City Government

New Army Base Development Overcame “Almost Insurmountable” Obstacles

Published

12 years ago

November 29, 2013

Now that the Oakland City Council has approved the $25 million, 17-acre development to build a parking and services center for trucks adjacent to the Port of Oakland, the project seems like an obvious win for everyone.

Who can argue with a development that supports thousands of truckers who are necessary to the functioning of the port, creates 900 permanent and construction jobs and improves air quality for Oakland neighborhoods plagued with off the charts asthma rates?

However, behind the good feelings expressed at the near unanimous vote at last week’s council meeting, the final passage of Bill Aboudi’s Maritime Support Services (OMSS) project was the result of years of bitter conflict and tortuous negotiations that are indicative of the state of the democratic process in Oakland and the kind of nearly insurmountable obstacles many small businesses must overcome to do business in the city.

Opposed to the project were the Teamsters, who only have a toehold among port truck drivers and want to organize them into the union. They have been portraying Aboudi as anti-worker.

About 90 percent of the trucks that are registered to service the port are owned by independent operators. Only about 10 percent work for big companies, and of these, about 100 are members of the Teamsters.

In addition, Tagami and some city staff seemed bent on pushing Aboudi out of business in their rush to make way for the Oakland Global development at the port, according to observers. The way the city has written its agreements, if for some reason Aboudi fails to sign a lease by Dec. 4, the property and project would go to Tagami.

What some people say is that the city essentially gave Tagami an economic incentive not to be anxious to work with the administration and council to reach an agreement with Aboudi.

In the face of the intense lobbying and opposition, Councilmembers Larry Reid, Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan were unwavering in their support for the project.

The new members of the City Council, who started in January, had a particularly hard time sifting through the long history and various allegations against OMSS and personal attacks on Aboudi

According to many observers, one of the new councilmembers, District 3 Councilmember Lynette McElhaney, stood out as one who did the research, listened to all the sides, learned the issues and worked hard to make sure the conflict could be resolved.

She is credited with being instrumental in finally convincing the Teamsters to drop their opposition to the project.

McElhaney says her foremost interest was in keeping the trucks off the streets of West Oakland, and she discovered that Aboudi had been doing that. She also learned that most of the charges against Aboudi and OMSS were false or extremely exaggerated.

“The allegations made against OMSS are not true and harmed that man,” she said. “West Oakland has suffered, and the city has had to pay additional costs on this project, as people kept organizing against allowing it to move forward.”

“It is not the purview of this council not to do business with a company that won a competitive bid,” she said.

McElhaney said that a number of community leaders and organizations, particularly Brian Beveridge and Margaret Gordon of West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and Steve Lowe of West Oakland Commerce Association, played a major role backing the project and helped bring her up to speed on the development’s convoluted history.

A long-term problem at the port has been the indifference of city and port officials to truckers and the key role they play at the port, as officials focused almost exclusively on pushing ahead on their moneymaking development project, said Lowe, vice president of the West Oakland Commerce Association.

Officials failed to develop a transition plan that took into account the needs of truckers and West Oakland residents, who want to keep polluting trucks out of their neighborhoods, he said.

Officials also seemed to have no interest in retaining local companies at the port, even though they fit in with future plans for developing port-related business.

One company that left was Bay Area Kenworth, a $60 million business that sold and repaired trucks and planned to move from diesel to LNG (natural gas) fuel.

“They couldn’t make a deal with the city, so they moved to San Leandro,” Lowe said.

“In all the exchanges with the city and the port, the idea of business retention was given short shrift. They should have been thinking of ho are we going to retain the businesses we have and how can we work together to do it,” said Lowe.

“The port and the city were negligent in caring for their tenants.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

5 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.