Citizens,
Here is the UC Review coverage of the Clark park closure. Like always,
the local residents are supposed to feel stupid while they are wondering
how they missed "nearly five years of planning and nearly countless
public meetings geared toward receiving community feedback on
revitalizing Park "A..." (UC Review)
http://ucreview.com/tree-removal-in-clark-park-a-elicits-surprise-from-some-local-residents-p2341-1.htm?twindow=default&smenu=1&mad=no
<http://ucreview.com/tree-removal-in-clark-park-a-elicits-surprise-from-some-local-residents-p2341-1.htm?twindow=default&smenu=1&mad=no>
If you looked closely at the announcements of Friends of Clark Park
meetings over the past few years, a few mentioned "updates" about
"maintenance." Almost no one from the community, other than the anointed
FOCP leaders themselves, bore the pain of these gatherings as I did.
Fact: There was no portion at FOCP board meetings that was ever geared
toward receiving PUBLIC feedback about Penn's plan to redesign the park!
Eyewitness account: A few minutes (4 or 5) were left at the end of each
show, in case anyone wanted to thank and applaud the FOCP leaders. For
three consecutive years, I attempted to make a one minute statement to
voice opposition to the closed, secretive and exclusive process which
was driving Penn's redesign. Each time I was silenced (Snyder, Snyder,
Melmen)! That is what FOCP claims were countless public meetings for
feedback.
As indicated in the UCR article, the other "public process" was to find
out about Siano and West frightening people PRIVATELY at the farmer's
market. Everyone is to believe that while Siano and West demanded 20
dollars from people with false promises of inclusion, that citizens had
a legitimate process for providing "feedback" to the closed and secret
Clark Park Partnership. It's as silly and dishonest as melani's private
"in-box" survey for BID supporters. (I wish more people understood the
very basic principles involved!)
It looks like the big lie has now become part of the history of West
Philadelphia as advanced by UCD.
Reality: The years between the rejection of Penn's plan to redesign
Clark Park as well as these FOCP "updates" were always designed to keep
the public confused and excluded from the UNPOPULAR plan. They kept
saying the community wants this destruction and kept telling the public
that there were public meetings. They never allowed park user groups to
participate or observe the planning meetings since Penn first hand
picked the "master plan steering committee." Only FOCP leaders were
allowed and all others were banned.
When Aaron told the reporter that 100 people, he knew, were surprised by
the slaughter of trees, we are all supposed to believe that they just
didn't pay enough attention while the FOCP patiently begged for
community feedback in public meetings! Are the people going to stay
silent against this lie?????
Wake up: The three stooges, West, Siano, and Chance, helped Penn
privatize Clark Park and give absolute control of Clark Park to UCD,
masked as the closed "Clark Park Partnership." It wasn't public
feedback meetings that everyone missed. It was the loss of our rights,
as local residents and as citizens, that we failed to see and stand up
against with these deceptions!
Today, it is the park users whose culture and rights are being
destroyed. I copied this from the Holocaust memorial in downtown Boston
for the silent ones to consider:
"They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."
Pastor Martin Neimoller
