Tag Archives: denny blaine

Denny Blaine Park’s new ‘nude zone’ is in effect (Though somebody tried to tear the nude zone fence down)

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Seattle Parks quietly moved ahead this week with a plan to create a “nude zone” In Denny Blaine Park with new signs and fencing. Thursday night, somebody tried to rip that nude zone fence down.

Seattle Police were called to the park on the shores of Lake Washington just before 10 PM to a report from a nearby resident that someone was trying to rip down the just-installed fencing. Cops were looking for the suspect described as a male wearing a green shirt, black shorts, and a backpack last seen leaving the area on foot but it is not clear if they ever tracked the suspect down.

The surprisingly fast turnaround on the project to install the new signs and fencing happened quickly this week as the city responds to a court order to address sex and drug crime around the park reported by neighboring property and area residents while, city officials say, also attempting to respect the beach’s place in Seattle’s queer and nudist communities. Continue reading →

In court-embattled Denny Blaine Park, a show of defiance, nudity… and puppets

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While the battle to keep Denny Blaine nude is playing out in court, members of the queer and nudist communities that love and utilize the park have continued to visit the popular beach this summer.

In a city where developers and wealthy NIMBYs seem to be nearly constantly scheming to carve up public space for private gain, revolutionary energy is also bubbling up at Denny Blaine in the form of puppets, nudity, and unapologetic queer defiance.

This weekend, guerrilla performances transformed the lakeside park into a stage for radical satire, bodily liberation, and a middle finger to privatization. The shows were part absurdist comedy, part scathing political critique, and directed their ire at figures like Stuart Sloan, the wealthy neighbor who has spent years trying to sanitize Denny Blaine, and Mayor Bruce Harrell’s laughably inept attempts to placate the NIMBYs.

One performance swung between nostalgia for freer times and biting commentary on whose bodies get to take up space. “These are my boobies!” declared an actor, fully nude except for a top hat. It was cheeky but the message hit home. Freedom has some rough edges — and the battle isn’t done. Continue reading →

City dusts off plan for nude zone in Denny Blaine in court battle to keep park open

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The city’s Denny Blaine Park “nude zone” proposal

(Image: Denny Blaine Park for All)

The City of Seattle has dusted off its old proposal to create a nude zone at Denny Blaine Park as it filed a court-ordered “plan of abatement” for addressing complaints of illegal sexual activity in the ongoing lawsuit brought by a group of neighbors and property owners over the popular nude beach.

The plan filed Monday in King County Superior Court includes five elements including 1) “Limiting the portion of the Park that is clothing optional to the area of the Park least visible from residences” 2) “Establishing visual barriers to separate the clothing optional area of the Park” 3) “Installing clearly marked signage throughout the Park and at its entrances stating Park rules” and 4) “Implementing a substantial increase in staffing of Park Rangers and/or Seattle Parks and Recreation staff at the Park.”

As for 5), final element would focus on how best to police the new rules “using a progressive discretionary enforcement approach, which may include educating, warning, and citing individuals who do not comply with Park rules and, where necessary, requesting assistance from law enforcement to address criminal activity such as sexual criminal lewd conduct.” Continue reading →

Group proposes plan including park rangers and new signs to keep Denny Blaine open — and nude

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The Friends of Denny Blaine community group is calling on the city to adopt its proposed “abatement plan” for meeting a court ordered-deadline to address complaints of nudity and sexual activity at the popular LGBTQ nude beach.

The proposal includes a plan that would add Seattle Park Rangers to Denny Blaine as well as new signage and a ban on “repeat offenders” who have violated public sex laws.

“The appearance of neglect, or the perception that Denny Blaine is a secret place far from the public eye, contributes to a handful of bad actors who behave as though the park exists in the City’s blind spot,” the group’s proposed plan reads. “Stating clearly that the City is aware of nudity and has expectations for how it can occur in the Park rejects those ideas, and deters the behavior that stems from them.” Continue reading →

Large police response as cops struggle with suspect in late night incident at Denny Blaine Park

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A late Wednesday night fracas involving multiple police rushing to Denny Blaine Park had nothing to do with nude sunbathers.

The Seattle Police Department says a suspected tire slasher who was armed with a gun was injured when he fell from a wall during a struggle with officers around midnight at the park.

SPD reports it was called to the park at 200 E Lake Washington Blvd just after 11:30 PM where the caller said a man “accused him of speaking to his woman and pulled a gun on him.” The caller reported he, too, was armed.

As police arrived, they reported seeing the suspect slash the tire of an SUV and toss an item away as officers approached: Continue reading →

‘Plan of abatement’ — Judge orders city to address reported criminal activity he says makes nudity in Denny Blaine Park ‘a public nuisance’

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(Image: Seattle Parks)

A King County judge won’t close Denny Blaine Park but he does want the city to come up with a “plan of abatement” to address complaints of drug use, masturbation, and sex at the popular nude beach on the shores of Lake Washington east of Capitol Hill.

Superior Court Judge Samuel Chung issued the order Monday in a hearing over a bid from the Denny Blaine for All neighbor group to immediately close the park to the public. The group has mounted an ongoing legal fight over the park that is being defended as an important gathering space by queer and nudist communities. Continue reading →

Seattle defends queer nude beach against legal bid to close Denny Blaine Park — ‘Nudity alone at Denny Blaine is also not a nuisance’

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Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison is a champion of nudity in Denny Blaine Park.

In the city’s response to a June legal thrust from the Denny Blaine for All neighbor group to immediately close the park to the public, Davis has told the King County Superior Court that the popular hangout on the shores of Lake Washington east of Capitol Hill should remain open and free.

“Allowing Denny Blaine Park to continue as a nude queer space has social utility,” Davison writes.

“Nudity is subject to City regulation, and the City has determined that not regulating public nudity at Denny Blaine is in the public interest. Based on this decision, nudity alone at Denny Blaine is also not a nuisance.” Continue reading →

Seattle Police says will pause ‘directed patrols’ at Denny Blaine, OPA investigating — UPDATE

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(Image: Seattle Parks)

The Seattle Police Department tells CHS it is pausing “directed patrols” at Denny Blaine Park in the wake of outcry of its enforcements efforts around nudity at the popular nude beach.

A spokesperson for the department responded Wednesday as city officials including Mayor Bruce Harrell weighed in on the concerns raised by the weekend police and the park’s longtime use as a nude beach the community.

SPD tells CHS the incident has also been referred to the Office of Police Accountability following a public complaint about the department and officer actions.

CHS reported here on SPD’s clearance of sunbathers from the park Sunday and reported threats of trespass to one park goer who initially refused.

City officials made it clear this week they were not going to stand behind the department on the issue. Continue reading →

Seattle Police clear sunbathers at Denny Blaine Park — UPDATE: Mayor, Hollingsworth respond

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Police were at Denny Blaine Sunday(Image: @mom_calls_me_myrtle)

A police officer “on a premise” assignment at Denny Blaine Park caused a stir Sunday at the nude beach east on the shores of Lake Washington.

The Seattle Police Department is apparently cracking down on the popular Capitol Hill sunny day getaway.

Reports describe multiple police officers called to the scene Sunday telling afternoon park goers to cover up and trespassing one sunbather who refused, according to Colleen Kimseylove of the Friends of Denny Blaine Park community group that has been trying to find solutions that protect the park’s history and place in Seattle queer culture while also placating increasing hostile neighbors in the wealthy neighborhood that surrounds the nude-friendly beach and park that has been affectionately known as Dykiki for decades.

“When Kimseylove arrived, they spoke to SPD Officer Ella Brooks who told Kimseylove that no Seattle law protects nudity, and if someone called and complained, SPD officers had to respond,” independent Seattle news site The Burner reports. “The cops also told Kimseylove that someone had directed SPD to routinely check in on the park. They told Kimseylove that people needed to put their clothes on or be trespassed or potentially arrested.”

SPD reportedly told one sunbather who argued with officers Sunday they were banned from the park for the week. Continue reading →

Keep Denny Blaine Nude? Neighbors sue city over ‘public masturbation, public sex and other types of indecent exposure, drug use, unlawful public nudity, environmental damage to the shoreline, and scofflaw parking’

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(Image: Denny Blaine Park for All)

Homeowners in the wealthy neighborhood surrounding Denny Blaine Park and nude beach are suing the city over its management of the lakefront public space.

“It is now a regional venue for criminal and uncivil behavior that includes public masturbation, public sex and other types of indecent exposure, drug use, unlawful public nudity, environmental damage to the shoreline, and scofflaw parking that prevents fire trucks and ambulances from reaching neighborhood homes,” the complaint from lawyers representing the Denny Blaine Park for All “association of concerned neighbors” reads.

The lawsuit was sent to Seattle media and television stations this week but is not yet available from the King County Superior Court.

The Seattle Times posted a copy of the complaint Wednesday.

The lawsuit from Seattle’s Foster Garvey PC firm is a major wrinkle in any efforts hoped to bridge the gaps between area homeowners, Seattle Parks, and the nudist and queer communities working to “Keep Denny Blaine Nude” while also addressing concerns about access, cleanliness, and safety around the park. Continue reading →