RESTORATION ADVISORY BOARD TO THE HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARD (4/28/07)
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The Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) to the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a body that works with the United States Navy and has input into the day to day deliberations of what is happening at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and responsible to the concerns of Bayview Hunters Point community and that of the surrounding area; zip codes 94107, 94124, and 94134. The rest of San Francisco and San Franciscans for sure.
At one point in the history of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard over 10 thousand civilians worked at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Many of them lived in the zip code 94107, 94124, and 94134. These workers many of whom are alive today and their families look forward to better things happening at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Over the years since 1974 when the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was deactivated and closed its operations - the United States Navy has failed in its obligations to the immediate community. The U.S. Navy has stood aside, bent backwards to accommodate Tetra Tech and other entities that have connections with the U.S. Navy. The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a Superfund site. Only the worse of the worst bases are put on this list. At the Hunters Point Naval shipyard many very dangerous and polluting experiments were conducted. Many of them radiological in nature that stand to adversely impact the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard - the land, the air, the watershed, and of course the nearby Bay. Parcel E-2 is very toxic and as much as the U.S. Navy would like us to believe that there is not much toxic material in this landfill and because of its size some 22 acres and 30 feet deep. Parcel E-2 contains about 473,000 cubic yards of solid waste and much of this very toxic. One would not think to cap such a time bomb waiting to explode while all the time polluting the watershed and the surrounding area. More human beings that have suffered for many years - the time has come for action. The U.S. Navy would like us to believe that a cap of some sort would meet the need of the hour. It is estimated that over $500 million is required to clean up just this one very toxic site. The U.S. Navy and this Nation prefers to waste billions of dollars fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - but has failed in its obligation to clean up the many bases. In past year today's polluted bases were used as were the residents that live and worked on and near these bases. We have the ability to use rail cars such as those that can be provided by Waste Solutions situated along Cargo Way to address the quick clean up of E-2. The U.S. Navy has exploited the lack of unity in the community brought about by some Blacks such as Jesse Mason - the most detrimental person working with the Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) against the community. Folks, who do not live in the community and yet continue to adversely impact the community, further use the disunity to further their dubious ploys. Jesse Mason's only reason to work and be on the RAB is to satisfy his habit that is well known and written all over his face. Over the years the RAB has done great disservice to the community mostly wasting time discussing petty topics and ignoring the greater good of the community by not addressing the pertinent clean up issues with goals, time lines - full accountability and transparency. Some RAB members fail to understand their volunteer role and while this aspect is acknowledged and should be acknowledged the RAB members should not serve the RAB to attain their 15 minutes of fame and attract attention for all the wrong reasons. Two years ago as the Parcel A was about to be conveyed to the City and County of San Francisco the RAB was stacked by members many that did not live in the community - to aid and abet the dubious ploys of some very corrupt forces. Literacy for Environmental Justice and Arc Ecology has chosen to adversely impact the constituents of San Francisco and the community that lives in Bayview Hunters Point in particular. They seek money for all the wrong reasons to foster waste by hiring and having a cozy relation with partners that do not have the interests of the community. Arc Ecology continues to receive thousands of dollars to do outreach on Parcel A which is not the U.S. Navy responsibility. Parcel A has naturally occurring Serpentine rock and when crushed Asbestos friables have adversely impacted thousands workers as well as residents. No focused outreach has been done regarding this issue. Arc Ecology is also trying to work to develop open space and wet lands on sites that are the worst polluted in a manner that defies decency and with no meaningful dialog with the community. Comparing Yosemite Slough with the worst type of pollutants and saturated with PCBs to Crissy Field at the Presidio of San Francisco. Seek money from the SF Airport and other State Conservancy organization for all the wrong reason. Stacking members and moles on the RAB to do the devil's work and harm the community at large. Arc Ecology is not from the community and Saul Bloom also known as David Saleman has failed in his obligations. He plays both ways pitting the U.S. Navy against the community and stacking the RAB with members to position himself to make money and apply for grants. The RAB's - Technical Assistant Grant (TAG) has failed in its mission to inform the community about certain adverse impacts and the lack of time line and goals pertaining to the clean up at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Certain critical actions that should have been in place two years ago and just been addressed the chagrin of those that know better. The U.S. Navy with large personnel support and money can always defend itself and neutralize facts with misinformation and disinformation. The community cannot fathom the lack of accountability and transparency - while the clean up goes on at a snail pace. The U.S. navy continues to meet certain officials behind close doors and favor policies from folks like Nancy Pelosi and Feinstein. The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard once was taken over by Eminent Domain by the U.S. Navy to serve the needs of the War Effort during World War II. Prior to that the land was stolen from the Ohlone and not one square foot has bee archeologically surveyed. Once there were two large Shellmounds Sacred Burial Grounds of the Muwekma Ohlone. The U.S. Navy thinks nothing about archeologically surveying the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Time will tell. The RAB is ignorant of this fact and when in June 2007 the Muwekma Ohlone are put back on the Federal Register - we will address this issue on all of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard as a Sovereign Nation. For sure the United States Navy is aware about our Right of First Refusal exercised in 1991. The RABs were formed around 1993. In recent months the City and County of San Francisco has been trying to deceive the constituents of San Francisco by stating that the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard can be abated in a couple of years. This is completely false. And because the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a Superfund Site it will have to abide by the rules and regulation of several Regulatory Agencies - Federal , State, and local. The City and County of San Francisco has failed in its obligation since 1979 when the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was closed. In 1998 when the first Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was formed and a conceptual frame work developed - some Mayors and Willie L. Brown in particular saw to it that the CAC was abolished and he appointed hand picked corrupt candidates. These folks still rule the roost and the constituents of the San Francisco are kept in the dark. I have watched the RAB with its incompetent members try to figure out some simple issues. It is true that the citizens must be allowed to participate and deliberate - but the joke is on the present RAB whose chair is not educated on the basic elements of clean up and simple processes that demands at least some basic education. The petty politics used by some will come to bite the RAB in the butt and then they will understand too late that they have deceived the community and failed on all the major aspects that they were appointed to work on. The many Asians in the Bayview Hunters Point and surrounding areas are kept in the dark. The many Samoans are just beginning to wake up. The Latinos have no representation and to explain to them the Disposition and Development Agreement linked to Parcel A, Early Transfer that is now being talked about, the major clean up issues linked to Parcel E-2, Economic Development Opportunities and so on will be next to impossible at the rate - poor outreach is being done. The U.S. Navy for practical purposes is in bed with Tetra Tech which stands to make millions and has made millions. The Technical and other sensitive information are being discussed away from the RAB. Tetra Tech, Sul Tech has made millions, being called for encouraging blatant discrimination when New World Technology was hired by them to conduct some projects. Tetra Tech should be removed from the community and has failed in all its obligations. The mostly Blacks that continue to play petty politics, take bread crumbs and sell the community have to be taken to task and investigated. This is the time to call in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Our Federal Representatives including the Speaker of the House have failed Bayview Hunters Point and the surrounding areas. Thousands of our children and adults have died as a result of the poisons and pollution from the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Parcel A that comes under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco and which this City has handed over to the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA). The RAB did not approve the conveyance of Parcel A. The crooked CAC to the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard did. There has been no joint CAC and RAB meeting encouraging community participation. This fact in itself shows how the Mayor and the City continues to treat the citizens that pay taxes and own sixty percent of the homes in the near by areas and more Bayview Hunters Point. The RAB members have no clue about transportation document, the Housing Element, the principles linked to the Precautionary Principle, they work and talk in a vacuum of ignorance and the U.S. Navy loves it and makes sure they take full advantage of the situation at hand. Abetting this nonsense at the RAB the facilitator who has to be reminded that she cannot take upon herself to dictate terms to the RAB and not follow Robert Rules of order. Do injustice to her paid job. Her job reveals from some basic investigation is to act as a mole to the Mayor of San Francisco and to Sophie Maxwell the local District Supervisor who in inept, dumb, and very arrogant. Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is the last frontier and does not belong to the filthy rich developers like Lennar BVHP LLC that has failed the community and has four class action suits lined up against it. The RAB is not fully cognizant of this fact and thinks this has nothing to do with the total package and understanding of the Shipyard. Hunters Point Naval Shipyard should be abated and mitigated to standards as laid down in Proposition P where eighty seven percent of the voting constituents from San Francisco said that the whole Hunters Point Naval Shipyard should be cleaned to residential standards - nothing less and nothing more. It is a misnomer to think that Blacks have a dominant say as to what goes on at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Asians, Samoans, and Latinos are now in the majority and ready to play ball. The City and County of San Francisco has failed in its mission with the Forty Niners, will fail with Lennar BVHP LLC and cannot fool all the constituents of San Francisco and in particular Bayview Hunters Point all the time. The Muwekma Ohlone will be at the table and not tolerate the nonsense that has so far been the main menu of the RAB and the United State Navy. Our Right of First Refusal can dismiss the U.S. Navy and the RAB. The CAC and the City and County of San Francisco - at that time let not the present players say they were not warned. Enough is Enough. |
