Summary
[Doreen Eppy] spoke with emotion. "I want to do business without having to challenge people," she told the commission. But because of "this nastiness," she and her husband have had to take money from the family business and with "our excellent reputation" are now renting a store on Duval Street "that I can present as I want and hopefully this will all go away."
Despite stern suggestions by the city attorney, Shawn Smith, that what with the city being served with a suit, maybe the commissioners might like to limit what they have to say on the subject, Commissioner Jose Menendez was nevertheless in ruminant mood himself. "I love Key West," he offered. "I have lived here all my life. A long, long life. You could walk down the street, you'd know everybody." He has never felt threatened here so he regrets, he said, what tattoo shops might "attract to Key West. We only have 14 blocks on Duval. I don't think a tattoo parlor is right for tourists." He then threatened to launch into a few "Navy memories" but stopped himself short. "What I would like to see there," he concluded, "is a flower shop."As a Key Wester, said Eppy, "In my opinion it is not necessary to have a tattoo parlor on Duval Street. I could have started a lawsuit like [Jim McAlhany] has, but I didn't. Not to say that it wouldn't be profitable, just that the city doesn't need it." He has two young children, he said. With its new art galleries, "Duval Street has changed, and it's for the positive." Even so, Paradise Tattoo has no choice but to rent premises on Duval "to protect the business," he said.See the full content of this document
Extract
Rumble of the Tattoo Parlors
Among those of us between the ages of 18 and 50, reports a magazine called Urban Ink, a full 25 percent can boast a tattoo or two on their body. Among those not in that age group, you may include tattoo bearers such as City Commissioner Harry Bethel.
So why, one wonders, the sudden fracas at Old City Hall on Tuesday night? Before our eyes the otherwise tightly-knit world of tattoo artists came apart at the seams in a West Side Story set-to that included a death t...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
