Three hundred years ago what we know today as Hunters Point belonged to the Muwekma Ohlone. There were two hills, which had Shellmounds, which are the Sacred Burial Grounds of the First People of San Francisco and the Bay Area the Muwekma Ohlone. Today Espanola Jackson and Francisco Da Costa represent the interest of the Muwekma Ohlone at Hunters Point. Past Mayors of the City and County of San Francisco, the Human Rights Commission, several political and social organizations, noted leaders have endorsed the Muwekma Ohlone and support their legitimate jurisdiction to lands that were stolen from them by the United States government. 18 treaties signed by the United States Government and the First People of California including the Muwekma Ohlone were never ratified. The land stolen from the First People has never been given back. In 1991 the Muwekma Ohlone exercised their Right of First Refusal over Hunters Point Shipyard. The Department of Defense acknowledges this fact and so does the present and past Mayors of the City and County of San Francisco. In fact during the term of the present Mayor, Mayor Willie Brown two resolutions were passed by the Board of Supervisors acknowledging the legitimate rights of the Muwekma Ohlone over lands that were stolen from them. The two resolutions acknowledge that the Muwekma Ohlone were Federally Recognized until 1927 and then illegally removed by one L.A. Dorington, a Bureau of Indian Affairs agent. Three hundred years ago there were NO African Americans at Hunters Point. Over the years many nationalities lived and worked at Hunters Point. The first African Americans arrived in the late 1940s due to the war effort to build ships. The Department of Defense shipped in Negroes so that they could build ships and contribute to the war effort. Early African American could not live on the Shipyard because they were black. In the general vicinity lived the Chinese who fished. In the late 1940s and early 1950s African Americans lived in tents in the Southeast Sector we call Bayview Hunters Point today. I am giving this explanation so that those who think that only African American have a right to the Hunters Point Shipyard are dead WRONG. Those who have lived for a long time know that the Chinese had much to do with the fishing industry. We also had the Maltese and Saint Paul of the Shipwreck stands to mark the deeds of the Maltese. There were the Italians and other Europeans. Today, the Samoans are to be reckoned with and make up a huge percentage of the Southeast Sector. The Samoans can play an important role if they vote and participate in the activities where some crooked African Americans are trying to divide the community. The Asians own and operate many businesses. They also own a lot of homes and are invading the Bayview Hunters Point in large numbers. Soon, they will be here, there and every where. The African Americans are moving out and those few who are left are forced to move out because they are not united and constantly fighting. The African Americans who once worked at the Hunters Point saved their money and owned homes. Unfortunately the younger generation want hand outs and soon realize without a good job they have to move out of San Francisco to survive. Often times the younger African American generation sell the homes of their parents take the money and split. The Asians are the first to buy those homes. Many African Americans do not realize that a home is a powerful equity. The African American is not united and plagued with drugs and single parent homes - which have no strength that; the traditional two-parent home offers and favors other ethnicity. In 1867 the Navy acquired some land using eminent domain and later acquired more. In 1993 the Department of Defense decided to transfer the Shipyard to the City and County of San Francisco. In 1999 under the influence of Mayor Willie Brown the Board of Supervisor approved that Lennar BVHP develop Hunters Point as and when it becomes available. To date not one square inch has been transferred to the City. The Hunters Point Shipyard has Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) mostly approved by Mayor Willie Brown. The CAC is about to review the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) which is the subject of this article. The CAC is not united and some of the members are tarnishing the name of the current President of the CAC who is just and trying to do his job. Unity is not the name of the game with this CAC. Some members of the CAC who are cronies of the Mayor wanted the CAC to review the DDA as if it was any other document. Many of the CAC were not doing their job. Now, they are faced with consequences and do not know how to work as a team to redeem their lethargic past. The members of the CAC should remember that the Hunters Point Shipyard is a Supefund site. The rules that govern the Superfund site are very stringent. Many of the members of the Hunters Point Shipyard are ignorant of the rules and regulation that govern Superfund Sites. It fact many of them have never attended a Restoration Advisory Board Meeting (RAB) to find out what the RAB is all about. RAB members deal with clean up issues and are well informed on what is really happening at the Hunters Point Shipyard. I say this because the CAC in the past did not have members attending the regular CAC meetings. Then all of a sudden some months ago under the guidance of Mayor Willie Brown the membership of the CAC was expanded. Some of the members are there only in name and have NO understanding about clean up issues. If they really knew what was happening at the Hunters Point Shipyard, NOT one member would have decided to fast track the DDA. The DDA is a very important document. As far as the Hunters Point Shipyard is concerned because it is a Superfund Site with unique clean up issues the DDA makes it all the more important. The site has serious Infrastructure Issues that only the experts understand. How ever the CAC can work with them to work out the issues and develop any plans for the future. The same with Environmental Issues which have plagued the Hunters Shipyard again and again adversely impacting those who live close by. Those of us who have been attending and monitoring the state of affairs understand that much of the land filled Hunters Point Shipyard has hot spots. Some of the hot spots contain methane gas. In other areas we have PCBs. Yet in other area radiological issues linked to the World War activities and the Atomic Bombs. We have hundreds of toxic material in the soil some in greater measure and others in less. Bottom line if Lennar BVHP INC. which has been given sole source bidding to build 1600 units wants to provide Quality of Life standards this DDA has to reviewed thoroughly by educated and intelligent people. We cannot be fighting and we have to make sacrifices. The reason is simple the NAVY could circumvent the liability issue because it is a Federal Entity - NOT so Lennar BVHP Inc. Not so the City and County of San Francisco. The CAC will have to deal with this issue with legal help. We must remember the Hunters Point Shipyard belongs to all of San Francisco not some cronies who do the bidding of Mayor Willie Brown. The Mayor is a lame duck Mayor and many in this City want him out - the soon the better. A prominent reverend from the Bevies that could not make it to the last CAC meeting sent in a letter. The letter stated that the Bevies Project Area Committee, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA), Lennar, and some members of the Hunters Point CAC should be on the super committee to review the DDA. Well, this is a great point to highlight the ignorance of one that should know better. It is a conflict of interest to have Lennar and the SFRA on the super committee to review the DDA. It will take an informed and educated super committee at least 6 months to review the document. Experts will have to brought in to advice the super committee on environmental issues which plague the Hunters Point Shipyard and the Parcel A which is the site in question. There will be other essential elements all stated in the DDA that one has to study before one can review and comment. This is a difficult task for experts much more for the lay person who has no knowledge of the elements that will make up this unique and difficult DDA. To date the Navy has NOT handed over one square inch. Yet the Mayor and his cronies want to go ahead and deal with Parcel A and the plans of Lennar which have a bad track record in Florida, New Mexico, and Sacramento. Mayor Willie Brown has high stakes with Lennar and owns stocks and shares. One African American should not sacrifice good constituents of San Francisco for his own personal gain. But that is Willie Brown - anyone will tell you - Willie is about himself. A selfish politician who forgot his roots, has done NOTHING for the Bayview and Hunters Point, forgot what this City did to him, now he is all about Special Interests. No wonder Gray Davis got the shaft - no wonder no one respects Willie Brown in the Bayview much less on the Hill at Hunters Point. I challenge the CAC especially the ignorant ones who do not know much to review the DDA in three months. This document calls for a vision and understanding of infrastructure, pollution and the environment, construction and housing models, social living models, progress and diversity, a general sense of quality living that only those understand who are educated and are team builders. Many members of the present Hunters Point CAC are there to fight and really are not there to serve the Bayview Hunters Point community and have no understanding of San Francisco at large. Many do not live in San Francisco and many are NOT respected in the Bayview Hunters Point. They have been put on the CAC to do some bidding at the whim and fancy of a corrupt Mayor who has failed us at the San Francisco Airport, MUNI Light Rail. Catellus Corporation and a failed Mission Bay. We have a UCSF Campus built on a toxic dump. Contracts in this City, 85% of which go outside the City, a corrupt Police Department, a corrupt Housing Authority, hiring over 2000 cronies who have depleted the coffers of the City and County of San Francisco - the list goes on and on. Added to this we have a Supervisor from District 10 who is dumb, ignorant and arrogant. She tried to shove AB 1187 the famous HUPSDA bill which a few of us defeated. She has NOT served our community and we will recall her come March of 2004 with a Special Election. It takes just 1300 votes to get this corrupt lethargic woman out of office. The DDA is an important document for the educated and experienced to review. The DDA does not bode well with those who do not care for the community. This DDA will take time to review and can only be done through teamwork. There is NO place for infighting. Most importantly no place for the dumb, the ignorant, and the arrogant. Finally the DDA and whatever happens at the Hunters Point Shipyard belongs to San Francisco and all of San Francisco. It will be monitored by the Muwekma Ohlone the First People of San Francisco. We will watch and see that justice is done to our ancestors. We will not permit some ignorant people to violate the rights of those who deserve better. This is what America is all about.

Hunters Point Shipyard Historical Timeline

Hunters Point Annex - Treasure Island Naval Station NPL/BRAC 1991z
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