February 14, 2024
The Struggle to Save Berkeley’s People’s Park
By Finn Cooley
After a police raid in early January, razor wire was erected and homeless residents removed. “This is, unfortunately, something that’s not unique to Berkeley.”
(David Paul Morris / Getty)
Around midnight on January 4, police commenced a military-like operation while much of UC Berkeley’s student body was off campus for the winter break. “Cops!” shouted out a few bystanders—tucked in tents and treehouses—who were tipped off about the move to close off what remains of the landmark People’s Park, minutes away from its university landlord.
Dozens of police had surrounded Luca, 22, and a few other community organizers, who were protesting and locked in the park’s mock kitchen, with hygiene products, cooking supplies, and propane tanks inside with them.
The dismantling of the structure began. A chainsaw was brought out and sparks flew. Smoke filled the area. Luca and their friends shouted to the figures decked out in riot gear with weapons ready to be drawn, hoping to warn them of the hazard the tanks posed—to no avail. Watching was Lisa Teague, a harm reduction advocate at the park. They begged officers to have the fire department “on standby.” The kitchen—tattered with graffiti, rainbows, and ink blots, with the Palestinian flag in a corner—began to see its last days.
