"I just think it's bullshit what they're doing," one attendee, Erin Poland, told Streetsblog about the NYPD push, which, she said, is "not actually protecting cyclists [but] putting them in more danger and in more harm."
"Fencing off huge sections of the park and renting them out for weeks at a time, generating huge profits for private equity firms, undermines the very purpose of the park as a public space."
"As a single mother working one, sometimes two jobs and receiving child support, I've applied for low-income housing and government aid, but I don't qualify. Families like mine rely on communities like Acacia Cliffs to survive and thrive..."
"While I do not know why the mural was vandalized -- because the markings were random and unspecific -- it likely had something to do with the closure of the Great Highway, a divisive issue," Fromm said in an interview with KGO.
The alleged misuse of millions meant for a $24-million aquatic center has prompted a corruption probe, leading to the recall of three council members in Huntington Park.
Alicia Perez, a childminder with two children at Highbury Quadrant, warned of the disruption to families' lives. "Our school is closing down without notice, and it's the only secular school in the area, and they are not considering their children's wellbeing so they just want us to pack up and go." Perez emphasized the potential hardships families face due to the school's closure and voiced her concerns about inadequate planning by the authorities.
"I proudly call myself a hooker with a 401K," said consultant and sex worker Victoria Von Blaque, who urged the cops and the city to "stop trying to play Captain Save a Hoe. I went out and got a job, I had the education... but a lot of us are forced back to the streets."
