Seattle Parks and the city’s Office of Economic Development have issued last-minute denials of permits for an event in Cal Anderson on the one-year anniversary of the formation of the occupied protest on Capitol Hill.
CHS reported on the June 11th to June 13th celebration planned for months by a CHOP Art group amid a call from the city for proposals for events and activities to activate the park and help the area recover from a year of protests, encampments, and pandemic.
In denying the permit, Seattle Parks and Recreation said it is holding Cal Anderson area events to “higher-than-usual safety and security standards” due to the protests and two homicides around the occupied zone last summer:
SPR is committed to creating spaces for community members to gather while also preserving the public safety and public health of the area. However, because of the extensive protest activity and the lacts (sic) of violence that occurred at the park and the surrounding area last summer and fall, as well as the significant restoration and cleanup efforts that were needed to restore the park, SPR is using higher-than-usual safety and security standards to evaluate all permit requests at Cal Anderson and Bobby Morris Playfield.
The parks department also said community backlash shaped its decisions.
“We have heard from community members expressing concerns that any events celebrating or commemorating the protests that occurred at Cal Anderson in the summer of 2020 would be disturbing or even traumatic to the community,” the denial email reads. “SPR wants to be sensitive to these community concerns,” they write, adding that the application described “an event that essentially celebrates and commemorates last summer’s protests at Cal Anderson and the surrounding area.”
CHS reported here on the one-year mark of the first days of protest in Seattle and on Capitol Hill in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
Organizer Mark Anthony tells CHS that Seattle Parks was also not satisfied with his decision to remove references to CHOP and focus the event on the Juneteenth holiday.
“We recognize your efforts to rebrand the event to a Juneteenth event, however we do not feel that the revised event substantially differs from the original, and we have concerns that the public could still view it as a celebration or commemoration of last year’s protest activity,” the parks response reads.
Previously, a spokesperson for the Office of Economic Development, the department that oversees Seattle’s special event permitting process, told CHS that it had denied event organizers permission for street use to block off E Pine around the Black Lives Matter mural during the weekend citing “insufficient time to review and process the application.”
Anthony tells CHS the denials are especially difficult given they came only days before the event’s start date after months of planning and talking with city officials.
One option is to go ahead with the Juneteenth celebration without permits and support from the city which could put any of his group’s future permit applications in jeopardy, a risk Anthony said could be worth it.
Despite its desires to bring more activities and events to the park, Seattle City Hall will also soon be in the middle of another permit controversy.
While organizers of the official Seattle Pride downtown parade and celebrations have opted for virtual events this June and will hold off on in-person festivals and events until late this summer and fall, the small Capitol Hill Pride group that was denied five years ago as the permit holder for the annual LGBTQ street fair on Broadway has been moving forward with growing plans for a 2021 festival, rally, and march in the neighborhood as COVID-19 concerns are finally lifting.
The Office of Economic Development spokesperson tells CHS that two permits requested by Capitol Hill Pride remain under review:
First, the proposed Capitol Hill Pride March requires a Special Event permit, which is currently under review with the Special Events Committee. Secondly, the proposed Capitol Hill Pride Festival requires a Park Use permit for Cal Anderson Park, which is currently under review by Seattle Parks & Rec.
The Special Events Committee is slated to meet Wednesday but there’s no timeline for a decision from Seattle Parks. The Capitol Hill Pride group, headed by the owners of the dearly departed Broadway Museum of the Mysteries, planned for Saturday and Sunday, June 26th and 27th.
UPDATE 6/10/2021 3:30 PM: The ACLU of Washington and the Public Defender Association are stepping up to protest the city’s decision on CHOP Art’s “free speech activity” with a letter to the Seattle City Attorney’s Office calling on the city to “immediately reverse its unconstitutional denial of a permit to hold a Juneteenth celebration at Cal Anderson Park.”
“We understand that the event was intended to celebrate the freedom of Black Americans, and to include music, booths, speakers, and other forms of art, but that CHOP Art’s permit application was denied because of the content of the event,” the letter reads. “As the City is well aware, the First Amendment prohibits government restriction of speech based on the content of that speech, including a potential negative reaction from listeners. Thus, we request that the City reverse its denial of a special event permit to CHOP Art, grant the necessary permits, and allow the event to proceed.”
The ACLU and the PDA say if the event is not permitted by the city before its planned June 11th start date, the groups may take “emergency legal action.”
The city has not responded to the request.
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Thank you Parks and Rec for responding to the needs of the community that lives around Cal Anderson and is processing the trauma from last summer. Now can you please remove the garden that was planted during CHOP? It’s unsightly and prevents that area from being used for play.
Hi Mimi,
I’m faculty in College of Built Environments at UW, working with Black Star Farmers on outreach around this garden; would you be willing to share contact information for an interview or focus group at a later date, TBD? That goes for anyone else who reads this comment and might like to participate: [email protected]
Thanks,
Keith
Hi Keith,
Anything I have to express about the garden can be found in this thread. Based on what my neighbors and I experienced last year, I would never release my identity to anyone affiliated with the garden or CHOP.
Thanks,
Mimi
Wise move. On the facebook group, you see people who dare question anything but the most Progressive/Socialist version of events get called out for “systemic racism” and threatened with being doxxed at work. The activist Left; or some of Sawant’s followers see anyone that questions them as a threat that needs to be assaulted and silenced by any means required.
I agree with Mimi 100%.
BSF is working on outreach? To whom? He made it clear in his presentation that he wasn’t inclusive and his entire Instagram page is dedicated to Black Nationalism with several anti-Israeli blood libels and calls for boycott. He doesn’t live on the hill and he shows blatant contempt for this neighborhood, which he doesn’t live in and never had.
Now that’s just funny.
If it’s perfectly fine to walk into a city park that serves and honors a marginalized community, take part of it for yourself, and then work with the City to launder those actions because you also are part of a marginalized community (though you have no connection to that location), then what could possibly be the problem with Israel?
These folks have no self awareness.
Gardening a great recreational activity for a park. There is a playground maybe 30 feet away. There is plenty of room for play in other grassy areas adjacent to the garden and closer to the water reservoir.
Thank you for not placing the word “literally” before “30.”
Thank you.
You are welcome! I also exercised restraint in my decision to not use em-dashes.
The city doesn’t allow anyone who wants to, to go into a public park and plant a garden and for good reason. I would love a garden but I would never think that I have the right to tear up and plant one in a public space. It’s the height of entitlement to think this is OK and that the rest of us are supposed to tolerate this behavior.
We have very limited green space in the city to enjoy. If people want there to be gardens in public parks, take it Parks and Recs and open up the discussion.
Limited green space? “Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) manages a 6,441-acre park system of over 489 parks and extensive natural areas. SPR provides athletic fields, tennis courts, play areas, specialty gardens, and more than 25 miles of boulevards and 120 miles of trails”
And compared to the acreage that comprises the city Seattle (90,880 acres) that’s 7% of the city’s area… if you cut it to just land area (which you probably shouldn’t as park area also counts water areas like Green Lake) it’s still only 11%
For comparison New York City’s Parks and Recreation Department is in charge of 30,000 acres, which is 14% of the total area in the city.
San Francisco has 5,888 acres of park, which 20% of the city by area…
London is 40% public green space
Portland has twice the amount of green space that we do, with over 12,000 acres…
The city has been working with the aforementioned Black Star group to formalize in some way the garden site. The blog has reported on this in the past. So I’m not clear on what your issue is with a little bit of public garden space in a park or why you think it is somehow not legitimate.
I feel like you are judging Mimi. You do not know what they has gone through over the last year in the neighborhood, You do not know if they had anguish, fear, isolation or loneliness and the garden brought out these feelings. You do not know. Please do not judge people without understanding their own feelings which may differ from yours. You just do not know.
Mimi lives in the immediate area – I think she knows exactly what ‘they’ have gone through because she is one of them…..
I live in the immediate area too and feel the exact opposite as Mimi. Mimi’s feelings are hers and may be shared by some people but she is not representative the community of neighbors. We don’t have a unified position. We are all having different experiences with this because we all have different life experiences and perspectives.
Every statement I wrote is a fact, with the exception of saying that gardening is a great recreational activity, which is apparently a controversial statement? Stating facts that happen to not support Mimi’s assertions is not judgement.
The garden isn’t huge; if it is so upsetting to Mimi that people are working to add a little garden space to a public park, she doesn’t have to go to that part of the park. It’s an ample park with lots of room.
I live 4 blocks from the bunker precinct and Cal Anderson Park. I know that during the police aggression I couldn’t get away from the helicopters or flash bangs or anything else — I couldn’t even retreat to a friend’s home, because we were living through the peak pandemic. I’m not judging Mimi for any feelings she has, I’m pointing out that most of the issues she raises with the garden, except for her *feelings* are demonstrably inaccurate. Again, if Mimi is vexed by the garden, the park is large and she can easily enjoy other parts of the park. Or other parks in the area. Seattle U also has lovely grounds that are quiet on the weekends and even in the evenings. No one is forcing Mimi to hang out by the Black Star garden.
No one is forcing Mimi to hang out by the Black Star garden.
So somebody with a zero history in the neighborhood comes in and declares a patch of the land to be his and uses it to forward his racial nationalist ideology. And if people who have lived in that neighborhood for 30 or 40 years don’t like it they can go elsewhere? Sounds kind of like colonization to me. Sounds like displacement to me. Here’s a better idea, Black Star Farmers already has several plots of land. How about not being greedy and respecting a neighborhood that you have no history in and leaving them alone. The need to dominate and exploit anything and everything for ideological propaganda is a pathology. Leave us alone. It’s obvious these Intruders on our neighborhood have no real respect for the long-standing community.
The park is a public space for use by everyone. People who live here may use it on average more than those who don’t, but it is for the use of anyone. Please. “Leave us alone.” No one’s breaking into your home and planting a garden or yanking you or Mimi or anyone to march by Black Star (please, correct me if I am wrong.) Cities have people. Cities change. That’s part of living in the city, near other people. There is no such thing as an “intruder” in the neighborhood. Streets and parks are public spaces for use by everyone. Don’t confuse Capitol Hill of all places with a gated community.
‘The park is a public space for use by everyone. People who live here may use it on average more than those who don’t, but it is for the use of anyone.”
That’s why Black Star Farmers is not appropriate for the park. As mentioned above their space is not open to a demographic that makes up 70% of the city. Both the gardeners and who the produce will be distributed to were earmarked for the black community. If you look at his Instagram page he’s not interested in everybody and making space available for all. It’s solely for Black people. There’s a lot of irony that you’re making it sound is it we’re not being inclusive when in fact his Black nationalists ideology is what is not inclusive.
Jane, a huge proportion of the city wasn’t even available for Black people to live in for decades. It is called redlining. It still exists. So if a Black urban gardener is using a tiny amount of space in a public park that prioritizes Black people, maybe that’s long overdue? (That’s not really a question– it is most certainly overdue.) Again I will use the bike polo example. I really have zero interest in it, and I can’t use the part of the park where it takes places, bike polo-ists are no doubt a tiny, tiny fraction of the city’s population. Did you express these kinds of concerns about bike polo when it came to Cal Anderson? What is the difference between Black Star and any other activity that is limited in its demographic participation? I can’t use the playground as an adult, I don’t hop on my local blog to kvetch about that.
I don’t know whether you really believe with your writing or not. But to respond. Blacks are not the only ones who were redlined. No other group who was redlined is getting a park for there nationalist ideology. This Gardener has no pre-CHOP history in the neighborhood or even the park. There are plenty of spaces that already prioritize black people. What’s overdue with people saying no to this constant demand for racial favoritism. What’s the difference between the bike polo and somebody setting up a garden that is racially exclusive and based on racial nationalist ideology? In which only people of some racial groups get to participate and benefit from the fruits of the garden? The fact that you don’t see the difference is astounding. Nonetheless I feel very confident to assert myself to say no. Black folks are not the only people who were victimized in this city and country and yet the constant demand for a separate space any and everywhere is incredibly inappropriate and insensitive to the rest of the community.
This obsession with Black people using the park and the “racial favoritism” Black people supposedly receive is bizarre and sad and some other things. I am grateful my immediate neighbors on the hill have bigger hearts and better minds.
I don’t have the extreme feelings about CHOP that many do (and I’m disappointed about the permit for Juneteenth) – but that particular area of the park where the garden was installed was used for events that benefitted the whole community, such as the Three Dollar Bill summer film series. The “bowl” shape of that area and proximity to the restrooms and playfield make it uniquely suited for the types of activities that have happened there.
If there is to be a garden in Cal Anderson, it should be sited somewhere less central so that it doesn’t prohibit other activities.
I’ve attended many outdoor film events that take place on flat areas. Volunteer Park is a short bus ride away and has a great ampitheater that could be used if the bowl shape is fundamental to the event, and is larger, although I understand why that might not be ideal. Not all parts of the park benefit me, but I don’t expect the playground to be removed, or the ballfields to be relocated or to ban bike polo because I don’t like it or use it. Honestly I get annoyed by bike polo — which is a relatively new activity in the history of the park — but it’s never occured to me to expect the city to revoke bike polo in Cal Anderson. Public space is public. It changes over time. The park didn’t used to be called Cal Anderson! Should we strip the more recent (ish) gayborhood history by reverting to its former name and shape? The reservoir used to be open, should we tear it open? I know you are advocating for this, but when you push back against a garden that emerged from similar if unique civil rights and social justice struggles the Cal Anderson was a part of, that seems inconsistent, at best.
Argh, I meant that I know you *aren’t* advocating for this in my reply.
I agree. There are P-Patches in our city that are designated for urban gardening. We don’t need another garden (which would probably be neglected anyway) in the middle of Cal Anderson, just to satisfy the whims of some activist group.
There are long wait lists for P-patch plots, so not sure how that translates into not needing another garden. Especially on Capitol Hill, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city.
This isn’t about my feelings or me at all. It’s about the park and our community.
Here’s what your missing. The parks are public land paid for by our taxes and governed by Parks and Recs. We have laws and rules that we as a city and a community agree on and follow..
One of these rules is that no individual or group has the right to go into any park with a shovel, dig up grass and plant a personal garden. If you don’t like this rule or don’t agree with it, than go through the proper channels to try to change it. Until then, I expect these rules to followed and enforced by the city.
No one gave permission for Black Star group to destroy part of the park and plant this garden last year. It’s absurd that the city is still enabling it and falls under the misguided “Summer of Love” attitude that mischaracterized and enabled CHOP.
As for suggesting I just turn a blind eye and use another part of the park, what is supposed to happen to the long-running summer film festival held in this part of the park? It’s run by Three Dollar Bill Cinema which is a decades old arts organization that serves the gay community. Where is the community garage sale supposed to be held? These are just a few examples of community organizations that used this part of the park. The rest of the community is just supposed to f@ck off so that some guy who doesn’t live here can have his ugly garden?
No thanks.
No one told you to F off, Mimi. To repeat myself:
Not all parts of the park benefit me, but I don’t expect the playground to be removed, or the ballfields to be relocated or to ban bike polo because I don’t like it or use it.
Honestly I get annoyed by bike polo — which is a relatively new activity in the history of the park — but it’s never occured to me to expect the city to revoke bike polo in Cal Anderson. Public space is public. It changes over time. The park didn’t used to be called Cal Anderson! Should we strip the more recent (ish) gayborhood history by reverting to its former name and shape? The reservoir used to be open, should we tear it open?
Cal Anderson Park has been very activated this spring. The only area that isn’t, is the bowl that was degraded by the CHOP anarchist garden. The people that planted it aren’t from Seattle, have never lived on Capitol Hill and have no context for the history of the neighborhood and use of that space. This area is for community events including trans pride, community markets, and movie night. It was an important gathering place for the gay community. It is the perfect location for outdoor concerts and a cafe. We have plenty of pea patches in Seattle. The city should find a more appropriate space for Black Star Farmers to grow vegetables.
Several people have said that Black Star Farmers should find another plot of land. He already has several sizable plots of land in this city including near where he lives. Look at his Instagram page and you will see this. You will also see that he’s notvat all inclusive. Everything he does revolves around the Black power movement. He certainly has the right to do so (although I question the city funding it) but it’s not appropriate for our neighborhood. It’s extremely non-inclusive and has some serious history of homophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Asian racism both locally and on a larger basis.
The city is funding the person that vandalized the park and contributed to the park occupation? Was this another no bid contract? Black Star Farmers sounds like a grift.
Gardening is not vandalization.
Citation, please.
There are a LOT of neighbors within blocks of the park and no, Mimi does not speak for the community. I’m also a neighbor of the park. I don’t find the garden unsightly. I enjoy it. And it does not impact my ability to take my kids there to play at all.
Do it anyways I say…power in numbers. Take to the streets. This is a BIG deal to the community and we should all celebrate Juneteenth. There is already a big celebration near Catfish Corner in Jackson/23rd area.
Did the City offer the organizers any feedback to improve the safety of the event, or if a Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) lens were applied to the application? City Employees are trained to apply RSJI analysis to policy, especially when that policy impacts racial minorities.
Meanwhile, the Capitol Hill Pride group (of two people) once obstructed streets with barricades and port-o-potties when they went forward with events after their permit was denied. The City had them removed once they became aware. No one in the LGBTQ or business community wants to work with them anymore. I’ll be shocked if they are allowed to get a permit. Typically when you break the law, as they did, as you reported, permits are denied for future events.
Joe, are you trying to criticize or commend Capitol Hill Pride? They were the official group hosting the Seattle contingent of the National Pride March in 2017. The city yanked the permit just days before the event and gave the requested street permit just two parking spots and two and a half hours. Police were supposed to block traffic but didn’t. Organizers tried to put out required portapotties and responsible parking signs before the event. Oh the horror!
Not sure it was proper for Parks and Rec to deny a permit based on perceived security risk. Is Art and Music now dangerous?
Organizers should call it a Juneteenth March & Rally which does not require a permit.
Thank you City of Seattle for deciding to keep the peace on Juneteenth and admit that CHOP is not an event to be celebrated.
Agree. CHOP should not be “commemorated” and is best left to the dustbin of history.
When did the city ask for public comment? I’m a white homeowner that lives inside the former perimeter and they didn’t ask me what I think. I’m not traumatized by protestors, but I do flinch every time something sounds remotely like blast balls. Can we revoke the permit for the police? I want to say it’s anti-fun from residents, but the city doesn’t care what I think, they just firmly believe the first amendment is dangerous. The police teargassed me in my home, not protestors. Let them have one day of music in the park, I don’t care.
Same here. The only trauma that I experienced were those freaking blast balls fired by the police that went on all night long. I live a few blocks from the park and didn’t hear a peep from the protesters. My friends who live closer said their trauma came from the tear gas seeping into their homes. If the police can’t control the small group of white college kids throwing bottles and lighting trash fires by simply arresting them, what use are they?
Exactly! I’m one block from the east precinct and it was the cops that terrorized us with teargas and “less than lethal” (but actually still possibly lethal) munitions. I think we should celebrate our small and brief victory over the ultra-violent, itching to riot, insurrectionist, thug cops every year.
I live directly on the park, and it was awful – not because of the cops, but because of the campers in the park. The campers were not making a political statement (unless you count the Antifa who embedded themselves amongst the campers). Violent and terrible things happened during the CHOP/CHAZ in their zone: murder, attempted murder, murder/suicide and the attempted rape of a deaf woman. Which of those things are you pleasuring yourself to when you fantasize about the fetishized memory of the CHOP/CHAZ that you hold so dear to your heart?
The campers were also extremely noisy at night and into the early morning thanks to the DJ booth they set up next to the playground. I was sleep deprived for much of the time they were around and this was while I was still going to work every day in the health care industry during the pandemic, and it affected my ability to do my job.
I was harassed by the campers campers in the park multiple times as I walked through on my way to work, and friends of mine were also accosted for simply crossing through the park.
I question the motives of anyone who says that the CHOP/CHAZ was great, peaceful or some kind of utopia. It wasn’t. I also question how much you interacted with the CHOP/CHAZ. I’d guess you just showed up during the day at the south end of the park where most political tourists would come and spend a few hours during the day and then leave and go back home feeling so proud of how open-minded and woke they are.
I agree that the cops have a lot of work to do to rehabilitate themselves with the communities they serve, but the CHOP/CHAZ had nothing to do with that at all. BLM did, and I support them without hesitation. The CHOP/CHAZ was just a parasite leeching off of the BLM movement.
I really don’t find tear gas from the government and music at night to be comparable nuisances. There will never be a shortage of bothered people, some things just rate higher.
What about the murder, attempted murder, suicide and attempted rape? Do those bother you more than tear gas? Seriously, I’d like to know how much the people who were harmed by the CHOP/CHAZ bother you or if you are deliberately turning a blind eye to that because it doesn’t aid your narrative.
And it wasn’t just ‘music at night’. It was loud to the point of people not being able to sleep. I assume most people who were tear gassed were able to sleep just fine, but feel free to prove me wrong.
Oh here we go again! White folks copping another cause to exercise their proviledge in the name of racial justice. White people please stay home and fix your own racist families. And let black celebrate a day without your racist issues!
Okay, I will…
CHOP is was not a victory for the cause of social justice, antiracism, or anything else. If you want to celebrate it, go do it in your own neighborhood, whether that’s Bellevue, the Central District, or Federal Way.
Thank you Seattle Parks and Recreation for having the courage to say no to CHOP 2.0 during Pride month. F*CK CHOP and the associated violence and destruction.
Given that the CHAZ/CHOP resulted in an increased murder rate for Capitol Hill during its brief existence, I think this is the correct call. For all the rhetoric about how terrible SPD was, and they were at times very terrible, the resulting anarchy-zone was worse. Antonio Mays was murdered by CHOP “security.” Who then tampered with the crime scene, and all refused to give evidence on the crime to police. This murder was captured by streamer camera live that night. “Do you want to get pistol whipped?” blam blam blam.
CHAZ/CHOP advocates, and the resulting zone, assaulted Capitol Hill. Cops responding to a handful of anarchy protest tourists assaulted Capitol Hill. How about everyone this year just focused on healing Capitol Hill and getting back from pandemic and back to a normal diverse area. Not a theater for out of town rioters and out of control cops to throw down for 20 days in a row.
Kudos for bringing up Antonio Mays Jr….murdered, as you said, by CHOP security *in full view of CHOP witnesses*. And despite that, almost a whole year later, no one associated with CHOP has since even bothered finding out who killed Antonio, much less identified or turned anyone in (at least with Lorenzo Anderson, we have a named suspect). Regarding Antonio, CHOP’s silence IS violence. All inconvenient truths surrounding Antonio’s murder have been shamefully swept under the rug, as if his Black life hardly mattered. Faux justice, faux peace!
Hello,
So, being how there is no shortage of hyperbole around CHOP/CHAZ, maybe we should look at actual statistics* in the East Precinct / Capitol Hill area:
My quick tabulations for East Precinct / Capitol Hill (hopefully, no egregious errors):
2020 listed 4 Homicides (Murder & Nonnegligent Manslaughter)
2019, well before CHOP, listed 3
The average homicide rate/year (including years w/o homicide) in the same area from 2008-2020 is 1.2 … from 2008-2019 is 1
The average homicide rate/year (excluding years w/o homicide) in the same area from 2008-2020 is 1.6 … from 2008-2019 is 1.3
If you measure for the entire East Precinct:
2020 listed 12 Homicides
2019 listed 5
The average homicide rate/year (no year w/o homicide) from 2008-2020 is 4.9
The average homicide rate/year (no year w/o homicide) from 2008-2019 is 4.2
To be sure, one homicide is one too many…and the jump from 5 in 2019 to 12 in 2020 for the entire E Precinct is horrible.
But can this be blamed on CHOP? The pandemic?
For another comparison, we can look at the homicide rates for just 2008 and 2009 (the last really bad economic recession). Both years posted 7 homicides across the entire E Precinct for a total of 14.
I am not trying to paint CHOP/CHAZ one-way-or-the-other, however, we need to put things in a more accurate context.
*https://www.seattle.gov/police/information-and-data/crime-dashboard
Wonder what the 2020 homicide count would’ve been had the city allowed 3-week-old CHOP to stay open for the rest of 2020, instead of shutting it down right after Antonio Mays Jr’s June 29 murder?
Not to make a point of it but neither I or would I suggest anyone eat anything grown in the dirt of that park.