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Politics

Mayor's moves aim to end party in Ybor City

Club owners call city officials "callous" for not caring that the district's nightlife is their living.

By JANET ZINK
Published November 15, 2006

TAMPA - Ever since Mayor Pam Iorio began crackdowns in Ybor City, bar owners have been complaining that she's trying to run them out of the district.

To some extent, they're right.

Speaking at an Ybor City Chamber of Commerce luncheon Tuesday, Iorio delivered this message to bar owners who encourage excessive drinking: "We don't want you here."

Her stern statement generated some applause from the crowd of about 100, but Iorio noted it probably wasn't coming from the bar owners.

"You can't make everyone happy," she said.

But she intends to fight for what she believes in, she said, and her goal is to make sure Ybor thrives as Tampa's "historic jewel."

To that end, Iorio has approved a teen curfew in Ybor; ordered sweeps on businesses that violate rules regarding signs and crowd control; tightened the noise ordinance and opened Seventh Avenue to vehicles on weekend nights to curb the street party atmosphere.

The city also launched an advertising campaign to promote Ybor's cultural and dining options.

Next up: An ordinance to limit drink specials. City officials are waiting for an opinion from state regulators on whether cities can pass such an ordinance.

The changes appear to be working.

Iorio touted the opening of new restaurants and businesses in Ybor and a 40 percent drop in the crime rate.

Meanwhile, only about eight clubs remain in Ybor, and there used to be dozens, said John Santoro, owner of the Ybor City nightclub Amphitheatre.

The club, in operation for eight years, helps Santoro pay his mortgage and support his wife and 15-month-old son.

"It's so funny how callous they are with our livelihoods. With our families. Our children," he said. "What if they said that about businesses that made Q-tips or baby food?"

Santoro has been an outspoken advocate for the night clubs, which he said invested in Ybor when it was an urban wasteland. But it's a losing battle, he said.

"I'm at the point right now where I'm done trying to convince everyone there's no weapons of mass destruction," he said. "Let them do what they want."

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.

[Last modified November 15, 2006, 05:50:15]