Protesters block the main entrance to the shipyard with a giant stop work order

A sizeable crowd gathered outside the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard’s main entrance Tuesday to protest Bayview Hunters Point residents and environmental advocates ongoing concerns with Lennar’s plans to develop 770 acres at the shipyard and Candlestick Point–and to blockade the entrance with a giant stop work order.

Sponsored by Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice, POWER and the San Francisco Green Party, the protest was also attended by Nation of Islam followers, Mothers Against Crime, and even a few young and enthusiastic school children.

The action came just days after a judge tossed out suits against the Nation’s Bayview leader and its non-profit, which runs a school adjacent to the shipyard and sued Lennar for failure to control asbestos at the shipyard. And a day after the San Francisco Housing Authority suggested that the Nation needs to get more insurance at its school, lest environmental concerns at the shipyard prove to be well-founded.

Activists addressed the crowd, speaking about asbestos dust contamination at the site, radiologically impacted dumps on the shipyard, and proposals to build thousands of condos on what is now Candlestick Point State Recreation Area. And all were clear on one point: Lennar needs to be stopped and held accountable.
“We know that pollution doesn’t know property lines,” said Tony Kelly, President of the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association. Noting that Lennar is looking for another 42 acres to develop at Candlestick, Kelly quipped, “I guess 770 acres aren’t enough.”

“Not in our name, not in our money,” said GreenAction’s Marie Harrison, pumping up the crowd with chants, which included that perennial favorite, “Don’t cap it, just clean it,” a reference to the Navy’s proposal to cap radiologically impacted sites at the shipyard, rather than dig and haul them out, as the community has repeatedly said it prefers.

“Clean air is a right,” said John Rizzo, director of the Sierra Club’s San Francisco Bay chapter, and a City College board member. “What we have other there is poison air.”

“If there is no harm being done over there, then why not test people,” Rizzo added.

Rizzo also addressed SB 792, state legislation that would allow the sale of 42 acres of Candlestick Point State Recreation Area so Lennar can build waterfront condos.

“What would happen if the city wanted to sell 42 acres of Golden Gate Park,” Rizzo said.

A pastor for the Samoan community’s Soul’d Out Christian Center advocated for greater outreach if the Bayview is to get its message heard.

“A citywide movement needs to rise up, if we are going to do something about Lennar,” the Soul’d Out pastor said.

His message was repeated by POWER’s Davu Flint.
“The entire city needs to rise up and call Lennar out,” Flint said.

Currently preparing land on the former Hunters Point Shipyard for the construction of 1600 new condos, Lennar Corp. was fined $500,000 in 2008 for failing to enforce stringent plans to protect residents, in particular children, from exposure to asbestos dust, but locals fear that they are still being exposed to dangerous amounts of carcinogens agents.

These events culminated in the blockade of the main entrance to the shipyard with a giant stop work order, to which four activists were chained. One of the activists, Minerva Dunn, is an 80-year-old grandmother and longtime resident of San Francisco.

Joining her were Marie Harrison of Greenaction, and Ros Ruiz and Max Schnuer, both allies of Greenaction. As time passed, a small line of cars began to form outside the barricade, prompting officers to move in and attempt to clear the entrance. Although the protestors refused to unlock themselves, officers did not make any immediate arrests. The group was eventually removed with assistance from a lock cutter, and police confiscated the work order. While no one was taken into custody, the four protestors were given citations stating that they were detained by SFPD and subsequently released.

Although Harrison considered the rally a success, she said she was “disappointed, though not surprised,” that a representative from Lennar declined to attend and meet the “real local community.”
However, she emphasized that the fight was far from over. “I promise we will be back, and I never make a promise I can’t keep,” Harrison said.
She also hinted that protesters plan to make their presence known next week at city hall. But whether city leaders will hear their arguments remains to be seen.

Souce: San Francisco Bay Guardian