Fw: [peoples-park-news] TUESDAY: Open the Dwight Triangle! // Open Mic // Weekly Organizing Meeting // More

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From: "peoples-...@riseup.net" <peoples-...@riseup.net>
To: "peoples-...@lists.riseup.net" <peoples-...@lists.riseup.net>
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2024 at 03:12:48 PM PDT
Subject: [peoples-park-news] TUESDAY: Open the Dwight Triangle! // Open Mic // Weekly Organizing Meeting // More

On behalf of the People's Park Council (PeoplesPark.org):


Vote YES on Item 18 - Don't Criminalize Public Open Space!
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/f88dde4c6cac7205682b9c562fe71970be0b4b21

On July 23, 2024, the Berkeley City Council will be considering Item 18,
Councilmember Lunaparra's item to approve the opening and continued
peaceful and lawful use of the Dwight Triangle, also known as the “Chuck
P. Herrick Peace and Freedom Memorial Park” as a public open space. The
City Council needs to hear from you about why you support opening the
Dwight Triangle.

The Dwight Triangle, with its chalk murals and native plants, is a
vibrant public open space that has been used by our community for
decades. Neighborhood organizations have provided residents access to
free services, hot meals, and basic care items. The space has been used
for memorials to community members who have passed, public art, and
mutual aid.

For the past five years, the Dwight Triangle has been blocked off with
fencing, padlocks, and no-trespassing signs. Despite this people have
continued to gather there and use the space in peaceful and otherwise
lawful ways. As a result, many residents have been harassed, threatened
with arrest, and otherwise harmed by heavy-handed policing. The painful
consequences of the Dwight Triangle closure have only been exacerbated
in the past seven months, since since People’s Park was abruptly walled
off. There are no longer any parks in District 7, even though it is the
densest district in Berkeley, forcing even more people to use the Dwight
Triangle due to a lack of other options. Due to these realities, it is
clear that whether or not our City forces them out, criminalizes them,
or prohibits entry, our community will continue to productively use the
Dwight Triangle.

This enforcement is unnecessary, ineffective, and a waste of tax
dollars. Item 18 will ensure that those lawfully and peacefully
utilizing public open space in our community will not be criminalized
and that the City of Berkeley will not waste our tax dollars penalizing
people for doing art, playing games, gardening, sitting on benches, or
providing mutual aid.

The City Council is now faced with a choice: expend further resources,
scarce funding, and precious staff time to police people and remove them
from public open space, or allow the continued lawful and peaceful use
of the Dwight Triangle.

The choice is simple. Open the area and let our public open space bloom.
Urge the City Council to vote YES on Item 18.

Please also come to the City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 23 to show
your support for Item 18. You can make public comments on Zoom or in
person. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6pm, but we don't
anticipate Item 18 coming up until around 9pm.

Address: 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94702 (accessible via AC
Transit). We highly encourage masking to mitigate the spread of COVID-19
and other illnesses.

Zoom URL: https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1600197323. To
request to speak, use the “raise hand” icon by rolling over the bottom
of the screen.

Join by phone: Dial 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free) and
enter Meeting ID: 160 019 7323. If you wish to comment during the public
comment portion of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the
Chair. Please be mindful that the meeting will be recorded.

Sponsored by
Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra
https://actionnetwork.org/groups/councilmember-cecilia-lunaparra

*****

UPCOMING EVENTS:

*****

Open Mic at the Triangle
THIRD SATURDAY OF THE MONTH (next one this weekend, AUGUST 17)
Telegraph and Dwight, Berkeley

The People's Park Council will be meeting at the Triangle at 1pm on
those days, preceding the open mic, NOT at our usual meeting spot at
Grassroots House.

*****

People's Park Council Meeting
SATURDAYS 1PM (Except 3rd Saturdays of the month - see Open Mic above)
Grassroots House
2022 Blake Street, Berkeley, CA 94704

*****

*** Please sign the petition to remove the wall around People's Park:
https://www.change.org/p/remove-the-border-wall-berkeley

*** The struggle is not over! Text SAVETHEPARK to 41372 to join the
bulldozer alarm text alert

*** Let 1000 Parks Bloom!