There's an article in SF Gate today that suggests that NIMBY, the local DIY fabrication arts organization that moved from West Oakland to East Oakland, is never going to get their permits approved because City Council member Larry Reid doesn't want them in his district. Why not? According to the article, Reid is convinced NIMBY= wild parties=trash, drugs and chaos in the streets=not in MY district!.
The quote from Reid is reported as ""They're going to be down here with motorcycles blasting up and down
the streets, drinking, throwing trash," he said. "I'm not going to
allow that in my district."
Another quote: ""They wouldn't try this in San Ramon or Alameda. They perceive this as a poor community so they think it's OK to
pull this kind of insanity. These folks don't give a crap about my
constituents."
NIMBY serves over 1,000 local artists and describes itself on its website as " the largest workspace/gallery of its kind in the City of
Oakland and continues to provide a workspace, storage and display area
- a one-stop shop for big, innovative art." A recent campaign to raise money for the organization on kickstarter raised over $17,000 from 314 people, not too shabby and the org's been supported by the City of Oakland's Cultural Arts Funding program.
Is NIMBY getting NIMBY'd? Sure seems like it, according to this SF Gate story.
"We are Councilman Reid’s constituents. When the Oakland Arts Budget was threatened by budget cuts these very people, the ones Reid chooses to now call “These folks… who don’t give a crap” were right there to support the council’s efforts to keep funding for the arts in Oakland. NIMBY has worked closely with the Oakland Cultural Arts & Marketing Department to bring fantastic artwork to numerous city functions including Uptown Unveiled. Most NIMBY artists live, shop, and work in Oakland. We support local business, volunteer in youth art education programs, teach in schools, and are leaders in repurposes found materials, turning them into inspiring artwork.
Reid has been lobbying city staff to withhold NIMBY’s permits. The art is not the problem, he said. It’s the parties.
“They’re going to be down here with motorcycles blasting up and down the streets, drinking, throwing trash,” he said. “I’m not going to allow that in my district.”
NIMBY is composed of metal workers, electronics experimenters, craftspeople, artists, tinkerers, glassblowers and so much more. Several people at NIMBY do own motorcycles, none of them blast up and down the street. Ours is a dead end street where Oakland police officers can often be found completing their paperwork.
NIMBY keeps its surroundings neat and tidy. Frequently we collect trash dumped in our neighborhood by other people. Our day-to-day efforts have greatly reduced the amount of litter on our block to almost zero.
Before moving to the new East Oakland location our proximity to the Tassafaronga housing project was discussed in numerous meetings with city officials. Oakland CEDA took the position that NIMBY’s light use in an area zoned for heavy industry would make a good buffer between the residential and industrial zones.
The artists who work at NIMBY in no way represent the financial elite, trust fund kids, or other moneyed interests. As you can see from our fundraising efforts, we are a group of people who have dedicated our lives to art. Those who are lucky enough to make a living solely from their efforts at NIMBY are in the minority. Most are blue collar working men and women who apply their skills to create a more beautiful and astonishing Oakland.
We hope these facts have helped you to understand more of our story. We encourage you to make your voice heard, whether it happens though comments on a newspaper page, voicing ones opinion at a city hall meeting or writing your representatives.
There are three types of people in this world - those who have dealt with the issues NIMBY is dealing with, those who are dealing with the issues NIMBY is dealing with and those who will be dealing with the issues in the future. Which one are you?
Susan Mernit is the founder of Oakland Local. She is also a circuit rider for The Community Information Challenge, a program of The John S and James L Knight Foundation, and a consultant to non-profit and community organizations. Susan lives in North Oakland, near the Santa Fe school, with her partner, her housemate, a rescue dog named Cazzie, and a yard full of ants. She is an aspiring gardener, a long-time blogger & entrepreneur, and a recovering journalist who's found home in Oakland.
Got here late, trying to catch up. Don't live in Oakland but have a pretty damn well-informed opinion of NIMBY, and of Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid.
NIMBY: Artists. Highly recommended to me by their inclusion of motorcycles and--as it appears from the photo in this article--welding. Motorcycles, aesthetically regarded, can most surely be an art form of their very own.
Artists I know are almost by definition highly aware of their surroundings and don't like the kind of distractions cited by Mr. Reid (trash, loud noise, unhappy and complaining neighbors).
And evidently their neighbors aren't unhappy or complaining, but supportive.
So, another opinion:
REID: What is that great all-purpose quote for people like him? "My mind is made up--don't bother me with facts!" This would be marginally humorous if he weren't in a position to do a lot of people and a lot of creativity a lot of harm. And I'm talking about more people than the actual participants in NIMBY--a place like that for the arts has a way of lighting up the creativity and community around them, and that's a good thing.
Reid isn't. Unless he's reached, bypassing what could be business supporters/political donation givers/perq suppliers bending his ear, and the light of community shines upon him and his own road to Damascus, and his heart and mind are found and, of course, enlightened.
Or maybe city staffers will gird up and make a public case for the permit. How does he handle setbacks like that? Anybody know? Is it ugly?