A group of Hollywood residents, professionals and business owners have banded together to bring the gradual deterioration of Hollywood’s US-1 corridor to the attention of the Mayor, City Manager and City Commissioners.
Called the New Image Task Force, the group’s focus is to stabilize and improve the community, particularly in the area between Sheridan and Johnson Streets along US-1. The members have witnessed an increase in the number of vagrants, prostitutes and drug dealers, and they believe city officials need to give lasting attention to these matters in an ultimate effort to correct and restore Hollywood.
Member Kimberly Longmire said that although the New Image Task Force is sensitive to the situation of the homeless in Hollywood, the group would like to see social services provide the necessary resources to help these individuals get off the street and would like to see an increase in code and law enforcement to address illegal activities.
“Good businesses don’t want to come to the Downtown area because of these issues,” Longmire said. “Hollywood is a great City. We want to clean up the City and beautify it to open it up to potential investors.”
More than 60 people attended the Feb. 16 and March 16 city commission meetings to bring their concerns to the City, and City Manager Cameron Benson addressed the New Image Task Force at the March 16 meeting, stating the City would begin to implement certain measures to address their concerns.
“They are raising very good issues,” City Manager Benson said in an interview. “We’re happy to see that they’re bringing these things to our attention. We do have to get rid of slum and blight.”
He recommended that the City create an overlay district to promote uses and standards that reflect the changed character of US-1 from a primary north-south corridor to a more localized neighborhood traffic way; increase police presence between Dixie Highway and US-1; establish anti-prostitution and homeless assistance programs; and increase code enforcement and simplify the magistrate process in an effort to improve housing quality, among other things.
City Manager Benson said the City had taken a step back with patrol and code enforcement in Hollywood because of the downturn in the economy, which he admitted led to an increase in criminal activities, but they will now take corrective measures as early as the end of April.
“The goal is start on Federal Highway and go west, street by street, until the end of the City to correct these problems,” he said. “[The members of the New Image Task Force] live in this community. They see things going on. It’s always good to have additional mouths to tell us what’s going on. I welcome their input, and we’re going to address these problems.”
New Image Task Force member Connie Villiers-Furze wants improvements to the US-1 corridor to keep her two children safe. Currently, Villiers-Furze does not feel her children are safe in her neighborhood.
“We are in fear for our children’s safety,” she said. “We don’t feel safe having our kids walk home from school or ride their bikes or even just go to CVS for a loaf of bread. We have to do something to change this. Our idea was to have the Mayor, Commissioners and City Manager who don’t live around US-1 to know what we have to deal with. We’re a strong force, and we’re here to stay.”
Both Longmire and Villiers-Furze have noticed a willingness from the City to address their concerns, with Villiers-Furze even noticing an increase of patrolling in the area, but they hope the City follows through with their suggestions.
“For me, I’ve heard years of the City talking about doing something, so I hope they do something about it,” Villiers-Furze said. “We need Hollywood to be beautiful.”
