Son of the Hammer

(q~oo~p) Rampart & Bowl Court Newsletter - 3rd June 2008 (q~oo~p)

Hi

Bowl Court Social Centre is facing a threat of eviction with court proceedings taking place on Wednesday 4th June from 2:30pm at Shoreditch and Clerkenwell County Court. If we lose then there is a high possibility of those nasty high court bailiffs being booked which would mean a much sooner eviction so watch this space. Please come and get involved and help us out. We will be sending a second email this week as an update on the result, but why not come along to the post-court cafe celebrations/commiserations to find out what has happened first-hand?

There is still time to ‘pop in’ an objection letter to the council about the planning application for the Rampart Social Centre.. deadline is Thursday 5th June 2008. Objection is for Application No: PA/08/00813 and No: PA/08/00814

Send those objections online through the TowerHamlets website comment function
http://194.201.98.213/WAM/findCaseFile.do;jsessionid=F2?postcode=E1+2la

or by email to:
planning@towerhamlets.gov.uk
ldf@towerhamlets.gov.uk
dr.developmentcontrol@towerhamlets.gov.uk
cllr.abjol.miah@towerhamlets.gov.uk

And it’s no surprise that this Friday is the Rampart 4th Birthday party! It would be great to see you all there so try and come if you can.

(~*~) Upcoming events (~*~)

Wednesday 4th June 6pm @ Bowl Court

Post court cafe celebrations/commiserations from 6pm onwards with feedback from the proceedings
Followed by FILM NIGHT on repossession of homes in the United States, the housing crisis and squatting.

—-

Thursday 5th June 6.30pm @ Bowl Court

from 6:30pm onwards the free skool group will be meeting for the second time to plan and organise future skill/knowledge shares and workshops. If you have any suggestions, would like to get involved or keep updated on the goings on please email bowlcourt@riseup.net

—-

Thursday 5th June 8pm @ Bowl Court

On 5th of June the Radical Bike Group London will do another Bike Film Night at the bowl court squat starting at 8pm, movie starting 8:30pm.

We’ll show “Even the Girls“ (http://www.redridinghoodproductions.com/index.html), “Bike Like you mean it” (http://www.vimeo.com/1011087?pg=embed&sec=1011087) and maybe some more + we serve tea and some cake. Feel free to bring along bikes, friends, flatmates, neighbors, cake, snacks, drinks or even movies to share as well.
After the screening we will have a bike sound system supported nightly bike ride.

Web: http://londonbikegroup.wordpress.com/

—-

Friday 6th June 7.30pm @ Rampart

rampART’s 4th birthday
Anniversary celebration spectacular

BYO electric!
Fundraising for the Social Centre seed fund

Our favourite community creative centre and social space, the rampART is - despite threats from all sides - still alive. Therefore we want it’s 4th birthday anniversary to be a gorgeous celebration spectacular on the 6th of June. doors open at 7:30pm.

We will have an open house presenting the rampART at it’s best:
- with fabulous films and footage, snippets and slideshows from 4 years rampART
- poetic social- political rants and spoken word performers
- fantastic cabaret and cabaretesque accoustic music
- jam session and live music of rampART’s most loved bands
- dressing up, face painting, arty- crafty creativities
- tea bar, vegan food and drink

Everything is by suggested donations:
All proceeds for the social centre seed fund. This is meant to spawn new social centres and help them to get started. There will be more info on the event.

Don’t miss it! It will be the last one… :’(

—-

Friday 6th June 7.30pm @ http://dissidentisland.org/

Dissident Island broadcast http://dissidentisland.org/
The next show, broadcasting on June 6th, is coming together nicely. We have the radical bike group coming onto the show and lined ourselves up a wicked DJ, but you’ll have to come back to check out her name, as well as what else is on the show.

—-

Saturday 7th June 3pm @ Bowl Court

Food Not Bombs will be cooking in the newly made, and honourably named – ‘Pirate Cafe’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster#Pirates_and_global_warming), kitchen at Bowl Court and serving somewhere nearby.

—-

Tuesday 10th June 7pm @ Bowl Court

Film screening - BIUTIFUL CAUNTRI (BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY) - ITA (2007)

The documentary illustrates the environmental disaster caused by illegal dumpings which have polluted what once was one of the most fertile countryside in Europe. In Campania, the region of Naples, Camorra, the local mafia has made incredible earnings disposing industrial waste around the sprawling suburbia. After fifteen years of emergency and of conflict between state and local communities on the
issue of new landfill sites and incinerators, the region is on its knees. The authors - Esmeralda Calabria, Andrea D’Ambrosio and Peppe Ruggiero - show the responsibility of local entrepeneurs and politicians in the disaster and the rebellion of the local population. The story which they narrate, while reflecting the grim situation of Campania and Italy, is also a warning about the risks faced by many other regions, in a world on the verge of environmental collapse.

—-

Thursday 12th June 7pm @ Bowl Court

Palestinian Film Night

A benefit film night for Anna Wajda, a Polish activist, coordinator of Palestine solidarity group “Viva Palestyna” in Poland.
In October of 2007 she was arrested in West Bank by Israeli authorities. While in prison Anna asked an Israeli lawyer known for defending Palestinians and international human rights activists for assistance. The benefit would help cover the cost of the lawyer’s intervention.

Two films will be shown preceded by an introduction from Anna’s friends:

- Gaza Strip is a 2002 documentary film by James Longley which records events taking place in 2001 during the Second Intifada. The film focuses on 13-year-old Mohammed Hejazi, a second-grade dropout the filmmaker encountered at the Karni crossing in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian children often gather to throw stones.

- Shebab Daiya is a 2003 documentary film with real footage from Palestine: house demolitions, running from Israeli tanks, random shooting, defying the curfew, and interviews with Palestinians. The film was compiled from footage shot by European activists working in Palestine August 2002 to February 2003. During this period the West Bank and Gaza Strip suffered multiple invasions and a constant state of occupation by the Israeli Army. The film was made by videographers working with International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

£3 suggested donation

(~9~) Events elsewhere (~6~)

Thursday 5th June, 4pm to 7pm @ Queen Mary University of London

* The Art of Rent / A series of open seminars *
GOVERNANCE AND THE INSTITUTION OF THE COMMON
Final seminar

Room 4.08, Francis Bancroft Building
Queen Mary University of London, Mile End
Website: www.generation-online.org/other/artofrent.htm
Readings: www.generation-online.org/c/c_rent.htm
Info: artofrent@gmail.com
STEFANO HARNEY - Queen Mary University of London
JUDITH REVEL - Sorbonne University, Paris
ALBERTO DE NICOLA - ESC atelier occupato, Roma (www.escatelier.net)
RAUL SANCHEZ - UniNomada, Madrid (www.universidadnomada.net)
The Art of Rent is a cycle of 4 meetings that started in January at Queen Mary University of London. This series of public seminars was open to everyone: our experiment with the academic structures to build a sort of open university. Open to London, to everybody who live here or pass through this metropolis. We tried to take the word “metroversity” literally and experiment a metropolitan space inside the university’s space itself.

Working with researchers such as Vercellone, Marazzi, Martin, Lapavistas, Mezzadra, Wills, and Biao, we expanded new research tracks like: the “becoming rent of profit” and the new forms of rent within the knowledge economy; the suprime crisis and the financialisation of the everyday life; the political, temporal and spatial redefinition of the border dispositif in the era of globalisation.
With the fourth and final seminar we want to outline a political research around the new apparatuses of governance and the production and institution of the common. On the 5th of June, in an attempt to establish a European network, we will try to mix academic theory with concrete examples of new political institutions, such as Uninomada in Madrid and ESC Aterlier Occupato in Rome.

The Art of Rent series will have a follow-up in November 2008 with a two-day event on the question of metropolis and immaterial labour.
All the material, video and audio of these 4 seminars will be available on a free DVD. To receive a copy, contact: artofrent@gmail.com

—-

Monday 9th June 7pm @ St.Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace

WELCOME TO NY-LON ?
NEW YORK AND LONDON AS NEOLIBERAL CITIES
MONDAY 9TH JUNE 2008
7.00PM

ST ETHELBURGA’S CENTRE FOR RECONCILIATION AND PEACE
78 BISHOPSGATE
LONDON EC2N 4AG
Nearest tube Liverpool Street (Central Line)
Entrance by Donation

SESSION 1

7.30 Kim Moody (University of Hertfordshire), author of “New York from Welfare
State to Real Estate” will talk about regime change in New York City since
the 1970s, and draw on contemporary struggles in New York City against
gentrification and working class displacement.

8.00 Doreen Massey (Open University), author of “World City” will examine the
similarities and differences between London and New York and analyse the
regional, national and international consequences of London as a centre of
finance capital.

8.30 Questions, Discussion and Summing-up
Chaired by Michael Edwards (Kings Cross Railway Lands Group)

9.20 Short Break

SESSION 2

9.30 OPEN FORUM on current glocal struggles in London
Chaired by Pauline Rowe (Defend Queens Market Campaign, Newham)

10.30 Close

—-

(Looks like we don’t count as one of ‘London’s best-known squatted social centres’ but we’ll advertise it anyway!)

Wednesday 11th June – 7pm @ Housmans bookshop

Squatting London
Housmans bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road, King’s Cross, N1 9DX

For decades the squatting of vacant property has played an important role in the history of London; from the mass squatting by families who lost their homes in the blitz of World War Two, to the recent squatting by homeless migrant workers. But London’s squat scene has also been a hotbed of political resistance, not least in the squatted social centres that today provide one of the few spaces in our city where counter-culture flourishes untainted.

Representatives from three of London’s best-known squatted social centres, Hackney Social Centre, 56a Info-shop, and Wominspace, will be hosting an informal talk at Housmans to discuss the current state of the squat scene, to share experiences on resisting eviction, and to give advice on how to set up your own squat successfully.

www.housmans.com/events

(~^~) Announcement (~>~)

This is a callout to all women and trans-folk that would like to be involved in a weekend of workshops around diy-squatting. We plan to take advantage of all the usual challenges that semi-derelict buildings pose as a platform for sharing our knowledge, skills, and experience in all the tasks related to opening and maintaining a healthy and happy squat!

These are all the areas that have thought of so far, but more ideas are always welcome:
Electricity
Plumbing
Gas
Security- doors/locks etc
Barricading
Legal
Dealing w/ cops/owners- talk about experience/share tactics
Women/Trans specific squatting- open discussion
Alternative energy

All levels of experience in any of the above areas are welcome (you don’t need to have a degree in plumbing to know how to unblock a pipe and share this knowledge with others!).
And even if you have no experience in any of the practical, diy-related areas, we also hope to have a platform to share experiences, stories and advice related to all aspects of squat-living from a trans/woman’s perspective, so all experience counts.
Please get in touch if you’d like to help out at all in organising this weekend - We’ll need help finding a suitable space and preparing it for the weekend, publicising the gathering, and then running workshops on the weekend itself. We’ll also need help collecting and preparing food, and hopefully running a creche.
We hope to hold this gathering on the weekend of the 26th - 27th June.
You can e-mail us at diy_squatting@riseup.net.
Please spread the word!
In spanner-brandishing solidarity

<<See you soon>>

Don’t forget the collective meets every Monday at 7pm at Bowl Court. You will find Bowl Court off Plough Yard which is next to the Drunken Monkey at the junction of Shoreditch Hight St and Great Eastern Street.

Social Centre News / The Rampart & Bowl Court newsletter - 27th May 2008

The deadline for written objections to the planning proposal for Rampart Social Centre has been extended and is now until Thursday 5th June 2008. If you have the time, a swift letter on our behalf would be very much appreciated. See below the events section for the info you need.

We also have a court date for Bowl Court.. Wednesday 4th June at 2.30pm at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court.
Not long is it? The court is in court isn’t caught(?). We are getting advice from the good people at the Advisory Service for Squatters (http://www.squatter.org.uk/) but really we need all the help we can get for this one. Anyone able to offer extra support on this please do get in touch.

== So now on to the events at Bowl Court and Rampart ==

## WEDNESDAY 28TH MAY,

7.30pm @ Bowl Court
[[ Dos Americas and Down But Not Out film screenings ]]

Screening of Dos Americas and Down But Not Out by Upheaval Productions followed by a talk with one of the film-makers

Post-Katrina reconstruction is still in progress throughout the Gulf Coast, with much of the city of New Orleans still in ruins. Dos Americas: The Reconstruction of New Orleans focuses on those rebuilding this city through interviews with some of the estimated 100,000 Latino migrant laborers who have converged in this area over the past two and a half years.

Despite terrible working conditions, massive fraud, a housing crisis, severe harassment by law enforcement, and very limited resources, New Orleans’ Latino-community has mushroomed since the storm and is establishing an infrastructure proportional to its size. Take a look at how this community is organizing to defend itself against numerous injustices and the attempts to bridge the gap between themselves as new residents and the pre-Katrina
population, all within the context of the extremely unique and tragic context of post-Katrina New Orleans. Trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2zbIUn3s0h0

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina attacked the Gulf Coast of the United States. A Category-5 hurricane, Katrina destroyed entire towns and left a trail of destruction in her wake. But the impact was magnified by city, state, and federal government negligence, and in no city was there a better example of the government’s failure than in New Orleans, where thousands were killed—both by water and bullets—and hundreds of thousands were left behind to save themselves. In early August 2006, almost one year after the disaster, survivors sit down and talk about their experiences of fighting for survival in the days following Katrina, and how their lives have progressed since returning to New Orleans.

Providing accounts of living in a city whose populace has largely been forgotten, the survivors give a stinging description of a slow reconstruction process that is ignoring the human cost of rebuilding. Down But Not Out shows the people directly affected by the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, and lets those who experienced it tell the stories themselves.

## THURSDAY 29TH MAY

7PM @ Bowl Court
[[ Free Skool - Webmaking Workshop ]]

The first event of the newly setup free skool will be taking place this thursday. People will be meeting at 6:30 to learn about setting up websites and to discuss making one for the free skool.
The next meeting for the free skool itself will be taking place the following thursday, June 5th at Bowl Court from 6:30 pm. If you have any suggestions for future workshops/skill share or would like to get involved then please come along or email bowlcourt@riseup.net.

Next meeting for the Free Skool THURSDAY 5TH JUNE, 6:30PM at Bowl Court
Bit of reading to prepare for the meeting:
‘The Origin and Ideals of the Modern School’ by Francisco Ferrer
Copies online can be found at http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bright/ferrer/origin.html
See also Free Skool Santa Cruz - http://santacruz.freeskool.org/news.php

## FRIDAY 30TH MAY

6PM @ Bowl Court
[[ Radical Theory Reading Group ]]

The readings for the next meeting are both by RD Laing: Ch 1 of The Divided Self (’The Existential-Phenomenological Foundations for a Science of Persons’) and Ch 1 of The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise (’Persons and Experience’).

Downloads here:
http://www.box.net/shared/static/rpoq8yn0gk.pdf
http://www.box.net/shared/static/y4abqs6kow.pdf

9PM @ http://dissidentisland.org/
[[ Dissident Island Radio ]]

Tune in at their nicely revamped website http://dissidentisland.org/
Check their website nearer the time for the info on the show!

## SATURDAY 31 MAY

3PM @ Bowl Court
[[ Pre-meeting for anti-capitalist feminist event ]]

Feminist Fightback, Feminist Activist Forum, Left Women’s network and others will be meeting to discuss holding an anti-capitalist feminist event in the autumn. This is our first meeting, agenda is entirely open, all welcome. For more info contact laura_schwartz2003@yahoo.co.uk or 07890 209479.

9PM - 2AM @ Bowl Court
[[ Music and Lights, Riseup & A.S.S. fundraiser ]]

Music and Lights Benefit on the 31st May is a joint benefit party for www.Riseup.net [who provide valuable web space and email/list services for activist groups Advisory Service for Squatters [www.squatter.org.uk]

Music and Lights Saturday 31st May @ Bowl Court Squat, Plough Yard, Near Drunken Monkey off Shoreditch High Street
9pm-2am

The Music and Lights Crew are staging a funky night of electro,reggae, funk and eclectic tunes.
Two bands of super quality:
Captain Strange - Funk-ska with a ghoulish edge.
www.myspace.com/musicofcaptainstrange
The Juliets - Electro indie to please the dance floor

Djs: Steene, Catnip and CNTRST playing party tunes from afro,hip-hop to dnb Grand Union Crescent come back with their positive reggae vibes and dubstep Visual treats from Raul, Skiprat and slides from Mighty-I & further guests tbc

In between all this there’ll be a puppet performance and food. See you there

£4 suggested donation

## THURSDAY 5TH JUNE

8PM @ Bowl Court
[[ Radical Bike Group London ]]

On 5th of June the Radical Bike Group London will do another Bike Film Night at the bowl court squat starting at 8pm, movie starting 8:30pm.

We’ll show “Even the Girls“ (http://www.redridinghoodproductions.com/index.html), “Bike Like you mean it” (http://www.vimeo.com/1011087?pg=embed&sec=1011087) and maybe some more + we serve tea and some cake. Feel free to bring along bikes, friends, flatmates, neighbors, cake, snacks, drinks or even movies to share as well.
After the screening we will have a bike sound system supported nightly bike ride.

Web: http://londonbikegroup.wordpress.com/

## FRIDAY 6TH JUNE

7.30Pm @ Rampart
[[ rampART’s 4th birthday ]]
Anniversary celebration spectacular

Our favourite community creative centre and social space, the rampART is - despite threats from all sides - still alive. Therefore we want it’s 4th birthday anniversary to be a gorgeous celebration spectacular on the 6th of june. doors open at 7:30pm.

We will have an open house presenting the rampART at it’s best:
- with fabulous films and footage, snippets and slideshows from 4 years rampART
- poetic social- political rants and spoken word performers
- fantastic cabaret and cabaretesque accoustic music
- jam session and live music of rampART’s most loved bands
- dressing up, face painting, arty- crafty creativities
- tea bar, vegan food and drink

Everything is by suggested donations:
All proceeds for the socialcentre seed fund. This is meant to spawn new social centres and help them to get started. There will be more info on the event.

Don’t miss it! It will be the last one… :’(

## THURSDAY 12TH JUNE

7PM @ Bowl Court
[[ Palestinian Film Night ]]

A benefit film night for Anna Wajda, a Polish activist, coordinator of Palestine solidarity group “Viva Palestyna” in Poland.
In October of 2007 she was arrested in West Bank by Israeli authorities. While in prison Anna asked an Israeli lawyer known for defending Palestinians and international human rights activists for assistance. The benefit would help cover the cost of the lawyer’s intervention.

Two films will be shown preceded by an introduction from Anna’s friends:

- Gaza Strip is a 2002 documentary film by James Longley which records events taking place in 2001 during the Second Intifada. The film focuses on 13-year-old Mohammed Hejazi, a second-grade dropout the filmmaker encountered at the Karni crossing in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian children often gather to throw stones.

- Shebab Daiya is a 2003 documentary film with real footage from Palestine: house demolitions, running from Israeli tanks, random shooting, defying the curfew, and interviews with Palestinians. The film was compiled from footage shot by European activists working in Palestine August 2002 to February 2003. During this period the West Bank and Gaza Strip suffered multiple invasions and a constant state of occupation by the Israeli Army. The film was made by videographers working with International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

£3 suggested donation

== And events you might be interested in elsewhere ==

## THURSDAY 29TH MAY

4.30PM @ Brazilian embassy, Green Street
[[ Support further action for Lovinsky Pierre Antoine, this week's Vigil ]]

London Global Women’s strike london@globalwomenstrike.net

1. Endorse Open letter to Brazil and other Latin American governments

which are part of the UN forces in Haiti: “Why are you in Haiti? What are you doing to find Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine?” Send it to your government.

2. Wednesday 28 May: Protests in Brazil and San Francisco, as Brazil’s President Lula visits Haiti to mark four years of Brazil-led UN occupation.
www.haitisolidarity.net and www.haitiaction.net

3. This week’s London vigil will be Thursday 29 May, 4.30pm - 5.30pm, not Wednesday. The Embassy have asked to meet with us after months of vigils and letters. We want a strong presence outside. All are welcome. Continue to email or fax the Brazilian embassy in London, every Wednesday. Phone if you need a model letter.

## THURSDAY 29TH MAY

4PM @ 40 Basinghall St
[[ Justice4Cleaners Demo ]]

In the last fortnight 300 workers on 3 worksites in the city of London got payrises due to J4C protests across London.

Next big demo:

Meet at 4pm at 40 Basinghall St London EC2V 5DE.

nearest tube is Moorgate.

We are hitting one of the biggest cleaning contractors in the UK for
SICK PAY, A LIVING WAGE (£7.20) and UNION RIGHTS.

## WEDNESDAY 4TH JUNE

12 noon @ The Level, Brighton
[[ Carnival against the arms trade ]]

Wednesday 4th June 2008
Meet at The Level, Brighton, 12 noon
www.smashedo.org.uk

In protest against war crimes committed world wide, highlighting EDO MBMs contibution to the war machine. A theme of RED and carnival fun, music and festivities. This is a chance for all groups and campaigns to come and join our local movement.

Wear RED! Bring whistles, banners, drums and be ready to make some noise

A Reclaim The Streets Style protest - Bring drums, pans, whistles, horns, instruments, sound systems and make some NOISE!

We are on the brink of a major victory! Closing down EDO MBM will send shock waves through the arms industry. We want groups from around the country to unite with our local campaign. Come with your own actions and ideas to creatively resist the arms industry!

Transport - There will be people around the country coming who may be able to help with transport – London – email info@dsei.org, Leicester – email chrisgoodwin29@yahoo.com - more soon…

Accommodation - Accommodation is available in Brighton. If you want to arrive the night before email smashedo@hotmail.com

Carnival Against The Arms Trade 2Live Music
The King Blues will have a mobile sound system - www.myspace.com/thekingblues
Rhythms Of Resistance – samba – will be there www.rhythmsofresistance.co.uk

FIT Watch - The Police FIT Team will no doubt be there filming the protest. FIT Watch will be there watching them, and having a demonstration. If you want to help monitor the FIT Team www.fitwatch.blogspot.com

Critical Mass - A critical mass bike ride will meet at Brighton Train Station, June 4th at 11.30am, in support of the Carnival Against The Arms Trade. Push pedals not bombs.

http://www.smashedo.org.uk/carnival.htm

== End of the events bit ==

[[ Save the Rampart, write an objection letter! ]]

We have an example letter below if you do not have the time to write your own, though if you are able, it would really help us if you could write your own individual letters. See the main objections list for the key points. Deadline for objections is currently Wednesday 28th May. Thanks a bunch!

PLEASE SEND YOUR OBJECTIONS TO :

planning@towerhamlets.gov.uk
ldf@towerhamlets.gov.uk
dr.developmentcontrol@towerhamlets.gov.uk
cllr.abjol.miah@towerhamlets.gov.uk

London Borough of Tower Hamlets
15-17 Rampart Street, London, E1 2LA
Objection to Application No: PA/08/00813 and No: PA/08/00814

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
(Specify if you are local resident or a user of the building)

Please find enclosed with this letter my objections to the above planning applications.

Main Objections :
- Loss of character with the demolition of the pitched roof.
- No affordable units or family units
- Poor accessibility
- Loss of community / social functions with the residential conversion
- Inaccuracies and false statement in the marketing report
- What is the community gain / section 106 agreement of this project ?

At present the Rampart is occupied by a “Public Social Centre”, residential spaces, small offices and workshops, a video room, an art gallery, a cafe’, a music-concert space and a rehearsal studio.
The conversion into flats will empoverish and limit the current mixed-use character of the building.

All the proposed flats in the planning application are small units (max 2bed). In an area where family houses are crucial to the community, this proposal would be able to contribute only to the buy-to-let market sector. It would be limited and economically unsound.

There is not provision of socially rented affordable housing.

The flats are not designed according to Life Time Homes standards, therefore they don’t provide enough flexibility to future generations (in particular the elderly). The overall accessibility to this proposed project is very poor.

The ground floor of Rampart is a perfect example of multi-functional space. This space could be very important for the future of the community as it has been over the past years: From supporting bengali women groups meeting to local musicians and artists.

The marketing report indicates that the only solution is the conversion of the building into residential units. What it fails to say is that Rampart has been actively used for the past years and this underlines the necessity, in London, of small and flexible business, workshop, office and art and community space.
We want to see at least the ground floor of the building retained as a community asset.

What are the community gains from this project? What is proposed in the section 106 agreement?

Please consider this objection in the process of deciding the future of this building.

Kind Regards,

<>

Don’t forget the collective meets every monday at 7pm. You will find Bowl Court off Plough Yard which is next to the Drunken Monkey at the junction of Shoreditch Hight St and Great Eastern Street.

Thanks very much

Both social centres under threat

= Hi and welcome to the joint Rampart & Bowl Court Social Centre newsletter for 20th May 2008 =

As you can see from the opening sentence we have finally decided on a name for our new space in Shoreditch. There’s even a specific contact email address and website!
bowlcourt@riseup.net
http://bowlcourt.co.nr/

But now for some surprising bad news.. shortly after settling on a name for the place it is then under threat. Bowl Court was visited by the owners, Hammerson plc, at the weekend and they told us to leave the building or they will start legal action against us. As you can imagine this is pretty disappointing for us but isn’t seen as the end just yet.
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399226.html

And not only that, but now the Rampart building itself has two planning applications on it and we need people to write objection letters to further delay the ending of it. You don’t want to see it go really do you?!
Planning permission for the part demolition of the row of houses has been already been granted, so we are now the last in the line.

We have an example letter below if you do not have the time to write your own, though if you are able, it would really help us if you could write your own individual letters. See the main objections list for the key points. Deadline for objections is currently Wednesday 28th May. Thanks a bunch!

PLEASE SEND YOUR OBJECTIONS TO :

planning@towerhamlets.gov.uk
ldf@towerhamlets.gov.uk
dr.developmentcontrol@towerhamlets.gov.uk
cllr.abjol.miah@towerhamlets.gov.uk

London Borough of Tower Hamlets
15-17 Rampart Street, London, E1 2LA
Objection to Application No: PA/08/00813 and No: PA/08/00814

YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
(Specify if you are local resident or a user of the building)

Please find enclosed with this letter my objections to the above planning applications.

Main Objections :
- Loss of character with the demolition of the pitched roof.
- No affordable units or family units
- Poor accessibility
- Loss of community / social functions with the residential conversion
- Inaccuracies and false statement in the marketing report
- What is the community gain / section 106 agreement of this project ?

At present the Rampart is occupied by a “Public Social Centre”, residential spaces, small offices and workshops, a video room, an art gallery, a cafe’, a music-concert space and a rehearsal studio.
The conversion into flats will empoverish and limit the current mixed-use character of the building.

All the proposed flats in the planning application are small units (max 2bed). In an area where family houses are crucial to the community, this proposal would be able to contribute only to the buy-to-let market sector. It would be limited and economically unsound.

There is not provision of socially rented affordable housing.

The flats are not designed according to Life Time Homes standards, therefore they don’t provide enough flexibility to future generations (in particular the elderly). The overall accessibility to this proposed project is very poor.

The ground floor of Rampart is a perfect example of multi-functional space. This space could be very important for the future of the community as it has been over the past years: From supporting bengali women groups meeting to local musicians and artists.

The marketing report indicates that the only solution is the conversion of the building into residential units. What it fails to say is that Rampart has been actively used for the past years and this underlines the necessity, in London, of small and flexible business, workshop, office and art and community space.
We want to see at least the ground floor of the building retained as a community asset.

What are the community gains from this project? What is proposed in the section 106 agreement?

Please consider this objection in the process of deciding the future of this building.

Kind Regards,

<< End of letter >>

Don’t forget the collective meets every monday at 7pm. You will find Bowl Court off Plough Yard which is next to the Drunken Monkey at the junction of Shoreditch Hight St and Great Eastern Street.

And now on with our usual routine:

[[ Upcoming Events at Rampart and Bowl Court Social Centre ]]

WEDNESDAY 21 MAY, 8pm

-=: Vancover Anti Poverty Committee Fight the Olympics: Public Talk :=-

Action Eastend and London Coalition Against Poverty (LCP) are organising a joint public meeting for a Canadian comrade involved in the Anti Poverty Committee in Canada and anti-olympic solidarity there, she is going to be in London on the Wednesday 21st May and is going to introduce the ‘Five Ring Circus’ film about the travesty of the 2010 Winter Olympics and is willing to discuss and answer any questions people have.
Please feel welcome to attend and please distribute as widely as possible.

THURSDAY 22 MAY, 7pm

-=: FREE SKOOL ON FREE SKOOL :=-

Thursday 22nd from 7pm onwards people will be coming together at Bowl Court Social Centre to discuss the concept of a free skool and how this could be put into practice within the space. So, this is a call for people who want to share knowledge and skills to come and get involved.

Through the institutionalisation of education, knowledge is taken out of the hands of the masses. A free skool aims to reclaim that education for all through sharing theoretical and practical knowledge. This can involve anything from a one off workshop on building a bicycle powered washing machine to individuals with shared interests meeting on a regular basis.

Come along to bowl court social centre (6 Bowl Court, off Plough Yard, next to the Great Eastern street/Shoreditch High street junction) at 7pm on Thursday if you are interested. If you cant make it but would like to get involved email us at bowlcourt@riseup.net

FRIDAY 23, SATURDAY 24 & SUNDAY 25 MAY

-=: City of the Sun, art exhibition :=-
@Bowl Court

With London as the theme, the works depict some of the many possible ways to live this city from different points of view that usually are not represented by the mainstream. “Many of us came here not long ago from other countries. What are we looking for? What sort of dreams are we trying to make real? Why have we left our ”cities of sun” behind?

As foreigners we usually keep strong links with our countries of origin. As a consequence we look at London without forgetting what is happening simultaneously in other parts of the world and with a special attention for what is different from what we were used to, back home. Is the urban space meeting the needs of its inhabitants?

Our artworks are our way to deal with the many dysfunctional elements of this city and with the extreme sense of alienation that we often experience in the disorientating geography of London.

* Friday 6pm -12 opening, drinks and djs
* Sat 1pm - 12 with live music from 6pm
* Sun 1pm - 12 sound performance and video

TUESDAY 27 MAY, 7pm

-=: KKR Private Equity campaign meeting :=-

We are planning a campaign against Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co.(KKR), a private equity firm which ‘flips’ companies. KKR buys companies, strips their assets, puts them into debt, lays off workers and outsources jobs, and then sells them for a huge profit. The result is that KKR makes these companies tax exempt and engages in some very bad labour and environmental practices, for which it takes no responsibility.

The goal of the campaign is to do some education and creative activism, so that people know more about KKR, private equity firms and the damage they cause. We are preparing for both an international day of action (KKR has headquarters in several countries) and an ongoing campaign.

If you’re interested in getting involved, you are welcome to join us at our meeting.

About private equity:

Will Private Equity Help Banks Out of Toxic Mess?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/03/02/ccequity102.xml

Behind the Buyouts: Concerns Growing over Private Equity Buyouts’
Impact on Students, Workers, the Environment
http://www.behindthebuyouts.org/media-center/2008/2/26/new-report-kkr-portfolio-companies-could-put-consumers-worke.html

WEDNESDAY 28 MAY, 7.30 pm

-=: Dos Americas and Down But Not Out film screenings :=-

Screening of Dos Americas and Down But Not Out by Upheaval Productions followed by a talk with one of the film-makers

Post-Katrina reconstruction is still in progress throughout the Gulf Coast, with much of the city of New Orleans still in ruins. Dos Americas: The Reconstruction of New Orleans focuses on those rebuilding this city through interviews with some of the estimated 100,000 Latino migrant laborers who have converged in this area over the past two and a half years.

Despite terrible working conditions, massive fraud, a housing crisis, severe harassment by law enforcement, and very limited resources, New Orleans’ Latino-community has mushroomed since the storm and is establishing an infrastructure proportional to its size. Take a look at how this community is organizing to defend itself against numerous injustices and the attempts to bridge the gap between themselves as new residents and the pre-Katrina
population, all within the context of the extremely unique and tragic context of post-Katrina New Orleans. Trailer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2zbIUn3s0h0

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina attacked the Gulf Coast of the United States. A Category-5 hurricane, Katrina destroyed entire towns and left a trail of destruction in her wake. But the impact was magnified by city, state, and federal government negligence, and in no city was there a better example of the government’s failure than in New Orleans, where thousands were killed—both by water and bullets—and hundreds of thousands were left behind to save themselves. In early August 2006, almost one year after the disaster, survivors sit down and talk about their experiences of fighting for survival in the days following Katrina, and how their lives have progressed since returning to New Orleans.

Providing accounts of living in a city whose populace has largely been forgotten, the survivors give a stinging description of a slow reconstruction process that is ignoring the human cost of rebuilding. Down But Not Out shows the people directly affected by the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, and lets those who experienced it tell the stories themselves.

FRIDAY 30 May, 6pm

-=: Radical Theory Reading Group :=-

The readings for the next meeting are both by RD Laing: Ch 1 of The Divided Self (’The Existential-Phenomenological Foundations for a Science of Persons’) and Ch 1 of The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise (’Persons and Experience’).

Downloads here:
http://www.box.net/shared/static/rpoq8yn0gk.pdf
http://www.box.net/shared/static/y4abqs6kow.pdf

SATURDAY 31 MAY, 3pm

-=: Pre-meeting for anti-capitalist feminist event :=-

Feminist Fightback, Feminist Activist Forum, Left Women’s network and others will be meeting to discuss holding an anti-capitalist feminist event in the autumn. This is our first meeting, agenda is entirely open, all welcome. For more info contact laura_schwartz2003@yahoo.co.uk or 07890 209479.

SATURDAY 31 MAY from 9pm till 2am

-=: Music and Lights, Riseup & A.S.S. fundraiser :=-

Music and Lights Benefit on the 31st May is a joint benefit party for www.Riseup.net [who provide valuable web space and email/list services for activist groups Advisory Service for Squatters [www.squatter.org.uk]

Music and Lights Saturday 31st May @ Bowl Court Squat, Plough Yard, Near Drunken Monkey off Shoreditch High Street
9pm-2am

The Music and Lights Crew are staging a funky night of electro,reggae, funk and eclectic tunes.
Two bands of super quality:
Captain Strange - Funk-ska with a ghoulish edge.
www.myspace.com/musicofcaptainstrange
The Juliets - Electro indie to please the dance floor

Djs: Steene, Catnip and CNTRST playing party tunes from afro,hip-hop to dnb Grand Union Crescent come back with their positive reggae vibes and dubstep Visual treats from Raul, Skiprat and slides from Mighty-I & further guests tbc

In between all this there’ll be a puppet performance and food. See you there

£4 suggested donation

Callout for helpers on the night. People to help out with door, bar, food, and decor always appreciated. Anyone with a car/van to help transport the PA on the Sat and then Sun/Monday
also would be helpful. Should be a fun night!

FRIDAY 6 JUNE

-=: rampART’s 4th birthday :=-
Anniversary celebration spectacular

Our favourite community creative centre and social space, the rampART is - despite threats from all sides - still alive. Therefore we want it’s 4th birthday anniversary to be a gorgeous celebration spectacular on the 6th of june. doors open at 7:30pm.

We will have an open house presenting the rampART at it’s best:
- with fabulous films and footage, snippets and slideshows from 4 years rampART
- poetic social- political rants and spoken word performers
- fantastic cabaret and cabaretesque accoustic music
- jam session and live music of rampART’s most loved bands
- dressing up, face painting, arty- crafty creativities
- tea bar, vegan food and drink

Everything is by suggested donations:
All proceeds for the socialcentre seed fund. This is meant to spawn new social centres and help them to get started. There will be more info on the event.

Don’t miss it! It will be the last one… :’(

If you want to help out with the organising, or have an idea for an activity that should be part of the celebrations then email us at rampart@mutualaid.org

[[ Events elsewhere ]]

SATURDAY 24 MAY, 7pm

-=: PARTIDO PARA “EL BARRIO” :=-

@ Passing Clouds, on Richmond Rd, just off Kingsland road in Dalston, 10 mins from Dalston Kingsland Station. Buses: 149, 242, 243, 67.

Free or donation entry to talk

- Films and speakers upstairs from 7pm

Juan Haro, a speaker from the Movement for Justice in El Barrio will talk in Dalston, London about their struggle against displacement by gentrification in Harlem, New York city.

Dalston, like many other parts of London is undergoing development that will mean rent rises for tenants already struggling to pay extortionate London rents. When an area becomes appealing for investors and “regeneration” it’s those people with money who end up enjoying the new housing, expensive cafes and shops, and the people with less money who end up having to move further away from the centre of the city or who, if they stay, lose the shops, cafes and resources they rely on.

Movement for Justice, the organization of tenants in Harlem, New York that have been struggling against the landlords that want to price them out of their area say;

“This displacement is created by the greed, ambition and violence of a global empire of money that seeks to take total control of all the land, labor and life on earth. Here in El Barrio (East Harlem, New York City), landlords, multi-national corporations and local, state and federal politicians and institutions want to force upon us their culture of money, they want to displace poor families and rent their apartments to rich people, white people with money. They want to change the look of our neighborhood, with the excuse of “developing the community.”

The talk will explore issues around resisting gentrification and the model of organization that Movement for Justice have used to work with each other – an inspiring and educational example from across the Atlantic that we could learn from in London.

“Together, we make our dignity resistance and we fight back against the actions of capitalist landlords and multinational corporations who are displacing poor families from our neighborhood. We fight back locally and across borders. We fight back against local politicians that refuse to govern by obeying the will of the people. We fight back against the government institutions that enforce a global economic, social and political system that
seeks to destroy humanity.”

Talk organized by Hackney Solidarity Network, Hackney Independent, Haringey Solidarity Group and London Coalition Against Poverty.

Contact: hackneysolidarity@hotmail.co.uk

- Movimientos hosts the music downstairs from 9pm

Live music from Kogui
“Rhythms, dances and melodies from the Caribbean coast of Colombia”

Sounds of Tambores, voices, flutes and guitars that have been passed down through the generations, keeping the roots in a mixture of African, Indigenous Indian and European influences
+ Tropical rhythms from Mexican maestro DJ Señor Priego (Movimientos)
+ Original Latin Funk and Boogaloo from Venezuelan crew Le Pico

Entry £5 / free before 9

Passing Clouds
Richmond Rd, just off Kingsland road in Dalston, near Dalston Kingsland Station

Contact:
hackneysolidarity@hotmail.co.uk
movimientosuk@gmail.com