Note: The online Request to Speak window has expired.
The online Comment window has expired
Agenda Item
S5.12 25-0785 Subject: The East Bay Recreation And Culture Club, Inc. Lease Agreement
From: Councilmember Ramachandran
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Requesting The City Administrator To Negotiate Terms Of A Lease Agreement With The East Bay Recreation & Culture Club, Inc., A Nonprofit Organization, To Rehabilitate, Operate, And Maintain The Former Montclair Firehouse And Surrounding Grounds Located At 6226 Moraga Avenue (Assessor Parcel Numbers 48F-7361-12 And 48F-7361-11) For Use As A Community Arts Center For A Term Not To Exceed Fifteen (15) Years, And If Successful, Will Return To City Council With A Proposed Ordinance Containing Proposed Lease Terms And Appropriate California Environmental Quality Act Findings
ARTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT!
As a native and current resident of District 6 Oakland, award-winning podcast Producer and Host, annual Katherine Dunham Dance stage Host of the Malcolm X Jazz Fest, member of the HISTORIC Allen Temple Baptist Church (Oakland HQ of the Black Panthers), Performing artist in Oakland for 20+ years, former Dance Instructor at the East Oakland Sports Center, former youth arts development staff at Montclair & Cleveland Elementary Schools, volunteer for Faith in Action/Oakland Community Organization (that has been a driving force for systemic change, racial justice, & economic equity in Oakland since 1972), Promotions Associate for the Grown Women Dance Collective who has been producing an annual Juneteenth performance & backstage experience for 200+ youth and 1,000+ audience members for FREE for 16 YEARS, and Production Chair of the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards that recognizes and awards dance artists and support service workers in the SF bay Area for outstanding achievements in performance, lighting, costume design, social justice and more!
As a clear advocate for and recipient of the arts in Oakland, I can attest to the fact that arts spaces in Oakland are essential to the health, safety and economic development of our City! Please reinstate the Cultural Affairs Manager position to support the oversight and funding for arts in our city and allocate funds for grants for Oakland-based artists and arts organizations.
Please approve the lease to convert the Montclair abandoned firehouse to an arts center, at no cost to the city!
I live in Montclair, and was thrilled to learn of the Lehkinds' proposal to convert the derelict, abandoned, but potentially charming firehouse on Moraga to an arts center. Their previous such project in Piedmont was a great success, converting a drab abandoned church building into a sparkling and busy arts center, where over the years I have attended many recitals, plays, and art exhibits offered by local artists, professional and amateur.
Also, as a patron and supporter of two local performing groups (a regional opera company, recently migrated from Berkeley to Oakland and a small modern dance company) I am aware, too, of these groups' difficulty in finding affordable venues of suitable size for events like chamber music and dance performances, artist exhibits, recitals, and fundraising galas. We need more support for the arts in Oakland, and this is a terrific opportunity, thanks to the Lehrkind's energy and commitment, to create one at no expense to our City! thank you - Sylvia Ahern Twomey, Thornhill Drive
As the Artistic Director of an Oakland based dance company I support this project. There is an alarming paucity of performance-worthy spaces in Oakland at this moment. Now is the time to support the East Bay Recreation and Culture Club in its mission to develop a new accessible and beautiful performance space for local groups to show their work to the public: the entire city will benefit!
ARTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT!
As a native and current resident of District 6 Oakland, award-winning podcast Producer and Host, annual Katherine Dunham Dance stage Host of the Malcolm X Jazz Fest, member of the HISTORIC Allen Temple Baptist Church (Oakland HQ of the Black Panthers), Performing artist in Oakland for 20+ years, former Dance Instructor at the East Oakland Sports Center, former youth arts development staff at Montclair & Cleveland Elementary Schools, volunteer for Faith in Action/Oakland Community Organization (that has been a driving force for systemic change, racial justice, & economic equity in Oakland since 1972), Promotions Associate for the Grown Women Dance Collective who has been producing an annual Juneteenth performance & backstage experience for 200+ youth and 1,000+ audience members for FREE for 16 YEARS, and Production Chair of the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards that recognizes and awards dance artists and support service workers in the SF bay Area for outstanding achievements in performance, lighting, costume design, social justice and more!
As a clear advocate for and recipient of the arts in Oakland, I can attest to the fact that arts spaces in Oakland are essential to the health, safety and economic development of our City! Please reinstate the Cultural Affairs Manager position to support the oversight and funding for arts in our city and allocate funds for grants for Oakland-based artists and arts organizations.
Please approve the lease to convert the Montclair abandoned firehouse to an arts center, at no cost to the city!
I live in Montclair, and was thrilled to learn of the Lehkinds' proposal to convert the derelict, abandoned, but potentially charming firehouse on Moraga to an arts center. Their previous such project in Piedmont was a great success, converting a drab abandoned church building into a sparkling and busy arts center, where over the years I have attended many recitals, plays, and art exhibits offered by local artists, professional and amateur.
Also, as a patron and supporter of two local performing groups (a regional opera company, recently migrated from Berkeley to Oakland and a small modern dance company) I am aware, too, of these groups' difficulty in finding affordable venues of suitable size for events like chamber music and dance performances, artist exhibits, recitals, and fundraising galas. We need more support for the arts in Oakland, and this is a terrific opportunity, thanks to the Lehrkind's energy and commitment, to create one at no expense to our City! thank you - Sylvia Ahern Twomey, Thornhill Drive
As the Artistic Director of an Oakland based dance company I support this project. There is an alarming paucity of performance-worthy spaces in Oakland at this moment. Now is the time to support the East Bay Recreation and Culture Club in its mission to develop a new accessible and beautiful performance space for local groups to show their work to the public: the entire city will benefit!