Where’d everybody go? In an email titled “Monday morning, 7 a.m., Dolores Park,” reader Rebecca K. writes, “Seriously, people?”
Seriously, who does this? Who?
Click to enlarge.
Allan Hough (7858)
Brittany Janis & Katie Cruz (104)
Authors
Where’d everybody go? In an email titled “Monday morning, 7 a.m., Dolores Park,” reader Rebecca K. writes, “Seriously, people?”
Seriously, who does this? Who?
Click to enlarge.
Allan Hough (7858)Brittany Janis & Katie Cruz (104)
assholes do that…
Litterers need a kick in the crotch
Its the same people that don’t want American Apparel in the Mission. Hunky Jesus has turned into “Jesus Junky.”
While I was pleased to see porta potties, addtional trash cans, and dumpsters, I have to say the sheer number of people at DP is out of hand. It is a NEIGHBORHOOD park people, not SHORELINE ampitheater, or the Polo fields at GGP. At some point the CITY needs to get some cajones and either manage the events at the park OR disallow events.
As much as I am nostalgic, DP is not Woodstock.
Who drinks Bud Light Lime? I have no fucking idea.
“Its the same people that don’t want American Apparel in the Mission.”
that’s real nice.
I doubt if its people who live in the neighborhood.
Those of us who live right across the street from this deal with it every weekend. It’s too much… I asked a few people to clean up the mess they were leaving 2 weekends ago and I got a “fuck you, you clean it up”. This section of the park is the only part that gets trashed, so, yes it is the hipster douches. PBR and burrito wrappers…
That is bullshit. No one who lives around here wants trash in the park and littering has nothing to do with wanting a neighborhood that’s free of AA.
None of us like this any more than you do.
Obviously, and sadly, not everyone embraces the Leave No Trace ethic.
Sisters were there at 8pm Sunday night to scour the grounds post-event, but police estimated more than 3500 people were still hanging out in the park, and suggested it would be best if we come back the next morning to do cleanup.
So the next morning by 9am, nearly 30 of us were out there picking up trash.
It was interesting to me to note:
A smoker will make a tidy pile of their cig butts next to their blanket all day, then leave that pile on the ground when they leave the park.
There was an amazing array of bottle caps from beer. Who in their right mind rips cap off a bottle and tosses it into grass where people play soccer…?
A lot of people must believe that it’s okay to leave jello, lemon rinds, strawberries, and other assorted cocktail garnishes because they’re “biodegradeable” — giving no thought to how gross that might be to step in.
Surprisingly, only one dirty condom found, and 4 or so wrapped condoms. Glad those who had them took them with them!
+++
I know Dolores Park has these kinds of messes every weekend, and there’s no team like us to come along after to clean it up, so I empathize with those of you who live there. Please know that we (the Sisters) definitely DO care enough to clean things up, and Monday morning we managed to leave the park cleaner than it was when we showed up Sunday morning to pick up dog poop before our event
For the record to San Francisco: There were a couple of thousand people in the park right up until dark and we were unable to clean the park Easter Sunday. However we returned Monday April 13th with a team of 30 people who hand picked up all the garage in both sides of the park (Northern and Southern).
Based on the amount and types of trash, we feel confident that the park has never been cleaner. However, now that we are gone it is up to the general public to take care of it.
We want to thank the residents of San Francisco for lettings us continue to throw our anniversary party in the park, and also letting you know that we also follow through and do our clean up even if the people who attended our event did not.
I don’t think folks are frustrated by the event (it was hilarious as always) or the Sisters. It’s great that you helped clean it up, and much appreciated. As a neighbor – THANK YOU!
The frustration stems from the fact that the park gets trashed every sunny day by the very same people who enjoy using it so much… the cig buts, broken glass and bottle caps (that you noted) are mind boggling. As a dog owner (yes, I always pick up the poop), I’m out there every day watching it happen over and over. For a big event like this, there were WAY too few trash and recycle cans available for the volume of people.
Ultimately, the solution has to come from people taking personal responsibility. Some improved messaging – I’ve thought a few “keep it clean signs” and a littering ticket or two might might help… there’s no point in the blame game – insiders or outsiders (um, hipsters or uh, uncool masses?) – it doesn’t matter. People need to feel more compelled to take care of the few public spaces we all share.
@Mike
Nicely said.
I always wondered why people prefer to spend a hot day in a park in the middle of the city when for $1.50 you can take a bus out to the ocean. Why is that?
You so silly! You can’t take your fixed gear bike on the beach, you’ll get sand on the chain!
By 2pm the big piles of crap were gone. But as Mike noted, the park crew does not get all the little stuff, the ciggi butts, the beer caps, candy wraps. There was some raking up by the J stop, but the gardeners can not get it all. We, the park users, need to do a better job.
50 degree water, ugh.
(Then again if the water were warmer, SF would be like LA, so hooray 50 degree water!)
This is what any park in any big city would look like after a big event — only not nearly as bad. People in a park leave trash. Why is this surprising much less a reason for outrage. I’ll say it again, when I moved here 20 years ago, DP was a no go area. Now that it is a kind of center-of-the-universe the NIMBYs want it abandoned. The Castro doesn’t have a park. DP should remain a magnet and the city should act like grown-ups and deal with its use. My friends and I, by the way, took all our stuff away. Believe me, parks in small towns are often never used and still trashed.
I also don’t think anyone is blaming the Sister’s at all… We love your event. I agree that the main issue is the week in and week out abuse by people who just dont give a fuck. There is a facebook group “Keep Dolores Park Clean!” that has a few hundred members who are trying to make a difference…
Why so much snarks? If you are an adult, and you make a mess in a park, clean it up. Simple.
Deano -
No one wants DP abandoned, just respected when used. That’s the grownup thing to do, right? I’m glad DP is better than it was, but is that the only bar we should aspire to? “Ho hum, I stepped in glass again. That’s ok, cause I live in a city and cities have broken bottles in the green space.” I don’t agree w/that perspective.
People in the park don’t have to leave trash… or urinate on the sides of neighboring houses… or repeatedly tag the building (good god, can we get a cool mural or something and be done w/the weekly repaintings???)… or break glass bottles… the question remains – is there a reasonable, respectful way to encourage that behavior?
The NIMBY tag is unfair – Concerts & Movies? Cool. Gathering Place on a Nice Night? Great. Dogs, Kids, Soccer, Protest Marches, Hulahoops… All OK IMBY. Being a d*ck and leaving your shit all over for the neighbors and taxpayers to pick up? Well, not so much.
…and hey, thanks for picking up after yourself! =)
so much love for DP. shame about the trash. what are some solutions?
can we pressure the city to add more permanent garbage cans? in a big bunch in one spot in the park? would that help? get people in more of a habit of using them (because they’re totally full and overflowing by noon on a nice day)? seems like a low cost solution (opposed to more staff).
can we create a “love the mission…don’t litter” PR campaign for the entire hood in english and spanish, like they did in the 70s in NYC (which worked, i believe)? truth is, the whole hood is covered in trash pretty much all the time…moreso than many other hoods in SF. i know “that’s life in the city”, but does it have to be?
how about polling local businesses (like maybe the delicate flowers on valencia) about putting together a “keep the mission clean team” of volunteers, public service scofflaws, outreach folks, etc…to push a broom in the hood, with special attention to the events like this one?
howsabout a special “clean up fee” for anyone wanting to do this kind of event, that’s actually spent on actually cleaning up till it’s actually clean? (no disrespect to the sisters….this is much more than y’all could do).
i agree grown up behaviour is what would solve the problem…but i dont think we could count on it.
Who would do this? Plenty of photos of whodunnit on Flickr.
A good example:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/addadada/3442914818/
To zinzin’s “love the mission”, perhaps the signs should read – “it’s your backyard and your children’s playground” – or how about “leave it better that you found it”
It’s all about respect, and the same people who want the respect to use the park don’t want to respect the park.
oh, yeah. Sisters- you do awesome things, you work hard, and you follow through. Thanks.
Where’s Woodsy the Owl when we need him? He should peck the litter bugs’ eyes out…
The Castro has a street patrol that keeps an eye out for crime, what if DP had a trash patrol? Here’s an idea:
How about the city recruits a handful of young hipster-type people to walk around every hour or so with trash bags for blanket-sitters to deposit trash in? Pay them, I dunno, a $50 honorarium to hang out in the park for the day, give ‘em some cute/retro “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” t-shirts, and all they have to to do is intermittently wander the hillside with a big plastic bag, asking people to deposit their trash. DONE.
As a point of possible interest, the Dept of Rec and Parks will be having a meeting tomorrow night at 7pm:
http://missiondolorespark.com/2009/04/14/meet-your-park-managers/
Maybe a good place to go with concerns and ideas.
hey sisters, thanks for having a signature event, and cleaning up after. It is very appreciated by those that live by DP. Hey littering douchebags and people who let their dogs piss on my front steps, please go trash your own neighborhood.
as a dog owner who frequents DP, i agree with chalkman…there’s a million places for dogs to pee that aren’t peoples’ front steps. that’s just bad manners.
One part of the solution is to say something to those that litter. If you get a jerk that talks smack back to you, so be it. I usually like to say “excuse me, you accidentally left this” and hand them whatever trash they were walking away from. People might pick up their trash if they think they are being watched. For a very cute take on the issue of cigarette butts, visit the website No Butts. These folks take pictures of license plates of the cars that drop butts out of their windows and post them on the web. Public humiliation can work wonders! Also, MattyMatt, I like your hipster trash collectors idea. Perhaps they aren’t even paid but actually VOLUNTEER!
Ha ha ha! Volunteer. Funny.
[...] Mission Mission published a snap of some of the dozens of trash piles that dotted Hipster Hill on Monday and the comments section went off. What Pigs! Something has to be done! Are we in for another summer of back to back Mega events? One park neighbor wrote [...]
People are gonna be assholes either on purpose or because they just don’t know any better or because they’re from the Marina. In the end its gonna fall on the people who care to clean it up, which sucks but is ultimately the deal with common spaces. Without private property rights no one has economic incentive to keep it clean. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of us want that so we’re just gonna have to suck it up and do the best we can. And its not all bad, I mean think of all the opportunities to flex your muscles and environmental chops for the ladies or guys out there that you’re trying to bag. That 12 pack of empty bottles gives you a chance to show that you care, and that you have HUGE guns or a sweet can that just won’t quit. I’d like to think that a nice ass and caring disposition is hot no matter the team for which you bat.
[...] Crappy Easter Where’d everybody go? In an email titled “Monday morning, 7 a.m., Dolores Park,” reader Rebecca K. [...] [...]
Littering is definitely wrong – no argument from me.
On the other hand, if people are leaving trash NEXT to bins that are already overflowing, it sounds like we need more bins.
PS I’m basing that comment on the instructions here: http://doloresparkmovie.org/
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