News

Students and Staff Say Laney College Threatened by Proposed Ballpark

Published

7 years ago

October 27, 2017

A number of students, instructors and employees at Laney College in Oakland are organizing to take a stand against the proposed A’s stadium in downtown Oakland. While many are themselves A’s fans, they are worried that the crowd-filled stadium and exploding property values that accompany the development would spell the end of their unique and beloved college as well as historic Chinatown and downtown neighborhoods.

“I know the opportunities this development affords to people, but I don’t know how you mitigate the noise and the crowds of people who come in for a live game or concert,” said Michael Wright, a library employee and Laney alumni, who is a member of the campus group opposed to the A’s downtown project, the Laney Land for Students Coalition.

“They have corporate, big business interests. Their interests and their wants will supersede the college,” said Wright.

“A lot of people, 68 games a year, monster truck rallies and concerts, these are the disruptions across the street from the college we are talking about,” added student Dejon Gill

The group is part of the Stay the Right Way coalition, which is opposing the project, and is allied with the Oakland Chinatown Coalition, the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) and other organizations.
In interviews with the Post, students and staff discussed what they believe is at stake.

They began meeting in September after reports appeared in the media about the proposed project, though it was not until Sept. 12 that the A’s organization formally sent a proposal to Peralta.

The A’s proposal may be called a stadium project, say members of the Laney group, but in reality, the plan is considerably more than that. It’s about real estate development and speculative land investment.

“This is real estate gold we’re sitting on. They are appealing to a certain class of people. It is the 1 percent. They want single white people who have the money who pay to play and live in these overly expensive units,” said Laney librarian Phillippa Caldeira.

A resolution opposing the stadium, pointing to the project’s connection to real estate development, was by the Laney Faculty Senate.

“A ballpark adjacent to Laney College would further drive intense, high-speed development, gentrification and displacement in the neighborhoods surrounding the college, including historic Chinatown, West Oakland and Eastlake, and would be devastating to the low-income, vulnerable communities we serve,” it read.

The A’s want to put their ballpark on the site of the Peralta Community College District headquarters at E. 8th Street and 5th Avenue, across the street from Laney College and next door to Oakland Chinatown.
Peralta’s administration is adamant that no decision for or against the project has been made and that the communitywide discussion has just begun. Ultimately, the Peralta board will decide.

John Reimann, a student, retired carpenter and former officer Carpenters Local 713, said he had done research on John Fisher, majority owner of the Oakland A’s, and found out that Fisher is not a friend of public education.

Fisher, son of the owners of The Gap, chairs the board of the KIPP Foundation, which is dedicated to training teachers for the KIPP charter school network. He also co-chairs the Charter School Growth Fund and is a real estate investor and hotel owner.

The students say they are fighting for Laney because it is a special place that provides a unique and nurturing environment for students. The college, founded in 1953, serves 10,000 students, predominately first generation, low-income and students of color and is the flagship of the Peralta district’s four colleges.

“A lot of our students have families, have children, have full-time jobs,” said Aisha Jordan, who serves on Laney’s student government.

“The attitude of our staff (is supportive). This is really an awesome school.”

Student Dejon Gill agreed:

“The community college is the place where returning students of a certain age can bring their life experiences. The sense of community is very special here at Laney,” he said.

“A lot of our students live in a disruptive environment,” said Laney instructor Kimberly King. “They need a safe place, a calm place where they can go.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.