A Tale of Two Cities

On the inner wall of the pedestal, on which the Statue of Liberty (whose name is actually Mother of Exiles) stands, a plaque tells of her lips, silently crying the words:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me"

Does the so-called "Water Goddess" look like the Statue of Liberty to you?...

Perhaps, Albany's task of finding housing for many/most of its own homeless residents (before October) wouldn't seem so insurmountable, if someone were to remind the City of Berkeley's Police Department that the Albany Bulb is NOT Ellis Island. And, that Berkeley should not feel as though they can shirk their responsibilities off on neighboring Albany.
This is especially unfair for other jurisdictions to do to a town that is as poorly equipped as Albany is, to cope with (let alone, provide services/housing for) its own homeless citizens, as is.

In 1999, when the City first evicted its homeless residents, there was roughly 50 people living at the Landfill, most of whom lived out on the Plateau.

By the end of 2006, the population had bounced back, from 0, to 15. And, by the end of 2010, there was around 35-40 people out here.

Despite the numbers that have been "fed" to various reporters over the years, the number of people living on the Bulb has steadily increased (at varying rates) since 2000.

By the end of May, of this year (2013), there was just about 50 people.

Since then, we have gained another 20+ people who are insisting on claiming the Albany Bulb as their place of residence.

Last week, a couple showed up on the Bulb, and proceeded to set up camp, right in the main intersection of trails out here! When asked, what motivated them to move out to the Albany Bulb, their answer was "Berkeley Police told us we could stay out here."

Then:
Today (August 6th, 2013), as I walked my bike down one of the trails on the Bulb, I saw a young man that I'd never seen before, standing outside of someone's camp. I asked him if he was a friend of the man who lives there, and he said "No".
Then, he told me that he was looking for somewhere to camp. I told him that the political situation around here is pretty hairy, right now. He didn't seem to understand.
This kid was so clean, I doubt if it had even been three days, since the last time he slept in a *real* bed!
But, with his yoga mat and super-clean backpack, and with the current Bulb residents being forbidden to stop new people (who, likely, have no clue the level of responsibility and stewardship that, ideally, comes with living on the Bulb) from setting up new camps on the Landfill... the new "bumpkin" is likely here to stay.

It would be advisable for the City of Albany to request (formally, perhaps) that the City of Berkeley PLEASE, STOP sending homeless Berkeley residents, to live in Albany, on the Bulb. Not just for the sake of the current Bulb residents, and the Police who patrol here...
But, for park visitors, as well.

Because, as word gets out, that "nobody gets kicked out of the Albany Bulb", it is almost certainly destined to become a densely-populated destination for the dregs of society.

The "Water Goddess" statue, rather than holding aloft a torch, looks more like she is holding her hands to the sky, crying: "Where do they *find* these people? And why do they send them to *me*?!?!?!"
Those are questions that quite a few of her long-time Bulb-dwelling neighbors have been wondering, ourselves.
Maybe, somebody associated with the City of Albany government could ask Berkeley's finest those same questions.