[Thelist] What you can do to Save the Shipyard

[C y b e r sAM]

Dear CYBERBUSS fhREaKs,


We all have gotten the run-around from city, state and national officials at one time or another for simply doing things differently.
We all have gotten the "sorry you can't do that because you may hurt yourself then sue us" bullshit.
We all know that any new idea, product, fashion or whatever is at first rejected by society and govenment before it catches on.
We all may remember that the CYBERBUSS coStUmE BaLL waz shut down twice for not having the proper permits, when getting the proper permits were difficult to impossible to attain.

Well now it is the Shipyard's turn in Berkeley.  
If you are unfamiliar with the Shipyard its a wonderful place built up with steel storage containers that artist use to store stuff and build art.
In short the shipping containers are deemed unsafe building materials by the city of Berkeley.
These are shipping containers that are rated to hold up to 50,000 lbs. and are stacked 7-9 high and shipped to china on stormy seas.
I would trust a shipping container over wood and sheet rock any day.

The Shipyard has been off the grid for 4 years.  It is powered with solar panels and they actually make and run bio deisel in their deisel generator.
The have created a few radical alternative energy vehicles including a mobile steam run victorian house called the Never Was.
They are also working on a new project called the mechabolic which aims to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere by charring, or partially burning, trash without using oxygen.  
This produces biochar, which has twice as much carbon in its residue instead of releasing the carbon into the air. 
This makes bioenergy carbon-negative and improves soil health.  Read about it here:
-http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070511211255.htm
-http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-11392_3-6181680.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The people of the Shipyard are doing what our government and corporations have failed to do (without funding).  
And how are they being rewarded for setting such a fine example in terms of alternative energy?  
They are getting evicted by the city of Berkeley for not having the proper building permits, which of course are very expensive to impossible to get.
There has never been an injury there in 6 years, but they are being told to vacate immediately because it is unsafe.
As we all know, there is no building permits available for unusual building structures no matter how safe they may be.
This is not the first so called 'artist' residency to get the boot in the Bay Area for similar reasons.
In my opinion, the city of Berkeley is not as liberal and open-minded as its reputation.
There actions is very heavy-handed and they are not interested in helping a community such as this exist.
Perhaps the students of UC Berkeley give Berkeley its 'open-minded' reputation, but the city itself has catered to its affluent residents that have accrued wealth through owning property in the right place.

Anyway, it may be time to do something other than watch from the sidelines as this unfolds.
The best thing you can do is write one or more of the Berkeley city officials, show your support for what the Shipyard community is doing and ask for them to offer some leniency and understanding here.
Because the world will not change unless you are willing to.  So do something radical and write these city officials. 
 
Unlike our State and Federal officials, these people will read your emails and respond.  
So, if they are not going to offer the Shipyard any other options than let them know what you think about their bogus zero tolerance.


"Orth, David" <dorth at ci.berkeley.ca.us>
"Joan MacQuarrie" <JMacQuarrie at ci.berkeley.ca.us>
"Mark Rhoades" <MRhoades at ci.berkeley.ca.us>
pkamlarz at ci.berkeley.ca.us
malbuquerque at ci.berkeley.ca.us
dpryor at ci.berkeley.ca.us
dmarks at ci.berkeley.ca.us
nalhadithy at ci.berkeley.ca.us
zcowan at ci.berkeley.ca.us
lmckinney at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mcaplan at ci.berkeley.ca.us
jhynes at ci.berkeley.ca.us
gdaniel at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mprince at ci.berkeley.ca.us
gpowell at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mnorrise at ci.berkeley.ca.us
gheidenreich at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mayor at ci.berkeley.ca.us
lmaio at ci.berkeley.ca.us
dmoore at ci.berkeley.ca.us
manderson at ci.berkeley.ca.us
spring at ci.berkeley.ca.us
lcapitelli at ci.berkeley.ca.us
olds at ci.berkeley.ca.us
kworthington at ci.berkeley.ca.us
GWozniak at ci.berkeley.ca.us
clerk at ci.berkeley.ca.us

Ok I have said enough already


C y b e r sAM 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

HERE IS THE PRESS LINKS TO DATE


you can see the "vacate and abate" order from the city, as well as
other relevant documentts at http://www.theshipyard.org/

there is a very entertaining KTVU ch 2 segment here, done live from
the site on friday: http://www.ktvu.com/video/13307846/index.html

other media to date is here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/11/evicted_berkeleys_sh.html
http://radar.oreilly.com/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/11/BAGF0PPJM520.DTL
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2007/05/berkeley_shutting_down_art_and.html
http://laughingsquid.com/berkeley-shuts-down-amazing-art-space-the-shipyard/


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

HERE IS CHICKEN JOHN'S ADDRESS


OK< as many of you know by now the Shipyard, Jim Masons' zero
emissions off grid art space and alt/power research facility has been
shut down for building code violations. In Berkeley. Can you hear the
laugh track? The City of Berkeley shut down the zero emissions art and
tech facility for a building code violation. Did you hear it that
time?

So. It's time to RAIN DOWN LIKE DEATH. Roll out the machines of death,
we are going to war. Again. It seems like we have to do this from time
to time. I think it may be good. Get a little exercise, lube the
cannons, oils the door on the war room. But man, there is no funnier
templet. It's like a Rodney Dangerfeild joke set up: "So the City of
Berkeley shuts down the zero emissions art space, no respect I tell
ya, we artists get no respect...."

First thing is first, we are going to win. So lets not make this too
humiliating for them. We do not need to rub it in or gloat or
whatever. We will have to continue to see these people at the coffee
shop and someone has to be there to fix the streets and take out the
garbage and stuff. So remember that everyone has their place, even
city officials who say that a steel shipping container is a fire
hazard because it's not a building material, so it's not a building
and can't be built and not "habitable", even for someone to store some
simple hand tools and a few puppets. That, of course, is illegal. You
can go to jail for that.

So let us refer to the following phrase and spread it around:

Make puppets in a shipping container, go to jail.   art and alt/ fuel
is illegal in Berkely   www.theshipyard.org

Build a hydrogen car that runs on garbage, go to jail.  art and alt/
fuel is illegal in Berkeley   www.theshipyard.org

That should be made into a bumper stickers. Someone get on that...


So the actuality that is happening here is the same one that happens
elsewhere: they *say* they like what your doing. They *say* that they
just want you to comply. You ask what is needed to comply, they tell
you to do this and that. You do it. Then, there is this other thing.
And now that they thought about it for a while, there is this other
thing and what about that thing and I forgot that thing. Pretty soon
you start adding it all up and you would have to spend twice as much
then if you were building a brand new building. And since you can get
a loan to build a brand new building on the make art out of junk
business model (last time I checked) well then you just walk away in
disgust.

But not this time. There are too many of us. If corralled against a
common enemy, well there is certainly no obstacle that we can not
overcome. there are a hundred thousand of us that have gone to Burning
Man. And that's just Burning Man. That's not all the other artists and
all the other people who champion our liberties and who have stores of
distain for beurocracy to no end other then mediocrity. There are more
people in Oakland California who write the word "artist" on their tax
returns then any other city.

So. First thing is first. You fire a shot across the bow.

Copy and send this to your lists far and wide.

Then, let these people know that you think it's funny that the
facility that build a car that runs on garbage last month that has
zero emissions got shut down for a building code violation. You could
say something like:  "Stop it, your killin' me....". But the comedy is
too rich. Here is a list of the comedians:



"Orth, David" <dorth at ci.berkeley.ca.us>
"Joan MacQuarrie" <JMacQuarrie at ci.berkeley.ca.us>
"Mark Rhoades" <MRhoades at ci.berkeley.ca.us>
pkamlarz at ci.berkeley.ca.us
malbuquerque at ci.berkeley.ca.us
dpryor at ci.berkeley.ca.us
dmarks at ci.berkeley.ca.us
nalhadithy at ci.berkeley.ca.us
zcowan at ci.berkeley.ca.us
lmckinney at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mcaplan at ci.berkeley.ca.us
jhynes at ci.berkeley.ca.us
gdaniel at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mprince at ci.berkeley.ca.us
gpowell at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mnorrise at ci.berkeley.ca.us
gheidenreich at ci.berkeley.ca.us
mayor at ci.berkeley.ca.us
lmaio at ci.berkeley.ca.us
dmoore at ci.berkeley.ca.us
manderson at ci.berkeley.ca.us
spring at ci.berkeley.ca.us
lcapitelli at ci.berkeley.ca.us
olds at ci.berkeley.ca.us
kworthington at ci.berkeley.ca.us
GWozniak at ci.berkeley.ca.us
clerk at ci.berkeley.ca.us


In the end the emotion that really come forward here is embarrassment.
You should be embarrassed. Berkeley is a stantion of hope in a world
gone mad, and that they are pulling the endless list of things to make
it safe like Disneyland thing is intolerable. I will now sum up what
has happened in a few short sentences:

Shipping containers are not a rated building material. Like sheetrock,
for example. Since they are not a building material, you can not build
with them as a raw material without proving that they a structurally
sound. Like, that they will not crumble to dust or twist like a
pretzel in an earthquake. They need engineering calculations to abide
by a certain standard. And they need to be fire rated. 5/16 thick
steel needs to be proven that it is a 2 hour fire wall. Basically,
they want to not have any liability. Just in case metal can catch fire
or building containers twist into pretzels or turn to dust or
something. Oh yea, they also don't like our illegal kitchen which is a
sink and a stove in a corner stacked up and not hooked up to anything.
They claim that all the work was done without any permits. True. But
you can not get a permit. The electrical is done far beyond any code,
there is no safety hazard. But it's unsafe, because it doesn't have a
permit. And the shipping containers are unsafe, because they don't
have a permit. And the bathroom is unsafe. Anything without a permit
is unsafe. Here is a communication I had with the City Planning
Manager:
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

John,


This is a great place for arts uses. The issue here is not the
location, but that minimum fire and life safety issues be observed.



Mark Rhoades, AICP
City Planning Manager
Berkeley, CA
510.981.7411
-----Original Message-----
From: Chicken John [mailto:chickenjohn at chickenjohn.com]
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 12:05 PM
To: Rhoades, Mark
Subject: a quick question regarding the Shipyard

Hello there Mark. I've been thinking about how to mediate and where
and how to parcel energy to the best advantage to eveyrone involved in
this thing. I'm a Shipyard guy. I just have a quick question that
might save everyone a lot of time here. Excuse my terse tone, but here
it goes:


Your title on you email sig-file is City Planning Manager, does the
city of Berkeley have any plans for a location that would attract a
place like the shipyard, or are things like the Shipyard not something
that you have plans to try to attract? Has the city any plans for an
'art zone' or something? Is there any information along these lines
that we do not have?

It will help us in our re-organization. There are many of us that are
Berkeley residents who love it here and wish to stay, but maybe moving
to Oakland would be a better idea. We really thought that Berkeley
would want a zero emissions art production place that makes steam
powered Victorian Recreational Vehicles, and we still do. Things
likely should have gone down differently, sure. But it was all a great
improv. We are happy for the time we spent there, but if you could
take a moment of your time and either quell my thinking in this area
or maybe shed some light on some information that I don't have it
would be greatly helpful in this tuff time for us.

I thank you for you time and consideration.


John

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

So there it is right there.... life safety. Notice there is no extra
information or any nudge twards cooperation or whatever. Just follow
the law. It's written down in this book. Read it. You ask them what
they want you get referred to a book that you can not read: the code
book. You ask them what their intention is they say that they just
want to make sure everything is safe. They string you along and make
you write it all down and submit it, then they shoot it full of holes
and make it impossible.

It makes you wonder if there is any anselary agenda? And the fact that
Joan has shut down so many art spaces makes me wonder if she's just
not out to get the art spaces. I wonder if she's a patron? I wonder
what her aspirations were as a student? Maybe this is her way a being
an art critic? If she doesn't like soemone's work she makes them leave
Berkeley? That would at least be funny, no?

There is no way to get a permit to build something with an unrated
building material. So the building department needs to do a building
material "equivalent". Compare it to something else. Easy. But they
chose not to. Instead, they want us to spend hundreds of thousands of
dollars paying engineers to 'test' shipping containers for seismic
load. Ridiculous. The fire stuff is nothing, but without the
containers being legal, we can't get an electrical permit. So that's
the fire thing. It's all really just one thing, actually.... it comes
down to the following questions:

Is a shipping container a reasonable place to store puppets? Put a
table and weld some junk together? Make a steam powered car? Build a
wind sculpture? Build a gasifier the goes in the bed of a pick-up
truck that burns garbage and propels the vehicle with zero emissions?
Is a shipping container a great solution to a million little problems?

Yes of course it is. Is it a good place to store things? Yea. It's
metal. It can't catch on fire. They are air tight, so even if I fire
happens in one, you just close it. No air. Duh. And welding in a metal
building seems pretty smart. Duh. For steam power and things under
pressure, metal walls.... seems pretty safe. Mobile, flexible. And
here is the kicker: they're green. They already exist. You don't need
to manufacture anything. Nothing to buy, no power spent building them.
they exist. They are here. It's a building with a door that you pick
up with a forklift and throw on the bed of a truck.

But they are not a building material recognized by the City of
Berkeley. At this time. Please, let us bring that time to a close.
Please help the City of Berkeley through this uncomfortable
actualization that a building container is their friend. They may need
a little hand holding, and maybe something firmer down the line.

In the end, the comedy is brutal. There are basicly no buildings on
the site, and they shut us down for not having a building permit. I
wonder how many injuries were sustained at Berkekely city hall in the
last 6 years? There have been no injuries at the shipyard at all.

Please feel free to contact the City of Berkeley and gently let them
know that you support the Shipyard. And that you support art for all
purposes. If they won't listen to logic, then our next step is
performance art. Which can be quite fun, as you well know.....

here we go again,

chicken john



more info here

www.theshipyard.org

http://laughingsquid.com/berkeley-shuts-down-amazing-art-space-the-shipyard/




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