Port of Oakland Acts Like a Crack 'Ho -- Jerry Brown Appointed These Commissioners
Port of Oakland is Selling off 60 Acres of Oakland's Waterfront
by Leal Charonnat
Mark your calendar and set your watch, for next Tuesday, September 2, 2003 at 3:30 in the afternoon, the Port of Oakland, in a dark secluded room, will sell off the last 60 acres along Oakland's estuary waterfront between Estuary Park and the Ninth Avenue Terminal. The last undeveloped intact Oakland estuary waterfront will be sold not to the highest bidder, just to a bunch of well-connected guys.
It wasn't too long ago that the League of Women Voters recognized the potential the waterfront could have for Oakland. The old shipping ways were going bye-the-bye with the new containerization further down the estuary. Along the Oakland Estuary between Jack London Square and the Coliseum lay a land ripe for a new future for Oakland.
Over the next five years Oaklanders spent well over 50,000 hours and several million dollars hammering out a tome called "The Estuary Policy Plan." The entire Oakland community was involved. There is a vision in that document for a waterfront that Oakland could be proud.
But - guess what? The wise Port of Oakland commissioners see a shiny penny and now, next Tuesday, behind closed doors, will sell off this area of Oakland's waterfront.
The irony of all of this is that the Port of Oakland was formed in the 1920's in direct response to the privatization of Oakland's waterfront. How little we learn from the past. It's a different day indeed.
Where is the vision? Where is the mayor? Where is the rest of Oakland? Where are all the people who worked so hard on developing a vision for the Oakland waterfront?
Absent without an excuse
What is most irritating is they do this the day after the last summer holiday. The port commissioners have not the courage to do this in the light of day. They do their deed in the dark - how nasty.
It is amazing how blinding a shinny penny can be. Poor Oakland. Why oh why do we have a dearth of leaders with vision.
http://www.portofoakland.com/portnyou/cale_boar_02.asp
(See Commercial section)
Oakland's selling out the Port?? Hey, those commissioners have nothing on Horace Carpentier!!
Posted by: Dennis Evanosky on August 28, 2003 06:30 AMAfter recently cruising the vast expanse of the port with its 150 plus cranes and the huge amount
of cargo passing through this 4th largest U.S. port i visualized the tremendous wealth this creates that is not being channeled into the city
with its failing poverty stricken schools and lack of sufficient jobs for Oakland's families and it made me very angry that WE THE PEOPLE of OAKLAND are not really benefitting from this wealth and instead going to American President Lines and the other companies that our Port Authority is fattening instead of WE THE PEOPLE.
Would you be the same Werner Hertz who used to own the Sunset House (now my house)?
Posted by: Jane Powell on September 3, 2003 11:22 AMAgain, I think there's a huge misunderstanding of how redevelopment law works. The citizens of the City and that area have control over the development of the zone via the project area committee.
If that was not formed ( and it sounds like that's the case) the redevelopment agency is ripe for a lawsuit.
If someone chooses to file it.
Zen
Posted by: Zennie on September 7, 2003 02:48 AM*This discussion has been closed. No more comments may be added.*