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Stop the Destruction of the Music Concourse
On Wednesday, June 16th, the Music Concourse Community Partnership ordered their construction contractor to begin demolishing this priceless, century-old pedestrian tunnel in spite of their notification that Judge Warren will rule on the legality of their garage within the next two weeks. This is what privatization looks like; you get to watch while they destroy your park, public property, and while the corporate media provides an illusion of legitimacy to the destruction. Act now, or you will lose the remaining two tunnels. MCCP has taken the Concourse.
Here's the latest news available on the illegal corporate taking of the Music Concourse area in Golden Gate Park. The bozos at the Recreation and Parks Department have turned over conrol of the park to the pro-privatization "Friends of Rec and Parks," which was founded by Walter Shorenstein over thirty years ago. They've come a long way, at the expense of the commons, and now you can see the results:
Reclaim the Music Concourse & the Historic Pedestrian Tunnels!!!
Rather than wait for Superior Court Judge James Warren to rule on the legality of the 800-stall garage project in the Music Concourse of Golden Gate Park, the Music Concourse Community Partnership (MCCP), a private corporation headed by billionaire financier Warren Hellman, began demolishing the above historic tunnel on April 22nd -- Earth Day.
The MCCP promised the Court of Appeal that the Music Concourse would sustain no irreversible damage. The private corporation has fenced off OUR PUBLIC PARK and chain-sawed mature Japanese cherry trees that were a gift to San Francisco from Japan. Construction crews demolished the 108-year-old northeast pedestrian tunnel in about five days. The MCCP had not even received a legal DPT permit to close the concourse roads on the days they did the most destruction. A permit was back-dated and issued retroactively.
Now they threaten to destroy the two remaining tunnels. With more DPT permits in place, the southern half of the Music Concourse, including the southeast and southwest tunnels, is completely vulnerable to drilling and demolition activities. The court may not act in time to stop this. But you can.
It is likely that only a civil direct action and occupation of the tunnels could stop their destruction in the event the court does not rule in time. There is no real security at the site, and there is no legal signage against trespassing. The contractor will arrest no one for trespassing because they don't want the media exposure of their ongoing illegal and willful destruction of public property.
Contact Mayor Newsom at (415) 554-6141, and ask him to protect the Music Concourse while Judge Warren takes the time needed to rule in the matter. (Newsom voted to approve the Bechtel designed boondoggle, and his corporate sponsor is Warren Hellman. Will the new mayor take a stand against the people who created him?!)
Call your Supervisor for the same.
Write: Mayor Gavin Newsom / 1 Dr. Carleton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Request that they stop the MCCP’s wave of destruction and protect the Commons until the Superior Court rules. Support our equal and fair access to the Courts. Take Back The Park!
Save Golden Gate Park! P.O. Box 170051 San Francisco, CA 94117 415-621-3090
Reclaim the Music Concourse & the Historic Pedestrian Tunnels!!!
Rather than wait for Superior Court Judge James Warren to rule on the legality of the 800-stall garage project in the Music Concourse of Golden Gate Park, the Music Concourse Community Partnership (MCCP), a private corporation headed by billionaire financier Warren Hellman, began demolishing the above historic tunnel on April 22nd -- Earth Day.
The MCCP promised the Court of Appeal that the Music Concourse would sustain no irreversible damage. The private corporation has fenced off OUR PUBLIC PARK and chain-sawed mature Japanese cherry trees that were a gift to San Francisco from Japan. Construction crews demolished the 108-year-old northeast pedestrian tunnel in about five days. The MCCP had not even received a legal DPT permit to close the concourse roads on the days they did the most destruction. A permit was back-dated and issued retroactively.
Now they threaten to destroy the two remaining tunnels. With more DPT permits in place, the southern half of the Music Concourse, including the southeast and southwest tunnels, is completely vulnerable to drilling and demolition activities. The court may not act in time to stop this. But you can.
It is likely that only a civil direct action and occupation of the tunnels could stop their destruction in the event the court does not rule in time. There is no real security at the site, and there is no legal signage against trespassing. The contractor will arrest no one for trespassing because they don't want the media exposure of their ongoing illegal and willful destruction of public property.
Contact Mayor Newsom at (415) 554-6141, and ask him to protect the Music Concourse while Judge Warren takes the time needed to rule in the matter. (Newsom voted to approve the Bechtel designed boondoggle, and his corporate sponsor is Warren Hellman. Will the new mayor take a stand against the people who created him?!)
Call your Supervisor for the same.
Write: Mayor Gavin Newsom / 1 Dr. Carleton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Request that they stop the MCCP’s wave of destruction and protect the Commons until the Superior Court rules. Support our equal and fair access to the Courts. Take Back The Park!
Save Golden Gate Park! P.O. Box 170051 San Francisco, CA 94117 415-621-3090
For more information:
http://www.shorenstein.com/advisoryboard/a...
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Thank you Elizabeth for posting this valuable information for the public. They sure aren't getting any news out of the Chronicle or any of the local corporate/Hellman/Shorenstein controlled media!!!
Here's a copy of our letter to Newsom. Check it out, and keep up the good work exposing the corruption at Rec and Parks!
Save Golden Gate Park!
P.O. Box 170051
San Francisco, CA 94117
Mayor Gavin Newsom June 17, 2004
San Francisco City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Re: The City's continuing destruction of public property in Golden Gate Park
Dear Mayor Newsom,
City Hall must act now to prevent the pending destruction of the remaining two historic pedestrian archways located in the Music Concourse. Warren Hellman's Music Concourse
Community Partnership (MCCP) falsely announced last week that their "reconstruction and restoration" of these priceless historic landmarks conforms to existing Recreation and Park
Department (RPD) plans. Nothing could be further from the truth -- RPD has no such plans!
The tunnels are threatened because the City refuses to protect them while waiting for the court to rule on the matter. The tunnels are being unnecessarily sacrificed in an attempt to moot our case out of court, despite the City’s invitation to participate in the validation proceeding.
On December 10, 2003, the City Attorney filed suit against the public to validate: (1) the Environmental Impact Report for the 800-stall, underground garage with a vehicular entrance
inside the Park, in violation of Proposition J; (2) the ground lease transferring public control of the concourse to the MCCP, a private corporation, for 35 years; and (3) a $54 million revenue bond to pay for garage construction, violating the Proposition J promise to the voters that the garage would be paid for by private, philanthropic donations.
Save Golden Gate Park! soon thereafter filed suit against the City to force compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), Proposition J, the City General Plan and Charter, and due process. The two cases were consolidated for consideration by Judge Warren.
We responded to the City's invitation to address the garage on the merits of the case. By targeting and destroying the primary historical features we seek to preserve, the
MCCP is effectively denying our access to the courts for a ruling on the merits of the case.
Please take steps to protect the remaining historic tunnels until Judge Warren issues a ruling. By doing so, you will help restore integrity to the legal process by protecting our rights to equal access to the justice system and by preventing a grave injustice to the citizens of San Francisco.
Sincerely yours,
Stephen Willis, Janice Rothstein, Christopher Duderstadt
Save Golden Gate Park!
(415) 621-3090
http://www.sfpix.com
Here's a copy of our letter to Newsom. Check it out, and keep up the good work exposing the corruption at Rec and Parks!
Save Golden Gate Park!
P.O. Box 170051
San Francisco, CA 94117
Mayor Gavin Newsom June 17, 2004
San Francisco City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Re: The City's continuing destruction of public property in Golden Gate Park
Dear Mayor Newsom,
City Hall must act now to prevent the pending destruction of the remaining two historic pedestrian archways located in the Music Concourse. Warren Hellman's Music Concourse
Community Partnership (MCCP) falsely announced last week that their "reconstruction and restoration" of these priceless historic landmarks conforms to existing Recreation and Park
Department (RPD) plans. Nothing could be further from the truth -- RPD has no such plans!
The tunnels are threatened because the City refuses to protect them while waiting for the court to rule on the matter. The tunnels are being unnecessarily sacrificed in an attempt to moot our case out of court, despite the City’s invitation to participate in the validation proceeding.
On December 10, 2003, the City Attorney filed suit against the public to validate: (1) the Environmental Impact Report for the 800-stall, underground garage with a vehicular entrance
inside the Park, in violation of Proposition J; (2) the ground lease transferring public control of the concourse to the MCCP, a private corporation, for 35 years; and (3) a $54 million revenue bond to pay for garage construction, violating the Proposition J promise to the voters that the garage would be paid for by private, philanthropic donations.
Save Golden Gate Park! soon thereafter filed suit against the City to force compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), Proposition J, the City General Plan and Charter, and due process. The two cases were consolidated for consideration by Judge Warren.
We responded to the City's invitation to address the garage on the merits of the case. By targeting and destroying the primary historical features we seek to preserve, the
MCCP is effectively denying our access to the courts for a ruling on the merits of the case.
Please take steps to protect the remaining historic tunnels until Judge Warren issues a ruling. By doing so, you will help restore integrity to the legal process by protecting our rights to equal access to the justice system and by preventing a grave injustice to the citizens of San Francisco.
Sincerely yours,
Stephen Willis, Janice Rothstein, Christopher Duderstadt
Save Golden Gate Park!
(415) 621-3090
http://www.sfpix.com
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