Film shows tough times on West End
Alameda Journal
February 22, 2008
By Alan Lopez
About 30 minutes into the new documentary: "Civic Unity: Five Years in the West End of Alameda" the focus turns to the new Bayport Housing development, where homes now sell for upwards of $800,000. It's 2004, the homes are being constructed and Laurie Fry, principal at Chipman Middle School, explains that the area is seeing new forces of gentrification.
From there, the 73-minute film documents the mass eviction of more than 400 residents at the nearby Harbor Island Apartments, a process that began July 22 of that year.
When filmmaker Gary Weimberg and his wife Catherine Ryan began the film project, it wasn't exactly what they had expected. They were hired to produce a film in 2002 about the Koshland Civic Unity Program of the San Francisco Foundation.
The filmmakers document the results of the five-year, $300,000 grant overseen by a hand-picked resident-based committee. The committee includes the Rev. Michael Yoshi, Buena Vista United Methodist Church pastor, community activist Vickie Smith, management consultant and volunteer Phil Holt, student and mother Tamara Centeno, and school principal Niel Tam.
The film offers short, compelling biographies of several of the participants, as well as numerous scenes of familiar West End life, from bicycle riders at Alameda Point, to residents picking up bags of groceries at the Alameda Food Bank. And it shows the process - the meetings, the friendships born and nurtured - the committee went through to allocate "mini grants" to local organizations in the name of strengthening community ties and communication.
But the committee changes its focus when the Harbor Island residents receive their eviction notices. Yoshi says the group needs to be a strong voice for the evicted. "This is outrageous," he says.
Meanwhile, the affected people living at the apartments are dumfounded. "They don't have a heart," then-resident Lily Thorton says.
Angry residents attend a meeting given by the owners of the apartments.
"How long have you been in the practice of destroying communities, creating homeless and turning children's lives upside down?" asks one woman, angrily. "Is this a pattern you're familiar with, and have you no emotional response to it?"
The residents guffaw in mockery when the apartment owners offer a moving stipend of just more than $700.
When Reggie James, the young coordinator for an after-school program, attempts to lead a camera person inside the apartments, he's stopped by what appears to be private security guards.
Later, he's seen inside his apartment, picking up the last of his belongings and reminiscing about where he and his friends used to hang out.
"It's a bitter-ass day," says the 14-year resident matter-of-factly . "I mean, Bush got re-elected. ... I gotta get the heck out of here."
Weimberg, an Emmy-award winning documentary film producer from Berkeley, said he believed no other film has captured Alameda life in quite the same way.
Weimberg originally produced a documentary looking at the overall Koshland program, which provides grants for strengthening individual neighborhoods around the Bay Area. After that, it was decided that a documentary focusing on one neighborhood should be done and Alameda's West End was chosen.
Five years later, residents at the Harbor Island apartments are out, and the apartments have been renovated and given a new name: Summer House.
The film notes that the West End and Alameda are on the cusp of even bigger change.
"Alameda is in a state of transition," Tam notes.
The film ends a hopeful but unresolved note. The Koshland committee discusses the possibility of collaborating with the Alameda Unified School District for future programs serving children .
Harmony Karp, the coordinator for the Koshland grant, said details are still being worked on those programs but that more information would be provided at the film screening planned at the College of Alameda on March 1.
IF YOU GO
The film "Civic Unity: Five Years in the West End of Alameda" will be screened 4 to 6 p.m., March 1, at the College of Alameda, F Building, student lounge, 555 Atlantic Ave. The film will be followed by a discussion with filmmakers Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan as well as residents spotlighted in the film. For more information, call 415-733-8558.
Alameda Journal
February 22, 2008
By Alan Lopez
About 30 minutes into the new documentary: "Civic Unity: Five Years in the West End of Alameda" the focus turns to the new Bayport Housing development, where homes now sell for upwards of $800,000. It's 2004, the homes are being constructed and Laurie Fry, principal at Chipman Middle School, explains that the area is seeing new forces of gentrification.
From there, the 73-minute film documents the mass eviction of more than 400 residents at the nearby Harbor Island Apartments, a process that began July 22 of that year.
When filmmaker Gary Weimberg and his wife Catherine Ryan began the film project, it wasn't exactly what they had expected. They were hired to produce a film in 2002 about the Koshland Civic Unity Program of the San Francisco Foundation.
The filmmakers document the results of the five-year, $300,000 grant overseen by a hand-picked resident-based committee. The committee includes the Rev. Michael Yoshi, Buena Vista United Methodist Church pastor, community activist Vickie Smith, management consultant and volunteer Phil Holt, student and mother Tamara Centeno, and school principal Niel Tam.
The film offers short, compelling biographies of several of the participants, as well as numerous scenes of familiar West End life, from bicycle riders at Alameda Point, to residents picking up bags of groceries at the Alameda Food Bank. And it shows the process - the meetings, the friendships born and nurtured - the committee went through to allocate "mini grants" to local organizations in the name of strengthening community ties and communication.
But the committee changes its focus when the Harbor Island residents receive their eviction notices. Yoshi says the group needs to be a strong voice for the evicted. "This is outrageous," he says.
Meanwhile, the affected people living at the apartments are dumfounded. "They don't have a heart," then-resident Lily Thorton says.
Angry residents attend a meeting given by the owners of the apartments.
"How long have you been in the practice of destroying communities, creating homeless and turning children's lives upside down?" asks one woman, angrily. "Is this a pattern you're familiar with, and have you no emotional response to it?"
The residents guffaw in mockery when the apartment owners offer a moving stipend of just more than $700.
When Reggie James, the young coordinator for an after-school program, attempts to lead a camera person inside the apartments, he's stopped by what appears to be private security guards.
Later, he's seen inside his apartment, picking up the last of his belongings and reminiscing about where he and his friends used to hang out.
"It's a bitter-ass day," says the 14-year resident matter-of-factly . "I mean, Bush got re-elected. ... I gotta get the heck out of here."
Civic Unity: Five Years in the West End of Alamda, excerpt 1 "The Battle of Harbor Island" from Luna Productions on Vimeo.
Weimberg, an Emmy-award winning documentary film producer from Berkeley, said he believed no other film has captured Alameda life in quite the same way.
Weimberg originally produced a documentary looking at the overall Koshland program, which provides grants for strengthening individual neighborhoods around the Bay Area. After that, it was decided that a documentary focusing on one neighborhood should be done and Alameda's West End was chosen.
Five years later, residents at the Harbor Island apartments are out, and the apartments have been renovated and given a new name: Summer House.
The film notes that the West End and Alameda are on the cusp of even bigger change.
"Alameda is in a state of transition," Tam notes.
The film ends a hopeful but unresolved note. The Koshland committee discusses the possibility of collaborating with the Alameda Unified School District for future programs serving children .
Harmony Karp, the coordinator for the Koshland grant, said details are still being worked on those programs but that more information would be provided at the film screening planned at the College of Alameda on March 1.
IF YOU GO
The film "Civic Unity: Five Years in the West End of Alameda" will be screened 4 to 6 p.m., March 1, at the College of Alameda, F Building, student lounge, 555 Atlantic Ave. The film will be followed by a discussion with filmmakers Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan as well as residents spotlighted in the film. For more information, call 415-733-8558.
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