Wow. Wow! WOW! If ever there was a story that epitomizes the spirit of Bernalwood (apart from our collective obsession with celebrity, glamour, and haute couture), it is this…
As you may recall, last week Bernalwood published a post about The Ugliest Spot in Bernal Heights, a barren patch of east slope hillside overlooking Highway 101 and the Spaghetti Bowl. Well, upon reading that post, a few of your Bernal neighbors decided to do something about it, and they volunteered to spend time on Saturday cleaning up the hillside mess. Yup, that’s right: They stepped up to clean the mess!
Neighbor Mia talks about the cleanup effort on her blog:
This Saturday, me and Josh headed over to give it a quick clean up, which took about an hour. You can see the rest of the results in my flickr stream.
There was a fair amount of trash strewn around, and a real mess of broken wood and bits of concrete and stone. It looked like most of this junk may have come from a nearby fence renovation project.
First we removed the graffiti from the sign, with a spray cleanerthat worked surprisingly well. We then used the discarded building and fence supplies to make a bench (where one can sit and contemplate “progress”) and couple of cairns/shrines/ompahli (depending on what you like to call a pile of rocks).
Here’s a photo of that ad hoc new bench:
So if you see a tear rolling down my cheek right now, please know that I’m not existentially bummed out like that sad Native American (who was really Italian-American) in the “Keep America Beautiful” commercial. No, these are tears of pride and admiration for the infinite awesomeness of the Citizens of Bernalwood.
THANK YOU to Neighbor Mia and the rest of her Cleanup Crüe for a job well done.
Bernalwood brings you this legal analysis from our Pregnant Reporter, Jennifer Phillips
A few days ago, MissionLoc@l ran a story about the anti-abortion protesters in front of the new Planned Parenthood clinic on Valencia Street. I live just a few blocks from the clinic, and I’m annoyed at the protesters’ presence in my neighborhood. But the protesters’ time on the sidewalk may be limited: There’s a law on the SF books that says they may be liable for 3 months in jail or a $500 fine for being too close to the clinic.
San Francisco municipal code, Article 43, Section 4302 states that health clinics must have a “buffer zone” around them. Specifically, protesters must not be located within “an 8-foot radius extending in all directions from the individual seeking access to, passage from, or services within the healthcare facility.”
But as you can see by this video and these pictures, the sidewalk in front of the clinic is only about 9 feet at its widest. Since the protesters are on the sidewalk, and because the buffer zone extends in all directions from a person or their outstretched arm, there’s no way they’re 8 feet away from clinic patients.
The penalties for violating San Francisco’s buffer zone law is $500 fine or 3 months jail for the first offense, and $1000 fine or 6 months in jail for subsequent offenses. In addition, if someone did choose to sue the protesters under the law, the protesters would be liable for the plaintiff’s legal charges, $1000, and possibly punitive damages. The protesters seem very confident they know the Lord’s law, but in the meantime they’re in violation of man’s law.
Adrienne Verrilli, Director of Communications and Marketing for the local Planned Parenthood, says the clinic is very aware of the law, but “we really just don’t have a way to have eyes and ears on the street to see if it’s being enforced. And if there are more peaceful ways to deal with this, we want to find those ways.”
She says the clinic’s 15-some staff members have been so busy providing services like family planning and STD tests that it just hasn’t become a priority yet. She said staff is still growing, but if it comes down to “taking care of the client or dealing with crazy people, we choose the clients.”
Verrilli believes that it would be necessary to prove that the protesters had been consistently violating Article 43, Section 4302 in order to have a solid case against them. However, the clinic will have an escort program up and running in 2 months that could allow for more rigorous observation. Verrilli expects that the clinic will be ready to enforce the buffer zone “next year… unless we’re able to get a buffer zone through the Board of Supervisors before then.”
On a more personal note, as a local resident and currently cranky pregnant lady, I asked Verrilli if it would do any good to give in to my impulse to give the protesters a piece of my mind next time I pass. Don’t bother, she said. “It is not worth anyone’s breath to engage with the protesters. Facts are not something they are interested in hearing.” So while debate might not change much on the street, there is a legal way to battle the protesters. And whether they believe in the law or not, the protestors are subject to it.
Have a crime or public nusiance concern? Want to talk directly to our precinct’s top cop? Then you may want to attend the community meeting tonight at 7 pm at the SFPD’s Ingleside Station.
The monthly community meeting at Ingleside Station is tonight, Tuesday, at 7pm. I encourage folks to attend since Bernal is often underrepresented. Last month, there were maybe 12 people total, so you can express your concerns directly to the captain very easily.
The information is here. The community room is to your left as you walk towards the main building.
Five guys outside a new (??) Planned Parenthood location on Valencia @ Mission. When they stood just right, two of their signs lined up to read: Your Mom The Baby.
I asked if they knew what Planned Parenthood did, and they prayed at me. I asked if they knew about the exams, testing, and women’s healthcare they provided as well as all sorts of family planning education and they prayed some more. Then it started raining harder and I guess they left.
As you may recall, after a whinging NIMBY complained to the City about the presence of the vintage Coca-Cola mural at the corner of Tompkins and Banks, the City gave the property owner a February 24 deadline to present evidence that the artwork at 601 Tompkns pre-dates San Francisco’s 1965 sign ordinances.
In our quest to acquire said evidence, we got some big help from the sleuths at Burrito Justice, who proved conclusively that the property at 601 Tompkins was a corner store called Tiptons Grocery until roughly the late 1960s. But today — three days before our City-imposed deadline — we are happy to report that Bernalwood obtained conclusive proof that the sign is, in fact, way old.
Over the weekend, Bernalwood established contact with the homeowner, Mr. Richard Modolo. Mr. Modolo was away on vacation last week, but now he’s tanned, rested, and ready for a bureaucratic tussle. Even better, he’s got the historic goods. Let’s establish the facts:
FACT: Mr. Modolo has lived in Bernal Heights since 1954. He attended Paul Revere School, right across the street from the disputed Coca-Cola artwork, and he has vivid memories of Tipton’s Grocery store from when it was still in operation. Actually, “Mrs. Tips” (as the kids caller her) made his lunch every day. As we chatted in the very space that Tipton’s Grocery once occupied, Mr. Modolo gestured toward the spot where Mrs. Tips used to stand behind the counter, and told this story:
FACT: The vintage Coca-Cola artwork is, properly speaking, a “ghost sign.” Mr. Modolo explained that the mural re-appeared in 1991, when he removed the asbestos siding that had long covered the building. A thick layer of tar paper preserved the handpainted artwork through the decades, so it looked almost-new when it finally saw the light of day again.
Here’s how the building looked when the asbestos siding was still in place:
And (… drumroll…) here’s how the Coke artwork looked in 1991, immediately after the siding was removed:
At the time, Mr. Modolo added, he simply planned to paint over the ghost sign. But neighbors intervened, begging him to keep it in place. And so he has, repainting it three times during the last 20 years.
FACT: The ghost sign pre-dates the City’s 1965 regulations by at least a decade, and almost certainly more. How do we know this? Simple: The asbestos siding at 601 Tompkins was installed in 1949 and 1956, which means the sign was in place before it was covered over. And how do we know those dates? That’s simple too: Mr. Modolo has the permit history from the City’s Department of Building Inspection:
FACT: The design of the mural suggests it dates from the mid-1940s. Burrito Justice has stayed on the case, and he’s been Tweeting with an archivist from the Coca-Cola company, who says “The “silhouette girl” logo was used as early as 1939.”
The girl in the image is referred to in “Coke Lore” as Silhouette Girl. She was used from 1939 until around 1950 when she fell out of use. She is significant in dating items as she was one of the few characters that was used during the time we transitioned our “Trademark Registered” statement from the tale of the C in “Coca” to being placed under the words “Coca-Cola.” This transition occurred between 1941 and 1942.
The first thing I noticed with the sign was the mark was under the words so it had to be later than 1942.
So, game, set, match, right?
Not quite. Bernalwood has been in touch with Mr. Dan Sider from the Planning Department’s General Advertising Sign Program. This situation regarding our Coca-Cola is “entirely novel” and without precedent, he says. “Our staff has processed nearly 1,800 general advertising signs in the City,” Mr. Sider says. “Not once have neighbors wanted to preserve a sign, much less have they taken the initiative to repaint and restore a sign on their own accord.” Hey, what can we say, other than Welcome to Bernalwood.
Much now hinges on how the City decides to classify the artwork. Is it a “general advertising sign” or a “business sign?” Neither approach is ideal, as each comes with significant legal downsides. So perhaps Bernalwood can suggest an easy solution? Maybe it’s not a sign at all! And maybe it stopped being advertising sometime during the Truman Administration. Perhaps it’s really a “historic commercial mural!”Or something like that.
FACT: Homeowner Richard Modolo wants to keep the vintage Coca-Cola mural in place, as is, and if the dozens of comments Bernalwood has received are any indication, a nontrivial number of his neighbors do as well. Mr. Modolo says, “For better or worse, this building was once a grocery store, and this is part of the history of this neighborhood.” That’s now a confirmed fact too.
This is an unfortunate story about a neighborhood landmark, the NIMBY menace, City bureaucracy, and a call to action for Bernal Heights history geeks. More or less in that order. Follow along…
Decades ago, the building at 601 Tompkins Avenue, at the corner of Banks in Bernal Heights, may have once been a corner store. It’s now a private home, but a vintage Coca-Cola advertising sign from the earlier days has remained on the building regardless. Bernalwood’s irate tipster explains the situation:
Is this perhaps a little bureaucracy run amok in Bernal; the inevitable fallout from our Supervisors trying to outlaw sugary drinks?
The antique Coca-Cola ad has been part of the corner of Banks and Tomkins probably since the 1940’s at least. In my 30 years in Bernal, the homeowners have lovingly preserved this little bit of old Bernal—probably the last remnant of a grocery on that corner.
Now the City is apparently citing them for an unauthorized billboard. Note that the Planning Department documents say the homeowners must pay $3400 just to appeal the decision.
This is madness. A way-cool vintage Coke sign, preserved by neighborhood old-timers, is targeted for citation and removal by clueless City sign inspectors? Really? Why? And why does the San Francisco Planning Department hate America so much?
Bernalwood attempted to contact the property owner, but so far our efforts have been unsuccessful. We also called the City Planning Department, to ask WTF. This proved fruitful.
The City action against the vintage Coke sign came as the result of a complaint about the sign that was submitted by a nameless NIMBY whiner on January 14, 2011. With impressive alacrity, the Planning Department investigated the matter, and on January 25, 2011 a City notice was posted to indicate that the old sign must be either permitted or removed.
Bernalwood spoke to Mr. Dan Sider from the Planning Department’s General Advertising Sign Program . Mr. Sider had photos of the sign at 601 Tompkins at his disposal during our talk, and he was quite friendly. Yet when told that the Coke sign has been there since the 1940s, he seemed skeptical. It looks new, he said, and in fairness, he’s right — it does look new. “That’s because it’s been lovingly repainted and maintained by the neighbors,” Bernalwood explained sweetly.
Mr. Sider seemed surprised. “As a San Franciscan, I think that’s very neat,” he said. “But it is very clearly an illegal sign, and we don’t have much discretion.”
“But… but… surely there must be some way to save this historic piece of commercial art!” Bernalwood pleaded.
Indeed, Mr. Sider explained, there is. If some evidence can be produced that the sign was in place prior to 1965 (when the City’s operative sign ordinances went into effect), the matter may be resolved pleasantly. “But the clock is ticking,” he said. Said evidence must be received by February 24, 2011 — within 30 days of the issuance of the initial citation — or else fines may begin to kick in.
So, concerned Bernalwood citizen, there are two things you can now do:
2) Help track down evidence — preferably a photograph or other document — that demonstrates the old Coke sign on the side of 601 Tompkins has indeed been there since the Kennedy Administration, if not before. Activate your geektastic history researcher kung-fu powers, and keep your fingers crossed. If you find anything, Bernalwood will gladly pass it along to our friends at the Planning Department. But remember, the DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 24.
2) Call our Supervisor, Mr. David Campos to advise him of your interest in this matter. Admittedly, the preservation of vintage commercial art is hardly a core plank in his Progressive agenda. Yet this is also the kind of stuff that gives a neighborhood a tangible connection to its own history — and that matters a lot. Besides, if they do nothing else, our Supervisors exist precisely to represent us when dealing with City Hall silliness. Perhaps Supervisor Campos could put in a call to Mr. Sider? Perhaps you’d like to call Supervisor Campos to suggest that idea? Supervisor Campos can be reached at (415) 554-5144.
Our sources in the underground sent us these photos of a peace-oriented, conscousness-raising art/laundry installation that went up last night on Bernal Hill.
After two rounds of digital combat, Bernal Heights has made an impressively strong showing in the 2010 Curbed Cup, an online competition in which the CurbedSF blog pits neighborhoods against one another to claim bragging rights and possession of a pixel-based trophy. Now, wouldn’t this look lovely perched on our virtual bookshelf? (At least we won’t have to fight over who gets to keep it.) To recap the competition thus far: Bernal Heights was initially ranked as the 11th seed in the Curbed Cup competition. Oh, how they underestimated us. To the great surprise of the pundits and wags, Bernal surged ahead to defeat the swanks of Nob Hill in the first elimination round. Then, in round two, we squeaked past the dotcommers of SoMa to eke out a narrow victory that catapulted Bernal into the Final Four.
Our next challenge will take place tomorrow — on Tuesday, December 27, 2010 — when Bernal will go head-to-head against The Lower Haight.
Obviously, any Bernal resident could go on and on about the aesthetic and moral reasons why we deserve to vanquish the Haight. But frankly, none of that matters. What matters is votes, and specifically, YOUR vote (and the votes of your loved ones, children, distant relatives, Facebook fwiendz, Twitter minions, work colleagues, pets, or anyone else with a unique IP address). In other words, the Curbed Cup plays well to another of Bernal’s historic strengths: our indomitable spirit of can-do activism.
So you know what to do: Tomorrow, visit CurbedSF and place your vote for good ol’ Bernal Heights. Then tell lots of other people to do the same (and tell them to do the same). Let’s defeat those rascals from the Lower Haight to make it into the finals. Mark your calendars. Monitor your social-networking feeds. Vote early and vote often, and LET’S DO THIS THING. Onward! To glory!
Bernalwood 