Let’s not have Patricia’s Green turn into this!
A well intended commemoration project for the freeway removal has morphed into a project that is completely unrecognizable. It has been lead by a select few, under the radar during a pandemic and has shifted away from typical governmental oversight.
FreeWAY Commemoration Project Background
Our team has compiled pertinent update at each critical juncture of this project.
Posts
Part 1 project Background
The Freeway Commemoration Project has been a topic of discussion over the last couple of years. The idea of a project to commemorate the historic and activist nature of the event has been well received by residents and merchants of Hayes Valley.
Part 2 Project Red Flags
As cited in our initial post here, HVSafe was prompted last month about several shenanigans pertaining to the process and conflicts of interest that have transpired in this project.
Part 3 Takeaways from Mocac Meeting August
A handful of community members joined the Market Octavia Community Advisory Committee (MOCAC) meeting last night (Monday August 16th, 2021) to hear item 7 on the agenda (the Freeway Commemoration Project). We checked in with neighbors who attended; for all it was a first time attending a MOCAC meeting.
Part 4 Brief Recap
When we initially began to drill down on the Freeway Commemoration project back in early July we could not predict we would be embarking on a campaign for a rectification of a flawed process. Each attempt to gather information via conversations or meeting attendance has contributed to the handful of summaries we’ve posted on our blog; without the collective effort of HVSafe members none of this would have been possible. If you haven’t read our prior posts we encourage you to do so…there’s a lot to this story to unpack.
Part 5 San Francisco Parks Alliance Announcement Followup
The outcome at this juncture is not surprising and is as we suspected: predetermined. You can read the announcement from SFPA here. The Project Red Flags remain the same and have been compounded with this recent development. In an era when corruption is running rampant in City government it’s even more disheartening that it’s running amuck at the neighborhood level.
Part 6 Takeaways from MOCAC Meeting March
Representatives of HVSafe attended Monday’s MOCAC Meeting. The Freeway Commemoration Project was item 6 on the agenda. We share our observations in an effort to provide an update on what the Commemoration Committee is seemingly up to. Our goal is to keep you informed of this looming project which will impact Hayes Valley while we continue to advocate for a new and transparent approach.
Part 7 Takeaways from Appointed Design Team’s Workshop June
Here are some bullet points of the appointed design team’s workshop for the Freeway Commemoration Project which was held last Thursday, June 9th:
In the same vein of their current survey the workshop was skewed toward their intentions; it gave the feeling that the intent and original idea of a memorial is being left in the rear view mirror.
Part 8 Takeaways from MOCAC Meeting June
Representatives of HVSafe attended Tuesday’s MOCAC Meeting. The Freeway Commemoration Project was item 4 on the agenda. Below are bullet points of what was shared at this meeting. We remain steadfast in keeping you informed of developments of this looming project which will impact Hayes Valley while we continue to advocate for a new and transparent approach amidst a lack of community awareness and process.
Part 10 Project Update
This week an update on the Commemoration Project was provided at the MOCAC meeting by Jenn Laska.
We heard how she has been working 2+ years on this project only to end up empty handed. She cited difficulty in working with Rec and Park and insisted she is not interested in a small scale project as some are suggesting.
Podcasts
Listen to our podcasts; we discuss recent developments.