KTVU-TV did a nice follow-up piece on this week’s art-exhibit fire at the Queen’s Nails Gallery on Mission Street. (Click the image above to watch the video)
Executive Summary: Significant WTF factor from all parties involved. The San Francisco Fire Department is not at all amused. The gallery owners may face arson charges.
Bernalwood believes it’s important to support our Bernal merchants — even when Bernal merchants aren’t in Bernal Heights.
For example, did you know that CatHead’s BBQ on Folsom Street (at Division) in SoMa is Bernal-owned and operated? So. Way. True. Neighbors Richard and Pam live on Winfield, and CatHead is their pride and joy. The restaurant will celebrate its first anniversary on Saturday, and Neighbor Richard wants to extend an invitation to Bernal Heights:
January 2013 marks the 1st year anniversary for CatHead’s BBQ. My wife Pam & I remember the first day like it was yesterday. We didn’t know what to expect with being the replacement for Big Nates BBQ. When we opened, we were immediately surprised by the love from our new customers and neighborhood. We knew that we had something special.
To put our year into perspective, we have made over 10,000 CatHead Biscuits, 35,000 mini CatHead Biscuits, 5 tons of Coca-Cola Smoked Brisket and 5100 Slabs of Ribs.
CatHead’s BBQ would like to commemorate this occasion by throwing a customer appreciation party on Saturday January 26th. The event starts at noon and goes till 5pm.
We will be giving away sliders and prizes throughout the day. Also, we will be introducing the CatHead’s BBQ Biscuit Challenge, where participants will give it their best to become an official “biscuiteater”. The Challenge starts at 3pm. Come by the restaurant to sign up before the 26th — we only have a few more slots open.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday January 26th.
PS: Let’s create a list! Know of any other glamorous Bernal-owned businesses around San Francisco? Tell us about them in the comments, or via email at <bernalwood *at* gmail dotcom>. Don’t forget to include the proprietors’ first names, and what street you/they live on in Bernal Heights.
PHOTOS: Top, Cat Head’s Coca Cola-smoked brisket and hot slaw. Photo via SFWeekly. Below, Neighbors Pam and Richard, as seen in a mirror at Cat Head’s BBQ, via EP Building
Every once in a while we are reminded that Bernal Heights — our Little Village in the Big City — is still a part of the big city.
The recent wave of gunpoint muggings continues on the side-streets around central Cortland Avenue. Several people have been robbed and badly shaken up. The crime pattern is consistent. No one has been too seriously hurt.
Last night a Bernal neighbor sent this message:
Tonight my girlfriend was robbed on Andover between Cortland and Ellert.
It seems to have been two of the same perpetrators who robbed the group [earlier this week]. Younger black males dressed in dark clothing (hoodies) with a gun.
She was walking down from the Good Life at about 7:30pm with another pedestrian walking up on the other side of the street across from the library. She was in the most well lit spot of the block. When she reached Ellert the perpetrators seemingly appeared from no where running directly at her. They ran across the street with the gun already out and and told her to “give them everything.” She immediately dropped everything that she had on the ground. Afterward, they said “You have four seconds to run,” at which point she ran as fast as she could into the Good Life to call the police.
During our time speaking with the police apparently two more robberies took place, with one victim being pistol whipped according to the officers.
Just wanted to give the community a heads up and let women know that they need to be walking with friends (preferably male) and that this stick up crew is particularly brazen. From what I could gather from the police these guys really don’t seem to give a fuck and are very dangerous.
Hide ya kids, hide ya wives.
Yesterday, in our previous post on this topic, Bernalwood also received this comment from a reader:
I just got home tonight, hoping that I was playing the odds that the muggers wouldn’t hit Bernal again. I got home alright but ran down to Good Life to pick up some things to find two cop cars and a terrified woman who had just been held up at gun point by four muggers on Bennington (next to GL). It seems these guys are getting braver and braver and staying in the neighborhood.
No one wants to change their lives to accommodate this behavior, but having myself been mugged by four people with a gun not too long ago, I can only say if you can avoid the possibility of ever having to go through that, do everything you can to avoid it.
In their “bravery” they’re going to make a very stupid mistake soon enough. I’m fairly confident with four of them, this can’t go on too much longer.
That’s seems like a wise perspective. Bernalwood has every reason to believe that the SFPD will take an aggressive approach to protecting public safety on the streets of Bernal Heights. This crime pattern will not last.
But for now, prudence is required.
When you are on the street, follow these wise personal safety guidelines. [PDF download]
If you live in South Bernal, watch outside your home. Note any suspicious activity. Write it down. Call the SFPD as required.
Add these SFPD contact numbers to your phone:
Bernalwood will provide additional updates to this post as they become available.
ADDENDUM: Neighbor Darcy adds:
This week there was also a incident near Goat Hill Pizza in Potrero – 3 young man were mugged at gunpoint by three young men.
The officer on the Cortland beat said that multiple victim muggings are unusual. I wonder if these incidents are all related.
Questions that can be asked at a community meeting-
Ask our captain for concise descriptions, vehicle descriptions and when will the meeting be.I encourage everyone to email David Campos, Captain Falvey and Greg Suhr- We need and deserve a concise plan. In years past Sargent Miller set up an undercover operation and caught a group of thieves that were mugging folks all over 94107 and 94110.
timothy.falvey@sfgov.org
david.campos@sfgov.org
Greg.Suhr@sfgov.org
It’s taken a long time and an insane amount of hard work to get to this place, but last night Bernal’s own Hillside Supper Club opened for business in its new, permanent, non-pop-up incarnation at the southwest corner of Precita Park.
Happily, the foodies over at GrubStreet wrote up the backstory (so I don’t have to):
The space has been known as Caffe Cozzolino for about fifteen years, and the owners of that business decided to turn over the reins to up-and-coming chefs Jonathan Sutton and Tony Ferrari, who have long dreamed of opening their own place after years working the lines atAcquerello, Michael Mina, and Jean-George Vongerichten’s J&G Steakhouse in D.C., between them, as well as numerous stints in European kitchens. “We’re extremely excited,” Ferrari tells us. “And the community of Bernal Heights has just been the most amazing place to open a restaurant. It’s like a little village, and everyone’s been so supportive.”
As a team, Sutton and Ferrari began as Bernal Supper Club with third partner Miles Carnahan. Carnahan continues to do small, underground dinners using the name, and so, for the restaurant, Sutton and Ferrari decided to name it for the hillside on which the place sits, on a prime corner across from Precita Park.
The menu is casual, seasonal, Italian-influenced California fare, and part of the formula for their success so far has been a three-course prix fixe for $32, with à la carte options as well. They’ll be expanding a bit, with eight appetizers and four entrées available each night, as well as a specials board.
Along the way, HSC also spiffied-up the restaurant’s interior, adding an industrial-ish bar/countertop, repainting the walls, installing new light fixtures, and applying a handsome coat of paint.
I stopped in at HSC late last night to send Chef Jonathan and Chef Tony my congratulations, because Bernalwood has been a fan their food since the very beginning.
I caught them just as they were enjoying a glass of wine to celebrate the end of their first day. Both men exuded a cheerful mix of elation and exhaustion. They said the restaurant had been crazy super-busy during their opening night — which is the kind of neighborhood welcome they deserve.
There’s no sign out front yet (still waiting for a permit), but HSC is now officially open every night but Tuesday. Weekend brunch is also coming soon.
Here’s a peek at the opening menu:
PHOTOS: By Telstar Logistics, on January 23, 2012
There’s a sexxxy new bus shelter on Mission Street at 30th, and you have Neighbor Robert to thank for it:
I forwarded a note to you many months ago, as I was looking for community support ahead of a city permit hearing for a new shelter at Mission & 30th/Inbound.
Well, just wanted to let you know that last Friday morning I turned the corner onto Mission, and there it was, finally! The new bus shelter! Over two years in the belly of the bureaucratic beast, but now it’s a reality! Wavy rain cover, uncomfortable seats, Next-MUNI display; it’s got all the bells and whistles.
Impressive! Non-trivial! Successful! Congrats and thanks to Neighbor Robert for his persistence in making this new bus shelter a reality.
ADDENDUM: In light of Neigbor Robert’s obvious talents, perhaps he might consider rallying to facilitate the construction of the much-coveted 30th Street BART infill station? Just a suggestion.
PHOTO: Neighbor Robert
The SFPD is asking Bernal neighbors to come forward with information in connection with a series of muggings that took place near Cortland last night. A Bernal merchant writes:
An officer from Ingleside just stopped by the store and told us that there were four young women mugged last night on Ellsworth near Cortland.
Three young men robbed the victims of their bags and phones – There is no getaway vehicle description. If you saw anything at 8:30 Tuesday evening near the church please contact Ingleside.
The young men had a gun. This is very disturbing news. The officer gave me a poster for our window of ways to protect oneself. Armed robberies of four folks at once is very unusual and daring.
Please note these contact numbers:
- Emergency 911 (Remember: CHP answers 911 cellphone calls)
- SFPD Cellphone Emergency: 553-8090
- SFPD Non-Emergency 553-0123
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
As you probably heard, Red Hill bookstore on Cortland has announced plans to close. Sort of.
It’s sad, but store isn’t going away entirely; instead, the goal is to execute a metamorphosis that will transform the thing formerly known as Red Hill Books into something bookish-but-different. Many ideas have been bandied about — including subdividing the space into 331 Cortland-style stores-within-a-store.
Now, according to a new sign posted in the window, a plan is in motion:
Hello Bernal Heights!
Thank you for all your input over the past couple months about our various transition ideas!
We have listened to all the comments and concerns that you have raised, and we have decided to remodel for most of the month of February, and re-open in March as a better book shop – not only a children’s bookstore – offering what you have told us you want! We will have a new name and a new face, with new, remaindered and used books in general categories as well as an expanded childrens’ section.
We will run our sale through Sunday, February 3rd, and will be closed for remodels from February 4th. If anyone would like to help out with painting, sanding, and moving books during this time, we could certainly use the help! Please sign up on the volunteer sheet inside the store (or send us a message).
Thank you so much for all your support!
Red Hill Books
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
A fire broke out last night at the Queen’s Nails Gallery on Mission Street in Bernal Heights, and the blaze was caused by an art project that went very, very — very — wrong.
According to the Queen’s Nails Facebook page, the gallery was in the process of “placing 50,000.00 matches into the wall so [artist] Claire Fontaine can burn the map of the US.”
Here’s a shot of the work taken on January 18:
With a plan like that, what could possibly go wrong? A person who was inside Queen’s Nails tells Bernalwood:
I was at the gallery on Mission tonight right before the fire started, and I witnessed the entire thing.
The fire was the result of an art installation gone awry. The piece that started the fire was an installation (called “burnt/unburnt”) by French artist Claire Fontaine which was in the final stages of preparation for the opening tomorrow night. The piece was made up of 50,000 matches stuck into a wall in the shape of the United States which would then be lit on fire. I have no knowledge of the fire-proofing that takes place but there is certainly a large degree of preparation involved in order to prevent accidents like tonights from occurring.
Here is the same installation as the one in Queen’s Nails, as seen at a previous show at the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art:
Here is how the installation is supposed to look when executed properly (shown here with a map of France):
I was at the gallery when the fire broke out. It was slow-going to attach 50,000 matches, and the show had already been pushed to opening Wednesday night instead of its original date of this past Saturday.
I arrived just as the first matches were being lit. There was a hose ready in the gallery and fire extinguishers around in case things got out of control– I remember feeling relieved to see that. Everyone had their iPhones and camcorders out to document the slow burn of the piece. At first, when the map was lit on fire (intentionally), it burnt slowly and was rather gorgeous.
However, within about 15 seconds of burning, something went wrong and the flame began to surge out of control. We were not sure if it was part of the art piece… however, soon the smoke was billowing over the entire crowd and the sulphur was so hot and thick that it hurt the lungs.
Someone yelled “EVERYONE OUT!!!” and the small crowd stumbled out the front door on Mission Street. The smoke was so thick and yellow that one couldn’t see.
The fire was quickly put out by the hose and extinguishers, but the heat must have been so intense that it continued to steam for a long time afterwards.
At first when the fire trucks showed up, I wondered if they were an intended part of the ‘performance,’ but I was quickly informed that it was DEFINITELY not part of the piece. After sticking around for a short while, it seemed that things were under control. The large amount of smoke came from the matches, but in reality there was barely a fire at all… I just feel sorry for the folks who run the gallery. They were really upset and I can’t imagine what they are going to have to deal with.
Incredible. We can all be grateful that the fire was quickly brought under control, and that no one was hurt. We can also assume that much more will be said about this incident in the days ahead.
Very special thanks to all the neighbor-reporters who provided us with such superb coverage of this story. Great work, people.
UPDATE 1/23 5 pm: Queen’s Nails has been posting about the incident on their Facebook page.
One request seeks to keep documentation about the fire offline:
Please do not post any images or videos of Burnt/Unburnt anywhere on the Internet.Thank you, Queen’s Nails.
Here is a statement about the incident:
In regards to the Claire Fontaine installation of “America (Burnt/Unburnt)” at Queen’s Nails, we would like to assure the community that the utmost precaution was taken during the controlled burning of the piece and that the flame was at no time out of hand.
The burning of the piece, which was not open to the public, has been done by Claire Fontaine seven other times in various venues across the world with the same concerns and care taken into regard.
Due to inadequate ventilation, there was a large amount of smoke coming from the front of the gallery which caused onlookers to call the SFFD. Upon their arrival, there was absolutely no flame burning in the building.
We would like to thank the SFFD for their efforts to help us ventilate the remaining smoke from the gallery. We appreciate their dedication and hard work to ensure that the gallery and onlookers were safe.
Any questions pertaining to the specifics of the installation could be directed towards Claire Fontaine at their artist talk this evening at CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at 7pm. Inquiries regarding the exhibition as a whole can be directed to the gallery at queensnailssf@gmail.com.
We apologize to the community for any concerns they expressed and again would like to thank the fire fighters and officers for their assistance.
Thank you, QUEEN’S NAILS.
UPDATE 1/23 9:50 pm According to the San Francisco Appeal, City officials are rather pissed off about the Queen’s Nails Gallery incident:
A Mission Street art gallery may be in trouble after San Francisco firefighters responded Tuesday night to a fire intentionally set there, apparently as part of an art piece, a fire official said today.
Firefighters responded around 10 p.m. Tuesday to Queen’s Nails, a gallery located at 3191 Mission St. in the city’s Bernal Heights neighborhood, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Gonzales said. […]
Gonzales said, “This was something we would not permit if it was applied for. It was done more out of ignorance, not maliciousness, as far as we’re concerned.”
He said the Police Department and district attorney’s office will take over the investigation to determine if charges should be filed for the incident.
The fire, which was quickly put out after causing $5,000 in damage, was apparently started on a piece of art shaped like the U.S. and made of matches that was set ablaze, Gonzales said.
“It was a piece of art that this person had lit up thinking it was not a problem,” he said. “It turned out to be a problem.”
PHOTOS: From top: Exterior fire photos by Jeff Rueppel. In-process installation photo via Queen’s Nails Gallery on Facebook. Portland photo by PICA Press Corps, Interior photo by Bernalwood witness
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Carl Nolte recently discovered the tasty abundance and colorful plenty found in the La Lengua Autonomous Zone:
You could argue that parklets are this San Francisco generation’s greatest invention. They are usually near some neighborhood coffee or lunch place and are open to anyone – a man feeding bits of his sandwich to his dog, a mother with a tiny kid in a stroller, older kids with their thumbs flying, texting away, old men soaking up the sun.
This particular parklet is at 29th and Tiffany Avenue, a block off Mission Street, a sidewalk oasis in a neighborhood that is San Francisco in miniature.
Everything is within a block or two: a big supermarket, a hardware emporium, half a dozen restaurants, a branch post office, a UPS store, four or five bars, a marijuana dispensary, an osteopath’s office, a bike repair place, and the Cafe Seventy8, where serious-looking people sit with laptops working on the Great American Novel or the Great American Spreadsheet.
You can have hash for breakfast (at Al’s Good Food), falafel for lunch (at Good Frickin Chicken), Dungeness crab and grits for dinner (at the Front Porch). You can have a sloe gin sour ($9 at the Rock Bar) or a Sailor Jerry rum and Coke ($6 at the 3300 Club). For dessert, an ice cream at Mitchell’s at 29th and San Jose Avenue, one of San Francisco’s secret treasures.
This little neighborhood, tucked between the Mission and Bernal Heights, has no name. There was an attempt a couple of years ago to call the neighborhood SoCha – for South of Cesar Chavez street – or La Lingua [sic], Spanish for “the tongue,” but neither caught on.
“Sometimes we call the neighborhood Safeway Flats, after the supermarket and its big parking lot,” said Rory, the bartender at the Rock Bar. The Rock, which features a selection of eight specialty cocktails, has been open for only a year, and is an example of the demographic shift in the area. It used to be a Nicaraguan place; across the street was another joint with a rough reputation, but that morphed into the Front Porch, which offers fried chicken and what they call “Southern Mission hospitality.”
Hmmm. It is certainly true that there is much to recommend the western flatlands of the Dominion of Bernalwood, and we are most grateful for the recognition.
However, under normal circumstances, we would expect Nolte’s column to generate a rowdy dissent from Burrito Justice, chief spokeblogger of the La Lengua separatists, on the basis of Nolte’s strange misspelling (La Lingua???) and his politically volatile assertion that the preferred nomenclature has not “caught on.”
Yet these are not normal circumstances. Bernalwood has learned that as part of his campaign to secure La Lengua’s patrimony through the demographic logic of elevated birthrates, the Burrito Justice family welcomed a new set of twins into the world last weekend. So feisty rebellion will have to wait, because Burrito Justice is just a little bit busy right now.
Nevertheless, on behalf of all the Citizens of Bernalwood, we send the Burrito Justice family our wary congratulations.
PHOTOS: Top, Paul Chinn for the San Francisco Chronicle. Below, Pete Kiehart for the San Francisco Chronicle
Perhaps you saw them on Saturday? A large group of about 80 amateur photographers traversing Bernal Hill in a cheerful gaggle as part of that Flickr Meetup organized by Neighbor Markus?
They started at the secret Esmerelda slides before wandering down Winfield to Cortland Avenue. From there, they strolled up Ellsworth to take in the views from atop Bernal Hill, before drifting down Folsom to call it a day at Precita Park. Along the way, Neighbors Vicky and David from the Bernal History Project provided a running narration of the historical points of interest visible from the streets.
Yet even if you didn’t join in the fun, you can still enjoy seeing Bernal Heights through the lens of the photographers who looked at our neighborhood with fresh eyes:
Want to see even more photos from the walk? Click here for a slideshow of lots and lots and lots or poke around in the Bernalwood Flickr group.
PHOTOS: From top: Thomas Hawk, Andrian Mendoza, Maria Cordell, earthdog, danishdynamite, Boris Henriot, bokeh burger, t_fardella, gaurav76, spieri_sf, a.k.a. Flash, meckert75, hallucinant
Neighbor Brian invites all Citizens of Bernalwood to honor Martin Luther King Day by helping to clean up Bernal Hill today at 1 pm:
MLK Day of Service: Trash Pick-up on Bernal Hill, 1pm
4 years ago, at President Obama’s first inauguration,we held a Day of Service on Bernal Hill picking of trash and litter, primarily focusing on areas below the road. It was a unbelievable success. At least 30 people volunteered that day and we were able to clean out a ton up trash.
If you have the time and are looking for something close to home to volunteer you time meet us at 1pm at at the North Gate near Folsom for two hours of service and we’ll leave the Hill a better place.
Please bring your own gloves, trash bags, pickers, and anything else you need. Weather should be great.
PHOTO: khunter
I found this photo via the San Francisco Public Library, and it’s wonderful in so many ways. This is a view of Army Street (Cesar Chavez) looking south at Folsom on May 29, 1942.
Let’s zoom and enhance…
In the foreground we see a rather handsome group of neighbors, lounging casually alongside an overturned Chevrolet. (???!) “Move along! Nothing to see here!!”
In the background, the original parochial school building dominates the site of St. Anthony’s Church. (It’s still there today.)
Right behind that, there’s the Yosemite Meat Market, on the corner of Folsom and Precita, in the storefront now occupied by Charlie’s Cafe. The market’s sign is clearly visible on the Precita facade:
And of course, behind that is Bernal Hill, looking rather bare-naked, with no Sutrito Tower or trees on the summit — just a lone antenna mast. Bernal Heights Boulevard had been completed just a few years before, however, and the full “loop to nowhere” was open to traffic all the way around the hill.
All in all, it’s a scene that feels very familiar and somewhat different, all at the same time.
Neighbor Markus lives in Bernal Heights and works at Flickr, the venerable and recently revitalized online photo service.
Actually, Neighbor Markus played a leading role in that revitalization. That explains why Bernal Heights has made so many cameo appearances in Flickr’s recent product announcements. (That, and the fact we’re just glamorous like that.)
This Saturday, January 19, at 10 am, Neighbor Markus has organized a photowalk on our photogenic hill, and all Bernal paparazzi and/or history geeks are invited to join:
If you happen to be in or around San Francisco this coming Saturday, we have something for you: A Flickr meetup that takes place in the city’s beautiful Bernal Heights neighborhood. Bring your camera — yes, it can be your phone. It’s going to be a wonderful opportunity to meet new Flickr friends.
Bernal Heights is full of charm and character. And on top of its hill, it offers dramatic views over the entire city.
We partnered with the Bernal Heights History Project and will feature folks talking about historic places along our photowalk route. All in all: Join us if you love taking photos, want to meet new photographers, and see and capture a great San Francisco neighborhood.
Please RSVP at meetup.com/flickr/San-Francisco-CA/856742/.
Event details: Meet Saturday, January 19, 10 a.m. at the at the secret Esmeralda slides.
Secret slides! Shhhhhhhhh. See you there!
PS: Don’t forget to share your photos with us afterward at the Bernalwood Group on Flickr.
PHOTO: via Flickr
