making NIMBYs happy

Apparently People Would Even Rather Go To the Castro Street Fair Than Hang Out In Dolores

— By Alissa |

There were a million things going on in the city this weekend - the government was using our tax dollars to test out their new Burning Man art cars in the sky, everyone was out in straw fedoras Instagramming free music, your supervisor and his fiance were having a roof party in North Beach, we're all suddenly huge Oakland A's fans, and apparently football is still a thing.

But I didn't do any of that because I thought chillin in Dolo was the cool thing to do on the weekends. I put on my cuuutest romper, even made it to brunch in a timely fashion, and headed over to Dolo with my ladypals only to discover that everyone was off YOLOing elsewhere! What gives?! Is Dolo over? Is Speedway Meadows the new Dolo? Did we officially surrender ground to NIMBY Noe Valley families? Am I a NIMBY now?!

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

City Wants More "Law-Abiding Citizens" to Visit Dolores Park

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

Crime in San Francisco's many parks is a Big! problem.  And with all the hoodlums running amok and SFPD understaffed, Rec. & Park is looking towards the good citizens of San Francisco to reclaim their rightful public spaces (via food trucks).

From an editorial in today's Chronicle:

Dolores Park, in what should be a bucolic, family-oriented neighborhood, is being attacked by vandals who damage play structures and buildings and deface them with graffiti.

This is not new, of course. The very thing that attracts people to parks - wide-open spaces - also seems to attract unwelcome visitors.

Can this be stopped - ever?

Can it?  CAN IT?  However will we be saved?!

The Recreation and Park Department hopes to “activate” many parks - to encourage daytime and nighttime activities, such as farmers' markets, sporting events, food-truck days and expanded skateboarding programs like a popular one at Waller and Stanyan streets. The department also plans bike-rental programs to generate activity around parks and to plant trees and ornamental flower beds to inspire residents to take pride in their neighborhoods.

The idea is to encourage law-abiding citizens to use their own parks more - for their own enjoyment and to discourage undesirable elements from taking over space that belongs to everybody.

Apparently they are also calling for a “zero-tolerance” policy towards drugs and, with SFPD slated to hire 2,000 more officers to protect the citizenry from harming their own livers and lungs, increased “aggressive patrolling of the parks.”  And while I'm sure this is all fine and dandy, let's just call this what it is: a call for families to use the parks.

While this article is talking about all of San Francisco's parks, the example of Dolores Park is an interesting one. Dolores Park is quite obviously one of the highest trafficked parks in the city and surely 95+% of its users are law-abiding (unless you're boring and recognize the legitimacy of open-container laws, in which case 5% of the park is law-abiding), yet the very vandalism and crime the Chronicle detests persists.  Pumping more people into the parks obviously won't clean it up in any meaningful way, unless actions are taken to change the very relaxed atmosphere of the public space—by extension, making it less public. 

Can't the city just recognize that people want to drink in public and understand shitheads will be shitheads?  This noise is getting old.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Coming Soon: 'Community Courts' to Deal With Graffiti, Drug Possession, Quality-of-Life Crimes

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

This morning we received an email from one of the Mission's 'concerned citizens' email lists sharing news of a new “Community Court” system, spearheaded by sit-lie champion George Gascón, coming to the Mission.  The reasons for the program seem reasonable — the city's court system is currently tied up with petty crimes, taking resources away from prosecuting serious crimes and leaving many misdemeanor offenses left unpunished.  Rather than letting these quality-of-life crimes slip through the cracks, District Attorney Gascón wants to move 20% the misdemeanor caseload to a panel of volunteer neighborhood residents that will sentence the accused to community service and/or restitution.

While optimizing and improving the justice system is a noble task, outsourcing the role judge and jury to the segment of the citizenry that campaigns for banning drinking in Dolores Park, restricting the quantity of public events held outdoors, putting more rules and regulations on people looking to enjoy themselves, advocates against cycling infrastructure in our city, and harasses nightclubs strikes us as a troubling solution to the problem.

The idea that these people, with their bias against marijuana, public intoxication, and street art, could impartially judge the accused dances in the realm of absurdity.  As the government gives these activists the same power the courts enjoy, we're one step away from institutionalized vigilante justice.

If you have any interest in telling our DA and Supervisors what you think of this program, or would like serve as a community court justice and bring a little balance to the bench, feel free to attend tonight's meeting:

You are cordially invited to attend a special community meeting on Wednesday, April 13 from 6 to 8 PM.

Come hear District Attorney George Gascón discuss the forthcoming Neighborhood Prosecutor and Community Courts program. DA Gascón is launching a new initiative to quickly resolve low level crimes through community leadership and restorative justice. Low level crimes will be immediately referred to the community court neighborhood panels for non-criminal resolutions that combine accountability with neighborhood improvement.

DA Gascón will be joined by Supervisor David Campos and Supervisor Scott Wiener, and representatives from SFPD.

At the meeting, you will learn about the new model, get a chance to dialogue with the DA, and learn how you can volunteer to serve as a community court adjudicator

The meeting will be held at:
Centro Latino Community Center
1656 15th Street

Dolores Park Picnickers Now Required to Pay $100 Behavioral Security Deposit to City

— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |

UPDATE: Much of the ambiguity surrounding what is a “picnic” that was discussed in this post has been cleared up by Rec. and Park.

Fresh for the 2011 park-going season, SF's Department of Recreation and Parks has decided to start charging a $100 “performance bond” to all Dolores Park picnickers.  While I struggled to get anyone on the phone to tell us more about this deposit, an employee for the Permits and Reservations office confirmed that the deposit is in fact “quite new” and is a “security deposit that will be refunded [after the picnic] if everyone behaves.”

From Rec. & Parks' Dolores Park Picnic Application that was created this past September:

All picnics at Dolores Park will be required to provide a minimum of a $100 performance bond to ensure that all rules are followed. You may pay the bond either by charging it on your credit card or writing a personal check that we will return to you after the event if all rules are followed. The performance bond may be increased for certain events.

The application also explains the new push for picnic registration: “Due to over congestion at Dolores Park, the number and types of events have been limited. Applications for events at Dolores Park will be reviewed in total taking into account the overall impact on the neighborhood.”

And, of course, if you actually want to have a picnic in the park, you have to fill out an exhausting form describing the event.  Among the information the City is now asking of picnickers is to provide is the contact information of two picnic organizers, to “describe any musical instruments that might be played during your event even if not amplified,” and if you are “requesting permission to serve food or beverages” [emphasis added].

Now, beyond the fact the City is inquiring about my ukulele jam sessions and implying that they control my God-given right to both eat and distribute Humboldt Fog goat cheese gives me the chills, the fact they are now requiring people to pay a behavioral security deposit is totally fucked.  Is this some sort of collective punishment for protesting the privatization of the park?  Perhaps.  A way for the city to cash in on the park's popularity?  Likely.  Whatever their motivation, the undeniable reality is that this will have a chilling effect on lower-income neighbor's ability enjoy the park that over 1.3 million people a year visit.  Even though it is a security deposit, there are scores of people who just do not have a spare $100 lying around to let the city to hold onto for a month or more (they never specify how quickly the deposit must be returned).

Interestingly enough, the Department never once defines what a “picnic” is (all they define is that any gathering larger than 75 people is a “special event”).  We know that if you wish to use one of the picnic tables, you must register.  But at what point is laying out a blanket with friends considered a picnic?  5 people?  10 people?  15 people?  The presence of something purchased at Bi-Rite?  Most importantly, do my BFF and I need a permit to open a box of Triscuits?

What remains to be seen is how this policy will effect the police presence in the Park, especially given the complete ambiguity of their definition of “picnic.”  In past years, SFPD and park rangers would patrol the park but thankfully looked past BBQs, public drinking and unpermitted picnics.  However, now that the cash-strapped Parks department has the potential to earn money from park-goers breaking the rules, will they increase their policing?  We can only hope not.

Side note: none of the Park neighbors or activists that I spoke to had ever heard of this deposit.  A quick Google search indicates this deposit has never been discussed in any public City Hall meetings. 

(photo by Sad Bear)

Note: On 1/11/11 at 3:45pm, I edited out all the instances of the word “fee” and replaced them with deposit, because apparently some people are too stupid to read the entire post.