Hundreds attended the city’s meeting on the playground proposal last year
The Stranger is reporting that text messages show Mayor Bruce Harrell championed the “philanthropic position” of multimillionaire mall developer and Denny Blaine resident Stuart Sloan as the mayor pushed officials last year to address nudity in the neighborhood’s park that has served as a gathering space for queer and naturist communities for decades.
“I have been made aware of the fact that the problem of nudity and hazardous waste has become totally totally unacceptable at the beach.” Harrell said in one text to Sloan reported by the Stranger. “If you are disgusted I share your disgust.”
CHS reported here last December as massive public outcry stopped a plan by Seattle Parks backed by an anonymous donor to add a $550,000 children’s play area to the northwest edge of the park one of the only areas of public access to Lake Washington in one of the wealthiest areas of the city.
That donor was later revealed to be Sloan. The city has maintained Harrell’s relationship with the University Village mall developer had not influenced the decision to move forward with the original playground effort.
The Stranger’s reporting of the messages presents muddier waters with Sloan reportedly texting photos showing Denny Blaine nudity to the mayor and Harrell texts directing officials to “take a more aggressive and immediate approach” and to discuss “‘emergency strategies’ or anything reasonable to restore the park to a normal and reasonable use.'”
The revelation of the messages comes as the community response around Denny Blaine Park has grown along with hopes of preserving the space’s unique place in the city’s parks system. Though Seattle Parks backed off the playground plan and another proposed change that would have created a nudity-free zone in the park, the department says it is now working on efforts to improve the park with the Friends of Denny Blaine community group that formed out of the backlash to the playground plan.
Parks says it plans to fund the improvements to the park’s staircases including upper landings, handrails, and path improvements over the next year.
The Friends group also submitted a concept to SPR’s Parks Community Fund to develop an overall site improvement plan “incorporating accessibility improvements and a long-term plan for the park including the study of the potential for additional parking and restrooms” that is moving forward.
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Hahahaha…. Welcome to the most purple city on earth. But since we are color blind we just call it what we see. (I bought blue and purple tooth brushes for a then boyfriend and I and the found out what color blindness really is. I was too lazy to label the tooth brushes but not in love enough to share them knowingly.)
Imagine being mayor in 2024 in Seattle is fighting for the status quo and hating gay people. How did we end up with this guy?
Seattle homeowners love the status quo almost as much as the love putting BLM or LGBTQ+ supporting signs in their lawn and patting themselves on the back for being part of the solution. They’ll vote for anyone that’ll promise them that their bubbles will never get burst.
I mean they are complaining non stop about the state of the city. I don’t understand why he’s in “everything is fine” mode.
Or how about we just dont want naked people walking around public areas where children are.
Why are you afraid of naked people? Do you want to ban everything you don’t like?
I have only seen a child ONCE in the many, many times I’ve been to Denny Blaine. So I would not call it an “area where children are.”
Also, if you don’t want your child to see naked people, maybe don’t take them where you know there will be naked people.
And this is coming from someone who ADORES children. But not every space has to be a child-centered space. Adults gets spaces, too. And Denny Blaine is very much a queer and nude safe-space, as many, many articles have already explained.
Or how about bring your kids elsewhere. I know it’s a shock to parents, but the world doesn’t always revolve around ‘but the kids’
You’re so close! This was the whole source of the backlash to this plan to start with actually–Denny Blaine ISN’T a place children typically are, or are encouraged to be. Adding in a playground would encourage them to be there, and lead to folks bringing in the pitchforks to drive out the evil evil naked people (who have been there for decades at this point), which is what the rich dude & Brucie probably were hoping for.
Great try though!
Worth noting that Madison has been closed for water quality last week, maybe set hours for nudity so that beach is available for kids etc during day.
Kids have almost every other beach to go to. Kids don’t need access to every square inch of land.
I love kids, but no. The sun is only available during the day. No one is trying to go when it’s cold. There are PLENTY of non-nude beaches to take kids, too. Leave Denny Blaine alone.
Somewhat selfish – Madrona was crazy packed and zero parking.
Denny Blaine isn’t exactly known for its abundance of parking or for being empty on hot summer days either. It IS known for being the only nude beach in the area, though!
Oh but it’s sooooo un-selfish to want a longtime nude beach to change its entire community so parents feel comfortable bringing their kids? Yeah that’s not self-centered at all.
Also, call me whatever you want. I don’t value your opinion of me. ;)
I really cannot get worked up about this story. The playground was proposed, there was uproar, the playground was scrapped. Harrel made the right suggestion in terms of tactics, and it ended up not working. Sloan is a constiuent, and it turns out there were lots more constituents that liked the nude beach. The city did not forcefully remove the nude enclave.
My god, how does that boot taste?
Ah, so you think billionaires should have direct lines to the mayor instead of bureaucracy like the rest of us, the mayor should be able to outright lie to his constituents, and endangering lgbtq+ people under the false pretenses is “the right suggestion in terms of tactics.”
I hope you’re not one of my neighbors. Perhaps you would feel more at home in Florida? They hate gay people, have plenty of beaches, and there are lots of rich folks and lying politicians to brown nose.
Kind of took their comment from 0 to 60 real quick–they didn’t say they supported getting rid of Denny Blaine either, they’re just saying they can’t get worked up about the story because in the end, nothing wound up happening. I have friends who frequent DB who feel the same way; it’s not because they’re homophobic (more are queer) or rich (most are not), they simply have a lot more to worry about than a thing that got blocked & isn’t going to happen anymore.
The whole direct-lines-to-the-mayor thing is shitty, but I’m nearly positive it’s ALWAYS been like this–we just haven’t always had internet connections and cell phones leaving easily-accessed paper trails & the internet to help organize people around an issue quickly.
Nice post. Yes the wealthy have always had direct lines to politicians whether they be Presidents, congress, mayors, councils etc. It’s the way of the world. I don’t believe any of the issues regarding the beach have to do with the participants being LGBTQ, it would be the same if the people there were straight. The playground isn’t happening, no one is chasing nude people out of the park. I bet if everything acted discreet the issue would go away on it’s own.
“Harrell said in one text to Sloan reported by the Stranger. “If you are disgusted I share your disgust.” This statement is fascinating and telling: It has been shown over and over that disgust is the most common of tropes used by outfits like Fox News when presenting the Left and progressive ideas. It is red meat in the culture wars, and is the one thing that can reliably unite Trumpers,conservatives and culture warriors; disgust at what our country’s left leaning cities have become. This response, that of ‘disgust’, is not always the wrong one, liberal cities have a lot to answer for (unaffordable housing among them). It remains, however, the fact that Harrell used this term, twice, when he was in a private text with a wealthy neighbor, smacks of coded speech.
Is anyone surprised that this mayor does exactly what his rich buddies want? That’s how he’s governed since day 1 — prioritizing the concerns
of the richest people and biggest corporations.
I’ve been in a nearby non billionaire neighborhood and bike by the Denny blain park consistently. The press has failed to reflect what’s really going on. This has been a nude beach for a long time. That’s not the problem. The problem is that the nudity is now in the neighborhood. People are walking back to their cars without covering up. Hanging out in the street fully naked and in the bushes doing whatever. I don’t think that’s fair to the neighbors whether they be rich or poor. Keeping rhe beach nude, fine. But why is it unreasonable for people to be upset to see naked people all around their house every time they are on their front steps? The press and much of thw commentary is just class based enjoyment of people not being considerate of others around them.
Oh no naked people walking to their cars??!!! the horror!