I shudder and shake my head in disbelief every time I drive by Buena Vista Avenue and Park Street and see the empty building on the intersection’s northeast corner. I remember the sudden rush to tear down the abandoned Queen Anne-style cottage that once stood at 2413 Buena Vista Ave.

Robert Sullwold’s incendiary criticism of city hall and the firefighters union IAFF Local 689 (“City Stuffs Stockings for AFD Firefighters,” March 27) showed dogged and detailed research. He is to be commended for bringing such numbers to light in the community interest.

Oakland’s most beautiful, wild stretch of waterfront is about to go under the bulldozer.

How long did it take the school district, city and housing authority to reach their final “win, win, win” approval of the two-year planning swap deal? Three weeks’ time from the first public notification!

Bill Gates has nothing on our city council when it comes to beneficence toward the favored few.

The Alameda Sun received a copy of this letter addressed to Amy Wooldridge, director of the Alameda Recreation and Park Department.

Dear Ms. Wooldridge:

"You’re representing developers’ interests, not the public’s, therefore we’ll take over and do it ourselves."

Part one in a series