[Street] [Facilitation] [MovementOB] what to discuss at GA tonight

Gregory Murphy gsjmurphy at gmail.com
Tue Dec 13 01:08:16 EST 2011


We have a donor interested in funding a central location . . . please refer
me to any real estate agents, developers, landlords you know of . . .

Gregory Murphy
617.413.6472



On Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 9:50 PM, Suren Moodliar <suren at fairjobs.org> wrote:

> Just a short note on #Occupy and the rental issue from perspective of
> running e5. But first: there is no way e5 can accommodate the GAs; if it
> could, the GAs would be too small! That said, we are glad to host this or
> that working group on an ad hoc basis or some more structured way. None of
> this addresses the more fundamental question posed by Alex.
>
> I think that a central space (defined by easy access to multiple transport
> nodes (e.g. Downtown Crossing area) where the city itself comes together
> would be ideal and provide the convergence area that Dewey was. A place
> like SEIU 615 would be ideal in terms of size and location. OB probably
> needs about 10,000 square feet to accommodate GA's and other activities (by
> comparison e5's entire floor is 6,000 square feet). The challenges here are
> huge if one goes the traditional route of renting or leasing a space. These
> only grow if one actually finds the space; it will still be subject to the
> City of Boston's regulatory regime from occupancy limits, fire inspection,
> etc. This could result in the same repression that Dewey experienced,
> except now you'd have to pay rent AFTER they close the space! It may
> therefore be better to consider other models of acquiring space and holding
> these for temporary periods while using a range of progressive spaces (like
> e5, Community Church of Boston, the Design Studio for Social Innovation,
> JP's Spontaneous Celebrations, different union halls, progressive downtown
> churches, etc.) as back up and ancillary to a large temporary space,
> especially one that is contested and keeps the radical critique of property
> that the occupation movement implies.
>
> Having many different downtown and other locations encourages occupiers to
> get to know and "own" their city while taking advantage of different
> strengths. More importantly, the serendipitous connections that will result
> may be just the things the movement needs. It also keeps OB in the business
> of social change work and direct action and less in the social service and
> admin work that running a large indoor site entails. As someone involved in
> running e5 since its inception, I cannot over-emphasize how important it is
> to concentrate of the former and not get bogged down in the latter (for
> those of you who've seen how e5 struggles [and often fails] to keep up its
> bathrooms, you know what I mean!).
>
> The most difficult thing about renting a space is keeping up the payments
> as the movement experiences the inevitable cycles of boom and bust! This
> can be cause for much pain - I feel this everytime I visit e5's landlords
>  and they're the good guys!
>
> If folks need a sounding board or just get feedback on what is involved
> (from liability to financing to maintenance) with running a space myself
> and other members of the e5 collective would be more than happy to share
> our experiences).
>
> Suren
>
> Suren Moodliar
> Coordinator, Mass. Global Action
> 33 Harrison Ave, 5th floor, Boston, MA 02111
> (w) 617-482-6300 (f) 888-400-1225 (m) 617-968-0880
>
> http://www.MassGlobalAction.org http://www.encuentro5.org
> http://www.ColorOfWater.org
> http://www,MajorityAgendaProject.org
>
> e-mail: suren at fairjobs.or
>
> On Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 7:27 PM, Marilyn Frankenstein <
> marilyn.frankenstein at umb.edu> wrote:
>
>>  Not sure about that part—you should check with them—but they do have a
>> fairly reasonably size space—not necessarily available for three nights a
>> week—just worth checking (and maybe renting for the office space and
>> workign group meetings and maybe seiu or some other space can have the GA’s
>>
>>
>>
>> On 12/11/11 6:39 PM, "Allison Nevitt" <asnevitt at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Can E5 really accommodate GAs? What's the greatest number of people they
>> can host at one time?
>>
>>
>>  - Allison
>> Una at DailyKos <http://www.dailykos.com/user/UnaSpenser><http://www.dailykos.com/user/UnaSpenser>
>> <http://bostonlyme.blogspot.com/> <http://bostonlyme.blogspot.com/>
>>
>>  <http://kossacksnetworking.ning.com><http://kossacksnetworking.ning.com>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 4:08 PM, Marilyn Frankenstein <
>> marilyn.frankenstein at umb.edu> wrote:
>>
>> Just a point of info
>>
>> E5 rents out space--E5 needs the money (although I'm not sure if there is
>> space available now--)
>>
>> And E5 has the advantage of close proximity to many different community
>> groups also renting space and fighting the !5
>>
>>
>> On 12/10/11 3:49 PM, "Alex Pearlman" <alex at occupyboston.org> wrote:
>>
>> > I think the most important thing to discuss tonight is taking steps to
>> > secure a space to rebuild our central nervous system - meaning
>> > probably indoors, where there's GA space and room for the working
>> > groups to meet and get re-organized as we take the next steps in our
>> > movement.
>> >
>> > We cannot continue to intrude on E5 as a back-up. We need our own
>> > space, and I don't see renting one as contrary to our goals or our
>> > message. Afterall, few landlords are the 1%, and renting private space
>> > and allowing it to be transparent and public is pretty close to the
>> > message.
>> >
>> > See you tonight.
>> >
>> > Alex
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Facilitation mailing list
>
> Post: Facilitation at lists.occupyboston.org
> List info: https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/facilitation
>
> To Unsubscribe
>        Send email to:  Facilitation-unsubscribe at lists.occupyboston.org
>        Or visit:
> https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/options/facilitation/gsjmurphy%40gmail.com
>
> You are subscribed as: gsjmurphy at gmail.com
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/private/street/attachments/20111213/328d0638/attachment.htm>


More information about the Street mailing list