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Monday, February 13, 2012

San Francisco Major Projects That fell And Will Fall By the Way Side.

We all know in San Francisco about Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Or do we really know?


In the year 2000 this City mandated that the entire Hunters Point Naval Shipyard should be cleaned to the highest standards that was Proposition P.


Proposition P passed by 87% and we all thought we all had done well.


Only for Willie L. Brown Jr., Sophie Maxwell, Nancy Pelosi and some other minions to force the Under Secretary of the U.S. to convey Parcel A to SF Redevelopment who is turn - wasted no time to transfer Parcel A to Lennar.


They other parcels B,C,D,E,F, UC1 and other craved up all all contaminated - after all the entire area was and in a Superfund site.


We all know the sordid actions of Lennar. The prime one being they graded thirty feet of Serpentine Rock in the year 2004 - when crushed this rock releases Asbestos Fibers - and the rest is history.


People in the vicinity and beyond suffered before and they suffer today - the City and County of San Francisco, the SF Health Department, the Mayor, and SF Board of Supervisors have a liability to help those that are and were adversely impacted.


Innocent children continue to suffer and so do our seniors. Other who are adults have bouts of adverse ailments - and no one is looking into this situation.


The Bay Area Air Quality Management District knows about this. The SF Health Department knows about this. The Environmental Protection Agency knows about this. The Department of Toxic and Substances Control knows about this - other local, State and Federal agencies know a lot - but no one wants to help our community - why?


Lennar stooped so low - as to have Asbestos Monitors with no batteries in them to register anything. A fact unheard of all over our Nation - and shame on the Regulatory Agencies for not doing right - for over four months. Not paying attention to the serious crimes of over a year and a half - before any serious Notice of Violation was issued.


We have all the empirical data.


First Lennar denied, they lied all the time - and when they were caught red handed - the Bay Area Air Quality Management District fined Lennar - $515,000 which the Rogue Developer, Lennar paid.


Lennar signed a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) linked to Parcel A. On all the important time-lines, pertinent elements of this DDA - a legal document Lennar defaulted. 


Today, Lennar is DEAD and want to turn over its rights that is gained illegally working with  the now defunct SF Redevelopment Agency whose demise came to an end on January 31, 2012.


The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was rushed. So, was the California Environmental Quality Act. So, were the various meetings at the SF Planning, the Land Use and before the SF Board of Supervisors.


Those who voted against the above plans were for the adversely impacted community - but, they were in the minority.


Today, those that voted for the plan and for Lennar have a guilty conscience and right so. They have blood on their hands.


The City and County of San Francisco has an obligation to make good - even though SF Redevelopment Agency is no more.


More, because the City with intent has chosen to hire the thugs from SF Redevelopment Agency that poisoned our children. Foremost among them one Tiffany Bohee. Tiffany and the others have blood on their hands.


Today, secretly some negotiations are on - but anyway you look at  the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and the Candlestick Point Project - Lennar does not have the ability to fulfill the promises Lennar made to the community.


How do we the community know what really bodes for us when the the City and County of San Francisco has failed with Lennar. Failed, by the 49ers who now are in Santa Clara and will make their future home in Santa Clara. Over a billion dollars of investment has been promised and attained by the 49ers.


San Francisco failed miserably to keep the 49ers.


Our City chose to back the High Speed Rail from San Francisco to San Diego.


The High Speed Rail will cost $118 billion plus and in this dire economic times we do not have this money.


Even though the two hags Nancy Peolosi and Diane Feinstein promised us the money for the High Speed Rail.


The Republicans will do all in their power to shoot down this High Speed Rail project and have.


When I visited Washington DC six months ago - I knew about this situation regarding the High Speed Rail.


On my return when I mentioned the situation at hand and the real facts linked to the High Speed Rail -
 - Jose Moscovich, from the SF County Transportation Authority - was smiling - I hope he has stopped smiling - now.


Tied to the High Speed Rail is the TransBay building - touted as the Grand Central of the West.


Right now if you go to Second and Market - you can see a large, deep hole - and it will take money to build this grand Central Station of the West - and right now no one knows where the money will come from in its entirety.


Our City made the decision listened to those that had no experience and even though the matter was put on the Ballot there was a lot of misrepresentation.


Today, the SF County Transportation Authority - has not taken upon itself with the other agencies to tell the public the Truth. The High Speed Rail is going no where.


For all practical purposes the two above projects are kept alive by lies, false promises, and meeting at which fabrications are invented. This nonsense must STOP.


On the High Speed Rail we did not have one single private company investing. We wanted the Chinese to invest. They asked the same question - are there any investors from the United States? 


The Chinese wanted to know and found there were none - so the High Speed Rail  did not interest them at all. Perhaps the French with the Euro sinking, the Germans with their Euro sinking, the Italians with the Euro sinking - may decide to sink their fate with the California High Speed Rail.


With the downfall of the economic in the year 2008. The sub-prime fiasco. The derivatives that took so many for a ride, the bail out of the major financial institutions J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and so on.


The banks - Wells Fargo, Bank of America - the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank - loaned the crooks the money - the U.S. Government did it on behalf of the tax payers - and did not consult us - the tax payers at all.


Moreover, when the U.S. Government bailed the bank, the large financial institutions, the car manufacturing companies - the tax payers were named as the ones loaning the money - but those that received the loans - were given so many benefits and nothing much concretely coming back to the tax payers.


Why are the banks and our City so lax with the major banks in our City and County of San Francisco? How about we taxing them and making them pay what they truly owe us?


Today, the same banks have decided to foreclose thousands of homes in San Francisco and thousands more in the Bay Area. Most of the major banks Bank of America and Wells Fargo for sure - make their primary home or headquarters - in San Francisco.


The City and County of San Francisco could have taken the lead - as some of us mentioned and requested the City - to create a Municipal Bank.


With our $6.9 billion budget - we could have served many financial needs that our constituents need and deserve. This idea is just taking shape - after four years.


As much as we like to say that our City and County of San Francisco is doing well - we are not. 


We may not be as bad in our fiscal affairs as Oakland - but we still have no clear idea about our unfunded benefits - the key element that will come to haunt us very soon - our pension system.


Some years ago Aaron Peskin a Supervisor decided to give the Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) greater control.


Today, we see that this decision ties the hands of the SF Board of Supervisors. Year after year MUNI that is an integral part of the MTA - has a deficit. This deficit will only grow bigger.


Initially we started with a $800 million figure linked to the Central Subway. A Light Rail starting from 4th and King and going all the way to China Town. Today, the figure to complete this project is $1.6 billion. This project has been designated as Phase Two.


Phase one being - the Third Street Light Rail from 4th and King to the middle of nowhere - Visitation Valley.


$700 million was spent on this line - which to put it mildly is a White Elephant - the line is bereft with crime, safety issues, punctuality issues, and a host of other issues.


The people that need Public Transportation most - the constituents who live up the hill at Hunters Point are served by the MUNI bus 44 and 23.


People have to wait for hours - and at many of the stops there are no bus shelters. How come we do not have such things happen in the White neighborhoods?


MUNI and the MTA has the audacity to place the Main Maintenance Facility closer to Bayview Hunters Point, use the many MUNI drivers that live in the Bayview Hunters Point, but when it comes to quality service, punctuality, bus shelters - the people that most need them and take Public Transportation - are shafted.


This has been going on for years. It would not be fair to blame Ed Reiskin the current Director of the MTA for this malaise. 


There are other large projects costing Billions of Dollars - the Sewer System Improvement Project (SSIP) is one of them.


Costing over $6 billion over eight years - the vultures are out there to grab the projects. But, nothing substantial is going to the constituents on the Bayview Hunters Point, the many youth who want to work - women and men.


The journeymen and women from the Laborers' Union foremost, the Carpenters' Union to participate in the SSIP. Time will tell.


We see these Big Projects rise up, the change orders made, the Primes from outside go laughing to the bank, Platinum Consultant foremost rake in millions doing nothing but making huge deals behind close doors.


We have Mayor Ed Lee who has promised to meet me but he is taking his time. Others too have told me that this meeting is in the making. Well, when is it going to happen?


No one has documented the gimmicks and ploys more than I have. The good for nothing City Build Program where over $8 million dollars has been wasted since 2004. The over $500,000 given to consultants - including Laura Luster.


It is time the Budget Analyst Harvey Rose, the Controller Ben Rosenfield, the District Attorney, the City Attorney, the Human Rights Commission, Director, the City Administrator - put a stop to wasting money - touting that our City is capable of some shallow, drab, workforce training - that is not worth the salt.


Show us the empirical data? Show us how many career jobs you have created by spending $12 million plus for the last 8 years. I have kept the tabs - have you all?


Our City and County once had standards - but today many of our large projects are falling by the way side. Where is the sound leadership? Where is the transparency? Where is the accountability?


Why are so many folks from outside California coming into our City and stealing from us? 


Why are the same Primes - getting so many of the jobs - and doing a lousy job? Do we have any decency left?


Is it all about filling campaign coffers of those that want to be political savvy when they have no morals, less standards and are the scum of the earth?


Time for San Francisco to wake up!

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