TAMPA, Fla. — On Thursday afternoon, residents of Tampa’s River Arts District finally got a seat at the table, meeting with the Tampa Police Department, Tampa Downtown Partnerships and other stakeholders about concerns for their neighborhood.
Residents say there has been an increase in drug and criminal activity tied to a growing population of unhoused people living outside their homes and businesses.
“We have videos of them dealing drugs, doing drugs, and it’s now a mix of unhoused and just actual drug dealers, and who knows where they’re from?” said Aimee Tarte, a resident and business owner in the neighborhood…