Councilman Priforce Returns to Duties: YIMBY, Haters Upset

 

Priforce on the Mend But Haters & His Detractors at YIMBY Still Hurting

Kalimah Priforce returned to his City Council duties Tuesday after being struck by a car and injured last week while riding his bike.  The accident occurred on San Pablo Avenue in front of Emeryville Citizens Action Program (ECAP) in Oakland where Mr Priforce was volunteering his time to hand out food to needy community members in the wake of the federal government’s partial suspension of SNAP food benefits.  

Even though Council member Priforce broke his shoulder in two places and may require up to a year to recover full use of his left arm, he attended Tuesday’s Council meeting, his arm in a sling and helped distribute food to needy families enrolled at Emery schools at the Center of Community Life on Monday.  Said Mr Priforce about the quick bounce back, “Volunteering with families, being present in council chambers, staying connected to the work is what gives me strength.”

Family Food Donation Drive at ECCL
Council member Priforce (on left)
helped give out food Monday with his
right hand.

Despite being in considerable pain, the Councilman put on a happy face, “Healing has been slow, painful, and humbling, but the people of Emeryville keep me moving. Even with limited mobility, even on the days when it takes twice as long just to get dressed or make it across town without my bike, I show up because our community shows up for each other” he told the Tattler.

Unsurprisingly in today’s Emeryville where it seems much is made to service a procrustean binary narrative, YIMBY and YIMBY adjacent members of the community have used the progressive Councilman’s injury to forward a political aim.  On Emeryville specific social media, anonymous sources have impugned Mr Priforce’s injury stating he is faking it (presumably to take away community sympathy from the sole progressive on the Council) or to malign the Councilman’s ideas about the 40th Street Multi-Modal Project, a project idea promoted by YIMBY.  Mr Priforce, for the record, has expressed concerns that the 40th Street proposed project does not increase bike safety as much as it takes away from resident livability and small businesses ability to continue doing business.  Others have also called out the lack of resident desirability of the fast tracked public works project (see future Tattler story) but the YIMBY organization has sought to question the legitimacy of views that don’t exactly meet their desires for the project. 

Mr Priforce remains undaunted in the face of his injury or the subsequent anonymous internet attacks, “Public service doesn’t pause when life gets hard” he said as he handed out food to hungry neighbors.

The 40th Street Multi-Modal Project is a proposal to eliminate side streets, making large ‘super blocks’ to facilitate more and higher speed traffic for 40th Street.  YIMBY California is a corporate backed Sacramento lobbying firm, active in Emeryville, that seeks to increase the profits of Real Estate Investment Trust Corporations by taking away local democratic control of public housing policy.

The Councilman was injured but let me take this opportunity to trash him for disagreeing with YIMBY.

What I mean to say is the lone progressive on the Emeryville City Council faked this bike accident.

Priforce 'Severe' Shoulder Breaks, Released From Hospital

 Council Member Priforce Hit By Car: Recovering at Home, Shoulder broken in two places

Emeryville City Council member Kalimah Priforce was released from Highland Hospital Wednesday after having spent the night in the emergency department as a result of being struck by a car Tuesday.  The Councilman sustained a broken shoulder in two locations and other minor injuries after the car struck him while he was riding his bike to volunteer at ECAP to help distribute food to needy community members.

The shoulder injury is very painful the Councilman reports and he may still have to undergo surgery according to his surgeon.  The shoulder break is severe and he may take up to a year for a full recovery he indicated.  

It is unknown at this time if Mr Priforce will miss the next Council meeting scheduled for November 18th.  He is currently on pain medication and waiting for a call to return to the hospital for further treatment.  

Breaking: Council Member Priforce Hospitalized, Struck By a Car

 Council Member Priforce, On Bike, Hit By Car

Breaking News

Emeryville City Council member Kalimah Priforce was struck by an automobile and injured at the site of the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program (ECAP) at 2628 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland this afternoon.  The extent of Mr Priforce’s injuries are unknown but are not life threatening it is being reported.  

Reportedly, Council member Priforce was traveling to ECAP to help with the volunteer food drive initiated last week as a result of the curtailment of the federal food assistance SNAP program.  It is reported the driver did not attempt to flee the scene.   Mr Priforce is currently being attended to at Highland Hospital’s emergency department.

The Tattler will report when more info is obtained.

Introducing the Tattler Free Food (and book) Table

Food Insecurity in the Community Is Growing

Can You Pitch in a Little?

The Tattler Asks Our More Fortunate Neighbors To Help Out

The Tattler has installed a free food table at the corner of Horton Street and Sherwin Street and we invite anyone who is struggling to feed themselves to stop by and take what you need for you and your family whenever you need it.  Conversely, to our neighbors who may be more fortunate, you are invited to leave food at the table whenever you are able.  Even small donations are helpful. The table will not be staffed.    It is just designed for unrewarded and unrecognized human kindness to push back against this toxic government in Washington (and to help a hungry neighbor eat). 

It is a trifling thing for neighbors to pitch in when they’re walking their dog and such. Non-perishables are best but if the table starts to become a high turn over thing, fruits and vegetables will be able to be left.  We ask that donations start out with non-perishables, please.  The Tattler will report on the goings on at the food table from time to time.

The Bay Area, including Emeryville and the environs, have long been a locus of food insecurity for the working poor owing to inherent problems with American style capitalism with its high rents in places where relatively high paying jobs are located.  This has been made even more manifest with the rise of Trump 2.0 of course and we feel we must act now to ameliorate some of the suffering of our less fortunate neighbors.  There’s quite a lot of disposable income among our neighbors in the Park Avenue neighborhood and all around us is suffering.  We hope our Emeryville neighbors agree and give what and when they can.

Please keep in mind donating, even just one can of food, is an act of kindness of course, but it is also a highly radical act of resistance against the forces of darkness that seem to be closing in all around us.  Take a can of food with you on your nightly dog walk and include a stop at the Tattler Free Food Table and you can help your dog as well as help your own connection to the community. 

Books will also be left on the table.  To start, are titles by JG Ballard, Carl Jung, Gore Vidal, Al Franken, John Powers and Glen Greenwald.  If it is going to rain, we ask the books be left in sealable plastic bags.

The first food offerings for the table include mostly nutrition dense foods such as packaged granola, pickled lupini beans, almonds, trail mix and honey packets.