A San Francisco appeals board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to allow repair for a chain-link fence around the disputed Parcel 36 in the Mission District, dealing a blow to the gardeners who are attempting to convert the site into a greenspace.
Monkeybrains, a local internet service provider with a warehouse abutting the parcel, will be allowed to keep its permit to repair the fence, which has been repeatedly vandalized, according to the permit holder’s attorney, Josh Ridless.
Monkeybrains uses the lot for loading and unloading into its warehouse, as well as parking. It has, at various times, repaired the fence around the lot to keep out the public, including members of Mission Greenway, a guerrilla gardening group that argues the land is unclaimed and has installed planters on the lot.
Members of the group have attempted to maintain access to those planters, sometimes by cutting through locks and the fence itself.
Parcel 36, a forgotten piece of railroad that sits between 22nd and 23rd streets and Treat and Harrison streets, has long had its ownership contested among different neighborhood groups. Last year, the dispute led to a physical altercation between the gardeners and a Monkeybrains’ co-founder.
“The appeal was denied because it had no merit to begin, with and was just another desperate attempt to drive Monkeybrains from the community,” said Joe Arellano, a spokesperson for Monkeybrains. Arellano said that Monkeybrains followed the proper protocols to secure partial ownership and the permits for the fence in question. The repair permit is separate from the permit that allows the fence to be there in the first place.
Jay Martin, a Mission Greenway member, submitted the appeal on the basis that Monkeybrains’ ownership of Parcel 36 is unclear and lacks evidence.
Martin’s testimony involved an overview of his research, aiming to trace back the quitclaims Monkeybrains has to the site, two of which (out of six total) were not validated by the Assessor’s Office; it is not clear why those two were not ruled upon. “It’s puzzling,” Martin said.
But it was not puzzling to the appeals board, which quickly came to a unanimous decision.
Over the spring and summer of last year, Monkeybrains, through its affiliate, 17th and Peralta LLC, had gathered more of a stake in Parcel 36’s ownership. The company’s owners, Rudy Rucker and Alex Menendez, persuaded half a dozen stakeholders in the parcel to hand over their shares. Each stakeholder held a small percentage.
These piecemeal handovers were done via quitclaim, a legal tool that — unlike grant deeds — does not guarantee that the person handing over the land is the owner of that land.
Martin is a member of Mission Greenway. It is unclear whether the group is still formally a nonprofit, but its associates continue to meet and organize together.
“It’s more a movement than an organization,” said Martin. “It’s an informal group of community members who are trying to establish a park or a green space,” added Andy Gillis, another Mission Greenway member, who testified in support of Martin at Wednesday’s hearing.
Several members of the public testified in support of Martin’s appeal, too, citing the importance of green space and gardening in the community. Kevin Ortiz, president of the Latinx Democratic Club, testified for Monkeybrains, however.
The dispute over the lot’s ownership predates Monkeybrains, which was founded in 1998 and moved to a warehouse adjacent to the lot early last year. And, for their part, Mission Greenway members are not allowing the ruling to stop their vision of a park on-site.
“We definitely are not relinquishing our vision of a park or a green space,” said Gillis.
Good for Monkeybrains. As much as I appreciate urban gardens, these Mission Greenway folks are way out of line.
Put cameras out and if they vandalize the fence again, have them arrested.
The idea of a Rudy Rucker owned company bedeviled by a Rucker-like protagonist is just too damn good.
”It is unclear whether the group is still formally a nonprofit, but its associates continue to organize and meet together.“
Friends of The Mission Greenway is still a 501(c)(3) non-profit (EIN 92-1157795). That may be a different group to those meeting, but it definitely still exists.
Free Parcel 36! Stop the greenocide!
Stop the puns.
It’s a bit difficult to take someone seriously when they equate themselves to the brains of a monkey.
Glad this is settled and I hope this is a teaching moment for people who don’t understand the system.
Monkeybrains needs to sue these individuals and the nonprofit, if it exists, to recover legal costs.
Kelly,
Can y’all direct some attention to the fence around the Armory ?
The walls are 5 feet thick and they don’t need a fence next to it.
Manny’s has lent me a crew to clean around it Sundays but it is an eyesore.
Worst in Mission which is your beat ?