Stop the Destruction of the Music Concourse

Here's the latest news available on the illegal corporate taking of the Music Concourse area in Golden Gate Park. The bozos at the Recreation and Parks Department have turned over conrol of the park to the pro-privatization "Friends of Rec and Parks," which was founded by Walter Shorenstein over thirty years ago. They've come a long way, at the expense of the commons, and now you can see the results:

Reclaim the Music Concourse & the Historic Pedestrian Tunnels!!!

Rather than wait for Superior Court Judge James Warren to rule on the legality of the 800-stall garage project in the Music Concourse of Golden Gate Park, the Music Concourse Community Partnership (MCCP), a private corporation headed by billionaire financier Warren Hellman, began demolishing the above historic tunnel on April 22nd -- Earth Day.

The MCCP promised the Court of Appeal that the Music Concourse would sustain no irreversible damage. The private corporation has fenced off OUR PUBLIC PARK and chain-sawed mature Japanese cherry trees that were a gift to San Francisco from Japan. Construction crews demolished the 108-year-old northeast pedestrian tunnel in about five days. The MCCP had not even received a legal DPT permit to close the concourse roads on the days they did the most destruction. A permit was back-dated and issued retroactively.

Now they threaten to destroy the two remaining tunnels. With more DPT permits in place, the southern half of the Music Concourse, including the southeast and southwest tunnels, is completely vulnerable to drilling and demolition activities. The court may not act in time to stop this. But you can.

It is likely that only a civil direct action and occupation of the tunnels could stop their destruction in the event the court does not rule in time. There is no real security at the site, and there is no legal signage against trespassing. The contractor will arrest no one for trespassing because they don't want the media exposure of their ongoing illegal and willful destruction of public property.

Contact Mayor Newsom at (415) 554-6141, and ask him to protect the Music Concourse while Judge Warren takes the time needed to rule in the matter. (Newsom voted to approve the Bechtel designed boondoggle, and his corporate sponsor is Warren Hellman. Will the new mayor take a stand against the people who created him?!)

Call your Supervisor for the same.

Write: Mayor Gavin Newsom / 1 Dr. Carleton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102.

Request that they stop the MCCP’s wave of destruction and protect the Commons until the Superior Court rules. Support our equal and fair access to the Courts. Take Back The Park!

Save Golden Gate Park! P.O. Box 170051 San Francisco, CA 94117 415-621-3090