Thread: East Orlando invaded, crime and disrepair way up

2 candidates square off to represent struggling east Orlando neighborhoods
Who will represent residents of struggling area?

Mark Schlueb | Sentinel Staff Writer
February 23, 2008

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Robert Hadley has lived in east Orlando for nearly 30 years, but he may be leaving town soon.

His once-quiet Candlewyck neighborhood is sometimes hit by gang members who leave graffiti, break windows and slash car tires. The streets are a popular dumping ground for stolen cars, sometimes two a week. A nearby city park has become a hangout for homeless people and shady characters.

"I don't feel as safe going out as I used to. It's just not as nice a neighborhood as it used to be," said Hadley, who is considering a move to Tennessee.

On Tuesday, voters in east Orlando will elect the area's first new City Council representative in 16 years. The victor will inherit District 2, a sprawling part of Orlando that has seen several years of exploding crime and decline. The new commissioner also must try to unite a community where a miniwave of immigration will soon put Hispanics in the majority -- and feed a quiet tension among some older residents.

The district includes Dover Shores East, Engelwood Park, Monterey, Dover Estates, Lake Fredrica and Ventura. At its heart are several major corridors, chiefly Semoran Boulevard and Curry Ford Road.

While crime on the city's west side grabs most of the headlines, east Orlando has seen its own drastic increase in property and violent crimes.

In the past three years, robberies have more than doubled, from 64 in 2005 to 139 in 2007. Car thefts went from 219 to 377 during the same period. Burglaries are on the rise, as are shoplifting, drug crimes and vandalism.

"It's obviously on the uprise," said Fabien Houle, president of the Dover Shores East Neighborhood Association. "It's getting closer and closer to home."

Bars and apartment complexes on Semoran Boulevard are a source of frequent police calls. Immigrant workers are targeted for robberies. Neighbors fret about an outpatient methadone clinic that treats heroin and opiate addicts. Pawnshops have moved in, a signal of economic decline.

While many neighborhoods have strong resident associations and remain well-kept, others struggle to deal with aging common areas and worn entryways. Monterey, Dover Shores East and some other neighborhoods have perimeter walls or fences that are falling apart, and residents say they have no way to fix them and can't get any help from the city.

Commissioner Betty Wyman has represented the district since 1992 but is retiring after her fourth term.

Both candidates to replace her -- Belinda Ortiz and Tony Ortiz, no relation -- say the district has been neglected for years.

Tony Ortiz left a 14-year career as an Orlando police officer to run for the council. He favors hiring more cops and forming committees of residents and merchants to regularly discuss problems.

"District 2 has been a stepchild at City Hall," he said. "It has not gotten its fair share of dollars. We need to change that, allocate money and fix these problems."

Belinda Ortiz used to work with residents as an aide to former Orange Commissioner Mary Johnson, and later in the county's business-development office. She left a job as public-policy director for the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association to campaign full time. Citing rising crime statistics, she said her opponent should have done more to reduce crime during several years he spent as the district's police liaison.

"When you see numbers like that, it's just outrageous," she said. "The biggest need is having a true voice at City Hall -- someone who will look out for the district and make sure it's getting its fair share."

No matter who is elected, the winner will be the City Council's first Hispanic representative since the early 1990s. That's particularly significant in an area where Hispanics will soon dominate.

In 1990, fewer than one in five residents of the district's two primary ZIP codes were Hispanic. By 2000, the Hispanic population had grown to about 37 percent. Now it's just less than half, and demographers predict the Latino population will reach about 55 percent within five years.

Marina Lagos, who owns the Argentinian steak house Choo Choo Churros on Lake Underhill Road with her husband, Oscar, said the Hispanic community is excited about having one of its own on the City Council.

"A lot of people are saying it's a big deal because it's important that we are represented," she said. "I think it's overdue."

Still, some longtime residents are uneasy about the growing Hispanic population and the prospect of a Hispanic commissioner. Barbara Battersby, president of the Dover Estates Homeowners Association, said some neighbors blame the Hispanic community for the crime problem and worry that a Hispanic commissioner will focus only on the Latino community.

"When you are no longer in the majority in your area and things start to go awry, there is a tendency to blame them," she said. "You can chalk some of it up to prejudice or preconceived ideas. But there definitely is the perception that [non-Hispanic neighborhoods] are just going to be cast aside."

Hispanics dismiss the notion that they are responsible for the higher crime rate.

Residents from all walks of life agree, however, that they're ready for the neighborhoods and business corridors of east Orlando to improve.

"While there is some concern that the two candidates are native Spanish-speakers, there is also an optimism that there is a new beginning," Battersby said. "Now, at least, change is possible."

Jim Jackson of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Mark Schlueb can be reached at 407-420-5417 or mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com.

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Two weeks ago, I spent a week with my cousin in the Semoran Blvd. - Lake Underhill Rd. neighborhood. I don't recall seeing anyone but Hispanics in the area, which is a BIG change from 20 years ago. The neighborhood grocery and shopping center (on Semoran a few blocks south of Lake Underhill) now has Hispanic customers, Hispanic employees, and signs only in Spanish. The closer you get to Semoran Blvd., the more run down are the once comfortable suburban 3 and 4 bedroom concrete and adobe fascia homes. All the orange trees in Orange Co. were cut down last year because of the worm infestation. The beautiful public park half-a-mile south and west of the Semoran/Lake Underhill corner is no longer safe in the late afternoon or in the evening. Although I don't know the gangs, the park is gang turf.

But just three or four blocks west of Semoran, everything brightens up, and the nice homes in the nice neighborhoods still look . . . nice. But those streets exit onto Curry Ford Rd. or Conway Dr., which are quite pleasant. (At least I wish I could live there.)

The economically and demographically deteriorating area appears to be a few blocks on both sides of Semoran Blvd., north and south of Lake Underhill Rd., i.e., from Route 50, Colonial Dr., in the north, to Curry Ford in the south. But the blight has been growing for at least the past 20 or 30 years, and we expect it to continue to expand as it degrades the edges of the hood. No one wants to live in a $200,000 house that is two or three doors away from unsavory characters in the street and unsafe conditions in the back yard.

The article mentioned the lack of local government representation, which has consequences. Florida caught back-to-back hurricanes two or three years ago. Unfortunately for this neighborhood, Orlando / Orange County designated the green space beside the municipal airport (northwest of Semoran and Lake Underhill) as the Orange County dumping area for downed trees. And there were lots of downed trees. The piles were (are?) 20 or so feet high, with bulldozers pushing them around at all hours of the day and night. I didn't notice any methane (?) smell this month, but it was bad a year or two ago.

I don't understand: why did the blight settle around Semoran Blvd.? These were very pleasant $100K homes 20 years ago. It does not appear that any of them are housing a dozen laborers with a half-dozen trucks in the yard. But now some of them are boarded up, or worse.

Even though I carried only the money I needed, it is not so dangerous there at night as to keep me from walking to the Citgo for a gallon of milk. Not yet, anyway.

Thank you for the article, legalatina.