Latest news with #DowntownNeighborhoodAssociation
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
St. Petersburg explores program to make downtown cleaner, safer
The St. Petersburg City Council discussed ways to make downtown cleaner and safer Thursday after residents, business owners and employees pleaded last week for help following the fatal stabbing by a restaurant owner of a man who police said attacked him. City and downtown officials pitched a program to clean sidewalks and remove graffiti, pay safety ambassadors to collaborate with local police and build relationships with people living on the street to better connect them with mental health and housing resources. 'I know there's a speculation that somehow this is an anti-homeless initiative, but it absolutely is not,' said Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, a private nonprofit company that supports urban redevelopment projects. 'Your housing status doesn't make it that you want a less clean or more clean downtown.' The so-called Clean & Safe Program is not intended to discourage homeless people from being downtown, but instead help them find resources and housing options, Mathis said. Mathis proposed a pilot project focused on high traffic areas such as downtown, Beach Drive, Central Avenue and Williams Park. It would include creating a commercial improvement district, in which businesses would pay a franchise fee to the city that would be passed along to a nonprofit to run the program. Mathis said the downtown partnership would not compete for the job. If businesses aren't on board with how to pay for the effort, Mathis said the program could also be funded through parking revenue, private donations or using Community Redevelopment Area funds if the county agrees. City Administrator Rob Gerdes said parking meters could be expanded to the Edge District. Multiple residents, business owners and employees described problems with cleanliness and safety in the downtown area at last week's council meeting. Some residents said they were harassed or threatened while working or walking around downtown. 'We see it everyday — individuals living on the streets or in temporary hotel housing exhibiting behaviors that represent deep, unmet needs," Karen Carmichael, the Downtown Neighborhood Association's president, said at the June 5 meeting. 'This is no longer a housing issue, it's a public safety issue.' The address of the man who was stabbed and killed last month is listed as a room in the Williams Park Hotel on First Avenue North, according to a police report from a separate incident on the same day. In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a ban on homeless people sleeping in public spaces. This includes park benches, sidewalks and streets. The law also lets business owners and residents sue counties or municipalities for failing to comply. Residents at the June 5 meeting expressed concern with the city's enforcement the new law, as well as concerns with the city's compliance. Residents also circulated a petition, now with more than 400 signatures, in support of the Clean & Safe proposal. Other residents at Thursday's general City Council meeting at 1 p.m. expressed concerns that the Clean & Safe program would exclude or criminalize people who are homeless from the St. Petersburg community. At a Thursday morning committee meeting, council member Brandi Gabbard said the proposed program should primarily focus on connecting homeless populations with available resources. 'The cry for us to do more is really to help individuals who need help and cannot get those services,' Gabbard said. 'If we're not actually helping individuals and creating this in a way that it has [an] outspread to the entire city and a benefit, then I don't even want to continue this conversion.' Council members also discussed how the program would work with the existing CALL program, where social workers respond to mental health crises or homelessness complaints. The St. Petersburg Police Department also has a unit to assist the homeless in its patrol response division. Council member Richie Floyd said there's still 'a lot to shore up' with the Clean & Safe proposal. 'So many times I see what the issue with homeless people and transient populations are is that they just get shuffled around the city,' he said. 'We can't make this an effort to do that regardless of who's in charge of the outreach and we have to think at a higher level.' The council agreed Thursday to hold another meeting to further discuss the topic.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Memphis postpones Mud Island Amphitheater over safety issues
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — One group is working to resuscitate the Mud Island Amphitheater by staging a Comeback Concert Series in April. Jerred Price heads Save the Amphitheater and is the president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association. 'I think that it's 1 of the greatest assets that we have in this city, and it's been neglected long enough,' said Price. Woman accused of fatally shooting pastor due in court This week, the City of Memphis said the shows wouldn't go on right now, citing multiple safety hazards and liability issues. 'I think that there's some minor repairs that need to be done,' said Price. 'And that was listed in the ADA consultant's report that I was there walking with her, and even our engineers said, There's some trip hazards and some minor things that need to be done.' The city hired an outside architectural firm to produce a report on the amphitheater. Some of the concerns are 'obstructions to critical life safety elements, noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and notable structural displacement.' Man accused of throwing newborn in dumpster pleads not guilty 'Look, we have to put the safety of our citizens and our visitors first, so we're going to make sure that when and if we reactivate Mud Island, it's a safe place for people to go,' said Mempis City Councilwoman Jerri Green. Amphitheater supporters believe that after repairs are made, the pop-up concerts will eventually happen. Price said the repairs could not be done by April, and that's what the decision from Wednesday was, but the answer was the event could still happen sometime in the future. Woman arrested for stabbing roommate in the head 'But we are at an inflection point where we can re imagine and we can do things new and different just like we did with Tom Lee (Park) and make it better, so we definitely need to upgrade and invest,' said Green. 'Our downtown is hurting right now for businesses. We're missing the tourism. We're missing concerts, people,' said Green. 'We're missing patrons downtown. And an event like this would really benefit our downtown economy and our overall city.' The Mud Island Amphitheater opened in 1982 as part of the larger Mud Island River amphitheater hasn't hosted a major concert there since 2018. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
City leaders cautious about possible return of Mud Island concerts
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Flyers have been circulating on social media about concerts coming back to the Mud Island Amphitheater in April, but according to many city leaders, they are not sure if it will actually happen. The mayor of Memphis has not officially given the green light to bring concerts back to Mud Island. 'This event, as of right now, has not been approved by the mayor, we do have some concerns regarding the structural integrity of the Amphitheater, itself,' said Julius Muse, Deputy Chief of Operations of the City of Memphis. For two years, there have been several discussions and studies about how to bring Mud Island back to life. Mud Island stage could be grooving again in April with popup concerts Last month, Jerred Price with the Downtown Neighborhood Association announced a three-day pop-up concert in the spring. 'We are missing that element of that size show and that size venue downtown. We are losing those tax dollars, those tourism,' said Price. And while many agree, during Tuesday morning's city council meeting, city leaders say it's going to take a lot of work before they can safely host an event at the Amphitheater. 'You have to provide accessible parking around to the event. And if you have it inside the amphitheater, you have to have accessibility vertically and horizontally, and you have to have accessibility to the restrooms,' said City of Memphis Chief Operations Manager Antonio Adams. 'I'm not comfortable at this point having the discussion of planning something at this event and knowing that we're not ADA compliant in the location that they want to have it in,' said City Councilwoman Rhonda Logan. We walked around the entire facility of the Mud Island Amphitheater. These are the current conditions: Graffiti at checkpoints, broken elevators, rotted railings, and damaged bathrooms – just to name a few. 📡 for Memphis and the Mid-South. 📧 and have the latest top stories sent right to your inbox. 'We had thousands of people out there in 2018. Nothing about the venue has changed. So if we could have concerts, then surely we can have concerts now,' Price said. City leaders say the three-day pop-up concert idea is great, but a few details about the event may have to change. 'The concept is great, the location, right now we don't know about it,' said Adams. City leaders will continue the discussion in the next meeting about short-term plans with Memphis River Parks Partnership before the mid-April event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
