Clean Up Kennedy

Volunteers from Clean Up Kennedy made their presence known at U.S. Representative Kathy Castor's immigration town hall at Alonso High School. Since many of the victims of trafficking are brought into US legally or illegally it is important to include the very real issue of human trafficking in any discussion of immigration policy.  Representative Castor shook hands with Joe Manson, who was holding a "End Sex Trafficking in Tampa" sign outside the meeting and expressed her interest in meeting and discussing the issue more with him. Here Representative Castor answers a question about what is being done to combat human trafficking in our district. We look forward to hearing more from Representative Kathy Castor about how we can work together, citizens and government, to end the terrible industry of sexual exploitation in Tampa Bay.

Pick Up Your Picket Signs: Why “Clean Up Kennedy” is Important By: Carrie Pinkard             If you’re a Tampa resident who regularly drives down Kennedy Boulevard you may have noticed a group of very sweaty people waving “Clean Up Kennedy” picket signs. You likely wondered: Who are these people? What does it mean exactly to “Clean Up Kennedy”? Or Why are these protesters so unbelievably good looking? Read on and your Clean Up Kennedy questions will be answered.             The people holding the picket signs are Tampa citizens from a group called “Clean Up Kennedy: Fighting Human Trafficking in Tampa Bay.” This group seeks to close down the massage businesses on Kennedy Boulevard that offer illicit services at the expense of exploiting women. Many Tampa citizens drive by these massage parlors everyday and don’t realize they are essentially “ storefronts for se...

We had a great week this week, thanks so much to everyone who came out and supported Clean Up Kennedy! On Thursday we set up a booth at the 'Rock The Park' which is an event on the 1st Thursday of the month at Curtis Hixon Park. We talked to a lot of people who were very supportive of our cause. Many people still had no idea what was going on behind the blacked out windows of the many "massage" places on Kennedy. More and more people are telling us that they learned about the illicit massage business problem from recent local news broadcasts. Being visible and continuing to keep this issue in the news cycle is important to change the culture of apathy and permissiveness towards the exploitation of women in the Tampa Bay area. We went into Friday with an updated description of Seven Star Spa on Google Maps, the hours now display "Permanently Closed"  We had quite a number of citizens come to the demonstration to help celeb...

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