This rubble and rubbish filled landfill, projecting into San
Francisco Bay, has benefited from benign neglect, it has a world class view and
is now slated to become parkland. However, there are some complicating factors,
the folk art, the resident homeless, and the risk factor perceived by city and
park authorities.
I’ve been walking here intermittently for twenty some years.
This blob of land maybe 200 meters by 400 meters is strewn with massive chunks
of concrete; rebar sticking out of much of it. This is just the visible part.
More is beneath the surface, and some partially exposed. You need to pay
attention when walking. A stumble could lead to being impaled. Of course when
this landfill is excavated further, all sorts of other more noxious things are
encountered. For the usual urban park, the park district would bring in
bulldozers and landscapers to make it all safe for visitors.
Complication 1 - the folk art, ranging from graffiti to works
done by established artists. This art all shares a common base - created from
materials on hand, which happen to be concrete with rebar sticking out, slabs
on the ground, driftwood, found objects from the landfill such as bicycle
wheels, etc. etc. etc.. I’ve done a
short youtube video to give you a feel for
it.
Complication 2 - the resident homeless, and in some cases,
the resident homeless artists. In my time walking out there, there were always
people living there, but relatively out of sight. The area could be freely
strolled without the feeling of invading someone’s privacy. This has changed
over the last several years, and the population has gone from my guess of no
more than 10 or 12 to around 60. One can’t walk from shore to shore without
intruding. Albany city authorities are in the process of finding the homeless
other accommodations prior to turning the area over to the park district. Some
of the homeless have a different point of view, and express these views quite
strongly on blogs on the
Albany Patch website. A video with a half dozen or so
of the Bulb residents
gives you their thoughts.
Complication 3 is the perceived risk. The park district
wants to avoid lawsuits, so will sanitize the site to their level of desired
safety. I haven’t seen any official statements on what will be done, but I have
a vision of bulldozers and heavy equipment leveling out and burying most of the
current folk art. Authorities in this area do not have a good history of
preserving anonymous roadside art, the Emeryville mudflat sculptures being a
good example.
My proposal is that an urban wilderness area be created - on
a similar model to the National Wilderness Areas. i.e. Visitors enter at their
own risk. If they stumble over a piece of concrete, it is no different than
falling off a cliff in the backcountry. Emergency services will be provided if
needed, but there is no thought of the park being responsible for there being a
mountain to fall off of. No heavy equipment allowed except for emergencies, no
powered devices outside of what an individual might carry on a backpacking trip.
No gas or electric utilities.
I do propose that three permit controlled backpacking sites
be established, each one with room for three or four tents, with two of those
having a permit limit of two days. Those would be on view sites on the west end
of the bulb. The third site would be an interior camp available for juried artists
in residence for a maximum of 30 days unless the art jury adjusted the limit.
An individual could only get one permit in 365 days unless waivered. There
would be a central piped in water source, and a central toilet facility.
Camping would be Leave No Trace - no trash pickup.
P.S. This post is primarily about the art preservation, but
I have a suggestion on the homeless resettlement, and that is that the city of
Albany provide a free campground somewhere so that the residents could at least
have access to police and fire services, as well as access to water, toilets
and showers. Even assisted housing costs money and is in short supply so this
would be a humane alternative.
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