Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers

Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers Dispel the Myths About B2B and Suggest Ways to Improve It

 

In the last week we have seen a handful of naysayers try to convince the public that Bay to Breakers is an expensive fiasco enjoyed only by a small band of miscreants.  Well quite frankly, their argument is a sham. B2B is a thriving civic institution, and it will find another sponsor.  The naysayers are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.  So let’s look at the facts. 

 

–ING and San Francisco–

 

January 29, 2009

The day the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System fired ING and moved its portfolio to Great West Retirement Services.

 

Perhaps ING dropped Bay to Breakers because San Francisco dropped ING.

 

 

–Money–

 

$0.⁰⁰        
What Bay to Breakers costs the taxpayers of San Francisco.  B2B is what they call a “full cost recovery” event; the City is wholly reimbursed for its costs, including police, street closures, clean up, etc.  B2B participants are absolutely NOT “partying on the taxpayer’s dime.”  In fact, B2B is a financial boon for the City.

 

$426 Million 
Est. tax revenue from visitors to San Francisco in 2009, according to the SF Convention & Visitors Bureau.  This is just about equal to the ‘09 budget shortfall.

 

$505           
The approx. amount each visitor to San Francisco spends in the local economy.  (Ibid) 

 

7,000      
If just 10% of its 70K+/- participants are from out of town and they all travel alone, the number of visitors B2B draws to the City. 

49 of 50  
The number of states represented by B2B participants in 2008.

 

A Dozen 
The number of friends I can think of who came here—from LA, Nevada, NY, and elsewhere—specifically for this year’s B2B. 

 

$4,000 to 5,000      
How much extra revenue my local corner store owner estimates he makes on B2B.  Just one example of the many small businesses, supermarkets, costume shops, hotels, restaurants, taxis, government entities (e.g. the airport), etc. supported by B2B. 

 

Not only does Bay to Breakers not cost the City money, it generates significant revenue for our economy and government.  

 

 

–The B2B Constituency–

 

14,251                            

The average number of votes received by the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors.

 

15,776
Current membership in Citizens for the Preservation of Bay to Breakers.

 

105,596

Votes received by Gavin Newsom in his 2007 reelection.

 

110,000

Number of participants in 1986 when Bay to Breakers set the Guinness Record for the World’s Largest Footrace.  The total number of participants and spectators currently hovers around 100,000.

 

Unanimous. Twice.

The Board of Supervisors’ vote in favor of resolutions to “preserve the unique spirit of the race”—floats and all—in 2009 then again in 2010.

 

The people who enjoy and support Bay to Breakers comprise an enormous political constituency.  Call us the unwashed masses if you want, just don’t forget that we are massive.

 

 

–Problems & Perspective– 

24 Tons
The amount of waste collected at B2B 2010, per DPW and the Rec. and Park Dept.  On the surface it’s an alarming figure, and we certainly want to see it drop markedly, but let’s put this in perspective.  [Having worked in green tech for years, I know a little about this.]

4.5 Pounds
The average amount of waste each American generates per day (EPA 2008).  You want to be alarmed about something?  This is it.

 

157.5 Tons
The amount of waste that 70,000 people would be expected to generate during any normal day. 

 

We have pushed for more receptacles and more respect from participants.  The waste from B2B can and should decrease.  But let’s remember that: a) it is collected almost immediately, to DPW and Rec. & Park’s great credit; b) the collection costs are reimbursed; c) consumerism is not B2B’s fault.

 

 

8, Then 10, Then 15 Minutes

Amount of time I spent waiting in line for a porta-potty at various points along the course.

 

1 Mile
About how far behind someone would be if her friends continued walking while she waited in line for 15 minutes.

 

6 Times
How much more efficient multi-person urinals would be for the men, thereby decreasing lines for the women as well.

Less than 1/3
How much the urinals cost per user compared to standard porta-potties. 

 

Public urination is a problem at B2B—no question.  But aren’t we the city that knows how?  Problems have causes and they have solutions.  More bathrooms, more efficient bathrooms, revised barricades, and tickets for urinating on private property can dramatically reduce this problem.

 

 

Fewer than 5
The number of arrests at B2B 2010, much like the year before and the year before that.

 

“Peaceful”

How SFPD described the event.

 

0

How many fights I’ve seen in seven years at B2B.

 

Bay to Breakers is and always has been a peaceful celebration.

 

100

Rough approximation of the neighbor complaints received by City Hall officials about B2B 2010 (an educated guess based on several sources).

 

From its inception our group has worked to diminish the impact on host neighborhoods: pushing for additional waste bins and porta-potties, renting the latter ourselves, hiring a clean-up crew, and most importantly encouraging our members to be respectful.  We take neighbor complaints very seriously, and we have suggested a variety of specific policies to lessen B2B’s impact (visit: savebay2breakers.org).  But let’s not miss the forest for the trees. 

 

These 100+/- complaints should be considered in the context of the roughly 100,000 participants and spectators who enjoyed the event, the millions of dollars brought into the local economy, and the perennial strut of a city with spirit and personality. 

We can resolve the event’s negatives while preserving its positives.  To propose, as some naysayers have, that Bay to Breakers’ be sterilized or shut down because of a few solvable problems is preposterous, like suggesting your dog be put to sleep because he has fleas.  Prohibitions on floats or alcohol are not reasonable policies; they are knee-jerk reactions to problems that can be solved with better management.  Reasonable policy, for example, would have been a barricade at Hayes and Divisadero that got participants to turn onto Divis instead of continuing into the neighborhoods on Hayes. 

 

It is our opinion that Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the race “owners”, have intentionally under-serviced Bay to Breakers and pushed negative stories about it in order to justify a crackdown that they believe will save them money.  Whether that negativity contributed to ING’s departure, we cannot say.  We are however quite confident that when the facts about Bay to Breakers are laid bare, the sponsors will come.  

 

Oh, one last number:

 

99 Years
That’s how long Bay to Breakers has been fulfilling its mission to lift San Francisco’s spirits.  Here’s to the next 99.

 

Conor Johnston, Co-Chair

cjohnston 2010, AEG, Bay to Breakers, Floats 2011, AEG Worldwide, b2b, Bay to Breakers

Well, unfortunately we were right.

I. AEG is Pushing a False Narrative to Mask Their Own Mismanagement.

We were at Bay to Breakers on Sunday.  We saw 70,000+ people having fun and peacefully celebrating their city.  By-and-large we thought it was a huge success.  Most media reports agreed.  Even AEG’s race director, Angela Fang, said “we had just a phenomenal day… it went exceptionally well.”

…At least that’s what she said on Monday.

Now AEG Worldwide, the “owner” of San Francisco’s 100 year old Bay to Breakers, along with their PR agent Sam Singer, are trying to convince you that B2B 2010 was a catastrophe.  In today’s Chronicle they suggest B2B was so bad that they “will propose a ban on alcohol for next year.” Huh?

Why with so many glowing media reports on the event are they already announcing bans for next year?  Let us explain.  The Chronicle article was written by C.W. Nevius, the only writer we’ve seen say such negative things about this year’s event.  In fact, this was his second negative article on the subject in the last two days (read the first here).  Both are heavily biased in favor of Sam Singer and his client, AEG, to give them fodder to ban the fun of San Francisco’s annual tradition.

Were there problems at this year’s B2B?  Yes. But as we will explain, those problems should be addressed with proper resources, not dishonest smear campaigns.  Don’t let AEG blame their mismanagement of the event on the people of San Francisco.

II. AEG’s Campaign to Sterilize B2B Continues.

We warned you. In the run up to this year’s Bay to Breakers, we published an article entitled 2010 Bay to Breakers Alert! AEG Worldwide Engaged in Multi-Year Campaign to Destroy San Francisco Tradition. In the article, we outlined how AEG was unable to achieve their goal of banning floats, nudity and alcohol from the 2009 Bay to Breakers and therefore would attempt to dismantle the fun piece-by-piece over the next few years.  Well, they tried to take away floats from the 2010 event.  We fought that and won.  Now for next year’s 100th anniversary, they’re back to banning alcohol, and likely will show up with additional fine print restrictions to ban floats and who knows what else before next year’s event.  It never ends with these people.  You know why?

Let’s break it down.

In our meetings this year with race director and AEG employee Angela Fang, she made it clear that Bay to Breakers “is not a civic parade” and that her goal was to make it a plain old 12K footrace.  Sans fun. Unless, of course, the fun qualifies for participation in the Disneyland parade.  In a moment of anger, she told us that “we will not support 20,000 bandits over 7.5 miles” referring to those “bandits” who haven’t paid the $48 registration fee.  (Oh, did any of you check out the article on the Bandit-In-Chief?  Yes, Mayor Gavin Newsom showed up to run without registering, referring to himself as “one of those bandits.”  Maybe that’s why Sam Singer has now started calling them “pirates” instead.)

Our group has always said that B2B participants should pay their fair share; increased registration is central to our message.  The problem is, whether they use the word “bandit” or “pirate”, AEG and Angela Fang have shown a naked contempt for the people who see B2B as something more than just a footrace.  The “revelers”, as we call them, are the people who make this event unique, who make it San Franciscan.  Yet rather than trying to include them, provide adequate services for them, or encourage them to register (as we have done on all counts), AEG and Fang have demeaned and alienated them.

III. The Problem Is Not “Pirates”. The Problem Is a Lack of Resources.

In today’s article, Singer is quoted as saying, “we have a group of pirates who are using the streets and people’s homes as toilets.” There is obviously no excuse for that behavior.  But let’s focus on this for a long moment: why is it happening, and how can we stop it?

1. First of all, get more toilets AEG. Yes, more, more, more.  We told you over and over again in 2009 that the Panhandle and other problem areas were suffering from a severe shortage of resources (read: port-a-potties!).  We went so far as to establish a Flush Fund and raised money to rent more toilets for those key problem areas.  It must have worked, because we didn’t get many public urination complaints in 2009.
2. Get some portable urinal troughs for the men.  Actually, get a lot. Bucky’s has some here.  If a guy can stand and pee on a tree, bush, wall, driveway or rose bush, why not have him pee in one of these?  Seriously, there should be a sea of urinal troughs and port-a-potties in the panhandle.  A guy can be in and out in 30 seconds and leave the port-a-potties to the ladies.
3. Account for spectators.  Race organizers need to get real.  Not everyone out there is a drunken “pirate”.  In fact, it is consistently estimated that there are 100,000 people in the streets on the day of Bay to Breakers.  If there are 30,000 registered runners and 30,0000 unregistered “pirates”, simple math shows us that we are missing 40,000 people. Oh yeah, we forgot about those people called spectators, which AEG would like to ignore providing resources for.
4. Host an event for the revelers in the park.  Not some family oriented “Footstock”, but something substantial with a band that might be seen at Outside Lands.  You want to get people out of the neighborhoods?  Get them into the park.
5. AEG should better allocate barriers and police resources along problem areas, like the Panhandle, to prevent the small percentage of “pirates” that actually do pee on private property.  We’re not defending them.  Use police resources to stop them.  A barrier with police positioned appropriately should solve the remainder of the problem.

Waiting 15 minutes or more in a port-a-potty line (as people we heard from did on several occasions Sunday) is unacceptable, regardless if you’ve been drinking beer, water or anything else.  And, it isn’t just a line of “pirates”, but a line of registered participants and spectators too.   Not to mention volunteers and the police. When you gotta go, you gotta go.  And not many people can hold it for 15 minutes when you gotta go. Put a sea of port-a-potties and urinal troughs out there (especially in the panhandle), and your problem is mostly solved. Stop blaming it on the booze and the “bandits”, uh sorry, “pirates”.

IV.  Maybe It’s Time for a Local Non-Profit to “Own” Bay to Breakers.

AEG will continue to use Singer to fabricate a public outcry that doesn’t really exist. Why would you think AEG’s goals for 2009 to ban alcohol, nudity and floats would suddenly change? This is a monster, for-profit, private corporation with a billionaire conservative owner who openly despises San Francisco values, and you think they’re just going to lose a fight one year and go away quietly the next?

AEG won’t rest until Bay to Breakers is transformed into an ordinary 12K footrace that maximizes profit for the corporation and represents the family values of its owner, Philip Anschutz.

And they’ve got a supporter in City Hall, Martha Cohen, the individual many cite as being personally responsible for the “death of fun” in San Francisco, having led the effort to end Halloween in the Castro and the Embarcadero New Year’s party.

Wake up San Francisco.  This isn’t over.  Stand tall and protect your traditions before they all evaporate at the hands of a few in power.  AEG needs to stop pointing the finger of blame at others and take responsibility for its own failures as organizer and manager of this event.  And, ultimately, city agencies such as ISCOTT should reject AEG’s applications for future permits unless they are willing to take responsibility for past failures and allocate sufficient resources and plans to end the recurring problems in the neighborhoods.  If they won’t do it, another event organizer will.

Oh yeah, and if AEG claims one more time that they are “losing money” on this event every year, it’s time to show us your financials. Nobody believes you anymore.

It’s time to put down the magnifying glass and pick up the mirror, AEG.

CPBB 2010, 2011, Bay to Breakers 2010, 2011, AEG Worldwide, Angela Fang, b2b, Bay to Breakers, Martha Cohen, Philip Anschutz, Sam Singer

San Francisco’s 99^th Bay to Breakers is exactly one month away.  Here’s a quick overview of this year’s policies.  (If you plan on entering a float, you should definitely read AEG’s page as well.)   

 

1.  The Float Course:

          Floats retain their inalienable right to start at the beginning of the course, and there will be a 2^nd start area at the Civic Center.

          PLEASE NOTE: Floats will not be able to go the entire race route this year.  AEG says they will be routed off just past the Conservatory of Flowers in the park.  Needless to say, we are not happy about this change and hope to see it undone next year.  On the bright side, floaters can continue walking and leave their floats parked at the Conservatory until 6PM, and this new float end point could turn into a great party.

          SERIOUSLY: Don’t try to enter your float at Divis or in the Panhandle.  Even if you make it on the course, you will be routed off about a mile later in the park. 

         

2. Float Registration
          There is a new float registration system this year.  It’s $250 per float, which includes wrist bands for 20 people.  That’s $12.50 per person.  Nobody likes fees, but it costs a lot of money to make B2B a reality, and we think it’s important for floaters to pay their fair share.  We strongly encourage you to register.  The details are here:  http://ingbaytobreakers.com/index.php?page=floats   

 

3.  Float Restrictions

          AEG included some size restrictions in the fine print this year.  Floats aren’t supposed to be longer than 12 feet, or taller or wider than 8 feet.  We don’t know if there’s gonna be an army of bureaucrats wielding tape measures or what.  But if you have already built, or are planning on building a float that exceeds these dimensions, please email us at savebay2breakers@gmail.com ASAP.  We may be able to help. 

 

4.  Runner + Walker Registration
          If you’re gonna be traveling the B2B route on foot, we strongly encourage you to register too.  http://ingbaytobreakers.com/index.php?page=runners-walkers

 

Why should you register?  Well, consider this.  The main reason AEG tried to restrict things (floats/alcohol/anything resembling fun) this year and last year is that they think it will save them money.  These are financial calculations for them.  So as long as AEG “owns” the race, the best way we can preserve our traditions is to undermine their cost argument by paying our fair share.    

 

5.  Alcohol

          Kegs and glass bottles are specifically prohibited.  SFPD probably will be taking taps.  Beyond that, our recommendation is if you choose to drink just be discreet.  As AEG’s spokesman Sam Singer said on KCBS:  “It’s illegal to have open containers of alcohol, but as long as people don’t have kegs and they don’t have bottles, I think everybody will be simpatico.”

 

6.  The Neighbors

          Most importantly, please, please respect the neighbors. They are our hosts, and B2B would not happen without them.  They don’t need us fertilizing their lawns or driveways. 

 

If you have any questions between now and the 3^rd Sunday in May, feel free to post them on the group page or email us directly. 

 

Thanks and see you on the course,

 

CPBB

cjohnston 2010, AEG, Bay to Breakers, Floats Bureaucrats wielding tape measures, Kegs, Neighbors, Registration, Sam Singer

First off, BUILD YOUR FLOATS!

Let us be very clear: Floats are a part of this race, and they will stay a part of this race.

Floats will be allowed to enter at the beginning of the course route and to go over the famous Hayes Street hill. We worked hard to protect this right. So please, start building.

We wanted additional float staging area(s) along the course, and race organizers are now proposing to add the Civic Center for this. We fully support this plan, which should be finalized early next week.

As always, floats will start after the runners and walkers have passed.

There will be a new registration price for float participants of $12.50-$15.00 per floater. This will be much cheaper than the regular runners’ registration. We support this plan (in fact, it was our idea last year) because it’s important for floaters to help offset expenses of the event. The registration details should be available early next week as well.

Those are the float details as we currently know them. We’ll post more as we know it.

So then what was all the hullabaloo about this year? Here’s a brief synopsis of the behind the scenes, if you’re interested:

Back in January, the race organizers announced that floats would only be allowed to enter the course at Divisadero and that they would be routed off 1.2 miles later at Arguello. We at CPBB considered this an unnecessary and unjustified restriction on floats, equivalent to banning them from about 85% of the course. We were also very concerned that this was another step in the race organizers’ long-term plan to sterilize Bay to Breakers.

We began discussions with the race organizers immediately after their January announcement. To their credit, the organizers were forthright and willing to work with us. They expressed concerns about the costs of operating B2B (a fair point and the reason why CPBB encourages every participant to register). We said that floats have been and should continue to be full participants in this event. The Panhandle resident/merchant groups were concerned about staging floats in a neighborhood on Divis, rather than a commercial area at the start, or an open area like the Civic Center. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the patron saint of B2B, helped us all broker a resolution—again.

Race organizers ultimately agreed to restore the floats’ status, staging them at the course start and adding another entrance along the route (something we were pushing for last year). We are very thankful to them, to Supervisor Mirkarimi and his aides, the Mayor’s office, and of course the neighbors and neighborhood groups along the route for working to make B2B 2010 a success. We hope the agreements we have reached this year will endure, and that our concerns about the organizers trying to sterilize B2B will prove unfounded. Either way, CPBB will be here to preserve our favorite San Francisco tradition.

cjohnston 2010, AEG, Bay to Breakers, Floats

The 2010 ING Bay to Breakers rules were quietly announced last week…and if you aren’t alarmed…you should be.

We are now witnessing a sustained, multi-year campaign to destroy Bay to Breakers

Last week, Los Angeles-based race owner and organizer, AEG Worldwide, quietly updated their ING Bay to Breakers course map and start line instructions on their website to exclude floats from the start of the 2010 race, an unprecedented change and significant departure from the 2009 compromises reached after they waged a sustained campaign to ban alcohol, nudity and floats from the 99-year old San Francisco tradition.

At the same time these new restrictions were posted, they directed San Francisco crisis consultant, publicist Sam Singer, to release a story to the San Francisco Chronicle entitled 99th Bay to Breakers to be much like the 98th. AEG is attempting to hide the new restrictions and avoid another public relations disaster akin to 2009, when groups like Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers (CPBB), with over 25,000 members, were quickly formed to fight the hijacking of one of San Francisco’s defining traditions.

We are not going to let this corporation quietly destroy our city’s traditions

We again call on the citizens of this great city and the citizens of the world who love San Francisco, its values and traditions, to fight AEG’s continued attacks on the Bay to Breakers tradition. Join our group and spread the word to fight this injustice. 2009 was the cleanest and most responsible Bay to Breakers event in recent history. Let’s continue on the positive tone set in 2009 and prevent our great traditions from being hijacked by an out of town corporate giant with a right wing agenda and a thirst for profit.

Please help us preserve B2B.  Post this as your Facebook status:
AEG is trying to destroy Bay to Breakers again.  Help us save it! 1) Join Facebook group Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers http://www.facebook.com/citizensf?ref=ts 2) Invite your friends 3) Post this as your status. 4) Call Mayor Newsom’s office (415-554-6141) and ask them to save B2B.

And for more about AEG’s anti-San Francisco shenanigans, read on

In the words of Carol Ann from 1986’s Poltergeist II… “They’re baaaack.”

Make no mistake, this is the sequel. The sequel to a horror story about an out-of-town, profit-hungry, extremist conservative organization bent on eliminating all the fun and unique tradition that Bay to Breakers has evolved into in a hundred years. This ruthless company is AEG Worldwide, the often controversial and bully tactic organization owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz, a Christian activist and republican donor who is a generous supporter of anti-gay-rights legislation, intelligent design, the Bush administration and efforts to sanitize television. Read more about Philip Anschutz and his controversial organization.

The sterilization of San Francisco’s beloved Bay to Breakers is just another step in AEG’s campaign to apply their extremist conservative values and profiteering to a uniquely San Francisco pastime. AEG acquired the century old race in 2004 with their purchase of the San Francisco Examiner newspaper, the previous owner and race organizer, ending a 93-year tradition of San Francisco ownership.

After the 2009 bans and new 2010 restrictions, if you still doubt the motivations of AEG and its owner, Philip Anschutz, read on…

“Named Fortune’s “greediest executive” in 1999, the Denver resident is a generous supporter of anti-gay-rights legislation, intelligent design, the Bush administration and efforts to sanitize television. With a net worth of $5 billion, he is Forbes ‘ thirty-fourth richest American, two spots above Revlon’s Ronald Perelman. Anschutz heads a vast media empire whose assets include the Examiner chain, twenty percent of the country’s movie screens, and a sizeable stake in Qwest Communications, the scandal-ridden telecom giant he formerly directed. (Anschutz was accused of helping falsely inflate Qwest profit reports, then making millions by selling his own shares in the company — a claim he ultimately settled by paying millions to charity.)”

– excerpt from Justin Clark’s 2006 article Citizen Anschutz

CPBB became aware of the new 2010 float restrictions only after they were posted on the ING Bay to Breakers website and the SF Chronicle article was published. Even with an organization of more than 25,000 members built in just a couple of weeks in 2009 to fight AEG’s bans and preserve the traditions of the race, AEG did not approach CPBB or any of its officers to discuss the new 2010 restrictions prior to their announcement. AEG did not approach Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s office or the Board of Supervisors to discuss the new 2010 restrictions. AEG did not approach Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office to discuss the new 2010 restrictions. AEG did not approach the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association to discuss staging floats in their neighborhood instead of at the start of the race.

Instead, and once again, AEG retained a highly-priced crisis consultant to stage the story in the press and gloss over the simple fact that…

AEG is now engaged in a long-term dismantling of San Francisco’s beloved Bay to Breakers footrace.

This will be a sustained, multi-year campaign to end the fun on the part of AEG. Don’t let them ruin the spirit of Bay to Breakers. Please join us and fight this injustice!

CPBB 2010, AEG, Bay to Breakers