Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015
Vol. 103, No. 020 • oNe SectioN
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Enforcement coming for Uber and Lyft
Buying into The Elbow
Photos by Carole Hawkins
There are laws on the books about how vehicles for hire can do business. Taxicabs follow them. Uber and Lyft largely haven’t. Yet, the city has issued only seven citations since laws were changed in 2013. None have been issued in over a year. City Council member John Crescimbeni wanted to know why the city isn’t enforcing its own compliance rules that require city-approved inspections, insurance and medallions. Some on a Vehicles for Hire Committee say the companies simply are “thumbing their noses” at the laws. Crescimbeni felt stronger: “I would describe it more as the one-finger salute.” Officials with the companies were who advocated the changes, he said. But they continue not to comply and even try to dodge enforcement. “They go out of their way to avoid that,” said Crescimbeni. “Why we are tolerating that, I don’t know.” UberX — the non-black car service — and Lyft drivers go through background checks, have their vehicles inspected and receive insurance through their respective companies. Advocates say those standards are higher than the city’s. City law requires drivers to work for registered vehicle-forhire companies — the digital
“I just about killed myself managing that thing,” he said. Nielsen met with city leaders and district businesses to find out whether The Elbow had any relevance to them. It did. Now one year later, The Elbow has more caretakers. Downtown Vision Inc. launched a $20,000 marketing campaign for the district. The city this year officially adopted the name and the Downtown Investment Authority hung banners from street posts in designated areas. Most importantly, the businesses themselves banded together. Eleven of The Elbow’s 16 venues now pay into a marketing co-op that meets monthly and guides THE ELBOW CONTINUED ON PAGE A-3
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Banding together for Downtown nightlife By Carole Hawkins Staff Writer Three years ago, a group of friends believed a nightlife district could blossom in Downtown. They branded it The Elbow, for its perpendicular streets of Ocean and Bay. The name worked its way into local colloquialisms. A shorthand that would surface in the monologue of a radio host, marketing-speak by city leaders or the conversation at the water cooler about where people in Jacksonville go for a good time. The brand became ubiquitous and then, it almost ended. A year ago Grant Nielsen, a founding member of The Elbow, took down the online events calendar he’d run pro bono for a year-and-a-half.
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City Council member John Crescimbeni On firms like Uber and Lyft circumventing city laws
dispatchers are not. Drivers can start their own companies and be self-employed and follow city regulations to be compliant. That hasn’t happened and cab companies have cried foul over an uneven playing field. Council on Tuesday passed a moratorium on medallion renewal until March 31. That’s the date the committee looking at the issue will come back with solutions. There is still a law on the books, though. As Crescimbeni and other members of the committee found out Thursday, the city hasn’t enforced it for more than a year. The last time was a sting set up with city parking officials and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office UBER
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Jax Vision Care will move to Levy Building Jax Vision Care is relocating Downton to the Levy Building at 201 N. Hogan St. Now at 100 W. Bay St., the optometry practice expects to move to almost 3,000 square feet in the Levy Building by the end of January. The office has operated at 100 W. Bay St., near the Jacksonville Landing, for more than 20 years. Jax Vision Care bought the practice in 2013 after the 2012 death of optometrist Peter Liane. The Downtown office had been Liane Downtown Eye Associates, but is now Jax Vision Care at Liane Downtown. Office Manager Michele Parsons said Thursday the Bay Street lease expires at the end of January and the owners decided to start fresh in the Levy Building in what they consider the business district. The Levy Building is at Hogan and Adams streets, near City
Banners label The Elbow, above, for Downtown venues including Burro Bar.
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They go out of their way to avoid. … Why we are tolerating that, I don’t know.
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By David Chapman Staff Writer
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Hall, the Duval County Courthouse, the Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse and Downtown office towers. “We are looking to cater more to the businessmen and women of Downtown Jacksonville with convenient hours and a more convenient location,” Parsons said. The space is the former Southlight Gallery. A permit application shows Tenant Contractors Inc. will renovate the space at a cost of almost $98,000. Walburn Studio is the architect. Plans show the doctor’s office, three exam rooms, testing, a lab and other uses, as well as a large waiting and display area. MATHIS
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