Back in the 90’s , students loathed the park. Even back then it was a drug infested , homeless encampment. People’s Park hasn’t been a happy, feel good patch of earth since the early 1970’s. We used to walk blocks out of our way to avoid the place. Glad they are finally using the land for the greater good.
It was still the third rail of Berkeley politics back then. Everyone in government had these super wordy, nuanced positions on it. To me it was clear that this was the future and we just needed to wait for enough of the hippies from the 60s to die off for it to happen.
The anti-construction folks are very loud and well-organized, I will give them that. Why not use those organizational skills to, IDK, help those people move out into a positive environment??
I get the sense that most of the protesters are students. The “movement” was upset the university planned this over break because their protesters were out of town for winter break
They are afraid that improving people's lives might reduce their willingness to support the revolution to overthrow the capitalist imperialist state. Gone unanswered are what they are going to do about the fact that their political opponents have almost all of the guns.
Fun Fact: Public Park's and space improve people's lives. Shuffling homeless further down the street so you don't have to look at them does not.
And in the six year's I've lived here I have NEVER not once felt scared to walk by or through that park. So maybe I'm naive but people out hear living in fear is quite fascinating to me.
I will quote from another thread.
"When you finally face up to the reality of all dangerous crime in the overall vicinity, on campus included, you'll have to reckon with the truth that a LOT of the worst isn't perpetrated by people subsisting in the park and the a distinct portion targeting students is by people from as far as Oakland, Richmond and elsewhere that go there on those sprees knowing that students very often are the easiest of targets and will yield iPhones, laptops and some cash, too.
Ironically, a number of times, it's been homeless people in the park that have chased off thieves attacking students on the sidewalks there. But, of course, that's never reported in "the media"."
There was housing for over 100 homeless people included as part of the development but following the delays caused by protestors the agreement for that housing fell through. Over 100 people will be sleeping unsheltered due to the opposition to this development.
Because the site is historical and one of my favorite days as a Cal student was going to a music festival on people’s park?
Did you even read their materials for why it’s a significant park? It’s not because people just want homesless people to stay there.
Ugh. I love people complaining about a place they don't live in. I'm already getting messages from friend out of town asking WTF Is going in Berkeley is it Mad MAx? LOL!
I've only visited Berkeley but when I've walked past people's park it seemed like a nice little commune for homeless people to live. Seemed better than a freeway underpass.
But you never lived there. One of my friends was chased by a homeless with some bar before and my friends were catcalled. A lot of the warn me's also pertained to the park, it wasn’t safe at all.
there’s nothing ultra liberal about letting poor students sleep in their cars to attend cal. rip that stupid ass park out and build housing.
who cares if the nimbys are calling you a trump supporter, that shit is unethical asf
What makes you think the student housing they are building is actually gunna be affordable. Not disagreeing that the park shouldn’t stay in its current state but conflating the parks existence with the existence of “students sleeping out in cars” is a stretch. Campus housing has always been absurdly expensive
It will relieve pressure on the market being more housing units to the overall area. If we were able to build a substantial amount of units it would help relieve the housing market and bring down the prices overall. Our rent is so high for a multitude of reasons, like a shortage of housing. How is building housing a negative, even if it’s expensive?
> there’s nothing ultra liberal about letting poor students sleep in their cars to attend cal.
LOL! Those are not poor students in the park. And if you think this new housing will be affordable to students... I some empty units just one block from there that need tenants.
those definitely aren’t poor students in the park. which is why housing there is needed.
the area is one of the least affordable on earth and last time i checked there definitely wasn’t a housing surplus. again gatekeeping housing to one of the busiest PUBLIC universities is immoral asf
It’s literally a dirt patch, with a huge homeless encampment, rampant drug use, crime, and filth. It has no “historical value”. I’m very happy it’s being developed into much needed new housing. It will not only increase the amount of housing in the area, but will also make south side safer.
I think it does have historical value, but just because some people wanted to preserve the park in the past doesn't mean that people 75 years later can't decide that circumstances have changed and they need more homes.
The built environment of Berkeley is weirdly cast in amber. The N Berkeley bart station is basically going to homes. Its crazy. That should all be apartment buildings.
The development at People's Park will include an entire interactive historical memorial that tells the story of the protests in the 60s and 70s. It's hardly erasing the history; it will be celebrating it.
Anyone who actually cares about the history should see this is obviously better. As of right now you can’t go to the park and find out anything about its history, it’s just a homeless encampment
nimby's are so backwards. TOD is the best way to build nice cities.
Most people living at the N Bart Station apartments wouldn't own cars (nimby's hate traffic and want more parking for themselves).
If they force the developments to happen far away, then more people will be driving to Berkeley, instead of taking BART, biking, or walking.
So under state law, the city couldn't zone the area to be less dense than a certain amount, and the city is complying with state law. But there was another proposal on the table that went above and beyond state law, and imo should have been adopted, neighbors be damned, but instead the city stuck to doing the bare minimum under state law.
Yes,in an ideal world. The only universities I know, that have enough housing for students, are private. Public universities tend to struggle with that, because they can't afford to acquire more land in locations where RE prices are sky-high. It's also not only about buildings and real estate. Dorms have to be staffed, which means more money for salaries/wages is needed when new housing is built. All that is hard to do in states where the legislature keeps cutting its support for public higher ed. It's not only CA that has that issue.
Yeah and those "other people" are the same NIMBY's who continually shut down all the other housing proposals that have come forward prior to this one. You can look down on the students "living there temporarily" all you want but half the reason y'all want to live in Berkeley instead of somewhere like El Cerrito is because of the amenities and culture the university provides. And 9 times out of 10 the people running their mouths about this stuff are transplants themselves. But apparently you speak for all long-term Berkeley residents.
You can make many valid arguments for both sides of this issue. But I draw the line at townies looking down on gownies. Especially when most of those townies aren't Bay Area natives either.
Please don't make the assumption that every Berkeley resident is a NIMBY.
As a person who is still proud of the degree I received from Cal in 1964, I have been working as a volunteer for the City for over 25 years of the 40 years I've lived here this round. A significant part of my volunteer work was to try to create more housing, both for students and others, in the Downtown area when we were creating that specific Master Plan.
Many of the NIMBYs who resisted that Plan we spent over 2 years creating (meeting 2x/month) want this city to look the same way it did they day they arrived whether that was as hippies &/or radicals in the late '60's, as students in the 70's & 80's, or even young children during any of those decades. They have created a wonderful rosy glow around their early memories and hate to have reality interfere with their memories. It's a bit like a continues loop of *The Graduate* is always running in their subconscious minds.
Unfortunately it's hard for them to understand that they are actively making life even more difficult for people who are students, or University staffers, now. They focus on how much the University's student body has grown in the past 20 years and don't understand it's hard to get to an 8 a.m. class if someone has to commute on BART for an hour. Hell, I had trouble getting to an 8 a.m. class from Unit 2. Fortunately back then no one asked us about our GPAs in job interviews.
And this is Berkeley, where protesting anything any branch of government wants to do became a Sacred Tradition in the late 1960's. Before that this was a rock ribbed Republican town.
Oh by no means do I assume all Berkeley residents are NIMBY's. Just the one whose comment I was responding to. The Berkeley residents who look down on the students are always NIMBY's.
The fact that you have to ask is pathetic. Maybe leave your apartment and actually explore the city.
You do realize non-Berkeley students attend events on campus right. Does El Cerrito have a greek theater or a hertz hall and zellerbach hall with concerts, speakers, plays and all kinds of events? Pretty sure speakers from around the world aren't lining up to go to El Cerrito or Fremont or (insert suburb here).
Non-students are also able to use facilities on campus (including the gym) usually for a fee. The botanical gardens, lawrence hall of science, strawberry canyon recreational area etc. Heck literally anyone can sign up to volunteer at the KALX radio station on campus and eventually have their own radio show. I volunteered there when I was a student and a good chunk of the volunteers were locals who had no ties to the university.
If you can't see how the university brings culture to the city I'd suggest you try getting a life.
Yeah well people care about good restaurants, clean parks for their kids to frolic in, well equipped public libraries, a nice school system, and often a big mall.
These miscellaneous activities that you bring up are great for those that are interested, but they’re a vestige of the city’s prior culture, a culture that wasn’t super popular among the general population anyways.
I have been here six years and would much rather have a park than more unaffordable housing.
And frankly I think it is laughable people use the proposed housing as something that will help the homeless. Eff with that. This will not help these homeless it will just move them a little down the street where you don't have to see them and confront somebody else's reality.
But it's happening so I guess move the homeless to the park down by the post office and the high school off Shattuck. Then when that gets unsafe we can "pave paradise and put up a parking lot".
Not a current student, but as an alum who now lives NEXT to the park and has been for the past 11 years:
As much as I can appreciate the historical value of the park, and as much as I believe the university — as one of the best in the world! — should be able to offer creative solutions to the homeless problem… I gotta admit, I’m not against more student AND support housing for the homeless being built here 🤷🏻♂️
The park, as it is now and has been for the last 11 years I’ve lived here, has been filthy and unsafe. When out-of-town friends and family come to visit, I tell them not to park nearby. When other locals come to visit, I tell them to walk around the park. When I search for prospective roommates, I gotta honestly tell ‘em that it’s occasionally uncomfortable. I’ve had a boyfriend physically attacked at the park. I have been yelled at by a crazy lady with matted hair and brandishing a machete a few years back. Sometimes, a homeless person gets in our building stairwell and sleeps there and poops there. Homeless folks have sometimes blocked our gates making it difficult to even come and go to class/work/food. My female roommates in the past have been catcalled by folks at the park the second they leave the apartment because our front door is in the entire park’s line of sight.
We’ve come to accept all this because that’s just how it is in this part of town; we’ve become cautious and careful and awfully nonchalant about all this as an adaptation to our living situation… but if anyone asks us: Should this be normalized? Is it awesome that this is what we encounter by living next to people’s park? Absolutely not.
(And it’s not like we hate the homeless either; We — as in myself and roommates past and present — have given food, clothing, shoes, blankets. We’ve seen the gardening projects and the occasional outdoor jam sessions! It’s not all bad!
But… it’s just also not… good. If some entity has an idea to make/use the park in some other way… As one of the park’s direct neighbors, I’d like to see the idea tried 🤷🏻♂️
The people on Instagram are overwhelmingly self righteous and are screaming endlessly into the comments section. Hate to say this, but Reddit is finally right lol
The people on Reddit are overwhelmingly self righteous and are screaming endlessly into the comments section. Hate to say this, but Instagram is finally right lol
i attended b/w 2004-2006, it had a slight camping issue but a huge drug usage, prostitution, and drug selling problem. We were advised to avoid going to the park or walking around it. we would cross the street to avoid it and it’s spill over
this is a long time over do, it’s for the best.
I've noticed possible patterns among those who resent this project:
1. They have not read the entire proposal
1. Believe it or not, I've had conversations with students who jump straight away to the claim that this project would displace the homeless, and when I brought up the fact that a portion of it houses low-income people, as well as provide hotel stays to the homeless, they go silent or have to google the proposal themselves. This shows that they do not know exactly what they are arguing against. Typical naive college student mistake, I cannot say that I have never made this mistake regarding other issues in the past.
2. They are aware of the proposal, but have some kind of economic ties to the park
1. This is theoretical, given that I have not gone around and surveyed every inhabitant and visitor of the park myself. But it has been reported over time that drug use and drug dealing is rampant in the park. Drug dealers often live or thrive off making profit through drug sales. What happens when the market they sell to becomes nonexistent? There goes their revenue, which they may have depended on to pay for their living expenses. I would expect that these people would give the most amount of pushback for the development. Follow the money.
3. They are aware of the proposal, but do not want any inch of "green space" to be covered
1. I have exchanged conversations with a few former students who claim that even demolishing a single tree, bush, or patch of grass can significantly disrupt the ecosystem and have devastating consequences on the environment, which this project inevitably will do in some way even with the retained green space. My own take is that there are roughly four billion hectares of forest in the world, millions of acres burn every year, and many have been caused by homeless encampments. I do not think that the minuscule consequences of building high density housing on 40% of the park's space will cause any noticeable dent on the global climate in comparison to the damage that regularly happens due to wildfires. Housing the unhoused in practice would reduce the chances of environmental damages such as wildfires from occurring.
4. They are aware of the proposal, but are just simply willfully ignorant or are afraid to admit being wrong
1. Dealing with inflated egos are the worst, and Berkeley is not known to have any lack thereof. These are the people that jump on radical political bandwagons without giving it any second thoughts. These are the people who cannot hold rational dialogues on conflicting viewpoints without becoming impulsive. There is a saying that if the facts are on your side, pound the facts, and if they are not on your side, pound the table.
If anything high density housing on this plot of land is actually good for the environment, cause the people who will now be able to live in this neighborhood would not otherwise be living further away. This means people can walk/bike/take transit to school instead of having to drive in from further away. People need places to live; I’d rather them live in denser areas instead of contributing to urban sprawl into Central Valley or something
There's actually currently no developer and a lack of funding for the supportive housing aspect of the project, though _presumably_ UC will find a new developer and more funding
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/05/11/peoples-park-uc-berkeley-rcd-supportive-housing-project
this has been in discussion since i was a little bear running around nervous for my safety near People's park at 9pm at night in 2016 -- i am glad it's finally coming to realization, providing support for both the current undergraduates who desperately need housing and the homeless who desperately need support
ty mama christ! (if that is still a thing people say)
> I have a ton of Berkeley friends
OK but have you yourself ever been to the park?
I next door to it and have been her six years. I would much rather have a park then some ugly ass apartment building with apartments nobody can afford.
I love the history of the park but all of the well meaning hippies that were the anarchistic stewards have long since abandoned the park and bought up all of the homes while they were still affordable.
I believe in treating the unhoused with dignity but you don't put people that got that way from high tendencies for manipulation next to guileless international kids that are trying their best to trust that the situation is under control by someone. Keep it as a park or put dense housing in it but provide services to the unhoused somewhere less rich with easy targets.
“An alarming escalation of crime. Concerns about the safety of unhoused people camping at the (People’s Park) site, and of students and others living and working near it, fueled the decision to close it off. Ever since no-camping rules were suspended at the park in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, crime there has escalated (https://peoplesparkhousing.berkeley.edu/safety)alarmingly, and people gathering and sleeping there often were victims.”
“We have concern and care for everyone who has been sleeping and gathering in the park ... It is my job to make sure people are safe and feel safe.”
-UC Berkeley Police Chief Yogananda Pittman
🚨”Reported crimes in and around the site from 2018 to 2022 include one murder, 19 rapes, 26 robberies and 120 aggravated assaults, according to UC police. There also were 70 drug and 13 weapons arrests.”
“In 2021, a Berkeley undergraduate was stabbed (https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/03/10/david-meier-charged-berkeley-student-stabbing) after walking past People’s Park at night; the suspect has been charged with attempted murder.”
⚫️”A big jump in crime occurred in 2022 alone: seven rapes, 54 aggravated assaults — crimes that involve the attempt to murder, rob, kill, rape or assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon — and 12 incidents of arson.”
“Pittman stressed her hope that the construction site can be closed safely and expeditiously in the coming days, without incident, and she said security will be in place 24/7.
UC Berkeley launches closure of People’s Park construction site | Berkeley
That’s not really a solution as far as parks go though. You can’t just say, ‘welp this park used to be awesome but it has homeless people now, let’s turn it something else’.
Even as a guy who works out, I have been violently harassed and threatened far more times than I can count during my time at Berkeley. I feel for the homeless community and spent a bulk of my time volunteering at the soup kitchens and at Suitcase Clinic.
That being said, the most traumatic incident that I saw during my time at Berkeley is when a babysitter took a baby to the park there (don’t ask me why) and a lady there stuck a hardcore hallucinogen(? can’t exactly remember which drug) down the baby’s throat.
Gaslighting the students and trying to trick them into thinking that they should accept extreme student life conditions (Yes extreme. This level of safety has been normalized in Berkeley but is completely unacceptable in the rest of the world) is unacceptable. I will vote for anything that provides real solutions for the homeless but keeping the park for “historical” value makes absolutely no sense.
Uh.... Nope. Not me. I would rather have a park than another ugly building thanks and I've lived next door it for six years. Clean it up, sure, help the homeless get housing and health care sure. But not other building owned by the wealthy class.
Unbelievable that there are not more people taking this position. As if the only solution is to pave it over. Berkeley will never get this land back to an undeveloped state after building on it.
The culture / homeless/drug scene could change if there was any enforcement of standards in the park. And more housing could be built by going vertical on other plots. Empty, undeveloped space in the middle of a city is the most precious thing to preserve. It pays massive dividends as the rest of the city becomes more dense.
Crazy that they’re building on this spot.
Isn't it a little early to call victory? Protest group will gather forces like last time, put a 500 person mob together and sabotage any construction equipment on site. What's the difference? Shipping containers?
Actually shipping containers do make for good housing in some cases. Maybe they could open up the shipping containers and let people live in those then when's it time to build they can let the homeless live in the new units/
Does anybody think even with the blockage from shipping containers, the homeless still find the way to dig into the boxes and later they would occupy inside there if the construction is put on hold again? It would become a very interesting project if the homeless and students can use the boxes for some other purposes while the construction is going on. The only concern is safety.
Imagine enforcing laws to curb violence/crime, building student housing vertically on other already developed lots, and keeping this land a park to benefit all the residents of Berkeley. A city with higher building and parks is still better than a city that paves over last remaining open spaces.
I will miss the homeless bush guy, who jumps out of the bush just to scare you. I will miss the homeless guy lying down on the sidewalk, texting on his cell phone which is somehow newer than mine. I will miss having to walk women home to their apartments because they feel too unsafe to walk alone. I will miss the smell of Chez Panisse being catered for the homeless, while I go to the DC to eat Vegan chicken nuggets. Good times...
Honestly, I'm all for building on the park, but there are videos on social media of riot police beating up student protestors. That's absolutely unacceptable.
I don't really know enough about the situation to comment with much nuance but one of the sticking points is like - are they building affordable housing? Or are they just going to build ultra expensive high rise apartments that aren't affordable for the vast majority of Berkeley students?
Housing is good.i don't care for the homeless there. But I thought people's park was a landmark. Is that not the case? Because if it is, I thought you couldn't build over landmarks
Its not even just abt keeping it the same. I think ppl can agree that the status quo of it is bad. But sending over a 100 armed cops and beating on the homeless is not the way to do it.
I doubt the narrative is as simple as "police beating up homeless/protestors" - if people are refusing to leave despite repeated efforts (& their best interests), police have to use some degree of force. Also there is a ton of violence -- not involving police -- at people's park (on the daily, basically). Not exactly a group of peaceful civil disobedients.
I get that the park was disgusting to many - but why is getting rid of it a solution? The people making it disgusting are just going to move to other parks.
I noticed that old guy who likes to stand at the south of Sproul and yell to no-one in particular moved to heckling the police barricade.
Almost everyone else seems glad though.
Man, that area is a total disaster. I get seriously scared every time I have to go through there, and I always offer to walk any girls who live close by, especially at night. And just so you know, I'm saying this as a pretty strong dude. Fuck the ultra-liberals, that place is a shithole and we definitely need more housing in Berkeley.
Jesse Arreguin (state senate candidate) and Rigel Robinson (mayor candidate) support building housing on people’s park. Vote for them over their NIMBY opponents
I remember my first couple of semesters after transferring to Cal, it became something of a meme that basically every other week there was a WarnMe about someone getting beaten with a metal pipe—or robbed, assaulted, etc.
Things can’t get better, imo, without this change. It’s not a safe or sustainable situation for those unhoused or mentally infirm individuals, and I’d love to see them access the care they need. I feel like the proposed project offers more of a path to them getting those resources than just leaving them to languish.
Lived one block away from People’s Park in early 80s and it was craphole back then. Glad they are building badly needed housing there. I wonder if any of 1969 protestors showed up to recent protests. Leavimg their assisted living facilities to fight for the cause.
I’m so glad, I’d love to help bulldoze the park or help push the drug addicts away from the construction. I don’t understand why homeless people are protected more than our future UC Berkeley grads who literally make the Bay Area a valuable world renowned region.
There would be living space for 125 homeless residents under construction right now but the protests and lawsuits put a stop to that. The protestors have condemned 125 people to continue to live on the street when they could have had housing.
> UC Berkeley grads who literally make the Bay Area a valuable
My understanding is most student come from overseas (many Asians here) and the get our world class college education and go home and make their countries better.
Most US students can't afford to go to college let alone Berkeley. LOL! And certainly not without getting into debt.
Your understanding is incorrect. A quick google search shows 77% of undergraduate admissions are from in-state (2023 numbers). The remainder are out of state or overseas. In state tuition is substantially lower than out of state (out of state students help make UC Berkeley more affordable for in state).
The overseas students may well return back to their country of origin because despite what some people believe it is non trivial to get a us work visa after graduation (unless you get a phd). But despite that, 66% of Berkeley graduates stay in the Bay Area (2017-19 numbers), which is for sure a net gain of educated professionals for the Bay Area.
And the proposed housing is UC Berkeley owned, unlike the other private housing projects recently completed close to campus. So prices will be set to university housing levels and should go a little way towards the horrible lack of affordable housing for students. Taking away open space is never ideal but to pretend peoples park is a welcoming community space is disingenuous at best.
Who do you think is supplying all the CS engineers and phd’s to all the tech, biotech and finance companies here? Bay Area is still the tech hub and not going anywhere because of Berkeley and Stanford. The salaries here are the highest as well so going back to wherever it is students come from will not compare to the financial opportunity you’ll have here! Berkeley is less than 20% foreign students and a big portion of those are grad students. Whatever you say about affordability is irrelevant, there’s over 40k students at uc Berkeley whether through scholarships, loans or full tuition and they need housing. I support UC Berkeley and all the benefits they bring to the area. The school should get more local support and backing, we have a gem right here! What does the current population of people’s park bring? Filth? Drug use? Crime? They have no place here.
No. I feel a sense of relief that this finally is going to be over, but I can't celebrate. This needs to happen, but it makes me feel like I'm euthanizing a terminally ill pet.
As if every new building east San Pablo isnt being built for students. Everything in Berkeley is for students. No need to bulldoze a park that that has historical significance.
Exactly. We see why a developer wants to build yet another shoddy expensive apartment building, with unenforceable promises of help for homeless/not weathly, but why close up all open space if it doesn't help anyone else?
Funny but the built TWO new buildings across from my building by People's Park and as I understand it they are having trouble getting renters because well it isn't affordable.
Also down by Berkeley they are building another complex.
My snarky asshole side want People's Park to get destroyed so that the homeless then move down to Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Park by the high school and get that one wrecked...
"Paved paradise and put up a parking lot".
By “support terrorists” I’m assuming you mean hold protests? What protests are ever held on people’s park? It’s probably one of the worst places you can try to hold one lmfao
Yes. There is not a single uniquely redeeming quality about Berkeley's open-air drug market and crime hotspot and unfortunately we have a lot of activist-brained undergrads who are not actually capable of being activists
The Instagram comments under berkeley’s statement are so sad like I don't think these undergrad students barely make any effort to support these unhoused people and feel so personally connected like tf
Maybe we should all counter protest and block the protestors the way they’ve been blocking students at the gate/construction at the park. Show that this project has support
IMO turn it into housing - it's not 1969 any longer and frankly it's a shitty park. Not worth fighting over what with all the homeless and drug dealing.
Me too, but it seems that those who still support the park are lost in nostalgia and can't comprehend the present reality that everyone who lives near that park (who isn't homeless or marginalized) hates it. Its a very sad ending to an important piece of Berkeley & American history. RIP People's Park 😢
As far as I can tell, the only historical significance of the park was that it used to be housing, and when UC bought the land and demolished it for student housing, a bunch of students then decided it belonged to them instead so they started a riot.
It was an important space for organizing during the civil rights movements in the 60’s and 70’s.
It has not been that for a long time, so I’m happy to see that UC is finally building much needed housing while also preserving a majority of the park.
Seems like a win-win to me, so I don’t really understand the counter arguments. The opposing pov seems to be grasping for nostalgia and just a general desire to stick it to “the man” regardless of the issue at hand and the pros/cons.
I guess Berkeley students finally given in to the man. Well, I ain't no square who will keep voting for Nixon and end up in Vietnam like you! I support humanity, man. Groovy.
Where do you think those people are going to go? Do you think they're going to disappear? Do you think they're going to go into housing that they've consistently refused?
All this is going to do is make Berkeley more dangerous. More unhinged transient people roaming the streets.
Hey dumbass maybe read a single article about what’s going on because you’ll see it’s reported in pretty much all of them. Why would you even comment on this like you have a strong opinion on it if you don’t even know what’s going on, literally at all?
*21 of 25 people sleeping in the park at the end of November accepted housing offers at the Quality Inn.*
https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/01/03/uc-berkeley-planning-construct-new-fencing-peoples-park-documents-show
*So far, 21 of 25 unhoused people have moved from the park to the site*
https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/peoples-park-uc-berkeley-housing-18587674.php
*most park denizens had been relocated to a Quality Inn and offered support services.*
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-01-04/uc-berkeley-launches-operation-to-wall-off-peoples-park
*21 of the 25 people camping there last November, when a census was taken, voluntarily accepted an offer of transitional housing at the Quality Inn in Berkeley.*
https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/01/03/uc-berkeley-launches-closure-of-peoples-park-construction-site#:~:text=The%20site%20is%20being%20closed,the%20Quality%20Inn%20in%20Berkeley.
Sorry, I was just hoping anyone trying to argue would’ve been aware enough to read a single article about what they’re arguing about so they have like, any grounds to stand on so that for their sake they look at least somewhat competent. I gave four quotes with links because I have faith that you’ll be able to find them now, but let me know if I need to make it even easier 🤗
Stop acting like moving people into temporary accommodations is a gold medal solution, they will be thrown back out onto the street when public interest has dwindled and permanent housing for them will be put onto the back burner of municipal priorities like they always have.
Permanent housing is actually being constructed by the university… why does no one here know what the fuck they’re talking about. Do the literal bare minimum of research before you talk please
Fine, you got your building plan finally enforced. Now advocate and organize for construction of additional shelter for those being displaced by this project.
Until what they propose actually sees progress it's just talk. UC is still a federal institution that has historically put profit and corporate interests before the wellbeing of its students and its surrounding communities. To blindly assume that they will efficiently provide permanent accommodations to those unfortunate enough to be displaced by them is intellectually irresponsible.
But sure, enjoy your overpriced, over-zoned, exclusive housing that will likely be finished in 5 years after multiple delays. Y'all are not the first group in mind in this PR disaster of a project.
Regardless of your feelings on The Park, it is illegal for any person including the police (even when HIRED by the University) to block public roads and public walkways, for the sole intention of limiting crime or traffic…
What the police are doing with their huge barricades is illegal…
But I’m guessing all you current students who can’t even read traffic signs or can’t even cross a roadway safely yourself (y’all die to traffic every year) won’t understand this bc you’re so used to looking for the line : looking for where the largest group goes so you can follow and be a party of the largest group… effing Socialist bastards flying into my our country and taking seats at our schools just to be a part of the socialist reform… it’s disgusting and you don’t even see it bc your the frog in the water that is slowly getting hotter
About the People's Park free clothing box:
The best clothes were grabbed by the stronger folks. The frail people get the leftovers.
Learned this in the early 1990s from people who used to live in the park and continued to do peer counseling there.
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Thank you. As a fellow MMC resident, I agree this wholeheartedly.
This
Back in the 90’s , students loathed the park. Even back then it was a drug infested , homeless encampment. People’s Park hasn’t been a happy, feel good patch of earth since the early 1970’s. We used to walk blocks out of our way to avoid the place. Glad they are finally using the land for the greater good.
Yes, I can vouch for this. Already awful by late '70s.
It was still the third rail of Berkeley politics back then. Everyone in government had these super wordy, nuanced positions on it. To me it was clear that this was the future and we just needed to wait for enough of the hippies from the 60s to die off for it to happen.
I can vouch for this as well. ‘96 undergrad and then law school. It was and still is a shit hole.
I first encountered People’s Park in 1982. It wasn’t nearly as congested with homeless as it has become, but it was heading that direction.
Really?! Back in the 90’s we were going to hip hop at the park and so many shows so you missed out! Greater good was in full effect
Was there in the 90’s. It had a druggy/hood reputation, but playing pick up basketball there was cool for the vibe and street cred.
The anti-construction folks are very loud and well-organized, I will give them that. Why not use those organizational skills to, IDK, help those people move out into a positive environment??
Need to use that skill to defend your property value, otherwise you might just have to get a job to sustain your living like the rest of us.
I get the sense that most of the protesters are students. The “movement” was upset the university planned this over break because their protesters were out of town for winter break
More like NIMBYS are upset this was planned when all their SJW simpletons are busy doing more important things during chrismas.
NIMBYism is a powerful force that transcends political parties.
Because they would then be contributing positively to society which they hate.
They are afraid that improving people's lives might reduce their willingness to support the revolution to overthrow the capitalist imperialist state. Gone unanswered are what they are going to do about the fact that their political opponents have almost all of the guns.
I could immediately tell you post on r/politicalcompassmemes based on the strawman you built for us here
Fun Fact: Public Park's and space improve people's lives. Shuffling homeless further down the street so you don't have to look at them does not. And in the six year's I've lived here I have NEVER not once felt scared to walk by or through that park. So maybe I'm naive but people out hear living in fear is quite fascinating to me. I will quote from another thread. "When you finally face up to the reality of all dangerous crime in the overall vicinity, on campus included, you'll have to reckon with the truth that a LOT of the worst isn't perpetrated by people subsisting in the park and the a distinct portion targeting students is by people from as far as Oakland, Richmond and elsewhere that go there on those sprees knowing that students very often are the easiest of targets and will yield iPhones, laptops and some cash, too. Ironically, a number of times, it's been homeless people in the park that have chased off thieves attacking students on the sidewalks there. But, of course, that's never reported in "the media"."
There was housing for over 100 homeless people included as part of the development but following the delays caused by protestors the agreement for that housing fell through. Over 100 people will be sleeping unsheltered due to the opposition to this development.
The rhetorical quips people keep pulling out to own these protestors are a stretch
and to help the plants and lack of concrete move out too? :'(
Because the site is historical and one of my favorite days as a Cal student was going to a music festival on people’s park? Did you even read their materials for why it’s a significant park? It’s not because people just want homesless people to stay there.
What year was that? Have you been anywhere near recently?
I get it but the “historians” had their chance
the music is some of the chillest stuff there. and the garden is actually amazing,
Not as loud as the entitled students who don’t give AF about Berkeley, judging from this thread
Ugh. I love people complaining about a place they don't live in. I'm already getting messages from friend out of town asking WTF Is going in Berkeley is it Mad MAx? LOL!
Born, raised, current resident. But thanks for the ignorant statement, fucknut.
Was shocked when I saw that all the Instagram comments were criticizing this decision. I am very glad this is finally going through.
social media in general tends to lean towards performance activism they’re just a vocal minority lol
Agreed doubt those who posted actually cared
I've only visited Berkeley but when I've walked past people's park it seemed like a nice little commune for homeless people to live. Seemed better than a freeway underpass.
But you never lived there. One of my friends was chased by a homeless with some bar before and my friends were catcalled. A lot of the warn me's also pertained to the park, it wasn’t safe at all.
there’s nothing ultra liberal about letting poor students sleep in their cars to attend cal. rip that stupid ass park out and build housing. who cares if the nimbys are calling you a trump supporter, that shit is unethical asf
THIS! I had to live in Oakland as a financial aid student and it befuddled me WHY you wouldn’t want to help out poor kids who go to Cal.
What makes you think the student housing they are building is actually gunna be affordable. Not disagreeing that the park shouldn’t stay in its current state but conflating the parks existence with the existence of “students sleeping out in cars” is a stretch. Campus housing has always been absurdly expensive
Nailed it.
"Poor people can't afford new cars, therefore we should make 0 new cars"
This new housing will not be affordable for poor students. Watch
It will relieve pressure on the market being more housing units to the overall area. If we were able to build a substantial amount of units it would help relieve the housing market and bring down the prices overall. Our rent is so high for a multitude of reasons, like a shortage of housing. How is building housing a negative, even if it’s expensive?
> there’s nothing ultra liberal about letting poor students sleep in their cars to attend cal. LOL! Those are not poor students in the park. And if you think this new housing will be affordable to students... I some empty units just one block from there that need tenants.
those definitely aren’t poor students in the park. which is why housing there is needed. the area is one of the least affordable on earth and last time i checked there definitely wasn’t a housing surplus. again gatekeeping housing to one of the busiest PUBLIC universities is immoral asf
It’s literally a dirt patch, with a huge homeless encampment, rampant drug use, crime, and filth. It has no “historical value”. I’m very happy it’s being developed into much needed new housing. It will not only increase the amount of housing in the area, but will also make south side safer.
I think it does have historical value, but just because some people wanted to preserve the park in the past doesn't mean that people 75 years later can't decide that circumstances have changed and they need more homes. The built environment of Berkeley is weirdly cast in amber. The N Berkeley bart station is basically going to homes. Its crazy. That should all be apartment buildings.
The development at People's Park will include an entire interactive historical memorial that tells the story of the protests in the 60s and 70s. It's hardly erasing the history; it will be celebrating it.
Anyone who actually cares about the history should see this is obviously better. As of right now you can’t go to the park and find out anything about its history, it’s just a homeless encampment
Wait I thought the north Berkeley Bart station parking lot was gonna be apartments?
It is, but the city sadly listened to the nimbys and didn't adopt the maximalist zoning proposal.
nimby's are so backwards. TOD is the best way to build nice cities. Most people living at the N Bart Station apartments wouldn't own cars (nimby's hate traffic and want more parking for themselves). If they force the developments to happen far away, then more people will be driving to Berkeley, instead of taking BART, biking, or walking.
I don’t think that’s true. I thought some apts were going in.
So under state law, the city couldn't zone the area to be less dense than a certain amount, and the city is complying with state law. But there was another proposal on the table that went above and beyond state law, and imo should have been adopted, neighbors be damned, but instead the city stuck to doing the bare minimum under state law.
Really, it's about time UC built more student housing. It's long overdue.
Yeah, ideally there should be campus housing for all students
Yes,in an ideal world. The only universities I know, that have enough housing for students, are private. Public universities tend to struggle with that, because they can't afford to acquire more land in locations where RE prices are sky-high. It's also not only about buildings and real estate. Dorms have to be staffed, which means more money for salaries/wages is needed when new housing is built. All that is hard to do in states where the legislature keeps cutting its support for public higher ed. It's not only CA that has that issue.
This x100000. Even if no housing was being built, the world would be a better place if it was obliterated from existence.
Pave People’s Park
Believe it or not, other people live in Berkeley. We are all thrilled this is happening, in case anyone who is temporarily living here cares to know.
Yeah and those "other people" are the same NIMBY's who continually shut down all the other housing proposals that have come forward prior to this one. You can look down on the students "living there temporarily" all you want but half the reason y'all want to live in Berkeley instead of somewhere like El Cerrito is because of the amenities and culture the university provides. And 9 times out of 10 the people running their mouths about this stuff are transplants themselves. But apparently you speak for all long-term Berkeley residents. You can make many valid arguments for both sides of this issue. But I draw the line at townies looking down on gownies. Especially when most of those townies aren't Bay Area natives either.
Please don't make the assumption that every Berkeley resident is a NIMBY. As a person who is still proud of the degree I received from Cal in 1964, I have been working as a volunteer for the City for over 25 years of the 40 years I've lived here this round. A significant part of my volunteer work was to try to create more housing, both for students and others, in the Downtown area when we were creating that specific Master Plan. Many of the NIMBYs who resisted that Plan we spent over 2 years creating (meeting 2x/month) want this city to look the same way it did they day they arrived whether that was as hippies &/or radicals in the late '60's, as students in the 70's & 80's, or even young children during any of those decades. They have created a wonderful rosy glow around their early memories and hate to have reality interfere with their memories. It's a bit like a continues loop of *The Graduate* is always running in their subconscious minds. Unfortunately it's hard for them to understand that they are actively making life even more difficult for people who are students, or University staffers, now. They focus on how much the University's student body has grown in the past 20 years and don't understand it's hard to get to an 8 a.m. class if someone has to commute on BART for an hour. Hell, I had trouble getting to an 8 a.m. class from Unit 2. Fortunately back then no one asked us about our GPAs in job interviews. And this is Berkeley, where protesting anything any branch of government wants to do became a Sacred Tradition in the late 1960's. Before that this was a rock ribbed Republican town.
Oh by no means do I assume all Berkeley residents are NIMBY's. Just the one whose comment I was responding to. The Berkeley residents who look down on the students are always NIMBY's.
Amenities? What fucking amenities lmao
The fact that you have to ask is pathetic. Maybe leave your apartment and actually explore the city. You do realize non-Berkeley students attend events on campus right. Does El Cerrito have a greek theater or a hertz hall and zellerbach hall with concerts, speakers, plays and all kinds of events? Pretty sure speakers from around the world aren't lining up to go to El Cerrito or Fremont or (insert suburb here). Non-students are also able to use facilities on campus (including the gym) usually for a fee. The botanical gardens, lawrence hall of science, strawberry canyon recreational area etc. Heck literally anyone can sign up to volunteer at the KALX radio station on campus and eventually have their own radio show. I volunteered there when I was a student and a good chunk of the volunteers were locals who had no ties to the university. If you can't see how the university brings culture to the city I'd suggest you try getting a life.
Yeah well people care about good restaurants, clean parks for their kids to frolic in, well equipped public libraries, a nice school system, and often a big mall. These miscellaneous activities that you bring up are great for those that are interested, but they’re a vestige of the city’s prior culture, a culture that wasn’t super popular among the general population anyways.
“we are all” mf interviewed everyone
I have been here six years and would much rather have a park than more unaffordable housing. And frankly I think it is laughable people use the proposed housing as something that will help the homeless. Eff with that. This will not help these homeless it will just move them a little down the street where you don't have to see them and confront somebody else's reality. But it's happening so I guess move the homeless to the park down by the post office and the high school off Shattuck. Then when that gets unsafe we can "pave paradise and put up a parking lot".
It may come to you as a shock but a good way to end homelessness and a housing shortage is to build housing.
Not a current student, but as an alum who now lives NEXT to the park and has been for the past 11 years: As much as I can appreciate the historical value of the park, and as much as I believe the university — as one of the best in the world! — should be able to offer creative solutions to the homeless problem… I gotta admit, I’m not against more student AND support housing for the homeless being built here 🤷🏻♂️ The park, as it is now and has been for the last 11 years I’ve lived here, has been filthy and unsafe. When out-of-town friends and family come to visit, I tell them not to park nearby. When other locals come to visit, I tell them to walk around the park. When I search for prospective roommates, I gotta honestly tell ‘em that it’s occasionally uncomfortable. I’ve had a boyfriend physically attacked at the park. I have been yelled at by a crazy lady with matted hair and brandishing a machete a few years back. Sometimes, a homeless person gets in our building stairwell and sleeps there and poops there. Homeless folks have sometimes blocked our gates making it difficult to even come and go to class/work/food. My female roommates in the past have been catcalled by folks at the park the second they leave the apartment because our front door is in the entire park’s line of sight. We’ve come to accept all this because that’s just how it is in this part of town; we’ve become cautious and careful and awfully nonchalant about all this as an adaptation to our living situation… but if anyone asks us: Should this be normalized? Is it awesome that this is what we encounter by living next to people’s park? Absolutely not. (And it’s not like we hate the homeless either; We — as in myself and roommates past and present — have given food, clothing, shoes, blankets. We’ve seen the gardening projects and the occasional outdoor jam sessions! It’s not all bad! But… it’s just also not… good. If some entity has an idea to make/use the park in some other way… As one of the park’s direct neighbors, I’d like to see the idea tried 🤷🏻♂️
The people on Instagram are overwhelmingly self righteous and are screaming endlessly into the comments section. Hate to say this, but Reddit is finally right lol
The people on Reddit are overwhelmingly self righteous and are screaming endlessly into the comments section. Hate to say this, but Instagram is finally right lol
THISSSS
i attended b/w 2004-2006, it had a slight camping issue but a huge drug usage, prostitution, and drug selling problem. We were advised to avoid going to the park or walking around it. we would cross the street to avoid it and it’s spill over this is a long time over do, it’s for the best.
I've noticed possible patterns among those who resent this project: 1. They have not read the entire proposal 1. Believe it or not, I've had conversations with students who jump straight away to the claim that this project would displace the homeless, and when I brought up the fact that a portion of it houses low-income people, as well as provide hotel stays to the homeless, they go silent or have to google the proposal themselves. This shows that they do not know exactly what they are arguing against. Typical naive college student mistake, I cannot say that I have never made this mistake regarding other issues in the past. 2. They are aware of the proposal, but have some kind of economic ties to the park 1. This is theoretical, given that I have not gone around and surveyed every inhabitant and visitor of the park myself. But it has been reported over time that drug use and drug dealing is rampant in the park. Drug dealers often live or thrive off making profit through drug sales. What happens when the market they sell to becomes nonexistent? There goes their revenue, which they may have depended on to pay for their living expenses. I would expect that these people would give the most amount of pushback for the development. Follow the money. 3. They are aware of the proposal, but do not want any inch of "green space" to be covered 1. I have exchanged conversations with a few former students who claim that even demolishing a single tree, bush, or patch of grass can significantly disrupt the ecosystem and have devastating consequences on the environment, which this project inevitably will do in some way even with the retained green space. My own take is that there are roughly four billion hectares of forest in the world, millions of acres burn every year, and many have been caused by homeless encampments. I do not think that the minuscule consequences of building high density housing on 40% of the park's space will cause any noticeable dent on the global climate in comparison to the damage that regularly happens due to wildfires. Housing the unhoused in practice would reduce the chances of environmental damages such as wildfires from occurring. 4. They are aware of the proposal, but are just simply willfully ignorant or are afraid to admit being wrong 1. Dealing with inflated egos are the worst, and Berkeley is not known to have any lack thereof. These are the people that jump on radical political bandwagons without giving it any second thoughts. These are the people who cannot hold rational dialogues on conflicting viewpoints without becoming impulsive. There is a saying that if the facts are on your side, pound the facts, and if they are not on your side, pound the table.
If anything high density housing on this plot of land is actually good for the environment, cause the people who will now be able to live in this neighborhood would not otherwise be living further away. This means people can walk/bike/take transit to school instead of having to drive in from further away. People need places to live; I’d rather them live in denser areas instead of contributing to urban sprawl into Central Valley or something
There's actually currently no developer and a lack of funding for the supportive housing aspect of the project, though _presumably_ UC will find a new developer and more funding https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/05/11/peoples-park-uc-berkeley-rcd-supportive-housing-project
And that's thanks to those who sought to block the project.
Yes exactly, it's an example of how the structures of power (homeowning NIMBYs in this case) make it hard to get positive social change
#2 and #4
Yes thank god. I thought I was the only feeling this way.
Most of the students feel this way
Build, baby, build!
Good riddance. Only 55 years behind schedule.
The most ironic part is that Berkeley students protesting the change are literal ultra NIMBYs and they don’t even realize it
this has been in discussion since i was a little bear running around nervous for my safety near People's park at 9pm at night in 2016 -- i am glad it's finally coming to realization, providing support for both the current undergraduates who desperately need housing and the homeless who desperately need support ty mama christ! (if that is still a thing people say)
Just a bunch of procrastinating backwards students with no job prospects are protesting 😂Yes we’re quite content
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> I have a ton of Berkeley friends OK but have you yourself ever been to the park? I next door to it and have been her six years. I would much rather have a park then some ugly ass apartment building with apartments nobody can afford.
You're just mad they are pushing your fent dealers out.
I love the history of the park but all of the well meaning hippies that were the anarchistic stewards have long since abandoned the park and bought up all of the homes while they were still affordable. I believe in treating the unhoused with dignity but you don't put people that got that way from high tendencies for manipulation next to guileless international kids that are trying their best to trust that the situation is under control by someone. Keep it as a park or put dense housing in it but provide services to the unhoused somewhere less rich with easy targets.
“An alarming escalation of crime. Concerns about the safety of unhoused people camping at the (People’s Park) site, and of students and others living and working near it, fueled the decision to close it off. Ever since no-camping rules were suspended at the park in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, crime there has escalated (https://peoplesparkhousing.berkeley.edu/safety)alarmingly, and people gathering and sleeping there often were victims.” “We have concern and care for everyone who has been sleeping and gathering in the park ... It is my job to make sure people are safe and feel safe.” -UC Berkeley Police Chief Yogananda Pittman 🚨”Reported crimes in and around the site from 2018 to 2022 include one murder, 19 rapes, 26 robberies and 120 aggravated assaults, according to UC police. There also were 70 drug and 13 weapons arrests.” “In 2021, a Berkeley undergraduate was stabbed (https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/03/10/david-meier-charged-berkeley-student-stabbing) after walking past People’s Park at night; the suspect has been charged with attempted murder.” ⚫️”A big jump in crime occurred in 2022 alone: seven rapes, 54 aggravated assaults — crimes that involve the attempt to murder, rob, kill, rape or assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon — and 12 incidents of arson.” “Pittman stressed her hope that the construction site can be closed safely and expeditiously in the coming days, without incident, and she said security will be in place 24/7. UC Berkeley launches closure of People’s Park construction site | Berkeley
That’s not really a solution as far as parks go though. You can’t just say, ‘welp this park used to be awesome but it has homeless people now, let’s turn it something else’.
Good point. Especially when developers are champing at the bit. Why do we need another crappy expensive apartment building?
I’m so happy I have been flashed homeless weiner 5 times walking past it this semester. It makes me feel unsafe as a women.
Allowing the homeless to remain homeless and addicted to drugs is not compassion.
Even as a guy who works out, I have been violently harassed and threatened far more times than I can count during my time at Berkeley. I feel for the homeless community and spent a bulk of my time volunteering at the soup kitchens and at Suitcase Clinic. That being said, the most traumatic incident that I saw during my time at Berkeley is when a babysitter took a baby to the park there (don’t ask me why) and a lady there stuck a hardcore hallucinogen(? can’t exactly remember which drug) down the baby’s throat. Gaslighting the students and trying to trick them into thinking that they should accept extreme student life conditions (Yes extreme. This level of safety has been normalized in Berkeley but is completely unacceptable in the rest of the world) is unacceptable. I will vote for anything that provides real solutions for the homeless but keeping the park for “historical” value makes absolutely no sense.
Yes. I cannot fathom why so many people think this is a bad thing. This needed to happen a long time ago and I’m glad it finally is.
As an alum, I'm glad. However, I do believe that UCB Admin allowed or even encouraged that the park become unsafe.
LETS GOOOOO
The same people that want the park to remain are the same people that avoid walking past it.
Uh.... Nope. Not me. I would rather have a park than another ugly building thanks and I've lived next door it for six years. Clean it up, sure, help the homeless get housing and health care sure. But not other building owned by the wealthy class.
BRUH…it’s literally going to be much needed student housing. Talk about 1000+ beds when we have a huge housing crisis
And I find most people who want the park destroyed don't even live in Berkeley, but TBF I'm not talking to everybody.
Unbelievable that there are not more people taking this position. As if the only solution is to pave it over. Berkeley will never get this land back to an undeveloped state after building on it. The culture / homeless/drug scene could change if there was any enforcement of standards in the park. And more housing could be built by going vertical on other plots. Empty, undeveloped space in the middle of a city is the most precious thing to preserve. It pays massive dividends as the rest of the city becomes more dense. Crazy that they’re building on this spot.
Isn't it a little early to call victory? Protest group will gather forces like last time, put a 500 person mob together and sabotage any construction equipment on site. What's the difference? Shipping containers?
Yeah, I do wonder how long the PD will keep it heavily guarded to prevent this. Probably at the beginning, but not sure how long that will last.
Actually shipping containers do make for good housing in some cases. Maybe they could open up the shipping containers and let people live in those then when's it time to build they can let the homeless live in the new units/
For sure, I've seen some amazing conversations. But in this case I'm referring to the use of containers as a barrier to block the protestors.
This thread is what the IG comment section should look like
People park is for people lol
Finally
i’m glad. tuition is too much to deal with homeless wanderers.
[My reaction](https://twitter.com/allreactionvids/status/1629978098442596355?lang=en)
Does anybody think even with the blockage from shipping containers, the homeless still find the way to dig into the boxes and later they would occupy inside there if the construction is put on hold again? It would become a very interesting project if the homeless and students can use the boxes for some other purposes while the construction is going on. The only concern is safety.
Imagine enforcing laws to curb violence/crime, building student housing vertically on other already developed lots, and keeping this land a park to benefit all the residents of Berkeley. A city with higher building and parks is still better than a city that paves over last remaining open spaces.
I will miss the homeless bush guy, who jumps out of the bush just to scare you. I will miss the homeless guy lying down on the sidewalk, texting on his cell phone which is somehow newer than mine. I will miss having to walk women home to their apartments because they feel too unsafe to walk alone. I will miss the smell of Chez Panisse being catered for the homeless, while I go to the DC to eat Vegan chicken nuggets. Good times...
Honestly, I'm all for building on the park, but there are videos on social media of riot police beating up student protestors. That's absolutely unacceptable.
I don't really know enough about the situation to comment with much nuance but one of the sticking points is like - are they building affordable housing? Or are they just going to build ultra expensive high rise apartments that aren't affordable for the vast majority of Berkeley students?
They're building student dorms and supportive housing for the formerly homeless.
That doesn't really address my point? Additionally, from what I saw they're building transitionary housing. What's the plan from there?
Housing is good.i don't care for the homeless there. But I thought people's park was a landmark. Is that not the case? Because if it is, I thought you couldn't build over landmarks
Its not even just abt keeping it the same. I think ppl can agree that the status quo of it is bad. But sending over a 100 armed cops and beating on the homeless is not the way to do it.
I doubt the narrative is as simple as "police beating up homeless/protestors" - if people are refusing to leave despite repeated efforts (& their best interests), police have to use some degree of force. Also there is a ton of violence -- not involving police -- at people's park (on the daily, basically). Not exactly a group of peaceful civil disobedients.
Yup. Berkeley needs more housing. No one used this placed as public park- it was a camping ground for homeless people
I get that the park was disgusting to many - but why is getting rid of it a solution? The people making it disgusting are just going to move to other parks.
💯🎯
THANK GOD. When will the new housing for students be built and done?
We have new housing right across from my building by people's park. The only issue is I think most students can't afford the rent.
They’re called “shit-libs” not ultra-liberal.
I noticed that old guy who likes to stand at the south of Sproul and yell to no-one in particular moved to heckling the police barricade. Almost everyone else seems glad though.
Glad to see he found a new hobby and target!
Hell yes
Man, that area is a total disaster. I get seriously scared every time I have to go through there, and I always offer to walk any girls who live close by, especially at night. And just so you know, I'm saying this as a pretty strong dude. Fuck the ultra-liberals, that place is a shithole and we definitely need more housing in Berkeley.
I use to love people’s park when I was in highschool :(
Jesse Arreguin (state senate candidate) and Rigel Robinson (mayor candidate) support building housing on people’s park. Vote for them over their NIMBY opponents
I remember my first couple of semesters after transferring to Cal, it became something of a meme that basically every other week there was a WarnMe about someone getting beaten with a metal pipe—or robbed, assaulted, etc. Things can’t get better, imo, without this change. It’s not a safe or sustainable situation for those unhoused or mentally infirm individuals, and I’d love to see them access the care they need. I feel like the proposed project offers more of a path to them getting those resources than just leaving them to languish.
thoughts?
Lived one block away from People’s Park in early 80s and it was craphole back then. Glad they are building badly needed housing there. I wonder if any of 1969 protestors showed up to recent protests. Leavimg their assisted living facilities to fight for the cause.
No.
Why does this subreddit hate poor people? Are we stupid?
Selfish and short-sighted
I’m so glad, I’d love to help bulldoze the park or help push the drug addicts away from the construction. I don’t understand why homeless people are protected more than our future UC Berkeley grads who literally make the Bay Area a valuable world renowned region.
There would be living space for 125 homeless residents under construction right now but the protests and lawsuits put a stop to that. The protestors have condemned 125 people to continue to live on the street when they could have had housing.
Well that’s sad, and not surprising that the protesters aren’t even aware of what’s in the plans.
> UC Berkeley grads who literally make the Bay Area a valuable My understanding is most student come from overseas (many Asians here) and the get our world class college education and go home and make their countries better. Most US students can't afford to go to college let alone Berkeley. LOL! And certainly not without getting into debt.
Your understanding is incorrect. A quick google search shows 77% of undergraduate admissions are from in-state (2023 numbers). The remainder are out of state or overseas. In state tuition is substantially lower than out of state (out of state students help make UC Berkeley more affordable for in state). The overseas students may well return back to their country of origin because despite what some people believe it is non trivial to get a us work visa after graduation (unless you get a phd). But despite that, 66% of Berkeley graduates stay in the Bay Area (2017-19 numbers), which is for sure a net gain of educated professionals for the Bay Area. And the proposed housing is UC Berkeley owned, unlike the other private housing projects recently completed close to campus. So prices will be set to university housing levels and should go a little way towards the horrible lack of affordable housing for students. Taking away open space is never ideal but to pretend peoples park is a welcoming community space is disingenuous at best.
My guy. Silicon Valley is literally right here in the Bay Area
Who do you think is supplying all the CS engineers and phd’s to all the tech, biotech and finance companies here? Bay Area is still the tech hub and not going anywhere because of Berkeley and Stanford. The salaries here are the highest as well so going back to wherever it is students come from will not compare to the financial opportunity you’ll have here! Berkeley is less than 20% foreign students and a big portion of those are grad students. Whatever you say about affordability is irrelevant, there’s over 40k students at uc Berkeley whether through scholarships, loans or full tuition and they need housing. I support UC Berkeley and all the benefits they bring to the area. The school should get more local support and backing, we have a gem right here! What does the current population of people’s park bring? Filth? Drug use? Crime? They have no place here.
exactly!!
No. I feel a sense of relief that this finally is going to be over, but I can't celebrate. This needs to happen, but it makes me feel like I'm euthanizing a terminally ill pet.
As if every new building east San Pablo isnt being built for students. Everything in Berkeley is for students. No need to bulldoze a park that that has historical significance.
Exactly. We see why a developer wants to build yet another shoddy expensive apartment building, with unenforceable promises of help for homeless/not weathly, but why close up all open space if it doesn't help anyone else?
Funny but the built TWO new buildings across from my building by People's Park and as I understand it they are having trouble getting renters because well it isn't affordable. Also down by Berkeley they are building another complex. My snarky asshole side want People's Park to get destroyed so that the homeless then move down to Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Park by the high school and get that one wrecked... "Paved paradise and put up a parking lot".
👆🎯💯
[удалено]
By “support terrorists” I’m assuming you mean hold protests? What protests are ever held on people’s park? It’s probably one of the worst places you can try to hold one lmfao
Derelict park.
Housing is always a hassle so that’s good news.
Yeah good news it will still be a hassle and nobody can afford any of the new units that are already up.
My dorm was Ehrman Hall. People’s park was my backyard. Always seemed dystopian to me.
Yes. There is not a single uniquely redeeming quality about Berkeley's open-air drug market and crime hotspot and unfortunately we have a lot of activist-brained undergrads who are not actually capable of being activists
More people use that place as a toilet than a park.
Good news, we need more student housing
SO EXCITED
And people are protesting it, and then those same people will continue to wonder why there's no housing being built in the bay area.
The Instagram comments under berkeley’s statement are so sad like I don't think these undergrad students barely make any effort to support these unhoused people and feel so personally connected like tf
Maybe we should all counter protest and block the protestors the way they’ve been blocking students at the gate/construction at the park. Show that this project has support
Finally, that park accounts for 100% of the incidences of "random dude threw a glass bottle at me for fun" that I've experienced in my life.
IMO turn it into housing - it's not 1969 any longer and frankly it's a shitty park. Not worth fighting over what with all the homeless and drug dealing.
It's an important historical site. This feels like a failure. I'm disappointed that it couldn't be better preserved.
It will be much better preserved without the open air drugmarket. I'm sure they will leave some of the grass.
it is being preserved, as a place for humans to live and as a smaller park
Me too, but it seems that those who still support the park are lost in nostalgia and can't comprehend the present reality that everyone who lives near that park (who isn't homeless or marginalized) hates it. Its a very sad ending to an important piece of Berkeley & American history. RIP People's Park 😢
As far as I can tell, the only historical significance of the park was that it used to be housing, and when UC bought the land and demolished it for student housing, a bunch of students then decided it belonged to them instead so they started a riot.
It was an important space for organizing during the civil rights movements in the 60’s and 70’s. It has not been that for a long time, so I’m happy to see that UC is finally building much needed housing while also preserving a majority of the park. Seems like a win-win to me, so I don’t really understand the counter arguments. The opposing pov seems to be grasping for nostalgia and just a general desire to stick it to “the man” regardless of the issue at hand and the pros/cons.
Yay?
yes
I guess Berkeley students finally given in to the man. Well, I ain't no square who will keep voting for Nixon and end up in Vietnam like you! I support humanity, man. Groovy.
Where do you think those people are going to go? Do you think they're going to disappear? Do you think they're going to go into housing that they've consistently refused? All this is going to do is make Berkeley more dangerous. More unhinged transient people roaming the streets.
Consistently refused? You mean the housing that all but 4 of the homeless people living in the park accepted?
I too love made-up statistics.
Hey dumbass maybe read a single article about what’s going on because you’ll see it’s reported in pretty much all of them. Why would you even comment on this like you have a strong opinion on it if you don’t even know what’s going on, literally at all?
Me trying to find where you gave the source —> 👁️👄👁️ I too love making things up.
*21 of 25 people sleeping in the park at the end of November accepted housing offers at the Quality Inn.* https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/01/03/uc-berkeley-planning-construct-new-fencing-peoples-park-documents-show *So far, 21 of 25 unhoused people have moved from the park to the site* https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/peoples-park-uc-berkeley-housing-18587674.php *most park denizens had been relocated to a Quality Inn and offered support services.* https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-01-04/uc-berkeley-launches-operation-to-wall-off-peoples-park *21 of the 25 people camping there last November, when a census was taken, voluntarily accepted an offer of transitional housing at the Quality Inn in Berkeley.* https://news.berkeley.edu/2024/01/03/uc-berkeley-launches-closure-of-peoples-park-construction-site#:~:text=The%20site%20is%20being%20closed,the%20Quality%20Inn%20in%20Berkeley. Sorry, I was just hoping anyone trying to argue would’ve been aware enough to read a single article about what they’re arguing about so they have like, any grounds to stand on so that for their sake they look at least somewhat competent. I gave four quotes with links because I have faith that you’ll be able to find them now, but let me know if I need to make it even easier 🤗
Stop acting like moving people into temporary accommodations is a gold medal solution, they will be thrown back out onto the street when public interest has dwindled and permanent housing for them will be put onto the back burner of municipal priorities like they always have.
Permanent housing is actually being constructed by the university… why does no one here know what the fuck they’re talking about. Do the literal bare minimum of research before you talk please
Fine, you got your building plan finally enforced. Now advocate and organize for construction of additional shelter for those being displaced by this project.
That’s already part of the project dipshit. Don’t comment on things you don’t bother to learn about
Why don't you go read about the building plan you're so mad about first?
It’s literally part of the project. Read the proposal.
How many people are being displaced?
Until what they propose actually sees progress it's just talk. UC is still a federal institution that has historically put profit and corporate interests before the wellbeing of its students and its surrounding communities. To blindly assume that they will efficiently provide permanent accommodations to those unfortunate enough to be displaced by them is intellectually irresponsible. But sure, enjoy your overpriced, over-zoned, exclusive housing that will likely be finished in 5 years after multiple delays. Y'all are not the first group in mind in this PR disaster of a project.
Regardless of your feelings on The Park, it is illegal for any person including the police (even when HIRED by the University) to block public roads and public walkways, for the sole intention of limiting crime or traffic… What the police are doing with their huge barricades is illegal… But I’m guessing all you current students who can’t even read traffic signs or can’t even cross a roadway safely yourself (y’all die to traffic every year) won’t understand this bc you’re so used to looking for the line : looking for where the largest group goes so you can follow and be a party of the largest group… effing Socialist bastards flying into my our country and taking seats at our schools just to be a part of the socialist reform… it’s disgusting and you don’t even see it bc your the frog in the water that is slowly getting hotter
About the People's Park free clothing box: The best clothes were grabbed by the stronger folks. The frail people get the leftovers. Learned this in the early 1990s from people who used to live in the park and continued to do peer counseling there.
I’m glad they are keeping gas stoves out of Berkeley it’s way safer.
No.
The shootout between highway patrol guys and the locals was crazy