UNIVERSITY*CITOYEN
Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:02:16 -0800
Glenn moyer wrote:
Dear neighbors, You probably read about the latest FOCP survey victims in the UC Review last week. The report also uncovered that the FOCP/UCD partnership plans to close A park in March. The editor published my response this week. (Sorry for not providing a link. For some reason, my message bounces back when I include a UC Review link. Just type in "Weekly Press" or "University City review")
here's the link to the article about the clark park meeting: http://tinyurl.com/yar6jp6 the most revealing line from that article:
"The best way to have a say in Clark Park," said [Tony] West, "is to become a member."
the most revealing comment so far about that article:
Frank L. Chance | chanc...@gmail.com JAN 15 | I would also like to thank the UCR for covering *our* meeting. It is very important to get the word out to *our* community about *our* activities, and especially about the upcoming revitalization construction in Park A.
and here's glenn's letter about that article: http://tinyurl.com/y995xgm
Re: Mistrust Generated Over Results of the Large Events Survey at Friends of Clark Park UC Review | 20.JAN.10 Eight years ago, I reported in this paper that the Clark Park Music and Arts festival and Woodland Ave. Reunion were targeted by one of these dishonest FOCP surveys. These surveys have always been an attempt to manufacture a crisis, and bully individual Clark Park stakeholder groups. Dog owners, festival organizers, drummers, and immigrant soccer players have all been targeted by the leadership of FOCP over the years. The People?s flea market organizers are only the latest victims. Corroborated by the current article, the FOCP and their UCD partners have instituted a pay to play power structure over a public Clark Park. At this point, your readers probably laughed at the reassurances about the survey and justifications by the civic association leaders. But the ridiculous survey is not the important information Ms. Contosta uncovered. Since the planned UCD redesign of Clark Park was first announced, the leadership of FOCP has maintained a secret exclusive back room process over all park plans, and does not allow the public or stakeholders to participate. Their public meetings are tightly controlled dog and pony shows at which they sell their plans formed in back rooms. Throughout the years, this redesign process has been repeatedly rejected by the larger community as well as the members of the FOCP. A so called "planning committee" decides where to put fountains, etc. Have the public or stakeholder representatives ever been invited to participate in those meetings? The park is about to be closed between Baltimore and Chester. The three month timetable reported is no more believable than any survey conclusions. This park redesign has always been designed as the physical support for the Penn myth so often in the news, that UCD/Penn recreated a ghetto wasteland into an upscale paradise. Control over "public space" is a well studied technique used in the community destruction and corporate gentrification process. The old Clark Park and the rights of the public must be redesigned to support the myth, even though the community likes the park and its wonderful culture. How many times will the community stand helplessly and ignore the truth about this partnership between UCD and the insular civic association leadership gang? The surveys and park closure are both intended to wipe out the park groups who currently use park A. The flea market and capture the flag will be banned by fiat because a pay to play FOCP exclusive activity has a monopoly on the use of park B most Saturday?s when these activities will be locked out of their normal space. When the rights of some are so easily destroyed, it?s foolish to think that any rights will be preserved under the new order. We either need to fight the UCD park conversion plan or lose our rights to a public park. Thanks for the coverage, Glenn Moyer
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