Mayor Rob Marlowe on the need to clean up US 19
I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to spend the day participating in the joint New Port Richey Police Department / Pasco County Sheriff’s Office crackdown on prostitution along US 19. To describe the day as “educational” would be an understatement.
Like most people driving along US 19, I’m generally more concerned with watching out for other drivers than noticing what people are doing on the sidewalks. Riding along with a police officer gives you a whole different perspective.
US 19 is a mess on multiple levels. An absolutely clueless Florida Department of Transportation has kept our section of US 19 a continual construction mess for two years now with another year of cones and barrels yet to come. The amazing thing to me is that the folks at FDOT see absolutely nothing wrong with this. When I pointed out that the half finished median openings that are blocked off with cones and barrels are a life-safety issue for first responders, one of the FDOT officials actually responded, saying that it was perfectly alright for the first responders to stop, get out of their vehicle, move the barrels, make their U-turn, stop, get back out of their vehicle to replace the barrels, then continue on to whatever emergency they were being called to.
I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.
Drug addiction appears to be a driving force in why women are working the street. Look a little closer and you are likely to find the pimps / drug dealers that are profiting from prostitution in our area. Any solution for the prostitution problem has to include eliminating the pimps / drug dealers.
The prostitutes aren’t just working US 19 either. One of the women was picked up on Astor. I received an email from a resident complaining about a prostitute being picked up by a john on Astor a few days later.
We also need to address the demand side. Don’t be surprised to the johns rounded up in a future sting.
We have businesses along US 19 that are catering to the prostitution and drug trades. They need to be shut down. We have a nuisance ordinance that is starting to have an effect, but much more needs to be done.
We also have a new prostitution ordinance that will allow the police to cite prostitutes without having to get them to offer sex for money. If we make it difficult enough for them to conduct business in New Port Richey, the prostitutes and their pimps will move along.
Another resident chatted with Mrs. Manns, our city manager, and me at the Cotee River cleanup. The cleanup he wants is for the drug house across the street from his house to be shut down. That is going to happen and the city is going to put the property owner on notice that he has a responsibility to vet his tenants.
The same goes for the motels on 19 that are renting rooms to prostitutes and drug dealers. We will hold the property owners responsible and will hit them in the wallet if they persist in renting to criminals.
Other crime in the city can be tied to drug abuse as well.
What can local residents do? I would like you to call the police department each and every time you see something that is “off”. If you see women working US 19, call. If you see unusual activity at a house in your neighborhood, call. If you see people in Sims Park after hours, call. If you see them drinking, having sex, or taking drugs in the park at any time, call.
The non-emergency number for the police department is: (727) 841-4550. Put it in the address book on your cell phone.
The key is to call. The police will respond and each of us can help by letting them know where the problems are.
Cleaning up US 19 will also entail some “urban renewal”. The county and the city are working together on the “Harbors” plan to redevelop the west side of Pasco County. Once FDOT finally finishes their construction project, I can see us working with the county to attract new retail businesses into the US 19 corridor. Some of this may require demolition of old buildings and construction of new ones. I can think of quite a few trashy buildings along US 19 that nobody would miss if they were demolished and something better put in their place.
Some of the parcels potentially in play are huge. Reports came out a week or so ago that the Sears at the Gulfview Mall and it’s sister business, the K-Mart on US 19 just south of Main Street, will be closing by year end. The old Food Fair building has been empty since the Suncoast News / Tampa Tribune moved out a while back. There are some definite opportunities out there for someone who needs the sort of visual exposure you get by locating your business on US 19.
We need to clean up US 19 and 6 extend that cleanup into our neighborhoods as well.
So to the lady who contacted me about the prostitute on Astor and the fellow that complained to us about the drug house across the street, I say “Thank You”. If each of us does our part to take back our city, then the other things will fall in place.
I promise to be a little more upbeat next week. The article I’m working on for next Sunday has a title of “Partly Cloudy, With A Chance of Jobs”.
Until then,
Rob Marlowe, Mayor
Very informative article. Thanks for sharing the information.
Hey Rob,
According to Sears, the store at Gulfview Square is not closing–yet. I still have reports that the store may close, just not in December.
I’m glad that you’re on board with pushing for pimps and johns to get hit too, not just the prostitutes who are sometimes a slave to drugs and violence. That’s not always a good excuse, but it does happen.
Can you answer a question for me? What do you mean by a “responsibility to vet tenants”? Is there an ordinance that actually requires this? I think you may be aware of a situation we’ve had in East Grand where a drug dealer has been arrested **four times**. The landlord still, STILL refuses to evict. How can we hold these people responsible on the FIRST occasion, not the sixth?
Don’t forget, I offered to help monitor this with cooperation from the City. I can work with landlords–charge a nominal fee–and require (and provide) background/credit checks for tenants. Kind of a “preferred tenant” list, that people looking for housing can sign up for.
Lastly, I call. My neighbors call. They respond, that’s great–but if you want greater responsibility to upon the residents to be aware of what’s going on, then I think it’s on the city to communicate better with its residents. How do they know what to look for? When was the last time a police officer knocked on a door when they weren’t responding to a call? 1950? Where is the community outreach?
How would I ever hear from the City if I didn’t show up at meetings? And what if I can’t show up? I went online last night to see if I could watch last week’s meeting in a webcast. Not available.
Lines of communication that the City has promised simply don’t work. The newsletters aren’t going out. And city employees seem, at least in part, content to keep it that way.
One of the areas most affected with prostitutes was Main Street behind the Hess Station and around my old office at 5140 Main (Gone Again Travel). My customers were even propositioned. They were very bold. There seems to be an area of old trailers and run down properties they live in. right down the street…………..Great job Rob, we complained many times about the situation and little was done. So now go get ’em.
I agree with Jon Teitz’s remarks above about the culpability of johns and pimps over the women. I can’t imagine any woman waking up in the morning and deciding to be a prostitute for whatever reason. She is pushed into that situation due to lack of family and community support, drugged and abused by pimps, and vilified by a society that points the finger at her and not those who take advantage of the situation.
I say that the police need to follow the john’s car once connection on the street is made, arrest him for soliciting, put his photo online and impound their car. See how long his behavior lasts after that.
Marilynn deChant
AMEN Marilyn
Kudos to everyone that has tried to make our area a safer and nicer place to live.
I agree with Marilyn, follow the John’s and publish their names, without demand there would be no need for supply. Is that not how successful business is run.
P.S. And why isn’t prostitution legal, I am able to buy many things to satisfy my lifestyle and needs but alas when it comes to buying sex that is a crime.. Come on folks wake up, it is a form of control and censorship.