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Opinion: Demand the impossible, defend People’s Park

By Osha Neumann, in Berkeleyside
August 12, 2022, 10:46 am

I thought it was hopeless to try to defend People’s Park. But then, on Aug. 3, in the early morning hours, park defenders tore down fences UC Berkeley erected to begin construction on student housing, reoccupied the space and sat in front of the big yellow front loaders and excavators. That evening, they held a rally and as I listened to them speak I realized: They are the ones who will determine what is hopeless and what is not.

Each person who spoke expressed the need to protect open and unpatrolled space, a place for trees to grow large, and for housed and homeless people to gather and share what they have in common. They mourned that they had not been able to prevent the university, in its first act that morning, from cutting down a grove of redwoods, some with trunks 3 feet in diameter. Homeless people, who had sheltered in their shade, spoke of them as friends they had lost.

In the 60s, we had a slogan: “Be realistic, demand the impossible.” Today’s People’s Park defenders are demanding the impossible: That the park’s 2.8 acres be recognized as “commons,” a space that no one owns or controls. That was the vision in ’69. That’s their vision now.

Read the full article in Berkeleyside

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Tear gas use on peaceful protesters is STILL immoral!

From: Terri Compost, August 3, 2022
Open letter to Berkeley City Council council@cityofberkeley.info

Dear Berkeley Mayor and City Council,

It has come to my attention that you could consider suspending the city’s policy against the use of tear gas, smoke and pepper spray for the duration of the City Council recess. The irresponsibility of putting an action like that in place during a time when the council can not act and respond to the situation is extremely irresponsible if not criminal.

I can only imagine you are considering it under the pressure of your UC controllers to encourage them forward in their attack on People’s Park and the People of Berkeley. The folly of the plan to try to build on People’s Park is evident. It has been an immoral and blatantly classist and racist assault against one of the few refuges in the City in which all people are served. The response of the people should not be a surprise to you. Building on People’s Park is a direct attack against a lot of people, some with nothing to lose. If UC or Berkeley truly wants housing, you will build it elsewhere. There is no scenario where putting a dorm on People’s Park could possibly go smoothly.

Now it’s in your hands. Do you want your legacy to be a bloodbath for this folly? UC creates the problem of scarce housing by admitting unsustainable numbers of students and then pretends to solve the problem they created. Well I’ll let you in on a little secret. People’s Park is a tar baby. The more you attack it the more stuck you will be covered in the tar of the evil of attacking the poor, the environment and our hopes and dreams.

Maybe with enough money, force, police, overtime, added expenditures, fences and ill will the University can cram in something. But it will never rest peacefully there. I suggest you don’t commit to protracted war on the poor of your city. You can not win. You will create more poverty and pain and devastation that will continue to ripple out.

There is a righteous stand to take here. Gus Newport did the right thing when he refused to allow the City of Berkeley Police Department be the ground troops for UC’s bad plan in 1979. The City has prohibited attacking peaceful protesters with chemical weapons for a reason. It is immoral.

History will remember the decisions you make. Peace can be made. A dorm can be built on the Parking Lot of Ellsworth and Channing. But it will take legislators of conscience and intelligence to take leadership and bring our town back to peace.

Please do not put swords into the wannabe overlord’s arsenal to slaughter your city while you are on vacation. Please do the right thing. People’s lives are at stake and you must be responsible now.

Thank you, Terri Compost

Terri Compost is a long-time Berkeley People’s Park community organizer, gardener, educator.

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Nationally significant People’s Park was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 2022

To all our People’s Park Supporters:
We are very happy to report that after over two years of work we were able to send out this press release today. — Harvey Smith

For Immediate Release

For additional information:
Harvey Smith peoplesparkhxdist@gmail.com
510-684-0414

(May 27, 2022) – Nationally significant People’s Park was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 2022.

This designation underscores the historical, cultural, architectural and environmental assets of this irreplaceable open space. The park has an over half-century legacy of political and cultural events, a bio system of flora and fauna, and a surround of highly significant architecture.

This recognition follows being nominated unanimously by the California State Historical Resources Commission. People’s Park has played a key role as a gathering place for free speech during the decades of anti-war and civil rights struggles.

Former Berkeley Mayor Gus Newport commented that, “The stability of cities and towns is formed from the history of planning and participation of citizens. People’s Park very much reflects and proves this. People’s Park is very deserving of being on the National Register of Historic Places.”

However, the University of California plans to destroy the park despite its national significance. Harvey Smith, president of the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group, commented that, “Its planned destruction is unconscionable. The park’s importance is beyond a squabble in Berkeley or within California. It is a nationally recognized historic site.”

Smith suggests the park should be preserved so that its appearance and infrastructure are no different than any other park within the City of Berkeley or any green space within the UC Berkeley campus. This is entirely possible once the present homeless population of the park is relocated to housing as planned by the City of Berkeley and the University.

The ill-considered plan of UC Berkeley to build on the park should be scuttled because the university has many alternative sites for student housing. Chief among them is the Ellsworth Parking Structure, which is one block away from People’s Park. Keeping a parking lot and destroying a park is a totally irresponsible action in the age of extreme climate change. UC Berkeley’s plan to demolish Evans Hall to create open space on the campus should be matched by maintaining the open space of People’s Park in the community.

Both the City of Berkeley and UC Berkeley celebrate the Free Speech and Sixties history of the Telegraph Avenue corridor. It is an asset to both the city and university, and among the reasons visitors from all parts of the globe are drawn to Berkeley. Recognizing People’s Park for the asset that it is and then preserving and enhancing it can only add to its value as a treasured Berkeley attraction.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.

More information on the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group can be found at peoplesparkhxdist.org.

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PRESS RELEASE – Community groups continue fight against secret, illegal agreement between the City of Berkeley and UC Berkeley

For Immediate Release

For Additional Information:
Harvey Smith, peoplesparkhxdist@gmail.com, 510.684.0414

(January 31, 2022) – A coalition of community groups filed a lawsuit to fight the secret, illegal agreement that the City of Berkeley signed with UC Berkeley — giving UC Berkeley a blank check for unfettered growth. The agreement, signed in July 2021, prevents the City of Berkeley from filing any further legal action against UC Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) and withdrew the city’s objection to the destruction of several historic buildings and to the eviction of tenants from their rent controlled homes.

Three community organizations — Make UC a Good Neighbor, People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group (PPHDAG) and People’s Park Council (PPC) — amended their Petition on January 20, 2022 that challenges the City of Berkeley’s agreement with UC Berkeley regarding their LRDP. The Petition alleges the vote on the agreement violates the requirements of the Brown Act, which mandates local government to conduct business at open and public meetings.

“The residents of Berkeley will be saddled with this onerous agreement long after the Mayor, Chancellor, City Council members and Regents are gone from their positions. The basic principles of open government have been shamelessly tossed aside for purposes of political expediency,” according to Harvey Smith, member of the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group.

The agreement prevents the city from taking legal action against the LRDP for the next 16 years. Although the city’s own analysis estimated UC Berkeley costs the city $21 million per year, the agreement will pay the city only $4.1 million per year, 20 cents on the dollar. Therefore, over the 16 years Berkeley taxpayers will be responsible for covering a deficit of over $250 million. Three other cities hosting UC campuses have negotiated much more favorable agreements, including the mandatory production of student housing.

The lawsuit cites the action of the Berkeley City Council to conclude “a secret agreement in closed session, never acknowledged, approved or disclosed in public session.” The Petition to the court also cites Measure L, an ordinance passed by Berkeley voters in 1986, which mandates “That wherever public parks and open space currently exist in Berkeley, such use shall continue and be funded at least to allow the maintenance of the present condition and services.” The agreement violates voter-approved Measure L by collaborating in the destruction of People’s Park, a user-developed and community-controlled open space in the South Campus area of Berkeley.

Additionally cited is Measure N, approved by voters in 1988; the secret agreement is described as running “afoul of the intent and aspirational policies set forth in Berkeley Measure N,” which requires the city to “use all available lawful means to ensure that public agencies abide by the rules and laws of the city and that these agencies pay taxes and fees, comparable to those paid by private citizens and business to support their fair share of city services.”

Although the Berkeley City Council had also resolved on multiple occasions to support tenant rights, and specifically the interests of tenants evicted from 1921 Walnut Street, Berkeley, the agreement bound the City “to not challenge the upcoming 2021 LRDP and UC’s Anchor House [1921 Walnut Street] and People’s Park housing projects.”

The lawsuit further stipulates that the City through its agreement with UC will “induce, aid and assist” in destruction of People’s Park as a student and community park and open space and has collaborated in breach of contract by UC Berkeley. “UC has breached its mutual commitments, promises, and written contracts with responsible People’s Park organizations,” which are included in Exhibits A through L of the Petition.

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Bathroom faucets and public health needs an upgrade at People’s Park

The city didn’t even bring in porta potties until I believe it was July and their handwashing stations, not only at People’s Park, but at Civic Center Park, most often have no water or soap, or paper towels. The city never brought in Sharps containers, and in their recent propaganda, UC refers back to there being a Sharps slot at the bathrooms, but during 2020 the bathrooms often were not opened until later in the day, and sometimes not at all, and no one was in the office so there was no way for the container to be checked or replaced. The Berkeley Free Clinic provided Sharps containers that were placed in the porta potties loose in spite of our calls for the city to strap them onto the outsides to increase the probability that more people would use them.

Months ago, the porta potties were moved to Dwight Way so now users, if they don’t see Sharps containers in the porta potties will 1) throw on the floor of the porta potties; 2) throw needles into the toilet making it hard for upkeep; 3) throw them on the ground outside. Do we think a user is going to walk across the park to place needles into the slot at the bathrooms? I don’t.

So the city and UC have had plenty of information shared by me on behalf of the group, and Sheila who spread information widely.

In this video, I went into detail about how the sinks, certainly, are inaccessible, but the lack of any reasonable upkeep of the bathrooms over the years makes using the bathrooms actually not truly accessible for people in wheelchairs or using walkers. Most often there is no toilet paper and there certainly are no seat covers. It’s disgusting. Soap? Not for years except when volunteers provide it, and their soap dispensers are too high for accessibility anyway. The hand blow dryer is too high but in reality often is broken down for long periods anyway. Locks on the bathroom stall doors are not able to be used by many with disabilities affecting hand and finger use while there are perfectly well-known options that allow for flipping a handle over.

UC and the city have failed the most vulnerable in the Berkeley, and UC has taken a park which was created for everyone’s benefit and made sure the bathrooms are not accessible to those who may have the most challenging needs in a bathroom setting. This in a city which was central to the beginnings of the Independent Living Movement and the creation of the ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Shameful.

–– Maxina Ventura