Michael S. Falk
Remembering Michael Falk, taxicab organizer, builder of homes, and friend of a Fruitvale park
Falk, who lived in Oakland for 48 years, had an “inexhaustible spirit” that he devoted to Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park later in life.
by Dick Cluster Oct. 10, 2024
 Michael Falk. Credit: Nancy Falk |
Michael Falk, who died in his home in Oakland on July 5, 2024, at the age of 86, began exploring and embedding himself in his new city from the time he moved here in 1976.
Mike’s greatest legacy in Oakland is, perhaps, his devotion to Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park in the Fruitvale district, on whose board of directors he served for many years. The park documents the history of the land’s many waves of inhabitants and immigrants and offers community services, celebrations of diverse cultures, garden plots, historical healing and educational programs to residents of all origins today.
“What attracted Mike the most,” said the park’s executive director Miguel Lopez, “was the community aspect. He would tell me about his life history as a rabble-rouser and activist, so I think what mattered most to him was the network of communities we’ve worked so hard to engender and support. He loved working with the communities, in a spirit of coming together to provide whatever the government wouldn’t. He would come to so many of the community events and just sit in the audience and sort of secretly show up. Mike had this inexhaustible spirit to keep improving what we did, especially with his hands-on skills.”
Before moving to Oakland, Mike was a teacher, radical activist and political filmmaker in New York (where he was born in 1938), Boston (where he attended Harvard College as a member of the Class of 1960 in 1956-58, 1959-61 [six semesters in total], eventually, in 1966, receiving his B.A. degree in history from Columbia College) and London. A self-taught builder and carpenter, he also left his mark on a piece of land in rural Vermont where he and a friend, both in their 20s, hand-built an off-the-grid log cabin.
In Oakland, Mike spent his first years driving a cab and eventually organizing his fellow drivers in an attempt to buy out Yellow Cab Company and form a co-op. Through this process, he met his future partner of 44 years, Lynne Prather, an artist who was working at the law firm the drivers were consulting.
In the mid-1980s Mike became one of three worker-owners of Akxner Construction, which specialized in home remodeling and building. They removed dangerous lead from homes through a federally funded abatement program, and they rebuilt houses after the Oakland-Berkeley firestorm in 1991.
He then put his skills to work in the non-profit sector as a construction specialist at Mission Housing Development Corporation in San Francisco. Later at Community Energy Service Corporation in Berkeley, Mike did small repairs for low-income seniors and inspected businesses for energy efficiency. He also served as an informal home inspector and adviser for friends, acquaintances and friends-of-friends looking at houses they were considering buying, or those trying to grapple with home repairs — assessing what needed doing, what could wait, and how to do it themselves or find tradespeople or contractors.
Politically, he was active in the John George Democratic Club and the Bay Area chapter of the Venceremos Brigade, where he organized work-study trips to Cuba. That also led to advising and learning from Cuban Americans he met through his construction work, who were interested in traveling to Cuba to reconnect with family there.
After his retirement in 2008, a new and lasting chapter in his community involvement opened when he began volunteering with Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, which leases the grounds and buildings from the city government, runs all the park activities and serves as steward of the land. Always fascinated by history, Mike found the park, between Coolidge Avenue and Peralta Creek on part of the 45,000 acres granted to Luis Peralta by Spain in 1829, to be a new realm of exploration. He volunteered, joined the board of directors, and soon became its vice president, participating in governance, design of new exhibits, community education programs, docent tours and a food bank.
His real love was building and fixing things: improving the buildings and grounds, facilitating the creation of the native plant garden, making an accessible path down to Peralta Creek, replacing broken windows, getting plans to remodel the Coolidge House, fixing leaky faucets, patching ripped banners — whatever needed to be done.
“There was no one like him,” said the park’s previous executive director Holly Alonso. “You don’t find people who get the dynamic of what history can communicate the way Mike did. Or, when we were creating a new border to define our Native Plant Garden, there Mike was, aged 85, driving rebar into huge redwood logs to anchor them, day after day, week after week, getting them hauled up from the creek area and cut into chunks.” He also took charge of negotiations among the Friends, the city Parks and Recreation Department, and the Piedmont Garden Club, which was volunteering garden workers and horticultural expertise.
When others were ready to call it a day after making decisions at board meetings, Mike would say, “Now, let’s get to work.” As Alonso puts it, “I never knew anyone for whom the gap between thought, word and action was so minute. He acted on his intentions without reservation.”
Another small example is his role in the annual Khmer New Year event at the park. Every spring, he would show up early in the morning to prepare by chopping fronds from the park’s planted palm trees, which were a key part of the ceremony.
Last but not least, alongside his other community work, Mike absorbed Oakland’s love for the A’s and its intense frustration with their owner. He and I, Mike’s brother-in-law, went together to the last game of the 2022 season — the one where the team beat L.A. Angels starter Shohei Ohtani, and Steven Vogt hit the winning home run in his last major league at-bat. Between innings we unfurled a big banner painted by Lynne that urged John Fisher to sell the team to someone who would keep it in Oakland. Afterward, we stood by the BART bridge with the sign, where fan after fan stopped to have their photos taken in front of it.
I think of that day, alongside his service to Peralta, the homes he built, and the elders he helped to stay in their homes — as one of his many contributions to the town he made his own.
Michael Falk is survived by his life partner Lynne Prather, and a large extended family that includes five children — Christopher Nelson and Melanie Falk of New York City, Brooke Nelson of Berkeley, Amerin Falk of Oakland and Logan Prather of Los Angeles — as well as two sisters, six grandchildren, his ex-wife Gay Falk of Los Angeles, and many in-laws, outlaws, nieces and nephews, many of whom credit Mike for their professional or amateur skills in home remodeling and repair. Mike’s grandchildren would accompany him to play golf at local public courses, and for years, he could be found on nights and weekends at Bay Area soccer fields for their games.
Contributions may be made in Mike’s memory to Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park. A memorial event will be held at the park on Saturday, April 26, 2025.