Presentation by People’s Park Historic District Friday, August 27, 2021, 6–9 pm, Canessa Gallery, San Francisco

Last Friday two lawsuits were filed in Alameda County Superior Court against UC Berkeley and the UC Regents. Two community groups and AFSCME Local 3299 are challenging the impact of growth plans of the university. Previously another filing was done on the Berkeley City Council’s violations of the Brown Act, in formulating and adopting the City’s recent secret “settlement agreement” with the University of California.

The evening’s panel will discuss both legal and community organizing actions to stop implementation of UCB’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), a plan that seeks to destroy People’s Park and other irreplaceable neighborhood and community assets in Berkeley.

Panelists include historians, preservationists and activists – Charles Wollenberg, Lesley Emmington, Carol Denney, Joe Liesner and Harvey Smith.

The exhibit includes photographs, art work, posters and memorabilia from over 50 years of spirited community involvement in preserving the irreplaceable open space of the park.

People’s Park is at the center of sixteen other officially recognized city landmarks, which collectively are a de facto historic district. They represent the heritage of the 1960s and the larger theme of a century of town/gown relationships. Berkeley became a major target of the New Right conservative backlash with Ronald Reagan promising to “clean up the mess in Berkeley.”

UC’s plans also threaten three historic buildings, including a rent-controlled apartment building, in another project funded by an anti-rent control developer.

The university has exceeded its agreed enrollment limits, creating enormous housing displacement throughout the city. The university has responded to years of state budget austerity by monetizing its public assets in a corporate-like growth that has also become a drain on city resources.

UCB proposes to cover People’s Park with a 17-story concrete monolith, probably to be erected by a private housing firm that will profit from student occupants. This would destroy both a historical and cultural legacy and much needed open space when reasonable alternatives are available.

If Berkeley all but invented the sixties, surely the city and its university should be able to commemorate that decade by preserving People’s Park as the heart and soul of a vital historic district.

Presentation by People’s Park Historic District
Friday, August 27, 2021, 6–9 pm

Canessa Gallery
708 Montgomery Street, San Francisco

Masks and Covid vaccination required.

For more information, contact Harvey Smith at 510-684-0414.

Sponsored by the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group.

The Future of People’s Park – Zoom Event, February 26, 2021

The Future of People’s Park

February 26, 2021, 07:00 to 08:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

UC Berkeley’s plan to build a 17-story high rise on People’s Park, which would destroy the historic and cultural legacy and an irreplaceable natural environment, has brought together writers, historians, students and park activists to oppose this ill-considered project.

This Zoom event, hosted by the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group, will present the historic background of the park, give details on the effort to recognize its national landmark status, and share plans for revitalizing this invaluable public open space.

The goal of this meeting is to develop strategies for taking our message to the broader Berkeley community, as well as the mayor, city council, UC Berkeley, state legislature and regents.

Presenters to include:

  • Tom Dalzell – author of The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969
  • Steve Wasserman – Participant and Activist during 1969
  • Max Ventura – People’s Park Committee
  • Aidan Hill – Former Berkeley Mayoral Candidate/UCB Student

Details:

  • Length of event: hour and a half
  • Introductory remarks and moderator – Harvey Smith
  • Each presentation 8 minutes with 4 minutes of submitted questions
  • Group discussion following and additional questions from viewers
  • Closing remarks – Harvey Smith
  • Topic: People’s Park

Date: February 26, 2021, 07:00 to 08:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://sfsu.zoom.us/j/82773453022?pwd=UVEySUcvc0NUZlZwQ3ZvcS9YUC8zZz09

Meeting ID: 827 7345 3022
Passcode: 680198
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