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Forum moves beyond just teens

The first of three forums on BayWalk focuses on more than the Friday night fight.

By JAMIE THOMPSON
Published January 23, 2005

Related 10 News video:

Community weighs in on Baywalk troubles

ST. PETERSBURG - The Jan. 7 brawl at BayWalk drew about 80 residents to a quiet room Saturday morning to discuss whether the city has a dysfunctional relationship with its teenagers, and if so, what to do about it.

Over coffee and blueberry muffins, residents discussed the need for a possible entertainment complex specifically for teens, and also for a better understanding among adults that teens need to be welcome downtown, too.

"We need to remember in this discussion that we were, at some point, young people," said Theresa Jones, city resident and parent of a 14-year-old.

However, conversation quickly moved beyond teens, as residents discussed the need for better relations between the city's white, black and Hispanic residents, for more development in the largely black areas around Midtown, and how generally to make the city a better place for everyone.

"There are lots of concerns," said Carl Lavender, director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Suncoast, which co-sponsored the event. "We're trying to narrow them down to specific issues."

The two-hour forum was a moment of introspection for a city trying to put a recent fight at BayWalk into context.

The fight began with two 13-year-old girls, then escalated and spread through the courtyard of the retail and entertainment complex, where about 1,500 people between the ages of 11 and 25 had gathered. More than 60 police officers swarmed the area, arresting 14 people, seven of them juveniles.

Some black activists said Saturday they were concerned that everyone arrested during the brawl was black. They said it was evidence of what they describe as enduring discrimination against blacks at BayWalk.

"If we're here to talk about the truth, you can't ignore that," said 63-year-old Gaida Kambon, a member of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in St. Petersburg.

Black children don't always feel welcome at BayWalk, residents said. Leaders must pour more resources into the city's Midtown areas to give neighborhood children and adults more to do in their own communities, said resident Nnamdi Lumumba, 34.

"There is no place I can send my son that is safe in our neighborhood to have fun," Lumumba said.

There are plenty of malls and bowling alleys and movie theaters north of Central Avenue, residents said. But south of that street there are few venues, and many residents who live there can't afford an evening at the movies at BayWalk.

"I can't even afford a scarf at the shops," said community activist Theresa "Momma Tee" Lassiter.

Much of the discussion, however, focused on teens, and whether they needed their own gathering place downtown. Adults admitted they didn't know the answer.

"There has to be an ongoing dialogue with our children at the table," said City Council member Rene Flowers.

Only one child appeared at the forum on Saturday, 12-year-old Daniel Azneer, who came with his parents.

"We need a place where parents aren't, like, too intimidating," Azneer said. "There needs to be rules, but not, like, in your face."

A recreation center with a basketball court isn't good enough, Azneer said. "We want a place with, like, an arcade or different stuff to do."

Some adults were dismayed that more teens weren't at the forum.

But organizers said teens would have their say at a second forum this Saturday at St. Petersburg High School. Organizers also are planning a third forum, where teens and adults would discuss issues together. Some suggested holding it at BayWalk on a Friday night, when teens were sure to attend.

Some residents said BayWalk wasn't an appropriate venue for teens, and that parents shouldn't drop them off there.

But others, like Jones, told the crowd that her 14-year-old son should be allowed to visit BayWalk, as long as he doesn't cause problems.

"He doesn't always want to go with me," she told the crowd. "They want to come out from under their parents' wings."

Teens should have a safe place to congregate with their friends, Jones said.

The city has plenty of recreation centers, dances and activities for teens, said Robert J. Valenti, a city recreation supervisor. But often teens want to hang out at movie theaters and in places where adults congregate, he said.

And business owners at BayWalk can't take teens' money for movies or other goods, and then want them to disappear, he said.

"They can't have it both ways," Valenti said.

After discussing concerns, residents broke into smaller groups at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, and wrote down lists of problems and solutions. They will be turned over to city leaders by Feb. 1.

Whatever is decided, the atmosphere needs to change at BayWalk, residents said, or the city may suffer.

"The jewel of the city will become a place no one wants to go," said resident Ira Azneer.

Jamie Thompson can be reached at 727 893-8455. Send e-mail to jthompson@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 23, 2005, 00:53:03]