Ybor May Add Day To Curfew

TAMPA - Teens aren't allowed to party late in Ybor City on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

Might Wednesday become an early night, too?

Some activists in Ybor City have said they want the city to look into extending the curfew in the entertainment district to Wednesday nights.

'The community is asking, 'Why not Wednesdays?'' said Vince Pardo, manager of the Ybor City Development Corporation.

Tony LaColla, president of the Historic Ybor City Neighborhood and Civic Association, said some board members had been concerned about a Wednesday night teen night at a club on Seventh Avenue. The teen night occurred during spring break, and Ybor activists feared the partying would continue on Wednesday nights during the summer.

That hasn't happened, and, as Pardo said, 'We don't want to go backward and lose what we have.'

City officials have learned that they have to tread carefully when considering curfews.

In 1996, the city began enforcing a citywide curfew, which prohibited children younger than 17 from congregating after 11 p.m. on weekdays and after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

The curfew hit legal problems in 2002, when the courts ruled the citywide curfew was unconstitutional because it was too broad and carried criminal penalties. The state Supreme Court later upheld the lower court ruling.

Two years later, the city developed a narrower Child Protection Ordinance, tailored specifically to Ybor: Anyone younger than 18 is prohibited from hanging out in the entertainment district between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

In 2005, the city council considered extending the curfew to include Sunday nights, responding to a Sunday teen night at the Fuel nightclub that got out of control. City Attorney David Smith eventually told council members that Tampa Police Department data did not warrant extending the curfew.

Smith said last week that to extend the curfew, he has to have data showing a high incidence of crime in Ybor City on Wednesday nights - and that it was youth-oriented.

'If we don't have data, I won't support changing the ordinance,' Smith said.

Tampa police Capt. Marc Hamlin said some Ybor clubs have hosted teen nights on Wednesdays and Sundays, sometimes resulting in problems with teens roaming in groups, disturbing neighborhoods and fighting.

The curfew 'is a good tool because usually with a verbal warning, we can get the kids to leave,' Hamlin said. 'It's a nice tool to have in the toolbox. I wouldn't be opposed to it being extended, but we don't use it very often.'

Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said the department has issued hundreds of verbal warnings to teens since the curfew went into effect. Usually, a warning does the trick, and no written citation is necessary, she said.

Several city council members said they weren't sure whether they would support extending the curfew.

'You have to look at Wednesday night and see if it'd be effective or not,' said Councilman Tom Scott, whose district includes Ybor City. 'You can't extend a curfew without having the facts. We're not just going to have a Gestapo government here.'

But Fran Costantino, president of the East Ybor Historic and Civic Association, said she wouldn't mind a measure that could curtail partying in Ybor.

'Anything that's going to stabilize and calm Ybor into a more family-friendly atmosphere - they can enforce it seven days a week,' Costantino said.