspot.com/2005/07/update-on-illegal-boarding-house.html
and
http://seminoleheights.blogspot.com/2006/05/1303-e-new-orleans-ave-again.html
To those of you who live next to this property,,,,,,,,1303 New Orleans, I urge you to be the eyes and ears of the neighborhood. If you see evidence that more than two people live in this house please put what you know in a comment to this blog. This woman, in the face of TPD and FDLE information to the contrary, says only two people live there. The code video used in court clearly shows over a dozen bunk bed units dismantled and leaning on the walls of each room. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that they can, and will be put back as needed, when the heat is off! It has been going on for years and has been illegal since 2002, so it is doubtful it will go away easily. So please, if you see people moving in,,,,,,say something!
ReplyDeleteI live near this place and happened to catch the news on this for the past two nights. Here is my observation. It is very obvious that this house is illegal and there are many men living in this house. I fell off my chair when I saw the so called leader of code enforcement say on camera that they had no idea how many people live in the house. As a citizen, I have always checked the fdle website to monitor who is there. Then the very next night the officer from TPD verified and confirmed how many offenders lived there. I feel that Code Enforcment and there inability to to their own job has put our neighborhood and our children at risk. It may be acceptable if this was the first time, but it is every week that they do something this outrageous. For the comment that Mr. Scott made, he should be let go from the city. How could he go on camera and say that they have no idea! Once again, our neighborhood leaders have shown that they are more intellegent than city leaders. I think the next step should be to march to city hall by the hundreds and protest the Mayors office until these Code Leaders are replaced with leaders that can do the job. Why does Mayor Iorio continually tolerate their consistent lack of under performance?
ReplyDeleteA can of gasoline and a match would solve this problem. One big freak roast.
ReplyDeleteCode Enforcement not knowing about this property????? WHAT???? We have been complaining about this for litterally YEARS AND YEARS. Only now does it get some attention after we contacted Channel 8' program "8 on Your Side" and got some media attention. When is the City going to learn not to play around with Southeast Seminole Heights. We do NOT EVER FORGET. We only escalate until we get the results we want and deserve. I am so frustrated with the Code Dept in this City that it is the SOLE reason that I will not vote to retain our current Mayor in office. FIRE CURTIS LANE AND THE WHOLE LOT OF INCOMPETENTS THAT RUN THAT OFFICE.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, it appears that we may have another one of these illegal boarding houses sprouting up at the corner of 12th and Chelsea Streets. There have been at least 2 men living in the garage of this house for quite some time now. Our neighbors are keeping a vigilant eye on the place.
ReplyDeleteWho is this Sherry lady? She sure does look yummy! Does anyone have her phone number?
ReplyDeletePlease, she would eat you for lunch. Nobody messes with Sheriff Sherry!
ReplyDeleteI have read the post about the ineffectiveness of the code leaders on this site for many months if not years. I remember at one point a member of this neighborhood went head-to-head with Mr Lane on TV regarding the city lot. It appears that these leaders are not qualified to do the job that US TAXPAYERS are paying them to do. In the real world, they would have already been terminated! Is it possible for the entire neighborhood/city to host/hold a rally to have these leaders suspended from their employment? If we have spoken to the Mayor, written letters, gone on TV, etc. Then it appears it may need to go up a notch. With this particular case, it bothers me because their ineffective leadership has placed everyone of our kids at risk by their lying and the continual closing of this case. Are they receiving some sort of kick back from the property owner so that they will keep this case closed. I find it very suspicious that in a day and age where child molesters are in the news almost daily, the city would allow these code leaders to create such a liablity for Tampa.
ReplyDeleteShut them down!
ReplyDeleteShut them down!
I want someone held accountable for this debacle.
Fry the bast@rds.
How could this get closed out last year?
I saw Mr. Scott on TV last night and he said he has no proof?
Is he crazy?
I am watching this like a hawk.
I will be down at city hall to protest should this get tossed out.
They can hear me now or hear me at the polls next year.
Mrs Iorio, step up and shut this DOWN!!
You are putting innocent children at risk.
We are tired of being walked on.
It is an extreme danger to our families.
Where are these predators??
Deputy Sherry will kick your a$$ son.
ReplyDeleteDon't you know who her family is?
Better go back a few years and recognize.
anon 5:45 count me in!!! I have hadd it with these losers in the code department. How can anyone be so dumb! They have put us all at risk. You pick the date and I wil be there with my entire family to march. I think we should demand that these leaders step down immediately! Their stupidity, lazy work ethics and poor judgement have put 100s of children at risk. If Iorio won't listen to us, maybe she will listen to Channel 8, 10, 28 and 14! Also, remember her lack of response when she ask for your assistance to re-elect her next year. IF THESE CODE MANAGERS ARE NOT FIRED IMMEDIATELY, WE SHOULD START AN ANTI IORIO CAMPAIGN IMMEDIATELY! WITH NEGATIVE PRESS, IT MAY GIVE AN OPPONENT REASON TO JUMP IN THE RING AND CAMPAIGN AGAINST HER. At this point no one has announced that they will run. I feel they think she will run and be re-elected. She has lost the votes in this house for good! She is a do nothing leader that is as bad as her code leaders!
ReplyDeleteCan this same petition be used to petition the removal of Curtis Lane, Bill Dorty and Harold Scott. If I was more familar with the code department, I am sure there are more names I could drop. Their inspectors, minus Kristen, all need to reapply for their jobs and let past performance be a gauge of re-employment!
ReplyDeleteamara.....you are correct about a collective voice, however, I just wanted to make one comment. SOME of your neighbors, from both SESH where this house is located, and OSHA, a neighboring community are activist and do far more than expressing opinions here. They consistently give hours of time to not only inform themselves about cases like this, but also to take action. Going to code court, as many of them did when this went to the hearing is only a visible sign of the work that goes on every day. I encourage anyone who is interested to join them in their efforts in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteWow......was watching the news last night and Up Pops SE Seminole Heights with this story. I could not believe the filth these sex offenders were living in. For the Code officer to walk through the house and not shut it down immediately for the condition it was in is beyond me. Nobody should have to live like that, sex offender or not! This code office has let everyone down, the offender, the residents and our children! If they are not disciplined for not doing their jobs, there should be a march on city hall like the previous poster stated! Count us in too.
ReplyDeleteWe finally have an example that the entire neighborhood can sympathize with. Now we can all join together to put some serious pressure on our "leader" to do some work for the paychecks they receive. Pam Iorio has ignored the problems with the Code Dept for years despite our personal meetings with her informing her directly of their total incompetence. After all of my years of dealing with this Dept., the ONLY person that has been qualified to earn a paycheck has been Kristin McCrae. I hope that this issue stays in the media spotlight for a long time until it turns into a public scandal for the Mayor's office. It is unfortunate that this is the only way to get things done.
ReplyDeleteI think it takes a supervisor to shut things down.
ReplyDeleteThe inspector couldn't have done it even if he wanted to.