{"id":761,"date":"2013-02-16T23:13:56","date_gmt":"2013-02-16T23:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/?p=761"},"modified":"2013-02-18T23:16:13","modified_gmt":"2013-02-18T23:16:13","slug":"berkeley-levels-restrictions-on-unattended-property-copying-santa-cruz-bigotry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/berkeley-levels-restrictions-on-unattended-property-copying-santa-cruz-bigotry\/","title":{"rendered":"Berkeley Levels Restrictions on “Unattended Property”–Copying Santa Cruz Bigotry?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Norse’s Notes:\u00a0 Is there a contagion of homeless-ophobia? \u00a0 Are Berkeley gentrification folks watching Santa Cruz and taking their cure from the right-wingers here? \u00a0<\/span><\/span> <\/span>The Berkeley library’s<\/span> “unattended property” rule change seems suspiciously close in time and content to the Santa Cruz November change banning unattended property.\u00a0 Other changes included <\/span>trying to tighten rules on service animals, and increasing penalties drastically for repeated violation by many months.
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Those who want to examine the records of complaints and evictions from the Santa Cruz Library should contact the City Council staff at 420-5020 and ascertain whether they are still holding the public records I requested there.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
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PASS ON REPORTS OF HARASSMENT IN THE LIBARY BY THE LIBRARY STAFF, SECURITY GUARDS, OR OTHER “INTERESTED CITIZENS” TO HUFF AT 831-423-4833<\/a>.\u00a0 AS “NEEDLE-HYSTERIA” RAMPS UP AND ATTACKS ON HOMELESS CAMPS AS “TRASH” MOUNT, DEFENDING HOMELESS PEOPLE BECOMES EVEN MORE VITAL.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Has it gotten harder to be homeless in Berkeley?<\/h1>\n
January 2, 2013 2:45 pm by Emilie Raguso<\/a><\/div>\n
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New policies at the Berkeley Library prohibit bringing in items larger than 24 inches. One reader wondered if the change were related to the failure of Measure S to pass. Photo: Emilie Raguso<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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\nAfter the failure of <\/span>Measure S<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to pass in November, we heard from one reader who said there seemed to have been harsher enforcement around town of violations related to homelessness.\u00a0The reader said a homeless friend had been hassled by police when trying to sleep in a regular spot, and also wanted to know about new rules at the library that limit the size and type of items that can be brought inside.<\/span>
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\nThe reader sent us an email in December detailing the changes, and <\/span>asked Berkeleyside<\/a><\/span> to learn more.<\/span>
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\n\u201cSince the no-sit measure failed, the city has begun new, more\u00a0aggressive\u00a0treatment of the homeless. My homeless neighbor \u2026 has been told he could sleep in the doorway of a movie theater but last night, a cop rousted him from his dry, out-of-the-rain perch in the theater\u2019s doorway. The cop said the theater could face stiff fines for giving [my neighbor] permission to sleep in their doorway on a rainy night.\u201d<\/span>
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\nThe reader continued: \u201cIs this really who we want to be as a city?\u201d<\/span>
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\nAccording to police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats, the <\/span>Berkeley Police Department<\/a><\/span> has not altered its general approach to the enforcement of violations associated with homeless residents.<\/span>
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\n\u201cThere has not been any new change in policy regarding our enforcement efforts after the failure of Measure S,\u201d said Coats, via email, in December. \u201cOfficers have the discretion to enforce laws if needed.\u201d<\/span>
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\n(She said she did not have details about the specific incident described above, as no additional information was available from the reader who contacted Berkeleyside about it.)<\/span><\/p>\n

New rules at the library<\/span><\/h3>\n

The reader also noted a shift in policy at the <\/span>Berkeley Public Library<\/a><\/span>, with visitors \u2014 seemingly suddenly \u2014 forbidden from bringing in items <\/span>larger than 24 inches<\/a><\/span>.<\/span>
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\n\u201cThis new policy, which appeared overnight \u2026 is clearly targeted to keep homeless with their stuff out of the library. Um, if you are homeless, you have nowhere to leave your stuff. \u00a0I know that, for middle-class patrons, it can feel uncomfortable to be sitting at a library computer next to a guy who appears homeless and has some luggage with him. Geez, have compassion for that human being.\u201d<\/span>
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\nDouglas Smith, deputy director at the <\/span>Berkeley Public Library<\/a><\/span>, said in December that the changes had not come out of the blue, and that library staff members were working with patrons to let them know about the changes and help come up with alternatives.<\/span>
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\nSmith said the library has <\/span>rules of conduct<\/a><\/span> that are regularly reviewed and updated. At the Nov. 14 meeting of the library board, members voted to approve the new rules. They went into effect Dec. 1. (See the <\/span>agenda packet related to this item here<\/a><\/span>.)<\/span>
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\nSmith said changes to the rules included now letting patrons charge phones and computers using library outlets, which previously had been forbidden, as well as the new limitation on the amount and type of items people can bring inside.<\/span>
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\nThe <\/span>rules now prohibit<\/a><\/span> entering the library with containers or packages that, singly or collectively, exceed 16 inches by 18 inches by 24 inches. They also forbid leaving items unattended, blocking walkways, and entering the library \u201cwith items inappropriate to library use, including but not limited to bicycles,\u00a0shopping carts, large trash bags, bedrolls, and strollers without children.\u201d<\/span>
\nSmith said that, since the last revision of the rules, three years back, there had been \u201can issue in some of our libraries of people coming in with large amounts of stuff in a variety of shapes and sizes. It does have an impact on other people\u2019s ability to use the library comfortably.\u201d<\/span>
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\nUnattended items can cause a range of problems, he said, adding that library staff had observed an increase in this behavior, especially at the central library in downtown Berkeley.<\/span>
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\n\u201cIt was at least a daily\u00a0occurrence, usually more,\u201d said Smith.<\/span>
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\nSome patrons had made a habit of leaving their possessions around, blocking access to collections and computers, and \u201cwalking away for the day,\u201d he said.\u00a0When items were left around the building, it also made it hard for staff to clear the building in a timely manner at the end of the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For the greater good<\/span><\/h3>\n

Smith said the library aims to be accessible to everyone, but that involves putting limits on conduct that might interfere with access to the facility.<\/span>
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\n\u201cOur mission is to say \u2018yes\u2019 as much as possible, but we do have to make sure people follow the rules,\u201d he said. \u201cPart of our mission is to help create a space in the community where people want to come, where it can be a place for silent study, meeting with friends, using collections, using computers and getting information from librarians.\u201d<\/span>
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\nSmith said Rules of Conduct policies like those adopted in November are \u201cvery common\u201d for libraries in urban settings.<\/span>
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\nPenalties could range from receiving a copy of the written rules, for the first violation, to suspension of library\u00a0privileges for up to a year, with the fourth violation. Suspensions would only result from more egregious offenses of the rules, such as fighting, Smith added.<\/span>
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\nHe said, as of the first week of December, there had been \u201ca couple of complaints\u201d about the new rules, \u201cbut we\u2019re working with people to try and get them alternatives.\u201d<\/span>
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\nSmith said staff had tried to let patrons know about the new rules prior to Dec. 1 and was making efforts to be flexible as people learned about the changes.<\/span>
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\nSmith said he understood that the new rules would be a challenge for some patrons, but that they were necessary for the facility to work as a shared resource.<\/span>
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\n\u201cA lot of businesses \u2014 and non-profits, government offices and other organizations \u2014 place these sorts of restrictions on what can happen inside their premises and what can be brought in,\u201d he said. \u201cIt goes back to the full range of people we need to serve here, from babies to senior citizens, people from all social classes, and every facet of society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

CRITICAL COMMENT FROM ALMOST TWO HUNDRED COMMENTS FOLLOWING THE STORY:
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I was the anonymous reader. I never gave Berkeleyside permission to publish what I wrote. I wrote in and asked them to look into it. I had not written an opinion piece or a letter to the editor. I sent in a story suggstion and did not give permission. I retain the copyright to everything I write and my permission is required to publish it.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Keep in mind the spinmeister police chief we have who sent a police officer to a reporter’s home in the middle of the night. I do not trust anything any spokesperson from the Berkeley police says: its all spin, smoke and mirrors in a department run by a guy who dedicates lots of resources to his kid’s stolen iPHone and rousts journalists in the middle of the night and prioritizies demonstrations in Oakland over urgent calls in the Berkeley hills. I do not trust the Berkeley police public relations spokespeople and the spin they are ordered to spew.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In my email, I copied an email I got from one homeless friend and I did not give berkeleyside permission to quote me because I had shared my friend’s email without his permission. To the people who are active on the street, such as outreach workers, cops and the Downtown Business Assoc workers with police-like powers who routinely order the homeless around like they are less than the rest of us, few regular homeless\/street people are unfamiliar. I had no right to give away my friend’s identify without his permission and neither did Berkeleyside.<\/p>\n

My homeless friend actually does have legal representation and his attorneys (Yes, plural, he is a well liked and even loved member of our community, an unfortunate but sweetly loving human being) who are licensed are helping him.<\/p>\n

This berkeleyside story, written by Ms. Raguso who was merely an intern quite recently and is now ‘senior reporter’ — whatever happened to cub reporters and periods of training and, um, actual training — Ms. RAguso simply regurgitated PR from the police and library. since when is PR statements reporting the news. I did not, keep in mind, force B-side to publish this story.<\/p>\n

Did she go out and try to talk to some homeless folks at the library or around downtown? Most homeless folks in downtown Berkeley are warm and friendly.<\/p>\n

It is just an irrational cultural bias to reject someone cause they don’t shave every morning cause they don’t have a sink. and the claims that the homeless smell are grossly overstated. Spend time with some and you will see.<\/p>\n

I think people are afraid of the homeless, deep down, because for most of it, ‘there but for the grace of god, it would be us” so we villify ‘them’ to feel safe.<\/p>\n

They are us. It is as simple as that.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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FOR MORE EXTENSIVE COMMENTS–BOTH CRITICAL AND SUPPORTIVE–<\/span>ON THIS\u00a0 ARTICLE SEE http:\/\/www.berkeleyside.com\/2013\/01\/02\/has-it-gotten-harder-to-be-homeless-in-berkeley\/<\/wbr><\/wbr><\/wbr><\/a><\/strong> .\u00a0 <\/span>
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Norse’s Notes:\u00a0 Is there a contagion of homeless-ophobia? \u00a0 Are Berkeley gentrification folks watching Santa Cruz and taking their cure from the right-wingers here? \u00a0 The Berkeley library’s “unattended property” rule change seems suspiciously close in time and content to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[3,70],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=761"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":763,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761\/revisions\/763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huffsantacruz.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}