{"id":37177,"date":"2024-10-21T13:22:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T20:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=37177"},"modified":"2024-10-21T13:22:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T20:22:57","slug":"city-moves-to-partially-close-protest-encampment-citing-construction-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/10\/21\/city-moves-to-partially-close-protest-encampment-citing-construction-project\/","title":{"rendered":"City moves to partially close protest encampment, citing construction project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Emilia%20Valle\">Emilia Valle<\/a> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oct 16, 2024 (DailyCal.org)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/city\/city-moves-to-partially-close-protest-encampment-citing-construction-project\/article_4f36c5fc-8bae-11ef-87cb-437457448464.html#disqus_thread\">Comments<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/dailycal.org\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/d\/2d\/d2d5bd96-8b6d-11ef-a2c4-abb791dfdc11\/670f315fa3d1a.image.jpg?resize=400%2C258\" alt=\"sweeps_chloe dowling_staff.jpg\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">According to assistant city manager Peter Radu,&nbsp;the city does not have an exact date for the construction in Civic Center Park, but it is set to happen this calendar year.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/users\/profile\/Chloe%20Dowling\">Chloe Dowling | Staff<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The city of Berkeley expanded a fenced-off area at&nbsp;Civic Center Park, where a protest encampment has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/city\/housing\/demonstration-outside-berkeley-courthouse-protests-encampment-sweeps\/article_ba9a465e-7e14-11ef-8b81-4bdbe5f88d5b.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stood<\/a>&nbsp;for more than 2 weeks, on Tuesday.&nbsp;The city originally sent an encampment closure notice to residents Oct. 9, citing a construction project.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Andrea Henson,&nbsp;executive director and legal counsel for nonprofit organization Where Do We Go, noted that after receiving the notice from the city, new encampments were formed on Fourth Street and Bancroft Way along with&nbsp;Center Street and Milvia Street.The protest encampment at Civic Center Park remained despite the notice, though some people had to relocate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have to provide a space for people that\u2019s safe, and so we also established this encampment,\u201dHenson said, referring to the encampment on Fourth Street and Bancroft Way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter Radu, the assistant city manager, said that the notice was sent out to inform those living in Civic Center Park that the existing fence would be expanded. Radu noted that the notice sent out by the city had a color coded map that illustrated the boundaries of the new fence.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radu also said that the city does not have an exact date for the construction in Civic Center Park but it is set to happen this calendar year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhenever there\u2019s a new encampment that comes to our attention, we will go out and we\u2019ll assess the situation for potential impacts, including health and safety impacts, both to the residents living within the encampment, as well as to the surrounding neighborhood,\u201d Radu said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Henson said when \u201cnotices of sweeps\u201d or sweeps themselves occur, it is difficult for unhoused people to find a place to go.Henson added that when people are evicted from shelters or moved, they lose a majority of their belongings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Henson also said that in Berkeley, an encampment can be removed if it is deemed an \u201cemergency\u201d but the city has not constituted what defines that term.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you were homeless, if you are unsheltered, if you can\u2019t afford rent, your entire existence is unlawful,\u201d Henson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/city\/housing\/demonstration-outside-berkeley-courthouse-protests-encampment-sweeps\/article_ba9a465e-7e14-11ef-8b81-4bdbe5f88d5b.html\">protest encampment<\/a>&nbsp;is a response to Berkeley City Council&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailycal.org\/news\/city\/city-government\/city-council-will-no-longer-require-interim-housing-offers-prior-to-unhoused-encampment-sweeps\/article_08bfec40-70f4-11ef-b50e-4f2902b7d96b.html\">passing an item<\/a>&nbsp;that allows the city to close an encampment without offering alternative housing if it is deemed a significant fire hazard or health risk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radu said that the city follows \u201cfederal best practices\u201d when it comes to encampment resolution, including sustained outreach, advanced notices before any action and seeking to avoid citation and arrest.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSweeping the encampment implies that we just go in with law enforcement, with no regards to the people living there or any of their belongings, with no advanced outreach and notification. Some cities do that. Berkeley does not,\u201d Radu said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a press release, Where Do We Go asked for \u201ca call of collaboration\u201d with the city and noted the Berkeley Homeless Union Agreements that address the city\u2019s concerns and the rights of the unhoused people living in Berkeley.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The press release also included seven demands for \u201cjustice in the ninth circuit and country,\u201d such as a&nbsp;call to end encampment closures and legislation protecting those experiencing homelessness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Emily Hamill contributed to this report.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The city of Berkeley expanded a fenced-off area at&nbsp;Civic Center Park, where a protest encampment has&nbsp;stood&nbsp;for more than 2 weeks, on Tuesday.&nbsp;The city originally sent an encampment closure notice to residents Oct. 9, citing a construction project.&nbsp; Andrea Henson,&nbsp;executive director and legal counsel for nonprofit organization Where Do We Go,&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/10\/21\/city-moves-to-partially-close-protest-encampment-citing-construction-project\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37177"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37178,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37177\/revisions\/37178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}