Author: Todd_Lappin

Pedestrian Struck By Car on Crescent Avenue

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

pedestrianhit

A pedestrian was struck by a car yesterday on Crescent Avenue in South Bernal. Daniel Montes from SF Bay reports:

Around 8:10 a.m., officers responded to a report of a crash at Crescent Avenue and Andover Street, police said.

There, officers learned the victim, a 62-year-old man, had run into the crosswalk on Andover Street in order to catch a bus, according to police.

At the same time, a 38-year-old man was driving and came to a stop at Andover Street and Crescent Avenue. He then proceeded through the intersection, where he struck the victim, police said.

The victim suffered injuries to his head and pelvis. He was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Stroller Lady Is Actually a Bernal Heights Package Thief

/ Todd_Lappin / 18 Comments

strollerlady

A neighbor on Bennington Street captured footage of a woman using a stroller to cart off pilfered delivery packages. The neighbor writes:

Saturday morning a woman wearing a pink hat and pushing a stroller stole a package from my front door at 7:22 am. From the video cameras it appeared as though she was strolling down Bennington Street scoping out the houses to see what she could steal.

Subsequent photos show Stroller Lady exploring the front stoop:

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… and grabbing the box:

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Bernal neighbors should be on the lookout for Stroller Lady, and please contact SFPD Ingleside at (415) 404-4000 if you see her in action.

Saturday Night: Watch “Zootopia” in Precita Park

/ Todd_Lappin

There’s a rather fantastic family movie night happening in Precita Park on Saturday evening for creatures of all ages. Courtesy of SutterHealth CPMC 2020, there will be a free outdoor screening of Zootopia in Precita Park starting at 7 pm on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Our friends at Precita Valley Neighbors tell us:

Get ready for Zootopia!

Grab your blanket and snacks and join us for this great family film at 7pm., Saturday, October 1st.

Movie Night is brought to us by SutterHealth CPMC 2020. The first 250 attendees gets a free (pretty cool) goody bag!

Come out, meet your neighbors, and enjoy the film!

FWIW, your Bernalwood editor took the Cub Reporter to see Zootopoia earlier this year, and we both loved it. It’s  good one!

Join the Gang Biking From Bernal to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on Saturday

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

bikingbernalhill

Live in Bernal? Love to bike? Hate traffic? Heading to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park on Saturday?

If you nodded vigorously to all the above, then you’re in luck, because there’s a convoy of bikes departing from Precita Park on Saturday morning, October 1, and you’re invited to join the pedal posse.

Neighbor Lauren says:

Greetings from Precitaville!

I wanted to alert you to a fun, free bike ride to Hardly Strictly that I’m leading this Saturday morning. This is an easy, kid- and family-friendly, slow rolling bike ride meeting at 9am in Precita Park and departing at 9:30 sharp, All are welcome, so please feel free to shout it from the hilltops!

We’ll make stops in the Mission and Duboce Triangle to pick up additional riders on our mostly flat, 6-mile ride. We should get to Hellman Hollow around 10:40, giving folks time to valet check or lock up their bikes before the music starts at 11am.

I ask that participants wear helmets and can arrange for free loaners if needed – interested parties should e-mail blazinglauren@gmail.com no later than Friday morning to coordinate.p.s. Here’s the approximate itinerary including “train stations” and route details:

  • 9am, gather in “Bernal Flats” (as I like to call it), on the west side of Precita Park, at Folsom and Precita
  • Precita Park is our first station.
  • 9:30am sharp, depart Precita Park, heading west to Valencia Street
  • Approx 9:45am, arrive at the Deeplet parklet, on Valencia between 20th and 21st Streets
  • Deeplet Parklet is our second station.
  • No earlier than 9:50am (i.e., arrive by 9:50 to join us here), depart the Deeplet, cycling north and west to the Wiggle
  • Approx 10:05am, arrive to the east side of Duboce Park, at Steiner and Hermann
  • Duboce Park is our third station.
  • No earlier than 10:10am, depart Duboce Park, wiggling along to the panhandle
  • Approx 10:40am, arrive at Hellman Hollow 11am, bluegrass commences

PHOTO: Courtesy of Neighbor Lauren

Goats Gone Wild in Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

renegadegoats

Neighbor Teal shared this story about a group of rebellious goats that walked off the job in northeast Bernal Heights last week:

Ten goats escaped from their keeper and wandered around on Bernal Hill, munching on the trees and potted plants along Brewster until a resident herded them up around the side of her house. Presumably City Grazing picked them up from there.

I was driving my car full of dogs from my last pickup on Holladay to my dog daycare business on Peralta, when I came upon the goats walking around in the street. I pulled over and tried to prevent them from being hit by cars for about an hour before that resident took charge of them!

I called 311 and they connected me to ACC, who called City Grazing. Meanwhile, the goats went about their goat business, munching on anything remotely edible, and relieving themselves copiously in the street.

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PHOTOS: Neighbor Teal via @gooddogplaycare

Video Shows Perpetrator of Sunday Brass Knuckles Assault

/ Todd_Lappin / 9 Comments

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There was an brazen, daytime assault on Mission Street (near Valencia) in Bernal Heights on Sunday afternoon , and it appears to have been unprovoked. Evan Sernoffsky from the SFGate reports:

Police in San Francisco are on the hunt for a assailant with brass knuckles who cold-cocked a 36-year-old man on a sidewalk Sunday in the city’s Mission Bernal neighborhood.

The attacker, described as a man in his 20s, walked up to the victim around 4:25 p.m. on the sidewalk on the 3200 block of Mission Street near the Knockout bar, police and a witness said.

Armed with a fist-full of brass knuckles, the assailant began wailing on the victim, leaving him pummeled and unconscious at the scene.

A witness who saw the brutal beating said the attacker hit the victim three-to-five times before passersby intervened and called 911.

Bernalwood has obtained security camera video that shows the perpetrator assaulting the victim.  GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: The following footage is violent and disturbing:

If you recognize the perpetrator, or have any information that could lead to his identification and arrest, please contact SFPD’s Ingleside Station at (415) 404-4000

Wednesday: D9 Supervisor Candidates Debate at Brava Theater

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments
The D9 Candidates: Clockwise from top left: Joshua Arce, Iswari Espana, Hillary Ronen, and Melissa San Miguel

The D9 Candidates: Clockwise from top left: Joshua Arce, Iswari Espana, Hillary Ronen, and Melissa San Miguel

The face-off between Hillary and Donald isn’t the only debate people are talking about this week; Here in San Francisco’s glamorous District 9, the four candidates hoping to replace David Campos on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will be onstage together for a debate at the Brava Theater on Wednesday evening, September 28.

All D9 voters are welcome, and admission is free:

The Board of Supervisor representative for District 9 ~ Supervisor David Campos term expires at the end of 2016.

Four candidates are running for election to replace Supervsior Campos: Joshue Arce, Melissa San Miguel, Hillary Ronen and Iswari Espana.

The debate will focus on key issues that affect District 9: Youth, Seniors, Housing, Business, Immirgration.

Sponsored by: Mission Merchants Association, Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, Our Mission No Eviction, Mission Peace Collaborate, San Francisco Lowrider Council, Cultural Action Network.

Wed, September 28, 2016
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Brava! for Women In the Arts
2781 24th Street
San Francisco, CA

Get your free tickets here

 

Go See Bernal Artist Deb Caperton’s Work at Paxton Gate

/ Todd_Lappin

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Bernal artist Deb Caperton has some of her work on display at the stylishly strange Paxton Gate store at 766 Valencia (near 19th) in The Mission.  Neighbor Deb tells Bernalwood:

My name is Deb Caperton (Bernal resident since 1994).  I wanted to invite you to check out my art show at Paxton Gate in the Mission. The show will be up until Nov. 1st.

My recent work, Loss & Found is at once playful and funny as well as melancholic and ironic. My vocabulary are metaphors made of bits and pieces, things found and made. The signage provides the observer with some riddles, instructive hints and directions making the viewer a collaborator. The work comes alive with interaction. For example: one can blow, whistle or slide a door to create a reaction that helps tell the story. The narratives are sensory, requiring participation and discovery. My hope is that this active participation beckons the viewer to be affected by what they see and feel, making these stories their own.

lossfound-invite

PHOTO: Departure (wish box #5) by Deb Caperton, courtesy of Deb Caperton

Neighbors Establish Recovery Fund for Bernal Family Displaced by Prospect Fire

/ Todd_Lappin

prospectfirebaker

We’ll start with the good news: Everyone is okay.

But beyond that, the two-alarm fire that damaged the house at 158 Prospect last Friday morning has turned the life of Bernal’s Grant-Weisler family upside down, because their home is no longer habitable and much of their stuff is destroyed. At the time of the fire, the house was occupied by a family of two parents and three kids, their au pair, and two visiting houseguests.

But that brings us to another silver lining: This is Bernal Heights, and neighbors here help one another during times of need. A crowdfunding effort has gotten underway to help the Grant-Weisler family begin to rebuild, and all Bernalese are invited to contribute.

We’ll have more detail on the crowdfunding effort in a moment. But first, here’s a note from Neighbor Sam, the mom of the house at 158 Prospect:

Tonight I am grateful. So grateful. And I feel lucky. So lucky.

That’s not what I would expect to be feeling after standing on the sidewalk and watching my home of the past 15 years, the home where all 3 of my kids were born, the home where JJ Wiesler and I have built our whole adult life together, go up in flames.

But it’s amazing how quickly your priorities come clear when you are forced to choose, in a second, what is most important to you. People, memories, photos, videos, musical instruments, the kitchen table around which so much of my life has unfolded, my dads lap desk and typewriter, cameras, journals…

Everyone is OK. The girls are pretty shaken up, but they’re going to be fine. And the baby is just going with the flow. To him, it’s just another day of new experiences.

The only person who was injured was one of the 66 amazing firefighters from the San Francisco Fire Department who risked their lives today to save our home. I am so moved, overwhelmed with gratitude, by the moments of kindness that we experienced in this insane day from hell. The female firefighters, who are also moms, who took the time to rescue the kids lovies. The other firefighter who returned our emergency cash stash that was about to disappear into the flames. The other firefighters who went back into an active fire to recover all our family photos and videos. The neighbors who boxed up and stored our salvaged belongings without even being asked. The other neighbors who quietly pressed their keys into our hands, offering beds, pillows, towels, food, and even a friends apartment where we are staying right now. I’m so moved.

The “Grant-Wiesler Onward & Upward Fund” was launched by Bernal Neighbors Aaron and Bronwyn Ximm. They write:

Thankfully, and most importantly, everyone is fine.

Their warm and welcoming home however is unlivable, and most of the family’s posessions were lost.

The Grant-Wielsers are bracing for for a very long climb to restore, remake, and rebuild.

As friends and family, many of us immediately wonder how we can help in this time of need.

One certain thing is that during the next few months especially, the family’s cash flow is going to be both complicated and unpredictable.

There will be hundreds of compounding expenses small and large to re-acquire the tools of modern life.

One way we can help is to build the Grant-Wielsers a ‘slush fund’ for those occasions.

There will be many ways to help West, the girls, and Sam and JJ!

But if you can make a donation–and of course, of any size at all!–it will make a real difference, one that will be received with profound gratitude.

About the campaign organizers: we are Aaron, Bronwyn, Ember, and Juniper Ximm. We are a family of close neighbors and friends of the Grant-Wieslers.

Our families shared the same world-class nanny over many years. Only a few days ago our girls traded morse code messages from our front porch to their back one.

We can’t believe it’s going to be a year or more before we can trade more morse code. We love them one and all, and wanted to immediatley get some help organized on their behalf!

If you’re so inclined, please contribute to the fire recover fund here. As of this writing, the fund has raised $5500, with a goal of hitting $12,500.

You know what to do, Bernal neighbors: Let’s hit that goal — and then exceed it.

PHOTO: Fire at 158 Prospect, by Tom Baker

UPDATED: Two-Alarm Fire on Prospect Ave., Firefighter Injured, Eight Residents Displaced

/ Todd_Lappin / 7 Comments

prospectfire

prospectfirefromnoe

This morning firefighters are extinguishing a two-alarm fire at 158 Prospect Avenue, between Virginia and Esmeralda.

Firefighters report 8 people live in the building, but all escaped safely.

UPDATE, 9:40 am: One firefighter suffered a head injury while battling the blaze. The injury was described as moderate, and the firefighter was taken to the hospital.

Neighbor Valerie is on the scene:

Neighbor Mary shared this photo. She says, “These were taken from my west-facing deck on the hill. I first noticed the smoke about 8:30 and documented the courageous firefighters working on a steeply sloped roof. As of 9:25 the smoke is still very visible.”

prospectfirefromabove

Additional coverage:

UPDATE: As of 9:45 am, the fire is reported as contained.

Bernalwood will update this story as additional information becomes available.

PHOTO: Top, via Neighbor Valerie. Below, Prospect fire as seen from Noe Valley, courtesy of Christopher Baker 

José Quiñonez from Mission Asset Fund Wins MacArthur “Genius” Grant

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

maf_quinonez

Brilliant! José Quiñonez from the Mission Asset Fund just won a McArthur “Genius” grant! Mission Asset Fund is headquartered at 3269 Mission Street (near 29th) here in Bernal, and José Quiñonez is MAF’s founder and CEO. His spiffy new MacArthur Fellows page says:

José A. Quiñonez is a financial services innovator creating a pathway to mainstream financial services and non-predatory credit for individuals with limited or no financial access. A disproportionate number of minority, immigrant, and low-income households are invisible to banks and credit institutions, meaning they have no checking or savings accounts (unbanked), make frequent use of nonbank financial services (underbanked), or lack a credit report with a nationwide credit-reporting agency. Without bank accounts or a credit history, it is nearly impossible to obtain safe loans for automobiles, homes, and businesses or to rent an apartment.

Quiñonez is helping individuals overcome these challenges by linking rotating credit associations or lending circles, a traditional cultural practice from Latin America, Asia, and Africa, to the formal financial sector. Lending circles are typically informal arrangements of individuals pooling their resources and distributing loans to one another. Through the Mission Asset Fund (MAF), Quiñonez has created a mechanism for reporting individuals’ repayment of small, zero-interest loans to credit bureaus and other financial institutions. MAF participants are able to establish a credit history and gain access to credit cards, bank loans, and other services, and lending circles focused on youth provide individuals with fees for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival applications and apartment security deposits (which are particularly needed by youth aging out of foster care). All participants are required to complete a financial training class and are provided with financial coaching and peer support. Since the lending circles were established in 2008, participants’ credit scores, collectively, have increased an average of 168 points.

Quiñonez has established a network of partnerships with the financial services industry to enable other organizations to replicate his approach. With Quiñonez and MAF providing the technology necessary to disperse and track loans (a significant hurdle for many nonprofits) and assisting in securing local partners and investors, 53 nonprofit providers in 17 states and the District of Columbia are now using this powerful model in their communities. Quiñonez’s visionary leadership is providing low-income and minority families with the means to secure safe credit, participate more fully in the American economy, and obtain financial security.

José A. Quiñonez received a B.A. (1994) from the University of California at Davis and an M.P.A. (1998) from Princeton University. He founded Mission Asset Fund in 2007 and continues to serve as CEO. His prior affiliations include the Center for Community Change (2001–2004) and Bread for the World (2000–2001). From 2012 to 2014, he was the inaugural chair of the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Felicidades, José and MAF!

HAT TIP: Neighbor Kathy
PHOTO: via John D. and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation

Carlos Santana’s Former House on Mullen Avenue Is For Sale

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

205mullen2016

Last week, the house at 205 Mullen Ave. in northeast Bernal Heights was listed for sale. The asking price is $975K for the 2BR house, which prompted our friends at the CurbedSF blog to weep that “a starter home in San Francisco is now officially a touch under one million” — which is a totally legit thing to weep about.

Yet with that said, CurbedSF didn’t account for the fact that 205 Mullen comes with one very, very unique feature: Carlos Santana used to live in it.

It’s true.  Sanata lived in northeast Bernal in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and during the early years, when he was playing epic, ad hoc concerts in Precita Park, he lived here, at 205 Mullen.  Later, a few members of Journey lived there too (Trivia Fun Fact: Journey was founded by a manager and musicians who started out working with Santana.)

Anyway, Neighbor N owns the Santana House now, so Bernalwood asked him to describe what it’s been like to live there:

I still think about the first time I came to the house. Stupidly, I had no real conceptions of Bernal’s north slope view. It was also probably the first house I looked at in Bernal.

I walked in the door and said, “Wow, I had no idea the view was that good.”

I didn’t find out till later (possibly from a certain neighborhood blog) that Santana (and some members of Journey) used to live here. A few people came by to snap pics that week. Everyone is always very respectful.

I really do wonder what the house was like when Santana lived here. At some point, someone put up a solid, nearly seven-foot-tall fence, with spikes above that. There were shutters on the bay window, closing off the southern light. The house was very, very walled off from the street. Here’s how it looked in 2012:

old205mullen2

That never felt like Santana to me.

When I refaced the fence with pickets, we worked hard to get both the height and the spacing just right. I didn’t want another Wall on Mullen, as I used to call the old fence. But I wanted privacy. I also didn’t want the house to be hidden behind the fence. From the beginning, I wanted to open up the house, because it’s such a quintessentially San Francisco house.

I’d like to think we got it pretty right. As soon as the new fence was up, there was a much nicer sense of connection to the rest of the neighborhood, and the light was totally different. Same when I replaced the shutters with curtains and added a new frosted front door to let in more of that southern light. I get a ton of light now, and I still have that crazy-good view from the back.

Now, when you walk by the house, you can see the sun setting through the house. I think that’s pretty special.

After the fence, the other big thing I changed was the color. I have always liked dark houses. I used to own a funny little ranch house on eastern Long Island that I painted charcoal about 15 years ago. I liked the idea of all dark on the outside and all light on the inside.

For San Francisco, I wanted dark, but definitely a color, so I chose this charcoal-y blue, but it’s definitely blue. I really like it when neighbors say “You live in the blue house!” To me, that means they get it.

I like monochromatic houses because it makes it more about the house and less about the paint *on* the house. I wanted to really show off the house.

I’d like to think Santana would like it too. I really tried to let the house be what it should have been all along, which is probably more like it was when Santana lived here.

PHOTOS: 2012 photo by Telstar Logistics. Contemporary photos courtesy of Neighbor N.

ALERT! Neighbor Amos Goldbaum’s “Interceptor” Work Vehicle Has Been Stolen

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

amosinterceptor
Well, this sucks.

Amos Goldbaum is a wonderful Bernal artist whose work we have celebrated here often. Neighbor Amos grew up here, and he still lives in Precitaville, and he earns much of his income by selling t-shirts of his work at street fairs and events around the city. To do that, he uses an old parking enforcement Interceptor as his work vehicle to carry merchandise from Bernal to sites around town.

Until now. Neighbor Amos says his Interceptor was stolen yesterday.

There have been a few reported sightings of the vehicle, but if you see it, please tweet Amos with a location, or contact the SFPD at(415) 553-0123.  Grrrrr.