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

Suren Moodliar suren at fairjobs.org
Sun Dec 11 21:50:00 EST 2011


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
>
>
>
>
>
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