Seattle Kills Plan to Build Playground at Gay Nude Beach

metroweekly.com:

Seattle Times. Members of the LGBTQ community have said that Denny Blaine Park has been a safe haven for them for decades.Hundreds of people packed a public meeting last month, filling Seattle’s MLK FAME Community Center beyond capacity, with no attendees speaking in support of the plan.

More than 8,500 people signed their names to an online petition opposing the project, and activists used social media as an organizing tool.Many community members speculated that there was an ulterior motive behind the donor’s request: shutting down the nude beach and, at the same time, eliminating a popular LGBTQ gathering spot.Andy Sheffer, the deputy superintendent of operations at the city’s Parks and Recreation department, pitched the privately-funded project as a chance to build a playground for children in a neighborhood that doesn’t have a play area within a 10- to 15-minute walk, and to complete the project without spending taxpayer dollars.“The intent of this project is absolutely not to target any community members,” Sheffer said as he was assailed with boos and catcalls.

One person yelled, “No one believes it!”Some community members were also taken aback at the seemingly secretive way the project was pushed forward, with many caught unaware.