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Letter to the editor

Today's Letters: 'Entertainment' label is a stigma

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published July 6, 2007

Editor's note: The next three writers weigh in on the debate of whether Ybor City should be considered an entertainment district or a historic district.

'Entertainment' label is a stigma

Because of the term "Entertainment District" and what the proliferation of unchecked wet zoning has brought, many citizens and businesses can't afford or are afraid to move to the area. Today Ybor City lacks a truly mixed use commercial and residential community due to the "entertainment" stigma that exists. Many buildings have been converted into large nightclubs that threaten the structures themselves and destroy historic storefronts and facades. Many structures are in a state of disrepair and, no thanks to urban renewal in the 1960s, vacant lots still continue to make up a very large part of Ybor City.

The next step in the redevelopment of Ybor City is to correct where our leaders went wrong and put an end to classifying the area as an "Entertainment District." The city of Tampa, business community and media must realize that Ybor City is first and foremost a National Landmark Historic District. One of only three in the state of Florida. The history and heritage of the area must be preserved and returned to what it used to be ... a mixed-use community.

Tony LaColla, president, Historic Ybor Neighborhood Civic Association

Let's get the history straight

The city of Tampa has been selling out to alcoholic interests for way too long for us to continue to believe this is a way to salvage what urban renewal destroyed in the '60s.

Ybor City is a HISTORIC District, and getting drunk in a bar isn't really the kind of "entertainment" we should want to encourage. Just look at the results!

This situation has been made more complicated through the generalization of the term "Latin, " which has come to mean exclusively "Hispanic, " although it was Italian immigrants who really overwhelmingly made Ybor City what is was during the height of the mechanized cigarmaking era. This fact seems to have been lost in government-sponsored representations of Ybor City "history." It has become homogenized into a place where Hispanics seem to claim as being where only their roots were. Most recently was a Puerto Rican festival claiming to have some sort of reason to celebrate Ybor City as "theirs, " although there is no history of a substantial Puerto Rican influence.

I'd like to see some accurate history, especially where my tax dollars are being spent, instead of constant references to an authentically Cuban culture. Although Cubans certainly played a role as capitalists, the majority of the working population was Italian-American, and it pains me to see this point lost forever.

Speak up for Ybor City! The bars have had their day, and they've shown us where their hearts are.

Angelo J. Anello, Land O'Lakes

Historic district: What it should be

Clearly in the best of all, a historic district is what it is and should be!

Anthony D'Avanza, Cafe Creole

City budget slash will close Bobby Hicks Pool for winter June 22 article

We prefer Hicks pool to Interbay

I read your article about the city's decision to close Bobby Hicks for the winter. Despite that it costs much less to heat the pool than anticipated, the powers-that-be have still decided that heating the tiny Interbay pool is a much better idea than keeping Bobby Hicks open.

Between the expensive art on Bayshore and the empty streetcars running through Ybor, I doubt whether the alleged $46, 000 in heating costs saved by the pool closing is going to go to good use. In fact, I bet this $46, 000 is way more than the real savings that are projected - as the previous cost estimate to heat Bobby Hicks overshot the mark by almost 50 percent - especially if the savings added by the pool cover that was canceled were taken into consideration.

Maybe the city government doesn't notice this but for anyone paying attention, people like Bobby Hicks Pool, they use it and are happy. Nobody likes Interbay. They don't use it and are miserable.

Harry Teichman, Virginia Park

Warmer pool still gets used less

I read with interest your article of today on Tampa closing Bobby Hicks Pool this upcoming winter. I swim there almost every weekday morning.

You note that it cost $46, 052 to heat Bobby Hicks Pool, less than the city expected. Your article does not mention the cost of heating Interbay Pool. The city heated Bobby Hicks to about 81 degrees to 83 degrees or so. They heated Interbay to 86 degrees. One would expect the incremental costs of going from 81 to 86 to be substantial.

In addition, I understand daily usage at Interbay to have been less than that at Bobby Hicks. On cold days, few, if any, swimmers used Interbay, while Bobby Hicks saw little drop in usage.

Nicholas Bogos, Tampa

Speak up

Share your views

Feel strongly about a City Times story or events in your neighborhood? Send a letter to the editor by e-mail to citytimes@sptimes.com by mail to Letters to the Editor c/o Sharon Tubbs, St. Petersburg Times, 1000 N Ashley Drive, Suite 700, Tampa, FL 33602; or by fax to Sharon Tubbs at 226-3381. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

[Last modified July 5, 2007, 08:10:14]