Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Announcement of Community Benefits Agreement Premature and in Bad Faith

Residents Marched to Turner Filed and set up a tent city on April 1st


Press conference with community leaders and elected officials supporting a real, binding Community Benefits agreement to be held Wednesday April 26th at #TentCityATL, 755 Hank Aaron drive at 10:30am.



GSU and Carter, doing business as Panther Holdings LLC prematurely and in bad faith released the terms of a deal it crafted with a selected group of community members and organizations to the exclusion of the Turner Field Benefits Coalition.  It highlights the heart of Atlanta’s gentrification problem.

In December of 2016 the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority released an RFP for the sale of Turner Field and surrounding parking lots. Panther Holdings was created and awarded a sweetheart deal - for $30 million they got $300 million worth of real estate and tax abatements, too.

From the time of the sale of the Braves the Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition - a democratically elected body of residents, community organizations, small businesses and churches - have been actively engaged in developing a community driven Community Benefits Agreement to counter gentrification and prevent displacement of residents.

Nearly two years ago a politically connected faction of the coalition led by Suzanne Mitchell broke away and began private negotiations with Panthers Holding. Mitchell is the sister-in-law of council president Ceasar Mitchell, who curries the favor of the developers Carter and GSU repeatedly stating she "could just pick up the phone and call them." Access denied to the democratically empowered Coalition representing broad stakeholders across five impacted neighborhoods.
Day 12 of #TentCityATL

Just an hour or so before news began to spread that a deal had been reached, Carla Smith, GSU, Oakwood and Carter presented a plan it developed with the selected group of individuals and organizations and without input from the community at-large. Council president Cesar Mitchell along with Council members Felicia Moore, Michael Julian Bond, and Deborah Scott with Partnership for Working Families Founding member & VP National CBA Network participated in the meeting.

The Coalition and its advisor, Maya Dillard Smith, former Executive Director of the ACLU of Georgia, were allowed to see documents memorializing this "deal" for the first time. There are actually two deals - one with GSU and one with Cater.


The Coalition requested time to review these documents and a follow-up meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 1, 2017. The conversation centered on the importance of transparency, accountability, inclusion and honesty, which has been missing from the negotiations to date.

Sherise Brown, a long term resident of Peoplestown and core member of the coalition attended yesterday's meeting today and stated, “Although I think our meeting today with panthers holding LLC was productive and moving in the right direction, we have not received a commitment from them for a Community Benefits Agreement. We are looking forward to our follow up meeting with GSU and the developers. At this point we are beginning to build a partnership with Panthers holding LLC. We have not, I repeat we have not, reached any agreement. We are still in discussions.”

GSU student leader Asma Elhuni, who also attended the meeting stated, “Our meeting with Scott Taylor from Carter Developers, Bharath Parthasarathy from Georgia State University, Council members, and the Turner Field Benefits Coalition was productive with promises that the Developers will meet with the Turner field Benefits Coalition. It was made clear to GSU that the University foundation is allowed to sign a CBA. As a student, I am eager to see this happen in the near future so that we hold not only my University accountable to its promises, but also the developers.”

One might imagine The Coalitions surprise upon reading the AJC headline, “GSU-Turner Field Neighborhoods Strike Community Benefits Agreement”.

Tremendous misinformation has been miscommunicated by GSU and Carter in an already confusing environment of alternative facts.
Here are the facts:

1.         The Coalition was funded by the Casey Foundation, the Coalition worked with consultants and legal counsel paid for by Casey with a grant it provided of $90,000. Most of the money received went to consultants. Coalition members did not receive any money, and they participated in good faith to draft CBA defining investments, outcomes and protocols benefiting Peoplestown, Summerhill, Mechanicsville, and Pittsburgh. These neighborhoods were selected given the immediate and surrounding impact of the project in alignment with the Living Centers Initiative.
2.         As soon as the deal was inked (Purchase/”Closing” took place), Casey pulled its funding. Unbeknownst to the Coalition at the time, Casey provided its $90,000 in services to the coalition, it was simultaneously funding hundreds of thousands in donations to Georgia State University. A clear conflict of interest for an organization which says it's dedicated to neighborhood change. Change, the Casey foundation will benefit from as it owns 14 acres in the affected area of the Turner field project.
3.         Council member Carla Smith received the maximum political contribution of $2500 from Scott Taylor of Carter the day after the deal closed for the sale of Turner Field.  She also received donations from Carter development.
4.         Suzanne Mitchell is negotiating with GSU and Carter in her individual capacity and as a relative of the City Council President, Caesar Mitchell.  She is no longer the president of (ONS) Organized Neighbors of Summerhill.
5.         Mayoral candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms served on the City Council while also serving as the chairperson of the Fulton County Recreation Authority.  This represented a clear conflict of interest and the closing documents directed Bottoms to receive 5% of the sale price of Turner Field ($600,000).
The deal and its participants are ripe with conflicts and yet the Coalition continues to show up and engage in good faith. We ask only that the other people at the table do the same.



Monday, April 17, 2017

Faith Leaders to Unite at #TentCityATL

On Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm, faith leaders from different communities in Atlanta will hold a prayer session  for Georgia State University and Carter Development at #TentCityATL (755 Hank Aaron drive). On the days following Easter, faith leaders will pray that GSU and Carter respect the NPU-V community members and include them in development of Turner Field and the surrounding parking lots. They will pray that development projects not drive-out longtime residents as they have before. They will pray that Carter and GSU include community voices in a binding social contract that will ensure development benefits everyone in the community.

On April 1st residents of the area marched to the site formally known as Turner Field and set up a tent city. Residents have been staying there in an act of civil disobedience for 18 days through extreme weather and police intimidation. Our ask is simple; include longterm resident voices in the development of the area and so far Carter and GSU has refused to respond to numerous requests for a meeting.

“For years, we have met with residents across Peoplestown, Summerhill, Mechanicsville and Pittsburgh to develop a Community Benefits Agreement to ensure that any development on the 80-acre turner field property benefits the community and our future generations,” explains Deborah Arnold of Mechanicsville who has been camped out since April 1. “More than 1700 of us have participated in community meetings to develop this CBA since the Braves announced they were leaving, but Carter Development and GSU have refused to meet with us, and instead have slandered us and pushed forward plans for development that doesn’t meet community needs.”

We’re drawing a line in the sand. We won’t allow GSU, Carter of any other developer to extract wealth from our community. After suffering through multiple mega developments that promised economic development and delivered broken promises this is our last stand for a community we want to be able to stay in,” says long-term resident and Housing Justice League member Alison Johnson and an organizer of the #TentCityATL. “We no longer have anything to lose. If they aren’t developing with us, they aren’t developing for us.”

Since the #TentCityATL began thousands have signed an online petition to bring Carter and GSU to the table and the story has been covered nationally.


Tuesday, April 11, 2017

#TentCityATL Continues; Day 11




ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- More than 40 residents of four of Atlanta’s historically black neighborhoods surrounding Turner Field (Peoplestown, Summerhill, Mechanicsville and Pittsburgh) are now in day 10 of a tent city occupation at the site of the former Atlanta Braves stadium in their fight for an accountable community benefits agreement. The fight is quickly becoming a national battleground between community-led organizing for equitable and fair development versus publicly supported luxury development taking place across the nation.

“For years, we have met with residents across Peoplestown, Summerhill, Mechanicsville and Pittsburgh to develop a Community Benefits Agreement to ensure that any development on the 80-acre turner field property benefits the community and our future generations,” explains Deborah Arnold of Mechanicsville who has been camped out since April 1. “More than 1700 of us have participated in community meetings to develop this CBA since the Braves announced they were leaving, but Carter Development and GSU have refused to meet with us, and instead have slandered us and pushed forward plans for development that doesn’t meet community needs.” 
  
Last year the City of Atlanta sold the public stadium site to Carter Development and Georgia State University. Despite countless asks they have refused to meet with residents and resorted to spreading lies through the media about residents intentions, including implying that all residents want is a cash payout. Such a request has never happened.

“We didn’t make this decision to pitch tents lightly, says Columbus Ward of Peoplestown. “We have families, we have jobs, we have responsibilities. But at the end of the day, Carter, GSU & the city are threatening the very existence of our neighborhoods. This is a fight for our future. For our right to remain and thrive. We refuse to be seen as commodities. We are real people.” 

On Monday residents will get a lift from students of Georgia State University who are organizing an action to call on GSU President Mark Becker to support local residents demands and urge Carter to negotiate a CBA.

“We’re drawing a line in the sand. We won’t allow GSU, Carter of any other developer to extract wealth from our community. After suffering through multiple mega developments that promised economic development and delivered broken promises this is our last stand for a community we want to be able to stay in,” says long-term resident and Housing Justice League member Alison Johnson and an organizer of the #TentCityATL.  “We no longer have anything to lose. If they aren’t developing with us, they aren’t developing for us.”

#TentCityATL is the latest in what are becoming increasingly regular and escalated fights led by working class communities and communities of color to push back against privately funded, publicly supported luxury development across the nation. In March, teenagers from Boston’s Egleston Neighborhood led a 3-night sit-in at the Mayor’s office to demand increased affordable housing and community engagement for development projects in their neighborhood. On March 31, Pittsburgh residents announced a major victory in their campaign to stop the the replacement of 300 units of affordable housing in the historically black East Liberty neighborhood when they got Whole Foods to back out of the development.
  
Some Atlanta residents aren’t waiting on the city, and are taking the fight to the ballot box. Tanya Washington -- a Peoplestown resident currently under threat of eminent domain related to the Turner Field development -- announced Thursday, she will run for city council after discovering that the city council member that represents her neighborhood has received campaign support from Carter Development.

“We’re not going anywhere,” says #TentCityATL and Housing Justice League organizer Alison Johnson. “Come down and join us. We’re planning actions for May Day, hosting movie nights and building community.”

There has been push back. One needs to look no further than the Peoplestown Next Door website to see all kinds of wild accusations about the #TentCityATL efforts. Although the draft Community Benefits Agreement has zero asks for pay out to individuals or organizations, newer white neighbors continue to claim the effort is about a cash grab. The reality is the Carter and GSU stand to extract billions of dollars from the up and coming neighborhoods and while this might excite already affluent homeowners it has produced a palpable anxiety amongst long term residents that have called these communities home for generations.
 
Last night a number of students and long term residents held a sit-in at GSU president Mark Becker’s office hoping to facilitate a meeting between Becker and longterm residents. Becker refused and instead had folks in the group, including former state house rep Douglas Dean , who has lived in the Pittsburgh neighborhood for over 50 years. As this blog post is being published, they have yet to be released.

One of the things we often hear is that gentrification is inevitable but around the country regular everyday people are fighting back and winning. #TentCityATL is a line in the sand around the issue of gentrification and mass displacement. At its core is the notion that those that live in a community should have a voice in what happens in it, that residents are not disposable, that there can be room for everyone to survive and thrive.

What can people do to support #TentCityATL?

3.       More than anything there is a need to have folks there. there are regular events organized at #TentCityATL like this one. Donate an hour, donate a day, pop a tent and stand in solidarity with one of the most important fights in the city! 

Monday, April 3, 2017

Tent City at Turner Field!


 After the Braves announced that they would be leaving Turner Field residents of Summerhill, Peoplestown, Pittsburgh, and Mechanicsville began meeting to discuss what would become of the almost 80 acres.

 Over the course of almost three years over 1700 residents and countless experts gave input on a Community Benefits Agreement that would ensure that the voice of the community would be included in any development and that whatever ended up at Turner Field wouldn't end up displacing long term residents that are loved and needed in their community.

 Since Carter Development and GSU has purchased the land they have not only refused to meet with residents, they have resorted to spreading lies through the media about residents intentions, including implying that all residents want is a cash payout, such a request has never happened.

 Residents have drawn a line in the sand and simply will not allow GSU, Carter, or any other developer to extract wealth from a community that has suffered through so many bad developments over the years without allowing residents to have a voice and a binding agreement about how their community is developed.

 
The Neighborhoods surrounding Turner Field have been plagued with mega developments that have brought countless broken promises of economic development. 50 years ago Mechanicsville, Summerhill, Peoplestown, and Pittsburgh were thriving communities. It was a place where one could buy fresh food, go to the doctor, enjoy the theatre, attend a decent school, and enjoy a walkable community. Interstate 75/85, the Fulton County Stadium, the Olympic stadium, and Turner Field have all had detrimental effects on the surrounding neighborhoods.

Each of these developments ended up displacing residents by the thousands and destroying small business in the area.

Today residents say no more. No longer can we allow mega developers to extract wealth from our community without any accountability. If you aren’t developing with us, you aren’t developing for us.
Those that live in the community should have a voice in how it’s developed!


That’s why residents and GSU students are taking a stand by organizing a Tent City, and we invite you to join! Follow the Turner Field Community Benefits Coalition and the Housing Justice League on Facebook for updates!

You can support the tent city in several ways!


2. Come down and spend time at the Tent City, 755 Hank Aaron drive, it's a 24 hour occupation and the more people present the more powerful we are!

3. There are a lot of expenses and you can help by making a donation and spreading the word! Click here to donate!