HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-18-2021_Open Session_Item 6, Item 25_Deniz-Zaragoza, Mirella_Carousel Mall & Call-in Number_any links sanitizedDear San Bernardino City Council Members and Staff,
Thank you, San Bernardino, City Council members, for the opportunity to share written comments. My
name is Mirella Deniz-Zaragoza, and I write as a community member and on behalf of the Warehouse
Worker Resource Center (WWRC) and as a member of Something Better for San Bernardino (SB4SB).
Warehouse Worker Resource Center is an organization dedicated to improving the working conditions of
warehouse workers and their families across Southern California. Something Better for San Bernardino
(SB4SB) is a Coalition of organizations that hold common values as community residents and working
people, around the opportunity and the promise presented by the plans of Renaissance Downtown USA
and ICO Real Estate Group to redevelop the Carousel Mall and downtown San Bernardino.
We strongly support the ENA and urge the San Bernardino City Council to vote YES on an ENA for the
Carousel Mall redevelopment.
The Carousel Mall redevelopment will put the City towards a Community Benefits Agreement and pave
the way for higher community and development standards that can guarantee affordable housing, clean
infrastructure, better-paying jobs, and community input for this critical development.
Currently, in San Bernardino, our communities are plagued by warehouses and terrible air quality,
pushing out community members from their homes. Warehouse development has become a priority for
many city electeds, while our community is barely surviving.
The City of San Bernardino needs to ensure that good and revitalizing development comes to our region,
such as the Carousel Mall redevelopment. Our communities need opportunities for good-paying jobs,
affordable housing, and recreational spaces/green spaces. San Bernardino residents need guarantees on
paper, so vote YES to help us start this community benefits process now. I am proud to join Something
Better for San Bernardino, and its mission for community inclusivity and a community benefits
agreement.
Furthermore, I would also like to address the fact that the call-in system to leave recorded comments for
today’s (8/18/21) City Council meeting is not available or accessible to our communities in San
Bernardino. It’s unacceptable and marginalizing that our communities, a majority of whom are women,
immigrants, black, and brown working-class people, cannot call in and participate in today’s city council
meeting. Not all community members in San Bernardino have access to a computer or wifi to email
public comments. For many of our community members, it’s not accessible to go in-person to give public
statements due to covid-19, work, etc. I hope that the call-in system is available for our community to
participate in the next City Council meeting.
Respectfully,
Mirella Deniz-Zaragoza