Author: Todd_Lappin

Tis the Season to Beware of Parcel-Delivery Grinches

/ Todd_Lappin / 10 Comments

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Fa-la-la-la-la / la-la-la-la, and ho-ho-ho, and a seasonal reminder: Keep an eye on any packages you get delivered to your home in the weeks ahead, or have them shipped to your workplace instead, because the holidays are prime season for grinchy parcel thieves.

Neighbor Lyndsey describes how a parcel theft unfolded near Holly Park a few days ago:

Hi Neighbors –

Just sitting here on the couch with the hubby watching TV and we heard what sounded like packages getting delivered – at 10:30 pm.

Then we heard our neighbor yelling at someone and turns out some guy was taking packages and mail from door steps all along our street near Holly Park. Our neighbor didn’t get a good look at the guy other than he was about 6 feet tall or so.

Turns out UPS delivered a package sometime this evening and didn’t even ring our bell. I’m going to leave a note to delivery folks to not leave packages on our steps now (definitely not convenient) but better than having things dropped and then stolen! 😦

Be on the lookout and hopefully with our neighbor and my husband yelling and running after the guy, he won’t be back. Best not to leave packages for the taking. Take care neighbors!!

IMAGE: FreakingNews.com

Porcine Santa Brings Joy to Bernal Neighbor

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

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With all the joyful exuberance of a child who awakens to find new toys under the tree on December 25, Neighbor Erin is very excited about the arrival of the Christmas Pig on Park Street in Bernal Heights:

He’s back! By far the greatest holiday decoration in Bernalwood and, perhaps, the world… CHRISTMAS PIG!

Ho, Ho, Ho! Oink, Oink, Oink!

Your Bernalwood editor went to visit the illuminated creature last night, and we can confirm that it is, indeed, rather fabulous. To capture the full porcine effect, however, we also filmed this little video:

Piggy Christmas

A video posted by Todd Lappin (@telstarlogistics) on

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

Tonight: You’re Invited to The New Wheel’s Holiday Party

/ Todd_Lappin

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The 2015  Holiday Stroll on Cortland was wonderful (if somewhat wet), but if you missed the fun last night, you can still get a tasty taste of seasonal cheer. Tonight, Friday, Dec. 11, the fabulous New Wheel bike shop, at 420 Cortland, invites you to their glamorous, celebrity-packed Holiday Party:

We are so excited to welcome David Chiu, member of the California State Assembly, and sponsor of AB-1096 (the electric bike bill) that was successfully signed into law this year.

David will make a breif public comment at 6pm – as such we’ve moved the start time of the party forward to 5:30.

This year’s holiday party will be a chance to relax, celebrate, and eat some great food.

Don’t miss the first annual New Wheel keynote address at 7:00pm by SF electric bike champions, Brett Thurber and Karen Wiener.

This is also a chance to meet your fellow electric bike riders, The New Wheel staff and a few of our top bike and accessory suppliers.

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Here’s the newfangled video invite:

PHOTO: Courtesy of The New Wheel

Fatal Shooting Escalates East Bernal Crime Wave

/ Todd_Lappin / 14 Comments

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A few weeks ago, Neighbor Daniel alerted us to a troubling wave of property crime plaguing residents on Holliday Avenue, along Bernal’s eastern slope. Yesterday, the crime wave turned violent, as Neighbor Eric tells Bernalwood about a shooting that took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning:

Wondering if you heard anything about the shots last night below the retaining wall on Holladay Ave? They woke me up at 3:20am. Then saw a man and a woman walking northbound around the corner onto Peralta talking loudly. This morning there is crime scene tape thoughtfully left like litter by, I can only assume, SFPD.

The SF Appeal carried a brief description of the incident, with a few more details:

[The] shooting was reported at 3:20 a.m. in the 100 block of Holladay Avenue in Bernal Heights via a SpotShotter gunshot detection system activation, police said.

Police did not find the victim, a 17-year-old male, at the scene, but later learned he had been taken to San Francisco General Hospital by friends. His injuries are considered life-threatening, police said.

Your SFPD liaison, the fabulous Neighbor Sarah, reached out to Capt. McFadden from Ingleside Station to learn more about the incident. Capt. McFadden said:

The shooting appears unrelated in any way to the homeless encampment [under the US101/Cesar Chavez interchange] and is being investigated by our Gang Task Force. It appears that there are a group of juveniles who have chosen the area of Holladay and Peralta to hang out. My patrol and undercover units will be paying a lot of attention to the area in an effort to disperse any future gatherings.

Please advise neighbors to call immediately [415-553-0123]when people begin to congregate in the area so that we can quickly respond and identify those involved. It is of utmost importance to give a detailed description of subjects and their vehicles for the responding officers.

UPDATE: In the comments, Neighbor Shane adds that the victim in the shooting incident later passed away at the hospital.

PHOTO: Crime scene on Holliday Ave. on Wednesday morning, by Neighbor Eric

Thursday: Come All Ye Bernal, for the 2015 Holiday Stroll!

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

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Many many moons ago, in the time of the Bernal ancestors, a festive tribe of elves and druids lived in the lands we now call Bernal Heights. Each year, in anticipation of the winter solstice, these proto-Bernalese would gather on the pathway we now call Cortland Avenue to celebrate the arrival of the rains and the season of lights.

Today, tens of thousands of years later, the Bernal Business Association continues this ancient tradition, in the beloved form of the Cortland Holiday Stroll. The 2015 Stroll happens this Thursday, December 10, from 6 to 9 pm, and here are all the tasty details:

The Bernal Business Alliance and merchants will usher in the sixth annual Holiday Stroll all along Cortland Avenue in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood. Businesses will stay open later than usual, from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, December 10, 2015. Each participant will have one-­night specials for unique holiday gifts, and sometimes, giveaways or musical guests for the evening. Admission is free.

As in prior strolls, the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center will be accepting cash donations and new, unwrapped toys suitable for ages 0-­10 years old for their annual holiday Toy Drive at their office on 515 Cortland Avenue. Many of the Holiday Stroll participants will also have silver buckets at the registers for monetary donations. (Checks should be made payable to “Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center.” )Toys and donations will be accepted at the Center until December 15.

To date, about 30 brick­-and­-mortar and home­-based businesses will be participating, including:

  • Heartfelt, who will have grog, cookies made by owner Darcy Lee, music by one man band Brian Belknap and hidden gift certificates around the store
  • The Epicurean Trader, customers will receive free gift wrapping with purchase; in­store wine tasting and in­store discounts
  • Just in time for the season, Bernal Homeopathy will have for sale ready­to­go homeopathic remedy kits for trauma recovery plus cold & flu, for sale
  • Inclusions Gallery, celebrating its eighth year, will have live music and light refreshments to commemorate their anniversary
  • The Good Life Grocery will serve hot apple cider and other treats
  • Restaurants Vinorosso, Vega and Bernal Star will offer mulled wine
  • Anda’s Piroshki, of the 331 Marketplace on Cortland, will sample their Adjarian cheese bread
  • Bernal Library will be giving away free books on the deck facing Cortland
  • Lama’s Ken Po students will demonstrate karate and will off $30 off a two­month introductory special
  • Kingmond Young Photography will have snacks, drinks and a guest artist
  • The Lucky Horseshoe will have complimentary snacks and drink specials
  • Succulence will have snacks and drink as well
  • Pinhole Coffee will have vendors selling Cork Maps, Jewelry, Knitwear, Greeting Cards. The coffee bar will be open for coffee, peppermint hot chocolates, and Red Blossom Teas. 

Several other businesses will have one­-night only discounts to kick off your holiday shopping, including:

  • Bernal Beast
  • Arts of Balance, 20% off seasonal packages
  • The Cutting Edge Salon and Sandy Owens Massage and Healing will hold a raffle for a complimentary massage session or energy reading, as well as $15 off coupons for a future session or gift certificate for the holidays.
  •  fitBERNALfit
  •  Little Bee Baking

For more information about the event, visit bernalbusiness.org

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PHOTOS: Top, Holiday Strolls of Years Past, by Telstar Logistics

Wednesday: Another Design Review Board Meeting for Long-Delayed Infill Housing in Northeast Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin / 34 Comments

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It’s been some time since we’ve heard anything about the plan to build several new homes on the “secret lot” bordered by Hampshire, Peralta, York and Cesar Chavez in northeast Bernal Heights. An East Slope Design Review Board meeting about the project was last held in May 2014,  and that session was so contentious and so depressing that it prompted one Bernal neighbor to write a powerful analysis about the dark, NIMBY heart of San Francisco’s housing crisis.

Neighbor Margo lives in a home adjacent to the proposed development site, and she brings news us about another East Slope Design Review Board meeting to discuss this project, scheduled for this Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 pm in the Precita Valley Community Center (534 Precita Ave).

Neighbor Margo tells Bernalwood:

There’s another hearing coming up  about the infill development project in the interior lot bordered by Hampshire, Peralta, York and Cesar Chavez.

As far as I know, the project was stalled for about a year and a half (no idea why), and now the city has asked the owner and architect to go back to the East Slope Design Review Board with revised plans. Below is a note I sent to our neighbors.

Dear neighbors:

You probably got in your mailbox, as we did, a flyer inviting us to the Precita Neighborhood Center next Wednesday, Dec.9, at 7 pm to see revised plans for building in the interior lot behind our homes on Hampshire Street.

I called Terry Milne of the East Slope Design Review Board to find out what the revisions are, and he says the board doesn’t know much. The owner and architect were asked by the city to return to the neighborhood review board with revised plans. He doesn’t know if the revisions are big or small.

We plan to go to the meeting, and hope that others who are interested will go as well.

Here is some history and background, for newer neighbors:

Patrick Quinlan, a local contractor, has owned these two interior lots and an access lot on York Street for many years — he had plans to build on the interior lots before we moved here 28 years ago, in 1988.

According to its web site: “The East Slope Design Review Board was established in 1986 by order of the San Francisco Supervisors. For building projects within the East Slope Design Review Area, a letter of recommendation from the Design Review Board is required before the San Francisco Planning Department will accept any permit application.”

The design review board’s volunteer members solicit neighborhood comments, hold hearings on a project-by-project basis, and forward their recommendations.

About 15 years ago, the board heard arguments for and against Quinlan’s plan for 10 units (5 duplexes) on the two moderately steep interior lots now covered with fennel and ivy. As the plan advanced through the Planning Department pipeline, concerned neighbors retained land-use attorney Sue Hestor and testified in opposition at a hearing before an appeals board of the city Planning Commission. The commissioners rejected the development.

Then about 10 years ago, Quinlan proposed a modified plan for 8 units. The design review board heard comments by neighbors. There was opposition, but not as fervent as against the earlier 10-unit plan. As far as we know, those plans were in the pipeline when the economy collapsed in 2008. As you know, the vacant lots are still vacant.

The next plan, reviewed by the board in 2014, was for a gated community of 6 units: 4 three-story single-family houses on the two R-2 interior lots and 2 small townhouses on a structure erected atop the entrance tunnel and gate on the access lot on York Street. Quinlan installed story-poles to indicate the heights of proposed buildings on the interior lots, but after a year and a half, some of them are now askew.

Along the cliff-like slope on the north edge (toward Cesar Chavez) of the interior lots, the plans called for a large retaining wall topped by a private street/driveway that would end in a cablecar-style turntable to turn cars around.

At the board hearing on the 2014 plans, some neighbors supported the development, saying the plan dealt with many of the neighbors’ previous concerns, including the project’s density, sufficient parking, space for garbage cans, and fire safety. Others voiced concerns, including the stability of the steep hillside above the properties on Cesar Chavez Street, the density of auto traffic in an interior lot, potential changes in rain runoff during and after construction. One other open question is the apparent need for a homeowners’ association to maintain the common structures and areas: the retaining walls, the private street and parking spaces, trash storage area, automatic gate, and the car turntable.

The review board is now set to see “revised plans.” We’ll see what’s new on Wednesday.

Scenes from Wednesday’s Surreal Sunset Over Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin

rally.sunset

There have been some rather lovely sunsets around Bernal Heights of late.

Neighbor Rally snapped this fabulous profile shot of Bernal Hill on Wednesday evening. Then, not far away, Neighbor Seth captured the view from the eastern side of the park:

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Meanwhile, just down the hill, I took a photo of Harvest Hills Market, as seen from Precita Park, at almost the same moment:

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And though I can’t personally vouch for this, Neighbor James assures us that the sunrise on Wednesday morning was also rather impressive:

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The 2016 District 9 Supervisor’s Race Is Already Underway

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

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Our most recent citywide election happened just a month ago, but the race is already on to replace District 9’s Supervisor, David Campos, who terms-out next year. Progressive columnist Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez looks at the line-up of candidates so far:

[Edwin] Lindo, vice president of political affairs for the local Latino Democratic Club, joins Hillary Ronen, who is Supervisor David Campos’ legislative aide, as the only publicly known candidates for Campos’ seat.

Ronen filed a candidate intention statement on Nov. 16.

Lindo said he filed Nov. 2, though the documents are not publically available online.

Ronen told the San Francisco Examiner she’s running because she has “a deep love of the district,” and, “the knowledge and experience of how to fight and move legislation.”

Now that there are two progressives in the race, however, the vote to beat back moderate opposition may be split. And though ranked choice voting may less that impact, a split may shuffle endorsements, allegiances, and overall campaign power – all which will be key for progressives to topple any moderate candidate who comes out of the woodwork.

Campos, a noted progressive, will term out in 2016. The District 9 seat he now occupies is one of three famously left-leaning supervisor seats up for election, as progressive supervisors John Avalos and Eric Mar will also term out.

With Supervisor-elect Aaron Peskin now on the Board of Supervisors, the board majority favors left-leaning progressives, with a 6-5 split. The 2016 elections then would give center-right moderates the chance to take back the board.

The real District 9 opponent is still waiting in in the wings: Joshua Arce. An attorney who works with the Laborers International Union, Arce has long been rumored to be running for the seat with the support of The City’s political “moderates.” Though he has not officially announced candidacy, a “personal endorsement” from a local San Franciscan for Arce’s candidacy has surfaced online.

Neighbor Jeanne Carstensen Reports on the Refugee Crisis on Lesbos

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

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Journalist Jeanne Carstensen just returned home to Mullen Ave. in Bernal Heights, but not long ago she was on the Greek island of Lesbos, reporting on the Middle Eastern refugee crisis. A sample of the experiences she had there:

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Asas doesn’t have enough money to pay the smugglers and worries how he will be able to work in Turkey, where Syrians have no legal status. Nour checks his cell phone frequently looking for a message from his contact. He shows me the life jacket under the table. He had expected to take a bus to the boat the night before but the hook up was called off due to iffy weather. Now he doesn’t know for sure when he will leave.

Yet they both insist on inviting me to tea. This detail — of hospitality offered in a moment of extremis — sticks with me. I had gone to the Basmane neighborhood with some trepidation. After all, it’s the center of human trafficking, as it’s called, the business of moving people illegally across borders. Looking around me I wondered who was who, who was a trafficker, or a middleman, or a refugee. But when I sat down to interview Asas and Nour and others with my microphone held close to their faces I quickly felt at ease.

I offered to pay for the tea but they would not accept. And when beggars came by our table, the refugees reached into their pockets for coins. No one was turned down.

In this video filmed on Lesbos, Neighbor Jeanne explains how the refugee situation there has unfolded:

Hat Tip: Neighbor Mark

PHOTO:  Scene at the Sindad Cafe in Lesbos, by Jeanne Carstensen

Northeast Bernal Neighbor Exasperated by Property Crime

/ Todd_Lappin / 30 Comments

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Neighbor Daniel lives on Holliday Avenue in northeast Bernal, just above the US101/Cesar Chavez interchange. He says property crime in that corner of the neighborhood is getting out of hand.

Neighbor Daniel tells Bernalwood:

We have had a rash of crime, especially car burglaries involving my car and cars none of my neighbors recognize. I’ve written Captain McFadden and Supervisor David Campos about it. Here is the letter I sent:

From: Daniel
Date: November 30, 2015
To: “joseph.mcfadden@sfgov.org”
Cc: david.campos@sfgov.org
Subject: Bernal Heights Crime

Dear Captain McFadden,

I, Daniel W. – homeowner at XXXX Holladay Avenue, am writing to express my concern with the recent car burglaries and other crime on Holladay avenue in Bernal Heights. The first incident occurred on November 9, 2015; a car burglary I witnessed resulting in an arrest by SFPD.

The second car burglary incident occurred on Holladay avenue today November 30, 2015. This incident was called in by my neighbor at  XXX Holladay Avenue. The perpetrator of this incident involved him threatening my elderly neighbor and resulting in his arrest. The arresting officer stated the SFPD had found a weapon in the car, and the weapon had previously been used to commit a crime.

A month and a half ago ago, my car was broken into on Holladay avenue. I did not call the police regarding that incident.

Several months ago, I had to call the police when a homeless couple with a dangerous dog were walking in my neighborhood creating a public safety issue. The responding officer had to discharge his weapon to stop the dog and apprehend the suspects.

I am very concerned with this uptick in crime in my neighborhood. I do not feel safe, and I would like to know what SFPD plans to do with regards to the rash of crime on my street in Bernal Heights.

Sincerely,

Daniel

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

Thursday: City Hall Hearing to Review PG&E Safety in Bernal

/ Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

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burnedworkersiiting

There have been several electrical transformer explosions in Bernal Heights recently, and PG&E’s equipment has been responsible for the accidents.

In 2013, a transformer exploded on Coleridge. Last September, another transformer exploded on Heyman Avenue, leaving two people with serious injuries. Throw in a disheartening series of blackouts, and confidence in PG&E’s Bernal Heights infrastructure is at a low ebb.

On Thursday afternoon, Dec 3, 2015 , District 9 Supervisor David Campos will hold a hearing in City Hall to investigate the safety of PG&E’s systems. His legislative aide, Sheila Chung Hagen, tells Bernalwood:

In response to the September PG&E transformer explosion in Bernal Heights that injured two people, Supervisor Campos called for a public hearing to understand what happened in Bernal Heights and what is happening across the city with PG&E’s transformers. Through the hearing, we want to learn what happened, and what safety measures will be put in place to ensure no harm comes to the public again.

What: A hearing on measures to ensure public safety around Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company Transformers citywide
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2015
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee (Room 250, City Hall
Agenda: Here (See Item 2)

PHOTOS: The SFFD responds to the scene of a Dec. 8, 2013 PG&E transformer explosion on Bocana that left a PG&E employee badly burned. Photos courtesy of a Bernal Heights neighbor.

You’re Invited to the Secession Holiday Party, Thursday Eve

/ Todd_Lappin

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Neighbor Eden Stein from the fabulous Secession Art and Design shop on Mission (near Valencia) is spreading the word about Secession’s holiday party, happening tomorrow, Thursday, December 3:

Please join us at our holiday party on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6-9pm.

Our brand-new show features original art by Hilary Williams and abstract paintings by Andrzej Michael Karwacki.

Shop from over 60 independent makers, carefully curated with you and your list in mind. Hand-made treasures let you give a gift that has personality. Small warm wishes come in the shape of soy candles, Bernal decanters, prints, and ceramics. Add a little sparkle from our locally-made jewelry collection. Let us dress up your babies, toddlers, and everyone in the family with our unique clothing.

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