Protect San Francisco's Low Income Communities of Color and Working Class

We are happy to see this, living in another community of the City we have had problems with the City’s Planning Department always leaning towards the developers; we had to fight for our rights. The City Government has been the major part of the problem. Shades of the past administration we will be happy to get several forms filled out, and we will mail them to the paper. We have to stop these out of control agencies/departments.

Time for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to stop the headaches and anxiety of the Bay View Hunters Point community over the decisions and plans of the Redevelopment Agency and its illegal Project Area Committee, or PAC.

Time to put Redevelopment under the control of our elected Board of Supervisors.

Right now the PAC, along with the Redevelopment Agency, wants to modify the Hunters Point Project Area to add an additional 1,600 acres to its current size of 137 acres, for a sum total of 1,737 acres. This is most of Bay View Hunters Point.

The definition of a project area is a blighted area that can be bulldozed and redeveloped. Redevelopment has the power of eminent domain over a project area. And if we are not careful – if we do not stop Redevelopment from declaring Bay View Hunters Point a project area - it could be imminent domain.

So if Redevelopment has its way and you live in that community, be prepared to be moved if the agency wants you out. Remember the Fillmore, where many people had only a month to leave their homes.

Look at the history of outrageous shenanigans by the PAC and the Redevelopment Agency. The Redevelopment Agency has been under investigation by the FBI for violations of the law. The City Ethics Commission is also investigating Redevelopment - for ethics violations. (See “Ethics panel eyes redevelopment role in Hunters Point” in the San Francisco Chronicle March 17, 2003.)

In addition, there is an ongoing legal action in regards to the Dec. 2 meeting of the Redevelopment Commission at City Hall, where the community was intentionally kept out and there were numerous violations of the Open Meetings Law and the Brown Act, as covered in the SF Bay View articles, “Redevelopment planning land grab of Shipyard and all Hunters Point,” published Nov. 26, 2003, and “Community barred from Redevelopment Commission meeting,” published Dec. 10.

Now we have confirmation that the Bay View Hunters Point PAC, which is supposed to represent the community as an arm of Redevelopment, has violated the Redevelopment Agency rules on elections. In a recent PAC meeting, Redevelopment’s own attorneys posted the following notice: “The PAC Election of February 16th 2004 Was Illegal and Improper.”

They found four serious violations of elections procedure and concluded: “For these reasons, the election should be declared null and void and reheld in accordance with the time honored procedure for all elections, that is; Nominations first, discussion, then a vote.”

My question is what took the Redevelopment Agency so long to advise the PAC that their elections were illegal? Did it just occur to them now? Why have they been silent all these years? The community has been incensed over that same issue in each year following the first PAC election in 1997.

The community has argued that the PAC’s outreach is not reaching them. There was the same problem with a lack of outreach by the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Shipyard, which also reports to the Redevelopment Agency.

Could it be that Redevelopment doesn’t really want the community to be informed and involved? On Dec. 2, when Redevelopment was rushing to give away the Hunters Point Shipyard to the nation’s largest homebuilder by approving a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) with the Lennar Corp. – a move the community vehemently opposes - the community was locked out of the meeting.

Seems like time for the Board of Supervisors to step in and take control of the Redevelopment Agency for accountability reasons. In nearly every other county in California, the Redevelopment Agency is under the control of its Supervisors. It should be that way here. What’s happening instead is San Francisco Redevelopment is a law unto itself, accountable to nobody.

The public wants accountability, and who better than our elected officials to see to that. They are accountable to us.

The PAC and the CAC, even if they did better outreach and had proper elections, do not have the power to stop the Redevelopment Commission. Both the PAC and the CAC are “passive bodies,” meaning they have no authority to make a decision, only to make recommendations to the Redevelopment Commission, which is an “active body,” to address and adopt as it sees fit.

In the case of the Dec. 2 meeting, the Redevelopment Commission saw the recommendations of the CAC, but they still opted for adopting the agency staff report over the objections of the CAC.

Now you be the judge. If the PAC, which hasn’t had a legal election since 1997, makes a recommendation to the Redevelopment Commission to declare the whole community a blighted project area, your home or business could fall under eminent domain. So best to have your bags packed and nearby. You may be moving out just as the people of the Fillmore had to move.

Call and engage your Supervisors in a discussion of your concerns. Tell them you want the Redevelopment Agency held accountable to them, and you want both the PAC and the CAC to do community outreach so your voice can be heard.

After all, at the moment, it is your community. But it won’t be that way long if you don’t take action.

Phone numbers of all the Supervisors are in the blue “Government Listings” section at the front of your phone book.

It is a damn shame shame in a so called liberal city, that this underhanded method by the city is allowed to tke place with our elected officials sitting idly by and allowing this to happen. Maybe it is becuse it is in low income working class communities of color. after all they want them out of here and they want to feed the developers who many of them have ties to. Has the liberal mayor opened his mouth on this one? No, I wonder why? Has the Board of Supervisors spoken out or taken action on this? No I wonder why? I hope the world media is paying attention, this is what San Francisco is really about., trample on the poor use them as your door mat.

THE COMMITTEE TO SAVE BAYVIEW – HUNTERS POINT
Working for Environmental Justice

Stop the Illegal Redevelopment Plan for
BayView-Hunters Point

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, (SFRA) and its Illegal BVHP Project Area Committee

The Low-Income Community of Color BayView – Hunters Point, Demands a new Community Elections Take Place. The Last Project Area Committee (PAC) Election Was Held in January 16, 1997 and the Board of Supervisors approved and certified the election of the BayView Hunters Point PAC on February 10, 1997.

This Redevelopment Plan is embedded with Environmental Racism. In the Redevelopment Plan for BayView – Hunters Point it will Displace, Get Rid of the Low-Income Community of Color, Public Housing, Section 8, and Single Families Homes to make room for High End Housing and Commercial Development.

When: March 24, 2004
Where: Southeast Community Facility

1800 Oakdale Avenue, 94124
Time: 6:00 PM -8:00PM

Sponsored by, Committee to Save Hunters Point (CTSHP), Community First Coalition (CFC), Women Energy Matters (WEM), CAlifornians for Renewable Energy, Inc. (CARE)

For Information: Community to Save Hunters Point (415) 285-4628

NOTICE: THE PAC ELECTION OF February 26, 2004 WAS ILLEGAL AND IMPROPER


The Bayview Hunters-Point PAC election of officers and committee chairs on the 26th of February was illegal and improper for the following reasons:

1. The documents used in the election were labeled to indicate that they were to be used to select nominees for office. There was no indication that by marking this document one was actually voting for the individual. This misrepresentation led to the nomination form being illegally used to elect officers and committee members of the PAC.

2. The procedure dictated by the written agenda was not followed. There was no nomination of candidates. Nor was there an opportunity for the candidate to speak nor for the other members to speak on their candidacy. This variance from the published agenda was and is illegal.

3. The procedure was unfair in that it did not allow any discussion of the issues facing the nominees. The agenda clearly indicates a step to allow a statement by the nominees.

4. The procedure used was in violation of the PAC By-Laws that calls for the election of Committee Chairs by the members of that committee, not by the PAC as a whole.

For these reasons, the election should be declared null and void and reheld in accordance with the time honored procedure for all elections, that is; Nominations first, discussion, .then a vote. The election irregularities shall be discussed at the next Executive Session, Monday March 1st 2004. A new election must be held at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the full BVHP-PAC, or at a special meeting held for such purposes.

Agenda/ Action Item for Monday, March 10 2004:
Motion(s) as required to clarify / modify / confirm election process and results of February 26, 2004.

COMMITTEE TO SAVE

BAYVIEW – HUNTERS POINT

Working for Environmental Justice



A Call to Stop the Illegal Redevelopment Plans for

Bay View-Hunters Point & The Shipyard



SF Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) & its appointed Project Area Committee (PAC) Stand ACCUSED by the Low-income Community of Color 94124



VIOLATING THE LAW



The PAC has been acting illegally, without regular elections, since its first, SFRA controlled, caucus election was certified by the Board of Supervisors on 2/10/97



The PAC, the SFRA and the SF Housing Authority (SFHA) have SOLD YOU OUT!



They are illegally promoting insidious and fraudulent redevelopment plans which will Evict, Displace, and Get Rid of ALL poor BVHP Residents of Color, which will Ruin our Lives, to dishonestly make room for housing for Rich People.



We Demand that a new PAC be created, which will be “truly required” to act in our “best interests” and to “maximize our economic benefits”, with PAC members elected on the November ballot, and by and from the BVHP community.



Please Note: The SFRA and the existing PAC have concocted a deceitful plan to control the PAC, against your best interests, through another caucus election.



We must STOP Them! Come with us and demand control of our future.



When: Wednesday -- March 24, 2004 -- 6:00-8:00 PM



Where: Southeast Community Center -- 1800 Oakdale Avenue



Sponsored by: Committee to Save Hunters Point (CTSHP), Community First Coalition (CFC), Women Energy Matters (WEM), CAlifornians for Renewable Energy, Inc. (CARE)



For Information: Community to Save Hunters Point (415) 285-4628

The Low-Income Community of Color 94124 demands that a new Project Area Committee election take place. The members on the PAC, and the Redevelopment Commissions, do not serve the best interest of the affected community because they were appointed by ex Mayor Willie L. Brown. Environmental Racism is embedded in this urban renewal plan as the low-income community of color will be relocated to make room for high end housing and commercial developent. Just like Proposition J in March 2004 ballot. There is no Community representation or participation. Federal Money, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), never made it into the community. The money was stolen, sent to another community, or given to one of the ex Mayor's Community Based Organization. (CBO) Join the poor low-income community of color fight for Its voting rights.

March 24, 2004
Southeast Community Facility
1800 Oakdale Ave @Phelps St.
6:00PM - 8PM

The Formation of the Bayview Hunters Point Project Area Committee (PAC)
As required by California Community Redevelopment Law, the next step in redevelopment planning for Bayview Hunters Point was the formation of a Project Area Committee (PAC). It is important to note that redevelopment laws have undergone great reform to make certain the abuses of Urban Renewal never happen again. These reforms include strict requirements for citizen oversight and participation, open meetings, and community outreach.

The law requires representatives from four major categories of local citizens, with the ultimate number of PAC members determined by population. The 21 seats for Bayview Hunters Point require: four (4) tenant residents, seven (7) owner residents, four (4) business owners, six (6) community organizations, and property owners. Two of the tenant seats are reserved for students. The six community organization seats focus on those working in health care, senior services, religious institutions, and the environment.

SFRA's outreach efforts prior to the election of PAC members were coordinated by citizens and staff including area-wide mailings, advertisements in City, local, Spanish and Chinese language newspapers, billboards and posters, informational meetings, and flyers posted on the days leading up to the election. Candidates also ran their own campaigns and participated in a "Candidates Night" event for the public to hear their views on relevant issues. In all, 69 persons ran as candidates for the 21 seats: 19 community organization workers, 13 local business representatives, 23 tenant owners, 4 college student tenants, and 10 other residential tenants. On January 16, 1997, over 750 community members came out to elect their community representatives. The Board of Supervisors approved and certified the election of the Bayview Hunters Point PAC on February 10, 1997.

Please take the time to use the online form it is interactive. There is also a printable version, which can be downloaded and printed. Please send those to the S.F. Bayview Newspaper at 4917 Third Street, San Francisco CA. 94124.
Telephone # 415. 671-0789 Fax # 415. 671-0316

This site is well worth visiting to get more of the picture of the Redevelopment Agency

Like hundreds of others who wanted to attend the Redevelopment Commission meeting last Tuesday, Bay View Associate Editor JR was barred from entering the meeting room, so he snapped this picture of the sheriff’s deputies blocking the door.
Photo: JR
By the time Bay View Hunters Point residents had completed their press conference on the steps of City Hall and made their way up to Room 416 for last Tuesday’s Redevelopment Commission meeting, the showdown over the city’s DDA (Disposition and Development Agreement) that would give most of the Hunters Point Shipyard away to the Lennar Corp., the room was already filled with supporters of Lennar and Mayor Willie Brown.

“What I found out when I came upstairs,” Marie Harrison, Bay View columnist and Greenaction organizer, told KPFA News, “was that people had their papers, their purses and everything holding seats for supporters of the DDA. The gentleman representing the Lennar company that my community is out to get rid of was standing at the door waving his folks in, and the guard says that he’s not being partial.”

KPFA reported that Redevelopment “Commission staff had asked the Sheriff’s Department to have extra deputies on hand for what they warned would be a ‘large, loud and possibly disruptive crowd.’ But the commission did not book a larger room to accommodate those numbers.”

The community was ushered into an overflow room where they could watch the proceedings on City Hall’s closed circuit TV. Residents who wanted to speak, however – even those with speaker cards – were barred from testifying by armed deputies blocking the door. More than 70 people had signed up to speak.

The crowd of Bay View Hunters Point residents, who outnumbered the Lennar DDA supporters 300 to 60, quickly overflowed the overflow room and filled the hallway, eager to testify. “We want in, we want in,” they chanted. Barbara George of Women’s Energy Matters asked sheriff’s deputies for the meeting to be moved to the Board of Supervisors’ chambers, which was not being used - a room large enough for the audience – but she said she was told, “People will put graffiti on the chairs.”

After the deputies told her that no seats were available in Room 416, she saw two people leave and managed to enter the room. There she counted 12 empty seats, signaling that fact to commission staff. Her signal was interpreted as “disturbing the peace.” Immediately, deputies handcuffed her so tightly that she can be heard on the KPFA tape crying, “Don’t hurt my wrists.” She was led away to the deputies’ room and held until it was too late to testify.

The entire incident was video- and audio-taped. Matthew Hirsch of the Bay Guardian left the overflow room to cover the incident, as did Bryant Edwards-Tiekert from KPFA. Well known attorney Sherry Gendelman of KPFA fame went right away to the room where Barbara George was detained, knocked on the door and identified herself as George’s attorney, but she was repeatedly denied access to her client. This denial of George’s First Amendment right to speak to the Redevelopment Commission and of her right to due process was witnessed by many people, including the reporters.

When Mayor Brown made his way through the crowd to defend the DDA, he needed several bodyguards to “protect” him from the community, who loudly booed and jeered him. The mayor was caught by KPFA on tape snarling, “Why are you being so stupid?”

The commission appeared to be shocked by the community’s opposition to the DDA. Environmental justice advocate Francisco Da Costa wrote later, “The SFRA commissioners had a look on their faces as if at any moment the crowd would lynch them.”

Inside Room 416, Mayor Brown addressed the commission, speaking of his “lofty goals” for Lennar’s development of the Shipyard and the “magnificent structures” like those “in Mission Bay” that will “rise out of the ground.”

As an incentive to share his enthusiasm, he held out a slim hope for jobs to the job-starved community. “Hopefully, in most cases,” he hedged, “as they rise, people who have lived in and about that area will be the ones who are creating the rise, who are doing the jobs. That’s what this is all about.” The DDA contains no guarantee of jobs for residents beyond temporary construction work.

In response to speakers’ complaints that they had not had time to fully review the 1,000-page DDA, the mayor complained that the people of San Francisco are “obsessed with process.” Hoping to railroad approval of the DDA during his last days in office, he demanded that the Hunters Point Shipyard Community Advisory Committee endorse the 6-inch-thick document in 30 days, though they were never even given all the attachments.

CAC subcommittees held more than 40 meetings in a month in an effort to fully review the complex agreement, said environmental justice advocate Francisco Da Costa. “This is ridiculous and speaks volumes about the prevailing corruption,” he observed.

“There has been no true community participation,” Marie Harrison told the commission. Added another resident, “We say shame on Lennar and the Redevelopment Agency for trying to ram this DDA down our throats without a proper public process.”

“It’s going to be like the Fillmore, where they went down with eminent domain and took all these people’s property, made them move and gave them less than the value of their stuff – actually just kicked ‘em out and moved ‘em out,” said a woman, referring to the Redevelopment Agency’s concurrent proposal to declare nearly all of Bay View Hunters Point a project area that would enable the agency to call in the bulldozers to replace the low-income neighborhood with mansions for the wealthy that would raise property values for the homes Lennar wants to build.

Chosen as “Master Developer” for the Shipyard by the Redevelopment Commission because of its homebuilding experience, Lennar, the nation’s largest homebuilder, is notorious for building new homes on its own dump in Florida. But, Bay View Hunters Point residents say, there is plenty of homebuilding experience right here in the community.

“I hear people getting up talking about all this expertise you got to have to build a house. And that’s all Lennar ever done was build houses,” testified Willie Ratcliff, Bay View publisher and president of the African American Contractors of San Francisco. He adamantly opposes the DDA or any means of giving away the Shipyard, taking it from the Black community that came to San Francisco to work there. Ten thousand Bay View Hunters Point residents worked in the Shipyard before it was shut down – many of them now dead from the toxic and radioactive waste that has caused it to be declared a Superfund site.

Residents wanting to testify against the DDA moved back and forth between the overflow room, where they could watch the proceedings on closed circuit TV, to Room 416. There, where they were kept waiting outside the door, unable to hear whether their names were called, they had no way of knowing when it was time for them to speak. Perhaps their eagerness to testify is what Willie Brown meant when he said that San Franciscans are enamored with process.

The commission eventually voted 5 to 0 to approve the DDA. We have since learned that they imposed some strict conditions that could reverse the decision later, so in the end this day may not be as dark as it seemed. But the community will have to stay on top of this issue. When we have those conditions in black and white, they will be published in the Bay View.

If all else fails, says Francisco Da Costa, “We will see the rascals in court.”

To hear the KPFA News report on the meeting, go to http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/12/1663446.php. Maurice Campbell is the convener of the Community First Coalition and a member of both the Hunters Point Shipyard RAB (Restoration Advisory Board) that advises the Navy and the Hunters Point Shipyard CAC (Citizens Advisory Committee) that advises the mayor. Email him at mecsoft [at] pacbell.net.


http://www.sfbayview.com/121003/communitybarred121003.shtml