A homeowner next to Mary Dean Park reportedly threatened violence against teenagers.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: October 24, 2025
Generations of young people have played basketball at the neighborhood park. Photo: Werner
Host: The hoops went down Wednesday after a neighbor made a serious threat against teenagers playing basketball at Mary Dean Park. That park is on the margins of the fast-gentrifying Central-Cocoanut neighborhood, where it intersects with Newtown, the majority African-American community. We have the details.
Johannes Werner: Hundreds of residents responded passionately to the city’s hoop takedown Wednesday evening. Most of Thursday, the park was crowded with neighbors, and a police car was on the premises most of the time. Kelvin Lumpkin, pastor at Light of the World Church, took the lead of the response, posting a reel on Facebook.
Kelvin Lumpkin
Kelvin Lumpkin: Now, for those of you who don’t know, Mary King Park is on the corner of Central Avenue and 15th Street. Those of us who grew up in Newtown know exactly where that is. This park has been there for decades. I played basketball there as a kid, but now our kids can’t even play basketball there because the city of Sarasota has taken down the hoops.
JW: A city spokesperson told WSLR News that staff responded quickly to the neighbor’s threat by temporarily removing the hoops “to prevent further issues” while the Sarasota Police Department conducted an investigation. That was 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Lumpkin took the matter to city hall Thursday, talking to Commissioner Kyle Battie. It’s not clear whether it was due to Battie’s intervention, but as of 4 p.m. Thursday, city staff reinstalled one basketball rim on the long side of the court “once it was determined safe,” according to the city spokesperson.
“We appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as we worked to ensure everyone’s safety.”
As of Friday afternoon, the Sarasota Police Department investigation was still open, and the investigating officer was filing a report, according to a police spokesperson.
The permanent hoops were still missing as of Friday evening. Instead, a camera surveillance system was in place. Photo: Werner
The neighbor who made the alleged threat is Autumn Beckett, a realtor who bought her home next to Mary Dean Park 11 years ago.
Two years ago, in a meeting of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Beckett complained—together with three other residents—about “disturbances and profanities being used by youth,” and she requested the board do something about it. None of the board members at the time was willing to recommend taking down the rims.
We left a voice mail on Beckett’s cell phone. She did not respond by deadline.
Lumpkin’s Facebook video prompted hundreds of likes, comments and shares in support of his efforts, most of them apparently by nearby residents. Some of them referred to “Perfect Neighbor,” a Netflix documentary about a similar conflict in Marion County, Florida that ended tragically.
KL: I am outraged. I know the community is outraged. The fact that this park that’s served this community for years, long before she moved there, is being held hostage because of someone’s intolerance.
We can’t let a whole park and whole community be held hostage because of someone’s anger, someone’s hatred. We can’t let that pass. Yes, I’m grateful that you’re making some effort to protect these kids, but we can’t accommodate intolerance. We can’t accommodate this kind of anger, violence. You’ll hurt someone if the ball goes in your yard? Are you kidding me?
JW: Among those responding to Lumpkin’s post was Trevor Harvey, president of the local NAACP chapter.
Trevor Harvey
TH: Our concern is anytime you get a threat such as the threat that was received the other day, and especially against our kids, it’s something that you have to take seriously, not something that can be taken lightly. My goal and my priority in this—whether the goals were up or whether the goals were down, for me, is really not the issue. For me, the issue is making sure that our babies are safe.
It’s always a give or take. She bought a house next to a park, so she—meaning the neighbor—has to know that there’s going to be some level of disruption, especially during the day and after school.
JW: To Lumpkin, both threats to teenagers and the city’s hoop takedown are unacceptable.
Mary Dean Park’s new basketball hoops, before city staff removed them. One hoop on the long side of the court was up again as of Friday.
KL: It’s so sad that, in this day and time, we still have to fight these battles. These kids could be doing something else. They could be stuck in the house on a screen, they could be doing something unproductive, but they’re outside playing basketball, and this annoys this person so much that she’s making threats. Listen, community: Let’s rise up. Let’s not let this go. Let’s protect our community and protect that park. It has served many of us for so many years—not just years but decades.
JW: One resident announced a basketball party at the park for this Sunday, using mobile hoops.
This is not the first time noisy sports and passionate athletes clash with fast-gentrifying neighborhoods here. In 2010, the City of Sarasota responded to complaints at Gillespie Park by banning soccer playing from the lawns of the popular park near downtown. Most of the soccer players were Hispanic men.
Reporting for WSLR News, Johannes Werner.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.