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How unBerkeley can you be – to propose a food cart ban?

Steve Geller
Friday October 05, 2001

Editor: 

So the City wants to ban the Bancroft food carts (article 10/2). 

What’s the matter with this town? We are dragging our governmental feet about affordable housing. Bus shelters are already up in much of the East Bay, but not in Berkeley. Now a ban on food carts. Are we trying to turn this town into some kind of corporate plastic enclave? 

On Sunday, we saw how Berkeley we can be, and it was great! But maybe this was just for show. With actual city government policy, we’re trying to stamp out individuality, let alone any “funkiness.” I just realized that Berkeley has two McDonalds, and actually three Starbucks. 

Can’t we have a few food carts? 

What’s next – shutting down the street booths on Telegraph? Can’t we just be Berkeley, even a little bit? Maybe that’s the reason for the long delay in putting up the Berkeley bus shelters. The city thinks bus shelters encourage all those funky people who ride the bus, instead of clog streets with their cars like they should, being corporate plastic citizens. 

 

Steve Geller 

Berkeley