Clean Up Kennedy

Many members of Clean Up Kennedy came to support the City Council in their efforts to address illicit activity and human trafficking on Kennedy Blvd and across Tampa. Even though the agenda item was second to last in the 2 and a half hour meeting, the Council members responded to the report given by the city attorney with enthusiasm. This positive energy and the thoughtful questions and comments show that they are seriously committed to moving forward with a strategy to end the illicit massage parlor blight on Kennedy Blvd, and throughout the city. What was scheduled to be a 5 minute report turned into a lively 20+ minute discussion. The City Council has called for a Workshop on September 28th at 9am to hear from experts and the public, to form a plan to combat illicit businesses and human trafficking in the city. Here is the full video of Agenda Item 51 Here is the video of Joe Manson , founder of Clean Up Kennedy, addressing the City Council during the publi...

Clean Up Kennedy is proud to announce that after months of pressure from our street demonstrations and the coverage from the local news and calls from city officials, the property owner has asked the tenants to leave, and they have agreed. Seven Star Spa has closed. With its 20+ foot red and yellow sign Seven Star Spa has been one of the most visible illicit massage businesses for over a decade. We hope that other property owners will follow suit. If they suspect that illegal activity is occurring on their property they will quickly take action to see that it is put to a stop. These illegal and exploitative businesses that have been a fixture on Kennedy Blvd and across Tampa for decades are not invincible. All it takes is for a few citizens of Tampa to stand up and say " No More! " We have said this before and we will say it again: WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY

We had another great week out on Kennedy, thanks so much to the good citizens of Tampa who came out and demonstrated with us on Friday! We had several news outlets do stories on us this week their links are below. Click here for the Fox 13 article and video Click here for the ABC article and video  At the July 27th CIty Council meeting the Tampa City Legal Department to appear and provide a report with suggestion on how to best regulate massage parlors in terms of curbing prostitution and possible human trafficking. (Original motion initiated by Suarez - Maniscalco on May 11, 2017) Come join other concerned citizens at the Tampa City Council Meeting, and make it known this is an issue we care deeply about and want to see action taken to end this evil on our streets. Click here for the link to our Facebook Event

The Tampa City Legal Department is to appear and provide a report with suggestions on how to best regulate massage parlors in terms of curbing prostitution and possible human trafficking. (Original motion initiated by Suarez - Maniscalco on May 11, 2017) Come join other concerned citizens at the Tampa City Council Meeting, and make it known this is an issue we care deeply about and want to see action taken immediately to end this evil on our streets. The exact time that the report will be presented will not be published until the Monday before the meeting, but all daytime City Council meetings begin at 9 am are are usually about 3 hours long. Click Here for our Facebook Event Page 

Monday started off strong with Mark Douglas teasing on twitter then Channel 8 airing another report in their series " Storefronts for sex ?" about our Friday Street Demonstration, our Comments at the city Council meeting and the FDLE Bust of a string of Illicit Massage Businesses from Naples to Tallahassee. A post on Mark Douglas' Twitter Click Here for a link to the Channel 8 article  This week Clean Up Kennedy unveiled a new way to get involved, ' Operation Its Closing Time'  gives citizens the tools to make sure businesses are following the laws in Florida that have been created to protect those in the Massage Therapy industry. Reporting businesses that claim to provide massage services that violate states law by being open between the hours of Midnight and 5am, will make it harder for them to continue their illicit operations. We had another Friday Street Demonstration this week with a great turnout.  Shannon Valladolid from Channel...

Operation: It's Closing Time State Law dictates that businesses that do massage must be closed between 12am and 5am (except some specially exempted medical facilities). If you happen to drive by one of these Illicit Massage Parlors past midnight and see that their 'OPEN' sign is on, or see other signs that business is still occurring, you can call the Tampa Police Department. Don't call 911, because it is not an emergency (unless you happen to see something that indicates that someone is in immediate physical danger).  Call the Tampa Police Department Non Emergency line: (813) 231-6130  You can also send the Tampa Police a message online CLICK HERE and report that State Law is being violated. They will then have a duty to investigate and at the very least file a report and hopefully actually check it out and cite the business with a misdemeanor. Our hope is to provide the Tampa Police Department with training on how to identify the signs of Human ...

Drafting new ordinances to crack down on Illicit Massage Business in Tampa. Clean Up Kennedy is working with local human trafficking prevention groups, professional massage therapists, and a team of lawyers to draft city legislation to crack down on the Illicit Massage Business in Tampa. Restricting hours of operation and other measures to insure that business that claim that they do massage are fully licenced and offer no additional illicit services, and that their employees are protected to the full extent of the law. More information on what you can do to support our efforts to pass this legislation will be announced soon. Thursday June 15th City Council Meeting   Tampa citizens Brandon and Ariel spoke at the City Council Meeting expressing their concerns about the Illicit Massage Business along Kennedy Blvd and for the women who are being exploited in them. City Council Meetings are held every other Thursday at 9am and usually have a 'Public Comment' pe...