How Berkeley made it illegal to live in a vehicle
By Berkeley Copwatch on Here are the Berkeley laws effectively make it illegal to live in a vehicle.
Berkeley Anti Poor Laws
Encampment sweeps on the rise in Berkeley
By Berkeley Copwatch on Berkeley is aggressively enforcing municipal codes that make living on the street illegal, signaling a return to pre-COVID encampment management.
New Berkeley budget takes aim at unhoused community
By Berkeley Copwatch on The City of Berkeley passed a one-year budget on the evening of Tuesday, June 30. Here are some of the implications.
Nothing Works Quite As Well As Housing
Our lack of affordable housing is a real public health crisis — the result of 30 years of complete neglect of homeless people by Mayor Tom Bates and, before that, his wife, former Mayor Loni Hancock. Their housing policy has been to ignore the people sleeping in parks, under overpasses and in alleys.
As Rents Skyrocket, Berkeley Attacks A Familiar Scapegoat
The second vote on the anti-homeless laws came on December 1, 2015, exactly 60 years to the day that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on that Montgomery Bus. On the 60th anniversary of Rosa Park’s historic action, the City Council is rolling back those civil rights in Berkeley.
Two Square Feet of Space — Unless You Own a Business
This is how democracy works in Berkeley: The City Council majority represents the Downtown Berkeley Association. One guy — John Caner, the CEO of DBA, who wrote the initial law (with Maio and Arreguin) in a back room — felt represented in all the madness. And he didn’t have to say a word.
Suitcase Clinic’s Solidarity with People on the Street
“At the City Council meeting, I think we played a role in empowering our clients who spoke out against the criminalization of homelessness. More importantly, we stood in solidarity with them.”
A Futile and Brutal Act: Berkeley's Anti-Homeless Laws
“Berkeley continues to outlaw homeless people in the face of overwhelming statements from the federal government and from nearly every university school of health and law school that says that criminalizing the poor is a futile and brutal act.” — Max Anderson, Berkeley City Council
Defending Freedom of Speech in Berkeley
It is absurd that the Downtown Berkeley Association, representing the wealthiest property owners in town, is taking public money to pay a private patrol to tear down the posters of poor artists, activists and community groups. We’re paying them to tear down our posters — and rip up the First Amendment.
More Anti-Homeless Laws on the Way on November 17
Just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the City of Berkeley is turning its back on the Department of Justice and HUD guidelines and embracing more anti-homeless laws. This new slate of anti-homeless laws will be considered at the City Council meeting on the evening of Tuesday, November 17.
Y-M-C-A: How Do You Spell Anti-Homeless Hypocrisy?
The Berkeley City Council was given the strong impression that not only the YMCA leadership, but the YMCA membership as well, supports new anti-homeless laws. Yet these laws are opposed by the ACLU, scores of religious leaders and civil rights groups as likely to be used in a discriminatory fashion.
Berkeley City Council Delays Vote on Anti-Poor Laws
“These new laws are actually worse than I anticipated, particularly the one about obstructing the sidewalk,” said Osha Neumann. “You won’t be able to have any possessions larger than two feet square any time of the day or night. We should ask the councilmembers how big their beds are.”