Sidewalks are for People!
In early Fall of 2010 the city of San Francisco put for a measure which would criminalize sitting on lying on the sidewalks of the city between 7am and 11pm. Measure L is strongly supported by city officials of San Francisco: “San Franciscans, while they tend to be very tolerant, are saying that ‘enough is enough’ and we need to clean up the situation on San Francisco sidewalks,” Chamber CEO Steve Falk. The measure allows police to fine people who ignore instructions to stand up to $500 and/or jail time. Critics of Measure L fear that the sit/lie law will be used to arbitrarily harass the poor. In November of 2011 Measure L passed and in early March SFPD began enforcing the sit/lie law.
Activist and guerrilla artist who oppose the sit/lie law have taken to the streets with their protest. In late October, just before the bill passed, a group of artist called the Sit/Lie Posse covered billboards and bus stops with artwork condemning the measure and urging voters to say no to Prop L. Just this week a group of activists installed homemade benches at 10 different locations throughout San Francisco. The do-it-yourself benches serve the purpose of providing the homeless with places to, again, sit and lie, and they stand as political statement against the sit/lie law. The benches came along with these messages: ” “These benches are more than places to sit…they are a visible resistance to the privatization of public space.” “We believe that public space should be for everyone, and right now it is being taken away from those of us who need it most. Those of us whose presence in San Francisco has made our city the radical and creative haven it has been for decades. Those of us who have the least access to private spaces (which continue to get more and more unaffordable) and whose safety nets (like our shrinking public services) are being continuously destroyed.”
Stay up on what’s happening in the city of San Francisco with the sit/lie law because it’s coming to a town near you. Berkeley and New York City have already proposed similar measures!
http://sidewalksareforpeople.org/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-Stands-Against-Sit-Lie/347474333669