Author: Todd_Lappin

What the Bayshore Freeway Took from Bernalwood: Faith, Joy, Adam and Eve

/ Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

While poking through some of my bookshelves last weekend, I stumbled across two old San Francisco street maps from the 1940s. As you might expect, most of the Bernal Heights street grid is much the same today as it was then, with one big exception: The Bayshore Freeway wasn’t built until the 1950s, so the eastern slope of Bernal looked rather different.

The construction of the freeway reshaped some aspects of the neighborhood in ways are still visible today; most ominously by turning Faith into a dead end street. (METAPHOR ALERT!!!)

Faith is Just a Dead End Street

But let’s take an even closer look… with a Burrito Justice-style overlay of a circa 1940 map and a contemporary Google map:

Look closer, and we see more detail. Impressively, Bernal’s streetscape survived the creation of the Bayshore Freeway with relatively little disruption or dislocation. Only two small streets disappeared entirely: Adam and Eve:

So while the physical damage to the neighborhood was relatively minor, the metaphysical damage was significant, considering that the freeway cut us off from Faith and Joy, while wiping out Adam and Eve so thoroughly that no trace remains. Talk about being cast from Eden…

How to Help the Owners of the Lotus Garden Restaurant?

/ Todd_Lappin / 27 Comments

Kathy Tang, the owner of the Lotus Garden Vietnamese restaurant on Mission Street that was shuttered after last week’s three-alarm fire, posted this desperate SOS on the Facebook page for the benefit concert that was help to help the victims of the blaze:

My name is Kathy Tang, the owner of Lotus Garden Vietnamese Restaurant. The great amount of fire burned my restaurant and will take a few months for them to just rebuild the whole building. oh my god how can my family and i survive. My restaurant is my and my husband’s only income.

My insurance will not pay for any lost income because our business slow we dont make any profit (which makes sense because of the recent recession), they only paid for the damage of the restaurant. Please help us out we will really appreciate all your help. My email address is kathytang268@yahoo.com and my phone number is 415-216-9608 Please help my husband, my two little boys, and I out. We will not have any income until the restaurant is open again which isn’t for months and months.

My own semi-serious suggestion would be to create a pop-up version of Lotus Garden inside an existing (and underutilized) local restaurant. Like, say, Caffe Cozzolino? Mission Chinese Food showed that it can be done, and in the case of the Cozzolino space, I suspect a large number of Bernal Northsiders would be happy to patronize Caffe Lotus Garden.

Any other ideas on how the community might help?

PHOTO: Burrito Justice

Remembrance of Hootenannies Past: RIP Bernal Hill’s Great Horned Owls

/ Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

ready for his closeup

great horned owl, now appearing daily in bernal heights

Four years ago this week, Bernal Heights lost some of its most remarkable residents — a pair of Great Horned Owls. The owls lived in a tree along the western side of Bernal Heights Boulevard, and for a time they were a popular neighborhood attraction. Then one died, on April 9, 2007. The second died soon thereafter. And then they were gone.

Their memory continues. Apart from the fact that one of the trails at Ski Bernalwood was named after the owls, they have also been immortalized in a short film, and in a series of excellent photographs taken by Art Siegel. Art’s wife, Carol Gould, wrote a remembrance about the owls for Bernalwood to mark the fourth anniversary of their death:

When the great horned owls were spotted in the trees at the top of the Esmeralda Steps in the fall of 2007, something magical happened in the Bernal Heights community.  People were captivated by the birds — their silent majesty and ferocity were so compelling!  People came to the hill just to stand and look at them.  No one could believe these wild birds had adopted our hill as their home, and they couldn’t resist hanging out with them for even just a few minutes every day.

As a result, the community of walkers, joggers, and dog-owners on Bernal Hill came together more intimately than ever before.  People congregated under the trees where the owls lived and exchanged stories of their first owl sighting.   Connections were formed as people exchanged names, petted friendly dogs, and jiggled the little fists of babies in the arms of their parents.  A baby born during the owls’ visitation was named after them.

My husband Art is a photographer, and the owls provided endless photo ops for him.  We went to the hill almost every day to see the owls and take photos of them.  Art became known as “Mr. Owl Man” and I was “Mrs. Owl Man.”  I would sit by the side of the path, asking passersby if they had seen the owls yet.  It was always fun to point out the birds to someone who’d never seen them, and witness their complete surprise and delight upon spotting them camouflaged in the trees.  They were very hard to see if you didn’t know what to look for, but once you saw them you were amazed at how big they were yet how easily you could miss them.  Soon we began coming up to the hill at dusk to watch them take off to go hunting.  First they would call to one another and jump around in the tree for a few minutes—one would fly off, and then the other.  We followed them around the hill until it got too dark to see them.

The Hill is still a friendly and welcoming place, but it hasn’t bee quite the same since the owls have been gone.  I miss them and the sense of communal wonder they inspired.

RIP

PHOTOS: Art Siegel

Welcome to Bernalwood, Baby Juniper Arwen Anemone Sagan Donner Hermes Ximm!!

/ Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

Happy News! Bernalwood Contributor Bronwyn Ximm gave birth to a brand new baby girl last week, and we’re thrilled to welcome another human life form to the neighborhood. So exciting! So full of potential!

In addition, after several days of Naming Committee consultation, Bronwyn and husband Aaron settled upon a designation for their daughter. Bronwyn explains:

The name, birth certificate edition: Juniper Arwen Anemone Sagan Donner Hermes Ximm

The name, practical edition: Juniper Arwen Ximm

Mother and newborn are thriving, and big sister Ember Rowan Kestrel Jetson Barcelona Owlsley Ximm is pleased to share the namespace:

Congratulations to the Ximms, from all of us at Bernalwood!

PHOTOS: Family Ximm

Why Is Bernal Missing from Google Street View?

/ Todd_Lappin / 25 Comments

This may well be a good thing, but… why doesn’t Google Street View include coverage of Bernal Heights? Our status is conspicuous when you look at the city as a whole, because in a sea of Street View blue, Bernal Heights is an island of invisibility.

Arguably, given Bernal’s history as “a village within the city,” our absence from Street View is probably in keeping with local tradition. Yet it’s also odd, given the comprehensiveness of Google’s coverage elsewhere.

Since we know that a few Google employees live in the ‘hood, perhaps someone can explain why Bernal Heights remains Street View terra incognita?

Fundraiser to Benefit Victims of the Mission/Valencia Fire

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

This is such a good thing to see: A fundraiser has been organized to benefit the 12 now-homeless victims of the three-alarm fire that tore through two buildings on Mission Street last night. The benefit will take place at El Rio tomorrow, on Friday, April 8 from 8pm-2am, or you can donate via PayPal to mission3212@gmail.com.

Here’s the fundraiser announcement:

Many of you saw or heard about the devastating fire that happened on Mission and Valencia last night. The house that took the brunt of the damage was actually a house full of amazing friends who many of you may know and love. It looks as though the fire destroyed most or all of their possessions and made the house uninhabitable for the foreseeable future.

Currently the residents are without homes, clothes, and other basic necessities and could really use assistance getting back on their feet. The four people who lost their home are all amazing people who have been active vibrant parts of our queer community in San Francisco and have always shown their strongest support for the needs of others. Now its our turn to show our support and bring together the generosity and might of our community to support them in this time of need.

El Rio has generously allowed us to take over their front room on Friday night for an emergency benefit to raise funds for these four amazing folks to purchase the basics they need to stay afloat. Please please please spread the word about this event on facebook and elsewhere and come out, dig deep and share your $$ with folks who really need it right now. At the door there will be someone collecting cash to be distributed directly to the victims of the fire, so just make sure that person gets your donation, come in, have some drinks hangout on the patio and dance a bit if you like.

Also, El Rio will also be donating 100% of their bar proceeds from 8-9pm directly to the four folks affected so come early, donate and drink.

Brown Amy & I are going to be DJ’ing & anyone else who would like to be involved by DJ’ing, speaking, whatever please contact me and let me know. ttemprano@gmail.com

*** If you are unable to attend you can make your donations via Paypal to mission3212@gmail.com ***

PHOTO: The day after, by Burrito Justice

An Update on the Effort to Save Our Historic Coca-Cola Mural

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

Vintage Coke Sign

I drove by Bernal’s historic and controversial Coke mural last week to see how it was doing. I was happy to see that a) it hasn’t been temporarily covered up, and b) the unsightly violation notice from the City Planning Department had disappeared too. Later, I asked homeowner Richard Modolo for an update on the sign, and the legislative effort by Supervisor David Campos to save it.  Here’s what Richard had to say:

To bring you up to date, the permit to temporarily cover the Coke sign is on hold with the Planning Department, and I’m told that this is a good thing. Supervisor Campos “CC’d” me on a very nice letter he sent to the Zoning Department, requesting they hold off on any penalties or fines while this works its way through the legislative process. That process is currently with the City Attorney’s office. They are going to come up with the correct wording to preserve the sign and see that it is attached to the recorded property information/deed.

As for the violation notice from the Planning Department, it was either torn off of or the rain got to it, so for now only the tape marks remain. My plan it to restore the sign once we have the “OK” to preserve it. The wheels grind slowly, but I hear they are moving a little every day.

PHOTO: Bernal Coke sign in situ, on April 1, 2011 by Telstar Logistics

Your April 2011 Bernalwood Real Estate Report

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Coso Square

Danielle Lazier is a realtor with Zephyr Real Estate, the author of SFHotlist, and Bernalwood’s unofficial real estate analyst. Here’s her latest update on the residential real estate market in Bernal Heights:

Maybe, just maybe, the worst is behind us for the local San Francisco real estate market. Since January here in Bernal Heights, real estate sales have picked up speed with no sign of a slowdown. On the other hand, the housing market is cyclical so just like other markets, it’ll continue to go “up and down” and “up and down” and “up” again.

Most of my “evidence” of an improvement in the Bernal Heights real estate market is anecdotal. Along with being cyclical, markets are also driven by psychology — what we believe will be, will be. Home buyers are feeling more optimistic with a greater sense of urgency this year than I’ve seen since pre-2008. They tell me they are motivated to buy while interest rates are still low, and they believe that prices are starting to slowly head up. They are frustrated by the lack of inventory, meaning there are not enough homes on the market to satisfy the number of qualified buyers ready to buy.

All this sounds like realtor BS, doesn’t it? Believe me or don’t, but realtors are seeing strong demand for the nice, quality homes. (More on that in a moment.)

Here’s a little bit of analysis: We’ve had 28 single family home sales in Bernal since January, with a median sales price of $761,818.00 and the average listing selling for 2.14% over the asking price. Last year, January through March 2010, there were 32 sales, but the median price was $719,000.00 and sales averaged 0.83% over the list price.

The market remains “Darwinian,” with the nicest (fittest) homes selling super quickly while homes “in need of a make-over” take longer. Plus, buyers remain price-sensitive, so it’s important to price your home based on today’s market and recent, relevant homes sales. The property needs to feel like good value for the money for buyers to go for it. (Crazy! Wouldn’t you want value for your money too?) I, for one, hope this very rational behavior continues through the next “up” cycle.

But I do think the worst is behind us. so it’s a good time to look back and assess. Just how much did the Great Recession affect Bernal home values?

(Quick refresher: Lehman Brothers “fell” in the Fall of 2008. Many use this as the apex of when the bleep hit the fan although the real estate downturn began earlier.)

Using the San Francisco Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the data, I charted the median sales price of a single family house listing in Bernal Heights from the beginning of 2008 to the beginning of 2011.

Q1 2008 = $785,000
Q1 2011 = $760,000
% Change = -3.2%

Granted, this data is for all single family homes, and we know that there is a huge variation of property in Bernal. Yet this is pretty interesting, isn’t it? I would say that a 3.2% decline over the course of the worst economic slump since the Great Depression is pretty freaking good. (For context, using the same scope of data, our neighbors in the Excelsior had a 25.3% drop in their median home sales price.)

When was the “bottom” of the market, you ask? My opinion is that San Francisco-wide, the bottom of this housing downturn too place during 2009. Here in Bernal, it was the first half of ’09:

Q1 2009 = $730,000
Q2 2009 = $715,000

So where does this leave us? On the one hand, Spring is the air and the mood is dramatically better than last year. On the other hand, the economic recovery is tenuous, and banks remain a bureaucratic mess. Maybe it’s too soon to pop the bubbly, but believe me when I say that what you believe will be.  See you next month!

PHOTO: sftajan

Major Fire on Mission Street at Valencia

/ Todd_Lappin / 17 Comments

3208-3216 Mission Street

Mission Street Fire

Major fire and lots of sirens tonight on Mission Street at Valencia in the West Bernal/La Lengua Liminal Zone.  One of the buildings between Blue Plate and Royal Cuckoo caught fire and spread to the adjacent structure. Will update as we learn more.

Here’s a video:

UPDATE: April 7, 2011, 10:18 AM

The real journalists at MissionLoc@l bring more detail:

Fire Department officials believe the blaze started at 3212 Mission, a white Victorian building with blue trim.

But smoke was pouring from the space between that building and the one next door, which houses the Vietnamese restaurant Lotus Garden. At around 9:30 p.m. it appeared that firefighters were tearing down walls between the two buildings.

Restaurant owner Kathy Tang said great amounts of smoke and fire filled her kitchen in the back before she left with her kids. She saw firefighters breaking walls and ripping them down, and she’s fearful about what will be left of her restaurant.

California Beat adds that one firefighter was injured while battling the blaze:

One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was transported to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment, according to San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.

Finally, in the comments to this post, reader Rusty adds his own perspective:

I walked over there, I’m impressed with the large SFFD response. 4 Aerial Trucks (ladders), at least 4 or 5 engines, support vehicles, etc. The Red Cross was on scene as well, they had provide blankets (to act as jackets) to the people who were displaced form the building. I saw at least 10 people who were displaced, feel terrible for them :-(

The fire seemed to affect mostly the rear of the buildings in question, the fronts of them looked fine, but I’m sure there is a lot of water damage. The buildings go deep so who knows how much damage was done to the rears.

Considering the high winds when the fire broke out, SFFD knocked most of the fire out really quickly.

Burrito Justice has a sad photo of the day after; it all looks surprisingly normal from street level, as the worst of the fire struck the back of the building(s). Let the rebuilding begin:

Special thanks to our neighbors at MissionMission for their great coverage.

Photos: From top, Bob Horowitz, Jeffrey Rueppel, MissionMission, Faye Harris, Burrito Justice.

Science Experiment: My Dinner at Caffe Cozzolino

/ Todd_Lappin / 67 Comments

Restaurant of Mystery

The news that the mysterious old Old Clam House has been transformed into the mysterious new Old Clam House prompted a discussion in the comments about another timeless (and mysterious) Bernal Heights restaurant: Caffe Cozzolino on Folsom Street, at the southwest corner of Precita Park.

Caffe Cozzolino is a spacioius Italian restaurant blessed with an unbelievably ideal location, but the place is never, ever crowded. In fact, it usually looks empty. And since it is always empty and suffers from horrific word-of-mouth, one part of the mystery is this: How does Caffe Cozzolino stay in business?

I live around the corner from Cozzolino. I’ve walked by it hundreds of times. But I’ve never dared to eat there. Someday, however, someone might swoop in to purchase Caffe Cozzolino and transform the space into the dining hotspot that the location so wants to become. In the name of science and inquiry, I felt obliged to sample the current cuisine, so that I might have a first-hand opinion to express if that scenario ever comes to pass.

Thus with an open mind and a spirit of adventure, I took my 3.5 year-old daughter on a date to Caffe Cozzolino. My simple hope was that the restaurant would serve up solid Italian-American cuisine. That means Italian food that’s less Mario Batali and more Tony Soprano. (I grew up in New Jersey, so I think I have a fair palette for that kind of grub.) Joe’s of Westlake does this well. Pasta Pomodoro franchised a totally acceptable version of it. Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack elevated it to a form of street art.

But Caffe Cozzolino doesn’t come close to pulling it off. I kept it simple by ordering spaghetti and meatballs. Spaghetti and meatballs! A staple! Here’s how it looked:

Spaghetti Cozzolino

Lovely parsley. So how did it taste? Frankly, rather ungood. I’m convinced the sauce came from a can — and a very cheap can. I’ve had better spaghetti and meatballs at truck stops, sad to say.

My daughter ordered a pizza from the kid’s menu:

Pizza Cozzolino

It was okay. No real complaints. But no inspiration either.

Put simply, the food at Caffe Cozzolino is unlikely to generate many wails of Proustian nostalgia if the restaurant were to close. That part of the mystery is now resolved. But the mystery of how Caffe Cozzolino remains in business endures.