Milk Club Opposes Leno Land Transfer to Lennar

POWER'S Jaron Browne (standing) urges the Milk Club to oppose SB 792

as green panel speakers Eric Smith and John Rizzo look on

with club President Rafael Mandelman

San Francisco’s politically progressive Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club voted this week to officially oppose Senator Mark Leno’s SB 792, a bill seeking to allow the state to sell 42 acres of pristine public parkland at Candlestick Point to the politically connected Lennar Corporation for private condominium development. The motion to oppose passed nearly unanimously, with only one club member abstaining.

Green area represents the state park and dark orange area
represents section Leno wants to make available for Lennar

Passage of the Leno bill would unnecessarily privatize close to one third of the state park, resulting in the already underserved Bayview-Hunters Point community losing use of much of its only clean land space. According to Jaron Browne, Bayview Project Organizer for the environmental and racial justice group People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER), the park is used daily by community members and families, including one senior walking group.

Lennar, a Miami based corporate developer, already purchased 700 acres in the area from the city of San Francisco for a total price of one dollar.

“The key thing is this is additional. Lennar has already been given access to over 700 acres of development land in the shipyard and Candlestick Point,” explained Jaron Browne. “SB 792 is an example of greed, really, because there’s no need for them to take an additional 42 acres for their development. All of their development can be accommodated in the 700 acres they already have. They want to take this land because it’s some of the most beautiful land there.”

Bayview-Hunters Point is home to the notoriously contaminated Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The shipyard was once a nuclear facility where the nuclear bomb used against Japan was constructed. A nuclear testing lab buried test animals at the site and contaminated ships were cleaned there. It’s no surprise the area is one of the few communities in San Francisco with inadequate sanitary outdoor recreation space. It is predominantly populated by people of color with 50% of residents being African American, 20% Chinese, and 10% Latino. Average income in the area is $18,500 per year.

John Rizzo speaks on the environmental justice and green jobs panel at the Milk Club

“This is an environmental racist bill,” said John Rizzo, Community College Board Trustee and former Chair of the Sierra Club Bay Chapter. “If this were 42 acres of Golden Gate Park, the Presidio, or any other park in the city, this would not happen. If they wanted to build 15 story luxury condos in Golden Gate Park, it wouldn’t even be discussed. But, because this is the Bayview, and a lot of people don’t go there, it’s ok.”

Senator Leno anticipated the issue of SB 792 arising at the Milk Club meeting because an environmental justice and green jobs panel was on the agenda. Leno’s office contacted Milk Club President Rafael Mandelman the day of the meeting, requesting no official stand be adopted by the club until he had an opportunity to make his own presentation.

Debra Walker , Milk Club member and Treasurer of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, disagreed, “This issue has been going on for quite a while. We’ve heard about this issue from POWER before. We’ve discussed it and I think it’s time to give some public statement.”

“We do need to take action,” Rizzo, one of the evening’s green panel presenters, told the group. “The bill allows the state to sell the park to the city and then the city gives it to Lennar. This is an incredibly dangerous precedent. This would be the first time the state would enable a state park to be sold off for development.”

SB 792 is scheduled for vote on August 19th, prior to the release this fall of three Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) analyzing the development at the shipyard and Candlestick Point, and well before the opportunity for public comment on those reports.

Senator Mark Leno introduced SB 792 shown with SF Mayor Gavin Newsom
(photo courtesy of Mark Leno for State Senate)

Many Milk Club members expressed deep concern that Leno, a Democrat, would introduce a bill with such broad negative impact, including limiting equal access to healthy parks and open space for low income families and people of color and decimating livable space for the 150 species of wildlife identified at the site.

Rizzo echoed their unease. “This is being done by a Democrat,” he said. “What happens when the Republicans start saying, ‘Hey, we can raise money, just give out all these other state parks. Let’s do it. Hey, we voted for your Democrat selling your state park so you have to vote for ours.’ ”

The Milk Club joins a growing number of political and environmental justice groups opposing the bill including the Sierra Club and the Potrero Hill Democratic Club.

Supervisors Chris Daly and John Avalos recently introduced a resolution proposing San Francisco officially oppose SB 792.

POWER expects more controversy over the development later this year including the issues of early transfer and capping. Early transfer allows the Navy to transfer land before completing the toxic cleanup and provide the city with estimated rather than actual completion costs, leaving no incentive for the Navy to clean thoroughly. Capping is the process of paving over the polluted area and leaving the contaminates underneath rather than cleaning, a process requiring the constant elimination of burrowing animals in the area.

A Little Less Conversation

Matt Haney, far right, rolls up his Little Idea notes in favor of a beer and conversation with his mom, Kris Calvin, and Eric Smith of BeyondChron

As the economy deteriorates and severe government budget cuts kick in, most of us will be forced to make do with less.

Yes, normally, this is unwelcome news.

Last month, though, organizers of The Little Idea lecture series demonstrated less can be more. They successfully combined the short attention span of a modern audience with that audience’s newly honed belt-tightening skills. Little Idea events feature one speaker who has only ten minutes to get a point across. No Q&A session is allowed.

If your thoughts turn swiftly toward recommending this ten minute rule to certain San Francisco elected officials, then, yes, I must agree with you and would be remiss not to advise you send the suggestion to that politician asap. You know who they are.

Little Idea inaugural speaker Matt Haney at 111 Minna Gallery

Matt Haney was Little Idea’s excellent choice for the series opener, devoting his ten minutes to "The Principles of Organizing in the Age of Obama." Haney’s known for his techie political organizing and people skills. He was active extra early in President Obama’s campaign, and served as the Stanford for Obama Campus Director, the Northern California Student Coordinator, and New Mexico Youth Vote Director. He’s currently interning in Washington D.C. with the Office of the White House Counsel during summer break from Stanford Law School.

His easy-going manner and positive attitude made Haney’s discussion feel more like friendly advice than a heavy lecture or speech. He focused on contemporary organizing through political activism, community participation, and online social networking, all of which are goals of the organizing group he co-founded, Citizen Hope. Emphasizing that the people you try to recruit should have fun, he advised beginning by creating a campaign that generates excitement and makes people want to volunteer.

The Little Idea SF inaugural audience

The crowd at 111 Minna Gallery was an interesting mixture of the usual political suspects, campaign staffers, and fresh young faces still exploring San Francisco’s winding political maze.

Matt Haney and Debra Walker, candidate for District 6 Supervisor, at The Little Idea SF

Open source voting guru Brent Turner and me enjoying The Little Idea SF event

Michael Goldstein, DCCC member, with Micah Jamal Allen (center) and Eric Smith at Little Idea SF

Erin Haney and Kris Calvin provide family support at The Little Idea SF

Haney's sister, Erin and his mother, Kris Calvin, were on hand to lend support. Politics runs in the family - Kris Calvin is runing for South Pasadena City Council.

Eric Smith and Debra Walker in da' house (always!)

Matt Haney relaxes with his mom, Kris Calvin, after facing the grueling ten minute spotlight

Gary Gartner, Campaign Manager for John Garamendi, with Debra Walker at The Little Idea

The Little Idea originates from New York and is a fun addition with potential here in San Francisco. There are several speakers I’d find interesting for future Little Idea events.

Eric Smith

Eric Smith, Director of Green Depot, would be enlightening on biodiesel and alternative fuels.

Stuart Milk, nephew of former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, has insightful, though disheartening, stats on the lack of legislation punishing hate crimes committed against LGBT citizens in the United States.

Speaking of Harvey Milk, Barbara Taylor, KCBS Radio journalist, is an expert on covering local government. If you don’t know her connection to the story of Supe Milk, well, then, her future talk will be all that much more interesting.

Another suggestion is Matt Gonzalez, former President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, on campaigning or the art of negotiating legislation. Laugh, groan, or cry, - simultaneously, even - if you want. When you’re done, considered Gonzalez wrote an op-ed article for Wednesday’s Examiner.

The article is well done, providing not only a straight forward explanation of the complicated taxi medallion controversy but also a potential path toward resolution. Anyone checked the Department of Elections for declared mayoral candidacies lately? No, that’s not crazy. Recall what happened last time he appeared unexpectedly in BeyondChron, criticizing then presidential candidate Obama. He ran for Vice President of the United States.

I was so curious about a potential Gonzalez run for office, I made inquiries of a few politically connected people at a friend’s birthday party last night. No one had considered it. Imagine my interest upon receiving today’s e-mail from the League of Pissed Off Voters radio show announcing Gonzalez as a guest this evening. An answer may be just around the corner. Will there be a Newsom-Gonzalez governor showdown?

Hope Johnson

Anyway, the point is, I’d enjoy seeing a few more Little Idea events.

And, hey, Mr. Haney, while you’re out there in D.C., could you speak to Barack about starting his limit on Wall Street salaries with taxpayer owned GM’s new chair “golden parachute” Ed Whitacre, who recently received a $158 million retirement package from AT&T? Thanks, dude.