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Removal of bush shelter and bench harms East Oakland residents

by Lynda Carson (tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com )
The elderly and disabled people of East Oakland are being abused by tactics of collective punishment when agencies or government partners use their authority to target a whole community in the effort to attack the homeless, or a few drug dealers operating in an area!
Removal of bush shelter and bench harms East Oakland residents

By Lynda Carson - June 12, 2015

Oakland — On or around Wednesday June 10, the much needed bus shelter and passenger bench at the corner of E. 18th Street and 3rd Avenue was suddenly removed without advance notice to the passengers using the bus stop on a daily basis. Locals were shocked to suddenly find the bus shelter and bench removed. Many people at the bus stop believed that the removal of the bus shelter and bench occurred as a collective punishment against the community because homeless people used the bus shelter to store their possessions there sometimes.

The bus shelter and bench sat directly in front of a busy Lucky grocery outlet near Walgreens and has been a much needed fixture during past years to protect bus passengers from the sun, rain and the often chilly breeze that blows across nearby Lake Merritt. Many elderly and disabled persons in the community depended on the bus shelter and bench on a daily basis as a place to rest and keep their groceries safely out of the sun while waiting for the next bus to appear.

At least 3 different buses use the bus stop to collect passengers heading off to different destinations including the #18 bus used by wealthier people heading up into the hills, and the very overcrowded #14 bus that heads deeper into East Oakland known as the “ghetto bus.” Bus riders claim the #14 is the worst bus line operating in Oakland.

Locals call the #14 the “ghetto bus” and claim that it is late most of the time, and is generally overcrowded because there are not enough busses operating on the line to support all the poor people who depend on the bus to reach their destination on a daily basis. In comparison, at times during rush hour the less crowded #18 bus going to wealthier areas of Oakland appears to be running twice as often at E. 18th Street and 3rd Avenue compared to the overcrowded #14 bus used by poor people, according to bus riders.

During the past few weeks according to bus passengers, at least on one occasion the #14 bus (ghetto bus) was running late by an hour and a half. It ended up becoming so crammed with people after a few busy stops near 11th Street and Broadway, that the passengers were shouting and screaming on the bus that this was inhumane treatment, and becoming difficult to breathe. Passengers stated that it became nearly impossible for people to get on or off the bus after a while as more and more people tried to force their way on to the bus at each stop. According to sources, the passengers were screaming to get off the bus and the bus driver kept screaming back at the passengers during that perilous ride.

Cheryl Saunders said, “I have often noticed that the buses going to wealthier areas of Oakland tend to run on time, run more often and are much less crowded than the buses used by poorer people heading in to East Oakland.”

Ben Fulcher Sr. stated, “This is collective punishment against the poor, elderly and disabled who need the bus shelters and other services. This is the same type of things the Nazis used to do to people in Europe.”

Clarence Johnson of media relations for AC Transit responded to my request for an interview about the missing bus shelter at E. 18th Street and 3rd Avenue and repeatedly stated that AC Transit does not actually own the bus shelters and benches located at bus stops throughout Oakland. “The bus shelters and benches are all owned by Clear Channel Outdoor, and I do not know why the bus shelter and bench was removed.”

“However, shelters and benches historically have been removed when they are being abused. Sometimes churches will call us to ask us to remove a bus shelter when drug dealers are using the shelters for illegal purposes. When people call to complain that a bus shelter is being abused generally the bus shelter and benches are removed. You will have to contact Clear Channel Outdoor for more information,” Johnson stated.

When I pointed out that removing the much needed bus shelter and bench in front of Lucky grocers because of a few bad actors is inhumane and amounts to collective punishment against the whole community, Mr. Johnson continued to defend the actions of Clear Channel Outdoor as being an acceptable practice despite the hardship their actions may have on all the elderly and disabled bus passengers using the bus shelter on a daily basis.

I reached Clear Channel Outdoor to speak to someone about the sudden removal of the bus shelter and bench at E. 18th Street and 3rd Avenue and was connected to the phone of Selena Reynolds who did not respond to my call. Reynolds handles real estate including furniture (bus benches) at bus stops in Oakland, according to the receptionist.

Next I was transferred to Bruce Qualls, VP of real estate and government affairs for Clear Channel Outdoor who was busy on another line according to the receptionist. Qualls did not reply to my request for an interview or my request to ask what happened to the bus shelter and bench in front of Lucky grocers, or when it would be replaced.

The elderly and disabled people of East Oakland are being abused by tactics of collective punishment when agencies or government partners use their authority to target a whole community in the effort to attack the homeless, or a few drug dealers operating in an area.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com
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