Beast Blog

Save The Shipyard: Final Use Permit Hearing

Heads count in many situations, and this-here is one of them.
Do your part to keep Berkeley a place where art can thrive! (Free tacos, too!)

On Thursday, October 23rd, get yerself on down to:
City of Berkeley Council Chambers
2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, 2nd Floor
People's Republic of Berkeley

Taco truck catering starts at 6PM. Hearing starts at 7PM.

The Shipyard is a shipping container artist community in Berkeley. The Shipyard is yet another amazing Bay Area artist resource and venue that has been struggling for survival the last couple of years and could really use your help.

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This report from Jim, tireless leader of The Shipyard:

The hour of reckoning has arrived for the Shipyard.

Two years and $12,000 after we started the Battle of the Papers and
Processes with the City of Berkeley, the Final Use Permit hearing for
The Shipyard is scheduled and guaranteed to happen October 23rd at 7pm.

This is the hearing where they decide whether we get to continue to
exist or we rent a truck and haul away all the containers.

We have submitted all the required drawings, environmental studies,
statements of intent, paid the fees, talked and retalked, redid the
drawings 4 times, brought in high end architectural consulting and
services, and all the rest of the stuff that always happens in these
messes.

And now the whole thing is on the line a! nd we need a big showing to
convince Berkeley that people care about the place and want to see it
continue to exist. Exist not just to collect large machine tools and
build unlikely edifices to misguided hubris, but also to have events,
workshops, gatherings, and shows- all those things we haven't been able
to do for two years while we were under the thumb.

WE NEED 200 PEOPLE IN THE ROOM FOR THIS HEARING.

200 people cannot be said no to.

Our neighbors are happy with us so I don't expect them out in force
against us, but who knows what will happen. These hearings are
arbitrary and you stand there helpless as decisions are made over the
foundation upon which you and many, many other people create, play,
live and generally do the things that matter most to them. Everything
could be fine, (as it was at the last hearing for design review, which
we passed), or everything could suddenly be all wrong. That is why we
ALL need to be there- to make sure it will all be OK, and not yet
another art space gets axed in the Bay Area, as has been the recent
trend.

So, with humility, concern, deep gratitude and all the other soft
things, I ask, actually plead, that you consider joining us for this
hearing.

The hearing starts at 7pm. You have to submit a speakers card by
7:15pm to speak. Speaking in favor of the project is good, especially
if you are a Berkeley resident, or even if you are not.

There will be a taco truck catering the event (at the curb) out front
from 6-8pm. Free tacos and horchata for all who show.

Again, the meeting is at:

Council Chambers, Berkeley
2134 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, 2nd Floor
Thursday, Oct 23rd, 7:00 p.m.

There will be a party (celebrating our success) afterwards at the
yard. More details on the after party will emerge soon.

Thank you in advance for helping to bring all this silliness to an end.

- Jim Mason

directions for west bay folk:
-off 80 at University, go east for about a mile.
-turn right on Martin Luther King Jr Way.
-go three blocks and find taco truck and venue on your right.

The Shipyard website

Posted by daniland at October 20, 2003 10:14 PM | TrackBack