3233 Market St
Oakland, CA 94608
USA
Call to Action: The Economic Development Without Displacement Coalition (EDWD) invites you to stand against displacement and the destruction of a historic public space in West Oakland. Do Not Displace our Public Space!
Who (is being displaced): Black and Brown Elders of West Oakland
What: Call to Action to stop the closure and demolition of St. Andrew’s Plaza (a public micro-park in West Oakland) @ the City of Oakland’s “Community Kick-OUT Meeting”
Why: The City of Oakland is planning to displace neighbors at St. Andrew’s Plaza with their plan to demolish, fence off, and reconstruct the park beginning in January 2016. This effort will launch with a Community Kick-Out Meeting The meeting will be hosted by Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney, with the city’s design team, to share key dates on this initiative moving forward.
About St. Andrew’s Plaza: St. Andrew’s Plaza is a mini park located on San Pablo Corridor, across the street from St. Mary’s Center in West Oakland,. The Plaza is a public gathering space for marginalized seniors, and has long been a social space for community members and houseless folks to come together, and often to receive food. The neighborhood borders Emeryville and is considered an ‘up and coming’ area given its proximity to North Oakland and South Emeryville. With the West Oakland Specific Plan and the San Pablo Corridor Coalition
About the Local Resistance: The City has in the past tried to alienate people’s rights to the park and increase policing by raiding the park, fencing of the space, and relocating the bus stop to outside of the Plaza (also see this article on St. Andrews Plaza on fireworks bay area). Last year neighbors in the area mobilized to tear down the fence surrounding St. Andrews Plaza and assert people’s rights to this space.