Blair Beekman. Tuesday, October 10, 2023.....To extend Public Comment, for item 4.1.. SJ city council,
10.17.23. b. beekman <
Fri 10/13/2023 8:30 AM
[External Email]
Dear San Jose city govt, and community,
It was decided at RaOG, October 4, at the S) - that Item 4.1, public comment, at the October 17, 2023, SJ city council meeting, will be limited, to 1 minute. And overall public comment, on the item, will be limited, to 30 mins.
Can I make a suggestion, to continue to allow public comment, for item 4.1, at Open Forum time, at the end, of the city council meeting. for 1 minute. If you are in an especially good mood, the regular 2 mins, of public comment, would be There will probably not be, as many people remaining, to speak on item 4.1, at the end of the meeting. But offering, continued public comment, for item 4.1, at Open Forum time, is an important, goodwill gesture. And, at 1 minute each, for public comment time, their portion of Open Forum, may take only 10-15 mins. Or perhaps, not much longer, than 30- 40 minutes.
The end of a city council meeting & Open Forum, is a time of less pressure. And that city council, should be available to listen, if people will still want their voices heard, on the issue. Much like, how the VTA practices, if open forum time is needed, at both, the beginning & end, of a VTA Board of Directors public meeting.
As there is usually only, a small number of persons, for regular open forum public comment, i hope SJ city govt, can plan for, at least, an additional 30-60 mins total, of Open Forum time, at the end, of the October 17, city council meeting.
And to hear remaining public comment, for item 4.1.
sincerely,
blair beekman
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FW: Update 2023 Fwd:2020 Roosevelt Park Neighborhood and Cinco de Mayo Taber, Toni <[email protected]>
Tue 10/17/2023 2:44 PM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
0, 3 attachments (948 KB)
Screenshot_20231017_075424_Photos~2.jpg; Screenshot_20231017_075438_Photos~2.jpg; Screenshot_20231017_075456_Photos~2.jpg;
4.1 From: Dee Barragan
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2023 9:08 AM
To: Taber, Toni <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Update 2023 Fwd:2020 Roosevelt Park Neighborhood and Cinco de Mayo [External Email]
Please see three photos of May 2020
On Tue, Oct 17, 2023, 9:03 AM
Dear Clerk, Mayor, City Council,
Below are emails addressed to city leaders dated May 2023 and May 2020. With a sole response from Senator Cortese's staff member in 2023.
As the discussion on large crowds moves forward. Please keep in mind neighborhood safety and what occurs when population more than doubles and a quality of life balance is not stored in place. Let's keep our neighborhoods (barrios) safe and respectful.
Dee Barragan
Roosevelt Park
--- Forwarded message ---
From: Dee Barragan
Date: Wed, May 10, 2023, 1:53 PM
Subject: Re: Update 2023 Fwd: Roosevelt Park Neighborhood and Cinco de Mayo To: Senator Cortese <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>,<[email protected]> Thank you for reaching out Zach.
I understand there are many differences on the subject of the Cinco de Mayo weekend and I want to continue to express the importance of enhanced safety protection for all neighborhoods that experience the increase in population.
The key is quality of life balance during a time of year that brings rich culture into our communities. This year was the first where you could feel safety measures at work, while still enjoying a cruise a long East Santa Clara Street.
I read a comment on socal media that indicated the police presence and ramp closures really "terrified" the people driving in the streets. I would like for just a moment to highlight what a resident (who lives) in a effected neighborhood can experience if enhanced safety measures are not in place. It can be as stressful as an illegal firework show in the streets on Fourth of July or New Years Eve when there is no quality of life balance stored in place.
I'm protective about my community and neighborhood and also want to enjoy the pride, tradition, and celebration Cinco de Mayo brings to the community too. I should be able to do both. It is definitely hurtful to intake when the term racist / racism is loosely used and community safety becomes a low priority.
In community and safety,
Dee Barragan
Roosevelt Park Neighborhood (Resident)
On Wed, May 10, 2023, 1:13 PM Senator Cortese <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello Dee,
Thank you for contacting Senator Cortese regarding the way Cinco de Mayo celebrations were handled and prepped for by SJPD and Caltrans among others. I am assisting the Senator with the processing of his email and will pass this message along to him.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office at (408) 558-1295 if you need assistance or have any questions.
Best regards,
Zach Contini
District Representative
Office of Senator Dave Cortese
From: Dee Barragan
Sent: Sunday, May 7, 2023 4:45 PM
To: Assemblymember Kalra <[email protected]>; Senator Cortese <[email protected]>; [email protected];[email protected];[email protected] Cc: Acosta, Mata, Anthony Subject: Update 2023 Fwd: Roosevelt Park Neighborhood and Cinco de Mayo Good afternoon,
It is Sunday afternoon as I write this email. I want to express gratitude to everyone who help create a safe environment not just for our neighborhoods but for everyone cruising as well.
Every year the Cinco de Mayo celebration infuses a sense of pride and tradition into the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood and with this the neighborhood creatively has to advocate for community measures in place to help ensure safety for all as the population can more than quadruple and quality of life balance becomes a number one priority.
This year (May 2023), there as been a dramatic visible change to the dynamics of street traffic along East Santa Clara Street for the Cinco de Mayo celebration.
The change was noticeable and helped create a smoother drive within our streets and also helped calm the noise and smoke pollution that can sometimes occur from sideshows during a popular occasion as such.
On Friday (5/5) night around 11pm, police had NB/SB streets blocked along East Santa Clara and I was able to gain access SB from 26th Street. This year the office at the intersection was polite and made it easy to get home.
On Saturday 5/6, I was able to drive along East Santa Clara Street in the evening. Traffic was smooth EB and WB directions. The intersection at East Santa Clara and 19th Street was calm and access to Weinerschizel was easy to obtain. I was able to speak to the worker at Weinerschizel and he mentioned things this year have been "way better" than last year for the celebration weekend.
The fence at Roosevelt Park
This fence continues to help create a smoother traffic flow and helps prevent sideshow activity at the intersection of 19th and East Santa Clara Street. With the fence gridlock occurs along with dangerous amounts of spectators who flow into the street and create pedestrian and vehicle safety concerns.
Perhaps one day, we can find a successful solution on how to highlight Roosevelt Park without a fence for the Cinco de Mayo celebration. It's definitely worth exploring as our party has such beautiful history.
Caltrans
Thank you to Caltrans who helped with traffic diversions and safety as this helped with quality of life balance for the downtown neighborhoods. This was a great asset to the aid of the community this year.
San Jose Police Department
We appreciate all the work the department has done to coordinate and to make sure we are all safe during celebrations for the Cinco de Mayo weekend. We know and understand every year is unique and can bring new challenges and we are thankful for your presence as we aim for a safe community as well as welcome pride and tradition.
Recap:
Below is my email from May 2020. It is a reminder of what happens when safety measures are not in place to protect community in all aspects.
This is why it takes a deep understanding of how important quality of life balance is for any celebration that may tie into our neighborhoods.
Thank you for taking time to read this email.
Yours in community and safety,
Dee Barragan
Resident of Roosevelt Park Neighborhood
------ Forwarded message-.....
From: Dee Barragan
Date: Thu, May 7, 2020, 3:11 PM
Subject: Roosevelt Park Neighborhood and Cinco de Mayo
Dear City of San Jose Leaders,
The Roosevelt Park Neighborhood in Council District 3 sets a pulse in the community as it's jurisdiction in our city is the gateway into East San Jose as well as the gateway west, into Downtown San Jose. East Santa Clara Street is an artery of the city that sets a pulse for such cruising events that occur ever year in May (Cinco de Mayo) and in September. People from all parts of the Bay Area know that if you want to cruise the streets, you go to San Jose as many years of cruising traditions are rooted in our city. Some of these traditions bring families and friends together with a sense of pride that connects the Low rider way of life along with the Chicano culture and fuses it into our community.
It was clear this year, our neighborhood experienced extremely dangerous and rebellious type of behavior that arose from many who took part in speed exhibitions not just on East Santa Clara Street but through all of our neighborhood residential streets in return, putting all of our neighborhood safety at RISK in every form. From traffic danger, public safety risks, to health concerns, environmental concerns with the smell of burning rubber that polluted our air quality, and illegal dumping that occurred from participants of the cruising events and from spectators. In addition, there were also concerns of illegal fireworks set off by people cruising throughout our neighborhood streets that created acoustic stress. Our quality of life was effected and suffered tremendously this year that is why this letter serves as a reminder to ensure not only the Roosevelt Park Neighborhood but other neighborhoods throughout our city effected have the enhanced protection needed to at least maintain a balanced quality of life when events like these during the year challenge our public / environmental safety. This letter also serves as a recommendation to the Mayor and City Council to allot in the budget the funding that is needed to enable the city to deploy city staff in all departments necessary to ensure public / environmental neighborhood safety is a priority.
Recommendations for neighborhood safety would be as follows:
1. Securing funding for annual fencing off of the exterior boundaries of Roosevelt Park along East Santa Clara Street and other areas needed.
2. Increasing funding for traffic enforcement / public safety staff to assist with needed road blocks and necessary traffic diversions.
3. A recommendation for traffic diversions to begin earlier and be more secure to enhance area safety.
With these recommendations in mind I would like to thank all city staff who kept public safety as a priority.
Thank you for your consideration and time took to read this email.
Sincerely,
Desiree "Dee" Barragan
President
Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association
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