Extra

NO to Market Rate Housing on BART Land: An Open Letter

Bernard Marszalek
Wednesday March 30, 2022 - 10:14:00 PM

Dear Planning Commissioners, City Council members, and Mayor Arreguin,

It is a total outrage to me that, what is in essence public land, BART is a private entity only as a fiction, is not used to house those who work in Berkeley as teachers, artists, non-profit staff, healthcare workers, and all those thousands who work for low wages that provide various essential services to the residents on Berkeley.

When BART razed 500 homes to underground the tracks for the train they didn't keep their promise to replace the housing. The City and the State at that time didn't have the foresight - or more likely - the civic concern for all those moderate income folks, many of whom were people of color, who had to find housing elsewhere. Now 50 years later BART is seeking to recoup their legacy of bad faith with even more bad faith and erect an ugly wall of housing for higher income tenants.

For city officials, many of whom live in single family housing, to continue on this track of neglect for those who need below market housing indicates to me that they are not fit for public office.