We appreciate City Paper’s effort to report on important community matters in Mt. Pleasant. Unfortunately, the focus of this column may lead readers to believe that this community-wide dispute is merely about personalities.

The conflict in Mt. Pleasant is not about personalities but about rights. The MPNA effectively banned all music and cultural expression through the use of voluntary agreements without community input or involvement. The music ban affected the entire community but the most immediate loss was the loss of live Mariachi bands -once a staple of Mt. Pleasant night life.

The agreements were negotiated in secret and kept out of the public eye. They are enforced through complaints, which has led to discriminatory enforcement. This has allowed certain businesses to violate their agreements with impunity, while others, mostly Latino, are subjected to repeated inspections and surveillance.

Mt. Pleasant neighbors, including members of Hear Mt. Pleasant, reached out to the MPNA for years on this issue and were pointedly ignored. Frustration over the ban and its impact on immigrant-owned business and Latin culture in Mt. Pleasant finally led neighbors and business to band together to get these draconian controls lifted.. Far from a personality contest, the“Bout” is about transparency, accountability, participation and who gets to decide the fate of a community’s resources.
Sincerely,

- Hear Mt. Pleasant Steering Committee:
Natalie Avery
Andrea Blatchford
Amber Gallup
Wayne Kahn
Phil Lepanto
David Sachdev
Claudia Schlosberg
Eugene Stevanus
Janelle Treibitz
www.hearmountpleasant.org