A coalition of protest groups say they remain shut out from public space for marches and rallies against the G-20 Summit slated for next month and said today they are preparing to file suit against the city.

Meanwhile, the Ravenstahl administration says it is willing to give a state senator and administration ally a single day for his own protest gathering at Point State Park.

"My understanding is the women's coalition wants to have the park for the whole week for the tent city," said Claudia Detwiler, a spokeswoman for the Women's Tent City, one of five groups or individuals that have applied for permits for everything from a march from Oakland to the Federal Building, Downtown, on one day of the summit, to an arts rally in the South Side.

The use of Point State Park, which sits at the juncture of the city's three rivers and is the site of both French and British colonial forts, has become the pivotal symbol in the battle for access to protest space.

One group has sought space in the park for a weeklong "sustainable living fair" that would serve as a counter to both the G-20 meeting, a gathering of heads of state and finance ministers to set global economic policy, and the International Coal Conference that will assemble in Pittsburgh in the days before G-20.

State Sen .Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, also submitted an application for a permit to use the park for a protest gathering. Yesterday, the Ravenstahl administration signaled a willingness to provide Mr. Ferlo one day at the Point.

City officials have said public safety officials had already reserved Point State Park as a staging area for a veritable army of police and security personnel expected when heads of state, including President Obama, meet at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Sept. 24-25.

Mr. Ferlo and other protest leaders say they have begun work on a lawsuit to force the city to provide public space to the protest groups.

Mikhail Pappas, a Ferlo aide, today said he was not certain how to respond to the administration's overture.

"Obviously we are embarking on a legal campaign here and our permit isn't the only one that's at stake,"