On a clear and sunny Houston afternoon, Kelyn and Isaiah set up a photo shoot for their daughter's first birthday. They thought they'd found the perfect setting: a picturesque walking trail in the Broadacres community, often frequented by local families and photographers.
Kelyn and Isaiah sat their daughter down on a pink, fluffy blanket, alongside a simple setup of birthday balloons. But in the middle of the photo shoot, a woman stopped her car and approached the family, claiming the photo shoot was blocking the entire walkway.
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The parents pulled out their phones and started recording, capturing the moment the angry woman smacked their balloons, dragged the pink blanket, and slapped the phone out of Isaiah's hand. The baby girl cried and screamed in the background.
The woman has been identified as Franci Neely, a Houston socialite. She, along with other neighbors from the Broadacres community, say there are too many photo shoots in their neighborhood and that they cause damage to the property. Neighbors have been posting signs to ban these so-called "disruptive" photo shoots.
The city of Houston, however, says the esplanade and surrounding streets are public property.
Franci Neely released the following statement to ABC13: "The Broadacres Homeowners Association Invests lots of money paying to maintain the trees, grass and walkways in our neighborhood. The high volume of commercial photography damages the property that Broadacres HOA pays to maintain and interferes with dog walkers and others who merely want to walk under the pretty trees. We asked the commercial photographers to please stop.
"I am very sorry that I got upset on late Saturday afternoon. Putting it in context, however: I saw three commercial photography shoots in one block at the same time, something that happens frequently. When I explained the situation to the first and third groups, they were respectful. The couple whose photo shoot obstructed the walkway was not. It's hard to remain composed when confronted by shouted threats of lawsuits and false, inflammatory accusations."
After this story went public, a very similar confrontation resurfaced. In spring 2018, a Houston dad says his daughters and their friends were taking prom photos along the same walking trail. In footage he recorded on his cellphone, the same woman angrily confronted the group of teens.
