Author: Todd_Lappin

Alemany Farm Raising Funds to Build Outdoor Kitchen

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

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There’s some tasty infrastructure news coming out of the Alemany Farm that overlooks scenic I-280 along Alemany Boulevard. Plans are afoot to build an outdoor kitchen on the site, and  former Bernal resident Aaron Mckenzie from the California College of the Arts is spearheading involved with the design effort. Aaron writes:

A team of artists, architects and designers from California College of the Arts is working with the Alemany Farm to design and construct an outdoor community Kitchen on site. The team has been awarded a $10,000 grant though the IMPACT Social Entrepreneurship Awards to execute this collaborative, community-based project.

Meanwhile, a Kickstarter campaign got underway yesterday to complete funding for the project:

Our set goal is to raise $5,000 to help cover the cost of permitting fees, contract labor, an ADA accessible walkway, as well as some finishing touches to the kitchen. With the additional funds, we anticipate to finish construction by the end of September. But with this minimum goal, we can only give the farm the bare essentials. So we’re hoping to raise more than just $5,000. The hope for us is to build the farm a fully functional kitchen, complete with natural gas line and stove. This will allow the farm to conduct proper cooking classes in the long run.

Here’s the video:
[gigya src=”http://www.kickstarter.com/swf/kickplayer.swf” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” wmode=”opaque” flashvars=”backcolor=000000&controlbar=over&file=https%3A%2F%2Fd2pq0u4uni88oo.cloudfront.net%2Fprojects%2F627044%2Fvideo-271511-h264_high.mp4&image=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fksr%2Fprojects%2F627044%2Fphoto-full.jpg&project_creators=A+Food+project+by+Team+AOK&project_title=Alemany+Outdoor+Kitchen&project_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kickstarter.com%2Fprojects%2Falemanykitchen%2Falemany-outdoor-kitchen” height=”360″ width=”640″ ]

The fund drive ends on August 19. You can find more information about the project on the Facebook, or visit the Kickstarter page to make a contribution.

PHOTOS: Alemany Farm Outdoor Kitchen

Celebrity Magazine Celebrates Art Collection of Celebrity Bernal Neighbor

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In addition to claiming several famous rockstars as residents and providing a glamorous background for indie music videos, Bernal Heights is also home to meta-rockstar Jordan Kurland of Zeitgeist Artist Management and San Francisco’s much-loved NoisePop music festival.

This week, 7×7 Magazine published an article about Neighbor Jordan’s music-themed art collection:

Growing up in Chicago in the ’70s and ’80s, Jordan Kurland’s bedroom walls were plastered with posters of Michael Jordan and The Who. While this teenage practice of Scotch-taped decor is fairly common, less expected is the transformation of that dedication to visual pop-culture stimuli into a full-fledged art collection. In Kurland’s case, such an impressive assembly of witty street art and classic rock-and-roll photography is a natural extension of his successful music career.

“I started with works from up-and-coming artists who were designing concert posters for Noise Pop,” says the Bernal Heights resident, who cofounded the San Francisco indie-music festival in 1993. “I was just trying to get stuff up on my walls.” In his quest to fill blank spaces, Kurland—who also helms Zeitgeist Artist Management, an agency that represents such celebrated acts as Death Cab for Cutie and the New Pornographers—acquired early graffiti-inspired pieces by the likes of Noise Pop contributors Thomas Campbell, William Swanson, and Shepard Fairey, all now firmly established in the art world.

PHOTO: Jen Siska/7×7

ParkletMania Sweeps Cortland as Vino Rosso Seeks Parklet Approval

/ Todd_Lappin / 104 Comments

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Is it a fad? Or is it… the fuuuuuuuuuuuture?

Suddenly, Cortland is awash in Parkletmania.

It started at Neighbor Mutsumi Takehara’s restaurant at 903 Cortland, where construction of a new parklet is now underway following a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign.  Now several neighbors alerted Bernalwood that the VinoRosso wine bar — just two blocks away from 903 — has posted notices that it too would like to install a parklet out front.

Is this a sudden shower of new-urbanist awesome? Or too much of a good thing? Or is it like one of those “End of the Universe” situations where you’ve got a Starbucks across the street from another Starbucks? Discuss.

PHOTO: Neighbor Sarah. Hat tip: @HurleyMcDingus

Movesoonthanks! Parked Motorcycle Tagged with Classic Parking Note

/ Todd_Lappin / 63 Comments

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Neighbor Ron spotted this doozy of a parking note attached to a classic motorcycle on Eugenia and Wool this morning.

Three observations about the note itself: 1) The idea of reporting motorcycles for 72 hour parking may be true to the letter of the law, but not the spirit, since bikes take up relatively little urban space; 2) Impressive head-fake on the tone, which starts out friendly and complimentary but ends snippy and unmellow; and 3) Best parking note sign-off ever = Movesoonthanks!

PHOTOS: Neighbor Ron

Bernal Heights Real Estate Goes From “Hot” to “White Hot”

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

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And now, more evidence of what you already knew: Bernal Heights real estate is hot. Average sales prices here have topped $1 million, and according to realtor dpaul Brown, Bernal Heights (along with the Inner Mission, Noe Valley/Castro, South Beach, and Hayes Valley) is not merely hot — it’s actually white hot:

Virtually every area of San Francisco and the Bay Area has been experiencing dramatic home-value appreciation in the past 12 to 18 months. Some that were hard hit by distressed property sales, which experienced the largest price declines, have surged in price but remain 20% – 30% below previous peak values reached in 2006 – 2008. As a state, California is still about 25% below its 2007 pre-crash median home price. And in San Francisco itself, many if not most neighborhoods now appear to have re-attained or moved slightly beyond previous high points.

But in this past quarter, a handful of neighborhoods and districts in the city have leapt well beyond the highest average home values achieved in the past. Interestingly, comparing these white-hot areas with one another, there are often huge differences in property type, era and style of construction, and neighborhood culture or ambiance. But all of them have been very affected by affluent – often newly affluent – high-tech professionals of one age group and level of affluence or another. Naturally, these neighborhoods are highly desired by other buyers too – often professionals in finance, bio-tech, medicine and law – but the high-tech-buyer dynamic has generally super-charged these markets in particular.

The article goes on to add that Bernal appeals to people who want “family-friendly neighborhood ambiance, but at a more affordable cost.” And freeways.

IMAGES: Photo, Library of Congress. Chart, via dpaul Brown. Hat tip: Neighbor Anita

Hidden Part of Bernal Heights Looks Oddly Like Rural France

/ Todd_Lappin / 21 Comments

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Last year, Bernalwood showed you a secret part of Bernal Heights that actually looks a lot like Alabama.

Now, in the photo above, Neighbor Ed Brownson captured a secret part of Bernal Heights that actually looks a lot like rural France. And the funny thing is, the Alabama-like place and this France-like place are only a few hundred yards apart.

And where are these mysterious Bernal places that look sort of like Alabama and sort of like rural France, right here in the heart of San Francisco?

Let the Guess Where Games begin.

PHOTO: Ed Brownson

Friday: A Special Wine and Food Pairing at 903 Cortland

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

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Attention oenophiles! And foodies! And oenophiles who are also foodies! Or vice-versa!

Neighbor Alder Yarrow is the founder and editor of the glamorous Vinography wine blog, and he’s underground-famous in Bernal Heights for the enthusiasm he brings to organizing neighborhood events that combine good wine with friendly mixing and mingling.

Recently, Neighbor Alder joined forces with Neighbor Mutsumi Takehara from 903 Cortland to launch “Taste of Bernal Heights,” a series of cozy wine dinners during which 36 people (in two seatings of 18 each) get the opportunity to taste some primo vino while Neighbor Alder acts as resident sommelier/entertainer for the evening.

The pilot event was a big hit a few weeks back, so now Neighbors Alder and Mutsumi are doing it again this Friday, August 2:

Alder will be pouring hard-to-find wines from four of California’s hottest Pinot Noir producers to accompany an Asian-influenced, five-course menu created specifically for the evening by Mutsumi Takehara of Sandbox Bakery and 903 restaurant.

Alder will serve as host and sommelier for the evening, and will be available to answer your questions about the wines. Two seatings will be available: 5:30-7:30 and 8:00-10:00

MENU:
Stuffed Shishito Peppers with Shrimp plus Seasonal Fish Carpaccio
Farro Salad with Mint and Kaffer Lime
Mary’s Organic Roast Duck with Five Spice and Bing Cherries
Niman Ranch Pork Loin with Sautéed Mushrooms
Pinot Noir Poached Peach with Thai Basil Parfait

WINE PRODUCERS:
Peay Vineyards
Jamie Kutch Wines
Red Car Wines
Chanin Wines

Tickets are required, and you can get ’em right here… while they last.

ILLUSTRATION: Telstar Logistics

Free Wi-Fi Coming Soon to Cortlandia

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

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San Francisco is moving ahead with a program that will install free WiFi networks at 31 locations around the City, and the Bernal Heights Recreation Center just off Cortland was selected as one of the free hotspots. If all goes according to plan, the service will be operational by Spring 2014.

The free service comes courtesy of Google, and the San Francisco Chronicle provides the background:

Six years after a deal to blanket the city fell apart, Supervisor Mark Farrell and Google will announce a plan Wednesday to bring public wireless Internet access, on the technology company’s dime, to parks, recreation centers and plazas across San Francisco. The $600,000 gift from Google will cover the costs of the equipment, installation and maintenance of wireless capabilities for two years.

It will allow residents to work from Mission Dolores Park, let visitors download information to their mobile devices in Civic Center Plaza and make it easier for parents to sign their children up for recreation programs at centers from the Excelsior district to Bernal Heights, Chinatown, the Marina and the Sunset District. In some of those areas, it may be the easiest place to find Internet access, Farrell said.

Sad Neighbors Want to Know Who Hit Their Parked Car on Saturday Night

/ Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

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This is a sad photo of Neighbor Amanda’s car. The car was hit on Saturday night while parked on the east side of Bernal Heights. Neighbor Amanda and her husband are understandably very sad, and they would welcome your help to track down the driver who did this:

My husband’s car was parked on the corner of Montcalm/Brewster [on Saturday] night, next to the mailbox. At around 2am, it was rear-ended hard enough to be pushed ~10 feet and wedged under the Subaru Outback in front of it. The car that hit it was apparently a teal Nissan, because it left its grille behind. Many neighbors heard it happen, but nobody called 911. Kind thanks to all the neighbors and Officer Adams from the Ingleside for their help (and coffee) this morning.

Officer Adams underscored the importance of calling 911 when you hear an accident, even if you don’t have a license plate number or description. More eyes and more cops around the neighborhood lessen the chances of drunk drivers racing through the neighborhood.

If anyone sees a teal Nissan with a smashed-up front end, please let the Hit and Run unit know at 553-1641.

PHOTO: Neighbor Amanda

Tonight! Virgil’s Sea Room Patio Grand Opening Party

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

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Important drinky news from our new neighbors at Virgil’s Sea Room on Mission at Precita: Just in time for fog season, Virgil’s is ready to open up their backyard patio, and they’re having a grand opening party tonight to celebrate.

Co-owner Tom wrote to Bernalwood to invite you:

I wanted to be sure that you had all of the information about the Grand Opening Patio Party we are hosting at Virgil’s Sea Room on Friday evening July 26 from 7pm-close. Our gorgeous patio is ready for your outdoor drinking pleasure so come celebrate under the stars with us. We are pulling out all the stops to welcome you into our new backyard with a tasty pop up food vendor, photobooth, free giveaways and more at our patio opening party presented by The Bold Italic.

PHOTO: via Virgil’s Sea Room on the Facebook

Revealed: The Future of the Former Stray Bar on Cortland

/ Todd_Lappin / 42 Comments

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Bernalwood has received lots and lots and lots of questions about the former home of the (much-loved) Stray Bar on Cortland.

The interior of the bar was gutted a few weeks back, and a peek through the window reveals a hollowed-out shell that has been stripped down to the studs.  Clearly, this will not be a lightweight refresh of the old space. But what will it become?

Bernalwood has been in touch with the new owners for the last several weeks, and here’s what we’ve learned: The new proprietors also own two other bars in San Francisco, Churchill on Church at Duboce Triangle and Bloodhound on Folsom in SoMa.

The new name of the Cortland location has not been revealed, but Michael Goebel, a co-owner of the bar, tells Bernalwood:

We are still in the infant stages of our design/aestetic part of the project. What I can tell you is that we will be a friendly, locally focused, simple neighborhood bar. We are very excited about being a part of this close knit and unique community. The more time we spend here and the more we get to know people, the clearer our vision gets of how to create our space.

I can tell you that we will create something along the same lines as our sister bars Churchill and Bloodhound. We will be cocktail focused, spirit driven, and serve regional beers and wines.

If you have been by the space you can see  we are still in the beginning of the construction phase of things. We have relocated the bathrooms and opened the place up quite nicely. We are still hammering out final touches of design and concept, but what i wrote earlier is definitely true. We will be a great neighborhood bar focused on great, approachable, hand crafted cocktails. We will feature local artisan beers and wines and our staff will be focused entirely and creating a great customer experience.

This bar is a neighborhood bar first, with a laid back setting, comfortable for everyone. The space will have some amazing design elements to it as well, but more to come on that later — once I figure it all out 🙂

A final note: The new owners have informed Bernalwood that the big old painting that was on the wall of the Stray Bar has found a good home at Avedano’s, up the street.  That’s a relief.

PHOTOS: The former Stray Bar, June 2013. By Telstar Logistics

Register Now to Participate in the 2013 Bernal Heights Hillwide Garage Sale

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

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It’s that cathartic time of year again… time to purge all the excess crap in your life by selling it off to some other sucker bargain-hunter during the annual Bernal Heights Hillwide Garage Sale.

This year the hillwide sale will happen on Saturday, August 10, 2013 — SOON! — and Bernal neighbor Michael Minson has been leading the charge on the organizational effort. If you want to participate, get registered and get on the map.

Neighbor Michael says:

The Hillwide Elves have been feverishly working to get the 2013 Hillwide Garage Sale website, Paypal collector, map, posters, communications, and social media outreach kicked into gear.

We’ve had a few neighbors reach out from our save the date announcement, but now we’re all ready to kick it into high gear.

We’re asking Bernal neighbors to tweet and instagram their sale items using the #Hillwide2013 hashtag.

100% of the proceeds go to the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center – it’s their 35th anniversary!

You can register for the 2013 Hillwide Garage sale on the spiffy new website.

The sexxxxy interactive map shows the current list of garage sale locations (and if the past is any guide, it will become much more crowded in the days ahead).

For wannabe bargain hunters, Bernalwood will post updated information on garage sale locations the week before the sale. Until then, here’s a preview of the glamorous 2013 Bernal Heights Hillwide Garage Sale poster:

2013HillwidePoster