ALAMEDA
The city of Alameda is requesting public comment on the draft of its comprehensive Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self Evaluation & Transition Plan. The federal ADA prohibits local governments from discriminating against people with disabilities and requires a self-evaluation and plan for transitioning to ADA compliance.
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Legal action taken against Alameda’s Barnhill Marina owner, manager
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The city’s draft ADA plan describes how policies, programs and facilities were evaluated; presents the findings of that evaluation; documents public input and engagement in setting priorities; and provides a phased approach to addressing identified accessibility barriers.
Input from members of the public is an important component in developing the ADA plan and the city’s ongoing efforts to ensure accessibility. To download and review the draft ADA plan and provide your comments by May 17, visit Please visit alamedaca.gov/ADA online. If you would like the draft plan in an alternative format or an accommodation is required to provide input, contact Erin Smith, Alameda’s public works director, at ADA@alamedaca.gov or 510-747-7930.
“Alameda is committed to being an accessible city and strives to provide equal opportunities and a seamless experience for all its residents,” Smith said. “This draft Transition Plan benchmarks where we are at now and provides a roadmap for how to prioritize resources towards improving accessibility.”
After the public input period, the draft ADA plan will be presented June 5 at the Commission on Persons with Disabilities and then at the City Council for consideration and adoption this summer.
— city of Alameda
Kiwanis Club volunteers at recent Alameda Bike Festival
The city of Alameda, the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department and the Alameda Unified School District sponsored the Alameda Bike Festival on April 27 at Love Elementary School.
Other service organizations joined in the activities, including the Kiwanis Club of Alameda (KCA), which gave away more than 100 bike helmets, fitting them to each child and explaining their safe use to parents. Free classes (with preregistration) gave instruction in family cycling, kids riding to school and urban cycling for adults and teens.
Various groups offered free bike repairs, free bike bells, helmet decorations, face painting and a simulated traffic situation with signage and lanes for cyclists to practice in a safe environment. It was a beautiful sunny day in Alameda, perfect for those gathered to enjoy the festivities.
— KCA
City takes legal action against Barnhill Marina owner, manager
The Alameda City Attorney’s Office, together with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, has filed an enforcement action against Valley Investments-Redwoods LLC and its manager, Amarpal Narang.
Valley Investments owns the Barnhill Marina & Boatyard in Alameda, a floating home marina with 56 berths. Barnhill’s residents, many of whom are low-income and older than 65, pay monthly rents to Valley and are tenants under state and local laws.
The complaint alleges that since purchasing Barnhill Marina in December 2021, Valley has used unlawful tactics to force out and harass longtime tenants. These tactics include drastically raising rents, interfering with the residents’ right to sell their houseboats and trying to strong-arm tenants into unlawful rent increases. Valley also continues to ignore the city’s rent control laws and multiple citations issued by the city.
The enforcement action against Valley and Narang alleges unfair and unlawful practices in violation of the California Unfair Competition Law; maintaining a public nuisance; and violating local laws that protect tenants, including retaliation, coercing tenants to waive their rights, failing to register rent-controlled units and failing to pay required fees.
“Valley’s egregious activities and willful noncompliance left the city no choice but to take legal action to protect the housing security of the over 50 tenant families at Barnhill,” said City Attorney Yibin Shen.
State and city law protects tenants against unlawful harassment by landlords and their agents. Management may not, in bad faith, influence or attempt to influence a tenant to vacate a rental housing unit through fraud, intimidation or coercion or interfere with a tenant’s right to quiet use and enjoyment of a rental housing unit.
The City Attorney’s Office encourages anyone experiencing similar or related violations to contact the Rent Program at 510-747-7520.
— city of Alameda
Bette Center photo exhibit on display now through May 25
During the weekend of the full moon in February, 48 photographers were loosed upon this island for 48 hours, each assigned to document their assigned 1/48th of Alameda. The results of that weekend are now on display in the Frank Bette Center’s annual “Alameda On Camera” photo exhibit on display now through May 25.
The exhibit is dense with visual and emotional content providing visitors with images that are fondly familiar and provocatively peculiar. A disparate bunch, some of the participants had resumes and websites as photographers while others worked at all manner of blue-, white- and plaid-collar jobs. Some had been up-scaling their equipment and skills for decades while some were youths lit with a new fever for photography.
Picturesque Alameda provides countless opportunities for the visually hungry to feast. The city is steeped in history and has an eye focused on a progressive future, but the images shown here are timeless in that they all rely on universal elements of design, organization, color, value, focus and texture to share with the viewer a unique visual experience enjoyed during “Alameda On Camera.” For more information, visit bit.ly/3JjDkaa online.
— Karen Braun Malpas
To submit an item for our “In brief” section, please email it, at least three days before print publication, to njackson@bayareanewsgroup.com. Each item should be 90 to 180 words and include a short headline along with the name of the group or individual to credit for it.