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Complaints about public sex at Aquatic Park may spark clearing overall changes at marina 

Early Sunday morning Egrets and Blue Herons had gathered onto separate pirches, in the distances the last 500 or so feet of the 3,000 foot long Berkeley pier had faded off into the morning dew and 44-year-old Mondo dropped bread crumbs sparingly to the ground.  

“You never know right,” he said laughingly, not wanting to waste too much of the limited food supplies he received yesterday from a Richmond mission. 

“I’ve been on the streets for five years, after all that time I’d be a fool to be surprised anymore.” 

He was in good spirits that morning because he was anticipating that he would be able to eat breakfast and dinner, and in addition he was asked back to work that day.  

Earlier that morning Mondo was so excited that he was unable to sleep and ended up making the acquaintance with a young woman who had pulled p beside his van in an older model stationwagon. She had three children, he remembered, and had left an abusive situation in Castro Valley.  

“She didn’t know where anything was,” Mondo said. “So I drew her a map — where she could get a meal and some groceries and even programs and stuff. Some places you have to listen to a lot of the gospel but some places you don’t, you can just go in and get yourself together. It’s really hard out here for women.” 

Just on the other side of the freeway in Aquatic Park, a political row brewing over alleged public sex, may change things for Mondo as well as the other handful or so homeless people who have been parking there. 

The issue of public sex occurring at the park has been witnessed by very few. It was brought to the Waterfront Commission’s attention by Claudia Kawczynska, a member, said Brad Smith, vice chair of the commission.  

And since then, members have been navigating politically volatile waters — on one hand not wanting to appear homophobic but on the other hand wanting very much to not allow Aquatic Park to degenerate into seediness. 

“There’s been a request for more police at aquatic park,” Kamen said. “But we’re trying to be very careful about this issue because we don’t want to come off as being homophobic or anything. But public sex there especially with Greenland where there are going to be families using the park, it is just not appropriate.”  

“The demographic of people having public sex there don’t tend to be low-lifes by any stretch of the imagination. They tend to be very much closeted,” he added. Consequently one idea that has surfaced is a possible web cam, videotaping activity at the Park. 

“So you put up the web cam and take away the anonymity,” he explained. “Another idea would be to take the KRE building and turn it into a gay social club. I think it would be a wonderful way to get those guys out of the bushes and give them a place to socialize.”  

Commissioners say they do not want to criminalize the men who go there, but with so many plans facing the entire waterfront area, something must happen to change behavior.  

Meanwhile on the marina side proposed changes also threaten the homeless who use the strip of parking between Skates on the Bay and H’s Lordships to sleep in their cars. H’s Lordships will be renovating and adding on more dining space. Negotiations are also underway for the Doc of the Bay site. In addition, there a walkway is planned to go from Skates to the Berkeley Yacht club. All of this activity will undoubtedly affect just how lenient the city looks on the homeless. 

Smith said he believes sexual allegations about Aquatic Park as well as proposals for the Marina to be the basis for increased attention in the area. 

“I think there’s always been a desire to improve Aquatic Park. It has historically had a reputation for being a little seedy,” Smith said. “The topic of the homeless have come up. I haven’t noticed any difference but I think there is a sense of there being an increase in crime.” 

Kamen said the homeless have been in the area for nearly as long as the park itself and he predicts that the number of people actually camping overnight on the marina to be relatively low. 

“In a way it’s really the best place for it. You’d expect them to camp out there and would prefer it to happen there as opposed to a residential neighborhood,” Kamen said.“It’s generally looked up with some leniency to a certain extent. But it can promote other activities if it is not done discreetly.”