[sudo-discuss] The Omni is happening - PLEASE REVIEW & DISCUSS!

[Matthew Senate]

David,

Thanks for your text-wall. I have finished a first-pass and will shortly
begin a second run.

My questions are responded to directly, thanks for that. I wanted to make
just two brief notes:

1. I am not suggesting comprehension, completion, or "t crossing" sorts of
things, I believe in serendipity. My comments focus on the bare minimum to
engage in a process of consensus to engage in contractual agreements and
agreements of association.
2. This FAQ is a good start, I appreciate your answers and that you're
sharing a lot of your personal perspective in these responses. For me, I
ultimately need a dead-simple proposal with the bare-minimum information in
its entirety. At this point, it's not ripe yet (e.g. contract isn't ready).

Is The Omni Collective reaching out for help in order to make a concrete
proposal, or is it capable of achieving this at the next meeting?

Note, for sudo room to make a decision to move anywhere by June 1, our
community needs to come to consensus for a full week before April 30th in
order to give notice of May as our final month.

I get the impression that there's some urgency in aiming for June 1, but
that the collective has not issued a call for $ and final commitment to
each of the collectives. To me, something has to give. Is it a more
realistic date, or a more concrete proposal? Are either possible or prudent?

// Matt


On Tue, Apr 15, 2014 at 12:19 AM, David Keenan <dkeenan44 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Everybody -
>
> Answers to Matt and Phil's entirely understandable worries and requests
> for info are embedded into the following FAQ. They've come up before many
> times, least of all by me and many others. Its 1000% natural they would
> come up again as this six-month effort finally starts bearing some fruit,
> as pledges of support are made real and this comes closer to reality.
>
> Sorry for the text wall, but this is a big deal, and there are obviously a
> hell of a lot of moving parts.
>
> I love you all..
>
> *Who is Omni?*
> - An association of the following collectives...:
>   Sudo Room (hackerspace!)
>   Bay Area Public School (BAPS / free school)
>   Counter-Culture Labs (CCL / citizen science)
>   Food Not Bombs (FNB / feeds us regularly)
>   Timeless, Infinite Light (TIL / print resource center: OccuCopy meets
> letterpress beautifulness)
>   Live Space (dance collective including SALTA dance collective)
>   Oakland Nights Live (ONL / live civic talk show!)
>   Black Hole Cinema's Labs (Sweet Tooth's movie film development lab)
>   HackerSpa (wellness center providing space for body workers in our
> community)
>   La Commune bookstore-cafe (is what it sounds like :)
>   Creative Empowerment Project (CEP / Kazoo's screenprinting & vocational
> training studio)
>
> *Why are there so many groups?*
>  Because the building we are currently looking at is huge - I mean huge -
> and really unique: almost 22,000 square feet.
>
> *What is Omni trying to do? *
> The idea is, we all move in together to a single location in order to:
>
> - help amplify one another's work through a shared vision of social
> justice and solidarity, within our already-imbricated communities of
> interest and the public, in a way not possible when physically distant and
> spread out across the Bay Area.
>
> - The idea was born out of how Sudo and BAPS currently share space in a
> way that benefits not only both of these groups, but our community as a
> whole, more than it would were we apart. To this end think of a way bigger,
> better space for Sudo and BAPS.. and with room for others who already
> regularly host, attend, schedule, and benefit regularly from events,
> classes and meetups at our space. The idea is a bigger, more beautiful,
> more collective, more effective version of 2141 Broadway at an
> unprecedented scale for all involved.
>
> - We will radically share space, equipment, and talents, ideating and
> productively collaborating with one another and our community in ways that
> will be unprecedented. This will be a huge win for our communities in
> common and the underserved needs of Oakland to a measure that frankly
> dwarfs what we can achieve independently, on smaller scales.
>
> - We will provide free or subsidized space for vital community groups and
> members of the public without adequate financial resources to meet and work
> elsewhere (such as FNB), much as we Sudo/BAPS already does. I personally
> hope we can get as many community groups in to use unused, affordable space
> as possible - I am thinking of Critical Resistance, Justice Now, and others
> in that vein.
>
> - We will lease with the option to buy the building we are looking at, at
> a preset price - to take it off the market and preserve it for community
> use FOREVER, in concert with a Land Trust, with whom we are in
> negotiations. *The whole idea from the start is we buy a building*.
> Meaning we will not have to keep chasing low rents. To start with, we rent
> it, locking in as a condition of the lease a purchase price.
>
> - The idea can be summed up: Omni is a Commons with a roof. Full on. That
> is the idea.
>
> *What else about the Omni collective?*
> - Beyond the above goal, the point of the Omni collective is NOT to
> function as any sort of governing body for the groups involved in any
> general sense. There are no senators. Its only and sole point is to
> administer the space, pay bills, make group decisions about the shared
> space, resolve any conflicts between the groups in the space, interface
> with the state, banks, authorities, etc. Logistics and bureaucracy: That's
> it.
>
> *Where / what is this Omni building? *
> It's an amazing, vast building on Shattuck and 48th. It's an old rock
> club, before that, a Scavenger Worker's Leisure Club (Ligure Club).. that
> was also in all functional terms a collective, when they built the
> building.
>
> It features:
> - a huge ballroom / event space about 2/3 the size of GAMH
> - an industrial kitchen & walk-in freezer (needs fixing up)
> - a massive back room with ability to build out lofts/rooms
> - 55'-ish ceilings
> - massive basement with windows above street level (currently blacked out)
> - a separate room that used to function as a disco (with lighted floor)
> - a warren of odd little rooms, a stage, lots of bathrooms
>
>  *Ok.. Wait though. Isn't that area gentrified? Are we serving the right
> community? *
> Good point.
>
> One block on the other side of the freeway from this building, it is most
> definitely not gentrified at all, for a long, long ways. I haven't run the
> stats, but ride your bike around MLK and you will see the residential
> density there is greater, or at least as great, than the radius around
> 22nd/Bway. In terms of proximity, we would, I believe, stand to serve a
> larger underserved community than where we do now, or at least as large.
>
> Now - the actual block the Omni is on? Yes - hella gentrified. It being
> just on the other side of the tracks, literally and metaphorically.
>
> What is the argument for moving into a gentrified block? Personally, after
> living through waves of gentrification in multiple cities, and as a skater
> (and I guess, all but getting a degree in this at school but whatev) I
> personally believe that if Sudo and BAPS moved into the middle of a
> depressed neighborhood we could easily function indirectly as the shock
> troops of gentrification, regardless of our politics or will to the
> otherwise.
>
> In fact, I would argue, and this is just me, but I think that we are
> indirectly part of a process of gentrification already at 2141, even though
> I hate that. This awareness has been brought up innumerable times over the
> last year by members of BAPS and Sudoers as well. Its also from what I've
> heard, from multiple people, a major reason for the Holdout's demise. Like
> all of you most likely, I've been through many agonizing discussions about
> gentrification, because we realize it can appropriate the very fact of our
> presence, even as we hate that it can. I mean we have First Friday events
> which is indelibly a massive gentrifying force for that neighborhood for
> example.
>
> Developers would like nothing more than for Sudo to move into a depressed
> area / block, and help culturally and economically 'revitalize' it. This is
> the signature of Capital behind all the good intentions of the folks trying
> to fix up 8th & Alice - not at all like an evil plan, more like just the
> systemic replication of exploitation that is inherent to the current
> system. The fact is economic 'renewal' 99% displaces those invisibilized
> communities that are already there. So, I dunno - wouldn't be nice to not
> be a part of that?
>
> If anything, the Omni as envisioned intends as much as possible to
> function as an instrument de-gentrification and reclaim that neighborhood
> for a community in need of all we endeavor to provide. For me this is a
> part of what makes the project radical and unparalleled in some respects -
> this is a taking back, a restaking of space away from the forces of
> development. The entire issue of gentrification is obviated by the fact
> that it already is gentrified, so we're not fucking up the neighborhood.
> But we do get to help those who could benefit from a DIY space, who live
> right nearby.
>
> I know not everyone will agree with this argument - I know maybe something
> better and more utopian may come by - but are we really going to wait
> forever for the perfect building on top of a bart station? It's not
> perfect, but I'm not down for waiting for utopia. I'm down for hacking one
> together, which is what this is.
>
> *Shouldn't we be closer to BART / PT (@Phil) ?*
> It's true, the Omni is 8 blocks from MacArthur BART, so, 5 whole blocks
> longer than we currently walk.
>
> Although MacArthur BART now has plenty of parking unlike 19th St, and a
> bus line runs regularly along Telegraph a block away so it is readily
> accessible 24/7 by public transit. And it is right by the 51st/MLK fwy
> exit, of course.
>
> Is the time cost of 5 extra blocks mean a 'fraction' of those who now come
> to Sudo will come to the Omni?
>
> I actually think - know - far, far more people will be coming by Sudo at
> the Omni, than at our current space. Because a lot more will be going on at
> the Omni than our current space, but mostly because our current space, as a
> space, really sucks in more ways than I can count (which is why we're
> trying to move) in spite of the fact that it is closer to a bart station. I
> have heard countless times how people wished Sudo and BAPS were located in
> a less oppressive-feeling space. The Omni inverts that entirely..
>
> But the main answer to this line of thinking about BART proximity
> specifically, is that the building itself is fucking amazing..it is worth
> the 5 blocks, in my view. I don't know how else to put this. What we can do
> together in this building is just... well in my view it is simply worth an
> extra few minutes of ambulating. It's that good. Would you rather have
> awesome-r digs, or be closer to bart? After a year at 2141, and seeing the
> Omni, I am telling you, that particular decision is an easy one for me at
> least.
>
> *What about foot traffic (@Phil)? *
> This neighborhood has a ton of foot traffic. Foot traffic in front of this
> particular building on this block, right now, while in fact probably more
> than at our current 22nd entrance that people actually use, is relatively
> low compared to a block up on Tele because basically the building is half a
> block long and and never open, so no one goes by there.
>
> You need only go one block up to Telegraph to see that foot traffic is at
> least as prevalent as on Broadway. The Depot for Creative Reuse is
> caty-corner across the street. I think if you walk around there you'll see
> that foot traffic in that neighborhood is not a huge concern.
>
> *What about neighbors (@Phil)? Aren't they residential? Won't they hate us
> and not let us do anything we wanna do?*
>
> - Neighbors to the north, east and south are not residential, they are
> businesses. Nobody above or below (standalone building).
>
> - In terms of noise, adjacent the north, east, and south are empty space
> (street, parking lot).
>
> - Also the east side double-doors (ballroom entrance) is extremely,
> professionally soundproofed, to the level of meeting city codes for a rock
> club, so I don't think that's an issue there for Sudo events and BAPS
> lectures, etc.
>
> - Neighbors to the west down 48th are residential, for that one block up
> to the freeway. They do not face the entrance/front of the building, and no
> one will really walk down 48th from the Omni to anywhere, so there should
> be minimal foot traffic. In addition they are putting in 2hr stickered
> parking soon, so there will be less incentive to park there for the Omni.
>
> - I have been informally talking to neighbors, both residential and
> commercial, and have gotten only positive responses so far. I have yet to
> present to them formally, precisely because we have to have discussions
> like this internally, before I do that.. now is the time.
>
> - In every way the Omni neighbors are farther away, and there is far, far
> more sound insulation, in terms of barriers and distance, than in our
> current digs at 2141. If you have ever gotten noise complaints from our
> current landlord, or downstairs from the Pan Theatre, that organizers
> typically get, I think you would agree.
>
> - Our current co-tenants on the floor on 2141 are much closer to us than
> any other business or residence, with the exception of a house immediately
> west of the Omni. This house is insulated by two thick load-bearing
> external walls. Concern for them is certainly a legit concern, but not a
> strong one in my view. They probably hear more sound from people on the
> sidewalk, but they are located far from the entrance to the building.
>
> - In terms of holding events and any attendant ruckus, we are already in a
> FAR better place legally, structurally and spatially to do this at the Omni
> than we ever will be in our current space. Do we have CUPs for public
> assembly? Do we have a cabaret license? Do we pull permits for events? No -
> it's not even a fair comparison; if anything the Omni offers us a fair shot
> to do that legitimately, which we don't even do now. And I have run this by
> the peeps at the planning department, by aides at the city, by 2
> architects, a commercial real estate lawyer and a real estate broker
> specializing in cooperative spaces, and of course everyone whos ever come
> to meetings about this..
>
> *What about parking (@Phil)? *
> First of all, if you think parking around 2141 is easy, then you will have
> no problem parking around the Omni.
>
> Because, I personally think parking around 2141 is terrible. Having
> countless times at both places, I can tell you, honestly, it is at least as
> bad at the Omni. It might even be better around the Omni actually. But
> regardless this is a legit concern.
>
> Re: Omni parking, there is a big empty lot behind Frazee's paints that is
> slated to become a parking lot. I've talked to City people about this lot.
> We could have some of these spaces - even re-rent them, or ask those who
> drive in to the Omni to pay.. just as we often have to do for street
> parking around 2141. Personally I would like to encourage people not to
> drive. To this end an aspect of our plan is to provide indoor bike parking.
> If and when we can afford it, to also provide an Omni shuttle to and from
> bart, maybe even a pedicab service.. (that's speculation obviously, but was
> actually suggested to me by an aide at the city.)
>
> *Are external signage possibilities limted? (@Phil)*
> This is funny actually, because existing codes for the the last business
> use of the Omni actually mandate that there be big external signage, to
> notify the neighborhood of upcoming events.. so, no I don't think that's a
> concern :)
>
> *Is the building at risk of having landmark status (@Phil)?*
> No. Both myself and the building owner have recently talked to the woman
> at the planning department who handles historic buildings. We are in good
> shape. She is supportive of the project and actually offered to help us!
>
> *Noise, smog re: Freeway proximity (@Phil)?*
> I don't really hear the freeway when I'm there.. but maybe I was not
> paying attention, but it isn't really noticeable to me. I didn't notice any
> particularly bad air quality, but it seems fine - I suggest you stroll
> around there and check it out. I haven't heard this concern before so I
> don't think it's something people who have visited the building and been
> around there are worried about. So to me, this is not a concern.
>
> *Okay.. But can we all actually pay the freaking rent (@Matt)? *
> In short, yes. Unless Sudo backs out. In which case, no.
>
> *Can we prove we can pay the rent, with concrete information (@Matt)?* Yes..
> but, I'm actually not sure how to do this on a public listserv? I can say
> the following:
>
> - We presently have a combination of donations and a long-term no-interest
> loan by people in our community that will cover first months' rent and
> deposit (move-in costs).
>
> This is in addition to the month-to-month rent commitments made by the
> collectives (and their delegates) themselves. We knew the barrier to entry
> in the form of move-in costs would be a big burden on us. But you know,
> this is what we have been fundraising for, again, for months. This did not
> materialize overnight. It was the result of a lot of hard work.
>
> - Rental amounts have been discussed by member collectives and delegates
> for months in most cases, at every meeting. These amounts have fluctuated
> to reflect reality of what members can afford. Everyone knows what is at
> stake. This is not just a fairytale dream.. well heck, it is a dream, but a
> dream we have all worked hard to bring to the brink of reality. Does it
> involve a level of trust? Yes - of course. Do I have any doubts that we
> won't pull through? At this point? No.
>
> - Am I expected to dump suitcases full of cash onto the conference table
> Wednesday, or.. Anyone who wants more details on this please email me
> offlist or just ring me?
>
> *What are the terms of the lease (i.e. the full contract)?*
> Ok - the proposed terms of the lease are finally just now starting to be
> negotiated, in that we are finally starting to actually make
> counterproposals. Why has this taken so long? Purely in terms of
> negotiating, we were for a long time in a position where we could not
> negotiate further with the owner until we were approaching the ability to
> actually write a check, and that is approaching fast. There were other
> complicated phases of the process that slowed it down, that I'm not going
> to get into here, but would be happy to discuss in person.
>
> I am just uncomfortable detailing this ongoing negotiation on a publicly
> archived, searchable listserv while we are talking about the best terms.
> Not that I will not tell anyone who asks me via email or in person - I
> will! - but not on this list, is all.
>
> We talk about the money openly at every Omni meeting, to which anyone can
> attend. This stuff IS transparent folks, but I just don't want it
> googleable on a public forum, right now, because it can put this whole
> project at risk. We already know the owner peruses our sites. Right?
> Possibly, probably reading this as soon as its up. If that makes things
> clearer?
>
> That said - I can say the terms have already come down significantly, and:
>
> - We can collectively afford our rent as is, at least for the first year.
> I will show you the spreadsheets.
>
> - We will have the first+deposit covered by donations and interest-free
> personal loan.
>
> - Sudo's part would be $2K/mo.
>
> *Lease length (2 years, 3 years?) (@Matt):*
> - We can sign a 2 or longer year lease. Up to us. Less than 2 years would
> be a hard sell. More than 2 years is easier.
>
> *Landlord in or out? (@Matt):*
> - Up to us entirely: If he can stay there for ~3 months while he moves,
> the rent will be a lot lower for those months. If we don't want him to
> stay, he'll vacate in 30 days, but then we dont get a break during those
> first ~three months.
>
> *Rent-to-own option or not (@Matt)?*
> Currently we are planning rent with an option to buy. This means:
> - Owner can't sell the building during the duration of the lease
> - Owner agrees to sell us the building at a set price at any time up to
> the end of the lease term; ie to come up with the downpayment for the
> mortgage.
> - 100% owner-financed loan for purchase means no banks / pre-approval,
> just his approval.
>
> We can do either rent-to-own or rent-with-an-option-to-buy. They both
> amount ultimately to much the same thing in the end, it really depends on
> how much we want to pay each month. If we want to pay into a mortgage on
> top of rent, we rent-to-own - this costs us more per month. If we want to
> minimize our monthly expenses, we pay rent, save up the money for a
> mortgage downpayment on our own, then make that downpayment when we have
> it. In this case our funding drive for the downpayment would be 2 or 3
> years - the duration of the lease.
>
> *What are the terms of space usage? (@Matt)*
>
> In the current envisioning, Sudo would have to itself:
> - Half the bocce ball court room (giant back area), shared with CCL in the
> other half
> - This area is handicapped accessible, with handicapped-accessible
> bathrooms, & street access.
> - This area has massive, 55ft(?) ceilings with ample space to make add'l
> rooms, lofts, balconies, etc
>
> Shared areas:
> - numerous little rooms around the building for meetups
> - part of the large basement area for heavy making
> - shared/scheduled use of the ballroom for events, meetups as needed (as
> we currently do with our common area). This area is way bigger than our
> current common area by multiples
> - A cafe/bookstore to hang out in
> - rooftop access (could be made easier to access) above disco room for
> garden, mesh, everything
>
> *Who moves where? (@Matt)*
>
> All groups: have use of shared space
>
>  BAPS: mobile units - based out of a balcony room in the ballroom, having
> classes in unused space around the building as needed
>
>  CCL: Half bocce ball court room, part of basement area
>
>  SR: Same
>
>  FNB: Shares basement industrial kitchen & food storage area with
> cafe-bookstore, hopefully serve food too upstairs to the community - either
> in the cafe, or the ballroom, etc
>
>  TIL: 2nd floor, Balcony room above bar, on corner of shattuck / 48th (NE
> corner)
>
>  Live Space: Disco room in back (NW corner)
>
>  ONL: Uses ballroom area for performances, some storage in the building
> somewhere
>
>  Black hole labs: would use part of the basement to jumpstart their
> celluloid film development lab for local filmmakers
>
>  HackerSpa wellness center: Cluster of rooms between bar and bocce ball
> court room
>
>  La Commune bookstore-cafe: Bar area
>
>  CEP: Part of basement (screenprinting gear)
>
> We need to go over the floor plan, but point being - we do have a space
> for everyone that people are good with -
>
> *Which areas are exclusive (private) or inclusive (common)? (@Matt):*
>
> Shared areas:
> - Ballroom (scheduled mostly as per current Common room)
> - Parts of the basement
> - numerous small rooms around the building that are currently unused - ie
> 3 in basement, probably like 5 elsewhere in the building
> - big ol cafe to hang out in
> - much more space than Sudo currently has
>
> - Private: as described above
>
> *What is the protocol for conflicts and concerns between (or across
> members of) Omni Oakland sub-collectives?*
> To some extent re: how the delegate structure works, see:
> https://sudoroom.org/wiki/The_Omni/2014-04-03#The_Omni_Oakland_Collective
>
> In terms of conflict resolution, that has come up several times and we are
> working on that now - we are looking at the terms Sudo uses that (from what
> I understand) were originally cribbed from Noisebridge. This is an area we
> need to work on - we have been mostly focused on the financials,
> apportioning space and accruing the will to come together and do this.
>
> We also have to work more on our articles of incorporation and
> association. We are working actively on that.
>
> *Additionally, what rights and responsibilities do members of the public
> (or as I usually say for sudo, which I think applies here, "prospective
> members" of any of our collectives) have? (@Matt)*
>
> In broad terms - my view:
>
> For the entire space, members of the public have a responsibility to abide
> by the accepted rules of the space assented to by all the collectives
> within it, which will be akin to the safe space policy Sudo currently has
> in place @ 2141, and although we haven't voted on it yet, a conflict
> resolution policy in line with what Sudo already has.
>
> Each collective additionally maintains its own subset of rules for itself
> and members of the public in its own localized dedicated area within the
> building, that are not in conflict with rules and values for the whole
> space.
>
> Its conceivable that the public may not be allowed free reign over 100% of
> the space and its materials all the time. For example, I can imagine if
> there are dance rehearsals, Live Space may not always want that public. If
> there is film development going on in a darkroom, its possible they may not
> want the door open randomly. If TIL's letterpress machine is in the
> basement, the public may need to be trained on how to use it before using
> it. The same way that not everyone has access to root on Sudo's Mediawiki
> off the bat - there are conditions. CCL may have machines and rooms that
> not everyone in the public is able to just freely use unless they have the
> requisite knowledge. Stuff like that. Make sense..?
>
> *Can one be affiliated and pursue membership rights and responsibilities
> in the space without being a member of an existing collective or pursuing a
> new collective to add to the Omni Oakland body? (@Matt):*
>
> Any person can propose a collective to be accepted by the existing
> collectives into the project. It's not guaranteed that every person or
> collective will jive with what we are building or be a good fit. Thats not
> exclusionary, thats just building the right collective on the basis of
> cultural affinity. At some point free space will also be a consideration.
> This is really no different than the current existing state of how things
> run already at BAPS and Sudo to my knowledge.
>
> We are actively seeking groups and collectives to build our community and
> make it even more awesome. We are looking for people who share our values.
>
> The entire point of the effort is to transform a building into a commons
> for civic and public use, and change the way we work together and work to
> help our community. In general, it is as public-focused as Sudo and BAPS
> already are.
>
> *Do the member collectives' pledges of payment hold water? (@Matt)*
> To my knowledge, yes. We've been planning this for months and discuss this
> every week.
>
> *For existing member collectives can we start collecting rent
> contributions immediately (to be paid forward to rent after any agreed-upon
> contract is signed)? (@Matt)*
> This has been discussed obviously. We will start this forthwith. Remember
> we have donations and a loan that forms the basis of the barriers to entry.
> We just received paperwork of our CA NP status, so we can open a bank
> account just for the collective. Partly we're also waiting on Land Trust
> fiscal sponsorship which will make things easier on donors. But the money
> is there, with or without that.
>
> I want to say one last thing and that is we can come up with a million
> reasons why every T wasnt crossed or that we aren't uber-prepared. We're
> not. We're doing very best we can, with what we have, where we are. Which
> is what hacking is, to me. It's not a perfect situation. Not every
> contingency has been thought of. There is risk, yes. We're not trying to
> plan our way into imaginary utopias or wait for the perfect situation or
> building or set of circumstances. We're trying to hack something crazily
> ambitious into life, with all the love we have.
>
>
> David
>
>
>
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