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Ybor City Will Keep 'La Setima' Street Signs

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: January 16, 2009

TAMPA - Ybor City's Seventh Avenue will continue to be known as "La Setima."

On Thursday, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, composed of the seven-member city council, voted 4-2 against sending a request to Mayor Pam Iorio to remove the Spanish wording from street signs along Ybor's main thoroughfare.

"This is about removing the controversy," said agency board member and Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, who proposed removing the signs. "We should call it Seventh Avenue."

For years, old-time Ybor residents and community leaders have debated the Spanish wording on the signs installed a decade ago that refer in English to "7th Ave."

"La Setima" is a colloquialism from the early 20th century, when waves of immigrants from Spain, Cuba and Italy flocked to Ybor looking for work in cigar factories.

Some wanted to change the signs to "La Septima," which they say is the proper Spanish spelling. Others argued that the misspelling was intentional and wanted to leave the signs alone.

In November, the Ybor City Development Corp.'s board of directors voted 12-5, with one abstention, in favor of keeping the spelling. The board had been considering removing the Spanish wording from the signs, which would have cost the city $1,300 to $3,000.

Because the Community Redevelopment Agency board doesn't have the authority to alter the wording of street signs, it could only submit a request to the Iorio administration to make changes.

"Broadway is Broadway," said agency board member and Councilman Charlie Miranda, who grew up in Ybor. "How many names are we going to have for one street?"

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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