Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Hey, Ybor City: Time to ease off that party

The drinking, noise and crowds of teens have caught the attention of Tampa officials - and not in a good way.

By JANET ZINK
Published February 25, 2005

TAMPA - It's time for Ybor City to clean up its act.

That's the message city officials sent to businesses that push the district's image as party central.

Stop the $1 drinks and women-drink-free specials, said Mayor Pam Iorio.

Enforce the noise ordinance, said City Council member Rose Ferlita.

Expand the teen curfew, said council Chairwoman Gwen Miller.

Iorio even wants to start pressure-washing Seventh Avenue every weekend night.

The moves come after a crowd of 2,000 teens left a Club Fuel party and flooded Ybor streets Sunday night, and after a woman fell to her death from the balcony of Club Lotus in early February.

"I was very upset by the death of that woman," Iorio said Thursday.

What really bothered her were reports that the party atmosphere continued even after the woman fell, she said.

"For me, that brought home what's wrong with Ybor City today," she said. "Ybor needs to turn around. It's too much of a jewel not to." Iorio said Thursday she wants to join Gainesville officials in an effort to change state law so city and county governments can prohibit promotions that encourage excessive drinking. If the state law changes, Iorio would push for an ordinance that would limit those promotions for the entire city.

"They're irresponsible drink specials when they are encouraging young people to come in and drink until they're drunk," said Iorio.

Florida doesn't have any laws that prohibit drink specials, said Meg Shannon, a spokeswoman for the state's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.

But as of January 2003, 27 states did, according to a study by the Center for Law and Enforcement Policy in Maryland. Those laws range from a ban on serving another cocktail until the previous has been consumed to prohibiting the sale of drinks at reduced prices, such as the classic $1 well drinks.

"These are good laws and have a lot of potential if properly enforced to protect the health and safety of the public by reducing overconsumption of alcohol," said study author Rebecca L. Reynolds-Ramirez.

Texas has one of the strongest statutes.

"In Texas it's illegal to sell a pitcher to an individual," she said.

Iorio said she also wants to crack down on businesses that violate the terms of their liquor licenses. She said the city may pull the licenses of those that don't follow the "letter of the law."

She literally wants to clean up the streets.

As soon as possible, Iorio said she will direct property tax money generated in the area to pressure-washing Seventh Avenue every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.

"We've got to get back to basics," she said. "If we're going to have an entertainment district it needs to be clean."

Tourists who spend Saturday afternoon in Ybor don't want to deal with remnants of the night before, she said.

Green Iguana general manager Alan Fosco said prohibiting drink specials would hurt his business. His restaurant and night club offers $1 beers and well drinks on Wednesday nights, which helps bring people in the door and introduce them to the club.

"We don't do drink specials the rest of the week. We do it one night a week and that's it," he said.

Even on those nights, only about 10 percent of the drinks sold qualify for the special price.

"It's not focused on people getting totally sloshed," he said.

Cheryll Hunter, who lives at nearby Camden Ybor City apartments, said she sees a need for keeping teens out of clubs but not for restricted alcohol sales to adults.

"As far as drinking goes, that's why everybody comes down here," she said, walking along Seventh Avenue on Thursday night. "It's entertainment."

Tattoo artist Mike Zito, who works on Seventh Avenue, said he welcomes a crackdown.

"People are coming down here and getting drunk for $10, not spending money on anything else," he said.

City Council members expressed support for the mayor's initiative at their regular meeting Thursday.

Ybor is out of hand, most agreed.

"What we're seeing are symptoms of an imbalance brought on by too much alcohol," said council member Linda Saul-Sena. "The privilege of having an alcohol license requires responsible behavior. A few of the property owners are not behaving responsibly."

At Thursday's meeting, Saul-Sena suggested taking a cue from New Orleans and not allowing bars to serve alcohol on balconies.

Ferlita pointed out that Ybor's noise ordinance hasn't resulted in any citations. She asked staff members to look into the possibility of making bar owners put devices on their sound systems that would lower music when it reaches a certain decibel level.

Miller proposed extending Ybor's teen curfew to seven days a week.

City attorney David Smith said a weeklong curfew probably wouldn't stand up to legal challenges, but it might be allowable on holiday nights if crime statistics support such a move.

Council member Kevin White asked for a report on what it cost the city to send 30 police officers and a helicopter to handle overcrowding at Sunday night's teen party in Ybor.

"This council needs to send a loud and clear message not only to Club Fuel but any club that has a willful and wanton disregard for the process," White said.

But he expressed reservations about coming down too hard on the entertainment district.

"It's an attempt to reshape the face of Ybor City," White said.

"But you're also driving out the actual establishments that helped create Ybor City and made it a vibrant, bustling economic engine."

[Last modified February 25, 2005, 01:05:55]