Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutNA- Section 14From:Jeffrey Bernstein To:City Clerk Subject:Fwd: I SUPPORT THE SECTION 14 SURVIVOR"SSETTLEMENT OFFER! Date:Thursday, September 12, 2024 8:07:00 AM Thank you, Jeffrey Jeffrey Bernstein Mayor City of Palm Springs 442-305-9942 Jeffrey.Bernstein@palmspringsca.gov Begin forwarded message: From: Tomeeka Grizzell <Tomeeka.Grizzell@ctcprograms.com> Date: September 12, 2024 at 8:05:59 AM PDT To: Jeffrey Bernstein <Jeffrey.Bernstein@palmspringsca.gov> Subject: I SUPPORT THE SECTION 14 SURVIVOR'SSETTLEMENT OFFER!  NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Dear Mayor Bernstein, I read about the Section 14 Survivors’ proposed settlement offer and I’m writing to express my strong support for the city to accept their proposal and finally close this chapter of our history. It is time for us all to move in healing and unity, and their offer is beyond fair and reasonable considering the magnitude of atrocities that occurred and the lifetime of trauma that the Survivors have endured. Please vote YES on this proposed settlement. Sincerely, 09/12/2024 Public Comment Non-Agenda Tomeeka Grizzell 09/12/2024 Public Comment Non-Agenda Letter to Mayor Bernstein To: Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein cc.Members of the Palm Springs City Council, City Manager, City Attorney From: Norm King on behalf of Friends of Frank Bogert Date: September 9, 2024 Subject: Washington Post Article about Palm Springs https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/09/01/palm-springs-black- neighborhood-section-14-reparations/ Mayor Bernstein I have read the article published in the Washington Post in which you are quoted. Though the article is an improvement over most other such articles, the author left out critical information – such as there was no mention that the City did not issue the eviction notices; that the City Council did not adopt the 2021 the Human Rights Commission “Monument” Report (HRC report) which falsely condemns Frank Bogert; that the city was reimbursed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the cost of demolishing 145 structures. That aside I was both concerned and pleased with the statement attributed to you: “Bernstein said city officials had uncovered documentation in recent years showing that Section 14 families were given eviction notices and time to vacate the area.” With all due respect that you were not on the City Council when the city adopted the Section 14 apology resolution and the resolution removing the statue of Frank Bogert your quote implies that “new” information has caused the city to reevaluate its positon on Section 14 reparations. This was not “new” information. At that time, Friends of Frank Bogert, presented the City Council with fully documented evidence of the false information contained in the HRC report. The “documentation” about eviction notices and time to vacate uncovered “in recent years” was not new information. The boxes discovered at city hall revealed no information that we had not already documented and provided the city council. 09/12/2024 Public Comment Non-Agenda The trauma which the city continues to suffer and the money the city has spent could have been avoided if the City Council had not dismissed our documentation in 2021. The information we provided to the Council that the vacated homes which were demolished in 1965-66 after proper eviction notifications demonstrated that the Mayor Bogert and the City did not commit racist or illegal actions as alleged in the HRC report. The boxes discovered at city hall provided further evidence of such but no “new” information. On the other hand I was pleased with your recognition that a proper eviction process was followed and by implication that such recognition exonerates Frank Bogert (and the City) of the false charges about their actions relating to Section 14. As I have previously written, Friends of Frank Bogert is also pleased that the City has slowly come around to accepting the facts about the City’s and Frank Bogert’s role in Section 14 which we provided the City in 2021. However, the City still has a way to go. Of particular importance is that the Council should once and for all denounce the HRC report and remove it from the City’s website. The false statements in this document are constantly cited as proof of how bad the City and Frank Bogert were in the 1960s. It is the reason the reputation of the City of Palms Springs has been maligned in the nation’s press over the past few years. It is clear from the recent actions of the City that the Council doubts the veracity of the Monument report. It is time to unequivocally renounce this document and begin to restore our city’s reputation. Thank you for your consideration of these comments. Norm King Palm Springs 09/12/2024 Public Comment Non-Agenda