You know about the annual rite of Gasparilla.
Not the one where everyone gets drunk, knocks kids over for beads, inundates the streets of Hyde Park and relieves themselves in Bayshore residents’ yards. But the other one, where those residents have very real concerns about all of the above.
Bayshore residents have been complaining about Gasparilla for years, but it wasn’t until this year that these folks took to YouTube to graphically show the literal crap they have to deal with. With the videos online for everyone to see, event officials and city leaders had to address the problems of Gasparilla.
Of course, you have bad neighbors, too: the guy who has a disabled boat in his front yard; the guy who mows his grass twice a year whether it needs it or not; the one with the big hole in the front window; the single family home with 15 people living there (and their 8 cars).
That’s right – we call the cops for immediate assistance or dangerous conditions, we call county Child Protective Services for the kids’ sake, and they both refer us to Code Enforcement. But Tampa’s code enforcement historically gives offenders a lot of time to remedy the problems, sometimes lasting for months and months.
And for the next door neighbor who must look at the mess every day and deal with the unrest every night, months and months is a long time to consider the effect on property value, quality of life, and safety.
So – like the Bayshore Filmmakers – some are taking to the web to drum up support. Here in Tampa, a small group of neighbors have created a single blog to convince the city to get moving on a single property.
The house with these alleged problems is at 6003 Otis Avenue in Seminole Heights, and the name of the blog with complaints, photos, and code enforcement updates is entitled 6003 Otis Ave. Seeing the bloggers’ reports on a progression of events there and reading of the delays by government entities is certainly compelling.
We’ll see if the city acts as quickly in Seminole Heights as they did on Bayshore.
And then looking forward, will you be the next bad neighbor to show up on the internet?
Hat tip to the Official Unofficial Seminole Heights Blog and Tommy in Old Seminole Heights.
Anonymous
11 months ago
ABC Action News also ran a story on this and Code Enforcement conveniently arrived during the segment.
Anon
11 months ago
Jeesh, welcome to Florida, hasn’t Seminole Heights heard of a Cracker, they’re as native to the state as the live oaks and the longleaf pine.
Don’t tell me that OSH is becoming like Nuevo Tampa, populated by immigrants from the NE?
Sounds like 6003 Otis is providing some much needed rustic charm to the area, Seminole Heights is not Hyde Park folks.
The OtisBlog
11 months ago
Anon,
I was born and raised in Florida, 6003 is from S.Carolina.
We’re not looking for Hyde Park. If i wanted that i would live there. I just want to be able to go into my backyard, or even my own living room, without hearing the woman next store dropping F-bombs on her 2 and 4 year olds like it was normal vernacular. This neighbor was fine, kept to himself, even helped me around the house without asking. Then he moved her in, and it all went downhill.
HHHS Class of 71
11 months ago
I am not excusing the mess on Otis Ave but this brings up a point someone needs to make here and that is there are people people in OSH have way too much time on their hands and are only concerned with the superficial and their perception of beauty.
I have seen code enforcement here used by residents just to harass another out of spite by calling the city to report minor things, wasting code enforcers time and taxpayers dollars.
Do you think just because you go to porch parties and blog that you represent the majority of people who live here? No you are a vocal minority.
There are a lot of good people here who stay silent and go to work or school everyday and respect their neighbors rights.They have a life! A lot of the old timers have been pushed out by vocal new comers who act like they lived there for decades.
You also have to respect other folks rights including their property rights within the constitution. And as long as they don`t tread on yours its the price we pay for living in a free society.
Jeez People…Mind your own business.Get a life,take up a hobby,go on a vacation.Watch an episode of Hoarders.It will make you feel better about that unmowed lawn next door.And if it makes you feel better just yourself what would ole Steve Gluckman do? He would just let it grow!
Also having just read it lot of the new proposed City Of Tampa code rules are just plain unconstitutional.
Julie Canton
11 months ago
I feel badly for these folks. As a 5th generation Tampa native, I understand the term “Cracker” and this neighbor is not it. He, and his lady friend, sound like plain ole pigs who need to clean up their yard, house and, apparently, their language.
CHS Class of '73
11 months ago
I agree HHS Class of ‘71. Some newcomers in the hood have way to much time and want it to be like Hyde-Park, it ain’t and won’t be.
It is a working class neighborhood here in OSH. Betterment is good change but not at the expense of families that may not be making the high income of some who just arrived in Seminole Heights in the last 10 years.
- CHS Class of ‘73