— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
We were so worked up last week over the news that a neighbor was looking to block the Dolores Park renovations because of childhood obesity that we completely overlooked that a separate group of architectural activists appealed to save the park's condemnable bathroom building. And good thing they did. Not only will we be able to continue enjoying those sad walls caked in human shit for years to come, but the sinks are falling right off the walls.
Comments (11)
Someone must have shot some historic H in there
I like this: “The proposed improvements to Mission Dolores Park were featured as the cover story in the winter 2011 edition of our quarterly newsletter, Heritage News.”
So you had plenty of advance notice of what was coming, but waited until now to participate in the process?
This is an truism, but boy, SF is an administrative catastrophe. We have no regard for democratic process (i.e., majority rule), instead relying on minority rule through an almost BDSM-style obsequiousness to the hostage-taking squeaky-wheel.
Thanks to all of you Heritage folks:
David P. Wessel
President
Alicia N. Esterkamp Allbin
Bruce Bonacker
Kathleen Burgi-Sandell
David Cannon
Jeff Gherardini
Nancy B. Gille
Scott Haskins
Nancy Goldenberg
D. Michael Kelly
Carolyn Kiernat
Frederic Knapp
Jon Knorpp
Benjamin F. Ladomirak
Arnie Lerner
Chandler W. McCoy
Patrick M. McNerney
Willett Moss
Charles R. Olson
Mark Paez
Mark P. Sarkisian
Neil Sekhri
Zander Sivyer
Douglas Tom
Mike Buhler
Executive Director
I’m not sure, but the inside can still be renovated- they just want to save the outside. If that’s true wouldn’t obviate your complaints? I don’t have a dog in this fight, but let me just say that majority rule is not always the best way to run a city.
Majority rule has its dangers (which is why we have, among other things, a constitution), but minority rule is, you know, oligarchy/Kim Jong-Un. What most people want for the park is a topic where I think the majority *should* rule.
When one small group has veto power, why bother having a preexisting process at all? Meetings and votes are a waste of money if they can be hijacked by anyone.
My problem isn’t what they want (though I’m not esp. moved by the urge to protect the shit cave), but how they’re doing it. Get involved early, not at the end. Of course, perhaps the entire SF system encourages sandbagging. Who am I kidding? Of course it does!
But sure, I have no dog in this, either. I piss at home.
The dog rights groups at DP is an example of what they discuss in political science classes under free rider / and organizing structures. Like in the current background check for gun purchase issue, the gun and dog rights groups hold the same position. Minorities that are strongly motivated to get involved on a current policy issues, but the majority of people even that don’t want dogs running all over the park, or allowing people to buy guns without a background check are weakly motivated to be involved.
Things just got mean on UA. I realize this group is an obstruction, but checks and balances aren’t always bad, especially when many of the changes to Dolores Park so far have resulted in more plastic, less green, more structures, and the death of the area above 19th Street.
I think the above comment crosses the line.
You think I did some sub rosa investigation to suss out the names of the cabal, and am now nefariously revealing their secret identities? How about: cut-and-pasted from the page-one letterhead of their publicly-filed document.
I want you to know that I will now incorporate “shit cave” into my vernacular.
Thank you for making my day.
xo
you’re all hanging out at the park it’s time to decide where to grab some grub and after what seems like half an hour of debating the best fucking burrito in town you all decide to go to castillito. you get to mission and turn left and your fucking friend fran is all like, but what about el faro? they’re so much better and it’s not even late yet so there won’t be a line. come on guys, let’s just go get some faro burritos!
that’s where you let your fucking friend fran go get some faro and you all go to castillito.
this is where we let them take their shit cave and put it in their back yard so they can forever enjoy the memories of waiting in line for 30 minutes to piss pbr for 30 seconds.
it’s not a small group it’s literally THREE ASSHATS who can throw a wrench into something at the last minute.
there’s an even worse situation across town where this one jerk-ass lawyer/resident stopped a major park renovation while it was going on, costing the city literally millions because the equipment and contractors are idled. ONE JERK-ASS.
Sometimes SF’s hippie bullshit needs to be taxed.
Awesome post.