Around 90 people lined up at a May 5 Berkeley City Council meeting to discuss community benefits. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel The Berkeley City Council took its first steps Tuesday to prioritize which community benefits it will require from developers, and affordable housing and local union jobs were the top priorities. Council members said other priorities […]
Downtown Berkeley Association
Posted inCommunity
Faith groups to sleep on street to support city’s homeless
A coalition of faith communities will gather on Thursday April 9 at 5 p.m. at Downtown Berkeley BART plaza to demonstrate their support for the city’s homeless population. Some plan to sleep on the plaza overnight. Photo: Emilie Raguso A coalition of faith communities will gather on Thursday April 9 at 5 p.m. at Downtown Berkeley BART plaza to demonstrate their support […]
Posted inCrime
Case dismissed against 2 homeless men after review of Berkeley beating video
Image: Bryan Hamilton The Alameda County district attorney’s office has dismissed the case against two men who pleaded guilty to battery charges last week. The decision came after authorities reviewed a video that showed an interaction, between the men and two Downtown Berkeley Association workers, that began as a verbal altercation and took a violent turn. In the video […]
Posted inCommunity
Activists, homeless demand end to campaign of ‘brutality’
Activists angered by a video that caught a downtown ambassador assaulting a homeless man hold a rally March 27 to protest the violence and proposed new laws regulating homeless behavior. Photo: Ted Friedman One day after a video that showed a Downtown Berkeley Association ambassador assaulting a homeless man went viral, a group of activists held […]
Posted inCrime
2 men take plea deals after 1 is beaten on video
Image: Bryan Hamilton Update, April 1: The Alameda County district attorney’s office has revisited the case, dropped the charges against both men, and had a judge declare them factually innocent. See the update. Original story, March 27: Two homeless men shown on video in a heated interaction that turned violent, when a Downtown Berkeley Association staffer appeared to punch […]
Posted inCrime
Video: Downtown Berkeley worker assaults homeless man
Image: Bryan Hamilton A Downtown Berkeley Association ambassador assaulted a homeless man Thursday evening behind CVS in what appears to be a violent incident that was captured on video. That homeless man and an associate were arrested by the Berkeley Police Department before the video came to light. After reviewing the video this week, police asked the district […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley council votes to curb impacts of homelessness
Advocates for the homeless asked the city to consider new services, rather than new laws, for the homeless during a march and rally Tuesday night. Photo: Ted Friedman The Berkeley City Council voted Tuesday night to direct staff to flesh out and clarify laws designed to clean up downtown by addressing problematic behavior linked to the city’s homeless […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley to grapple again with homeless on sidewalks
On most days, homeless youth can be found on the sidewalk on Shattuck Avenue in front of the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas. The City Council will consider a new set of laws affecting the homeless on Tuesday night. Photo: Tracey Taylor A proposal coming before the Berkeley City Council on Tuesday to examine new laws for the […]
Posted inNosh
CupidCon bar crawl hits Berkeley on Valentine’s Day
Downtown Berkeley will host a new bar crawl called CupidCon on Saturday afternoon for Valentine’s Day.
Posted inCommunity, Crime & Safety, Nature
Two boar heads found in separate locations in Berkeley
A boar’s head was discovered around 11 a.m. Monday at the intersection of Adeline and Emerson. Photo: Anna Abramson A boar’s head was discovered around 11 a.m. Monday at the intersection of Adeline and Emerson. Photo: Anna Abramson Berkeley residents reported finding two boars’ heads and skin pelts in two separate locations Monday morning. The boar-skin […]
Posted inBusiness
After Berkeley protests: Local merchants react to damage, looting at their businesses
McDonald’s in Berkeley was one of the many businesses damaged during recent protests in the city. Photo: Kim Aronson McDonald’s in Berkeley was one of the many businesses damaged during recent protests in the city. Photo: Kim Aronson Berkeley’s major commercial districts are awash with plywood — some of it covers broken glass, some has been erected […]
Posted inHousing & Development
New hotel project is a go again after defeat of Measure R
With the defeat of Measure R, the plan for a downtown Berkeley hotel at Shattuck and Center is back on track. Image: JRDV Urban International Now that Measure R, the initiative that aimed to impose stricter standards on tall buildings, has been defeated, the project to build a hotel downtown is back on track. Developer […]
