Bernal Merchants Warned about PG&E “Payment Overdue” Scam

November 4, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Miss Dawn from El Rio passes along this fraud-prevention alert:

Wanted share some info with other business owners regarding another PG&E scam.

We got a call at the club [last week] from a man saying he was with PG&E, and our payment to did not clear, and if we did not pay right away, our power would be turned off. Our staff said she would pass the info on and for them to leave a contact number. When we called, the whole thing sounded shady. In the meantime, I rang the main line for PG&E, and confirmed our payments were up to date. In addition, PG&E reported that this is a scam that has been going around.

Supposedly, they try to get you to buy some card thru Wallgreens or Rite Aid that contains a number, which they then take. We passed the info to SFPD at Ingleside. The scammers called again and we told them they were welcome to discuss it with the ingleside police. They hung up. That was fun!

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: Bernalwood

Bernal Neighbor Alleges Mission Merchant Was Reluctant to Assist After Assault

October 30, 2013October 30, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 63 Comments

About a week ago, Neighbor Joyce was assaulted on Mission Street near the intersection with Crescent. But as she tells the story, that wasn’t the terrible part:

I needed to get some items for dinner from the corner store on Wednesday night and headed up to La Loma Produce, a little Mom’n Pop shop on Mission between Crescent and Richland. I started picking out my limes, and noticed a man screaming to no one in particular at the corner, and I did my best to ignore him. Regardless, he then started walking quickly towards me, screaming.

And then, he punched me.

Scared and stunned, I yelled at him to get away from me and back off. He continued to scream at me, and I ran into the entrance of the store, continuing to yell at him to leave me alone. He kept screaming for a little bit and then finally left, heading south on Mission.

I was still scared and shocked, but my emotions quickly turned to anger. Why? Because when I was in La Loma Produce, I asked the store clerks for help, to call the police, because I had just been assaulted outside their store (and of course, neglected to bring my cell phone on what I thought would be a 30 second jaunt to the corner store).

They stared at me with blank looks and did nothing. They would not help me. The man ignored me and the woman shrugged her shoulders and said “He’s gone, what do you want?”. I repeatedly pleaded for help and they continued to do nothing but just look at each other. I finally asked, “Do you ever want me to shop here again?”, to which she handed me their phone and finally allowed me to make a call to the police. Why this made a difference, is mind-boggling.

After my 911 call, I waited outside on a bench for the police to arrive. During this time, the woman came out several times and said “they’re still not here yet?”. I found these remarks further infuriating, given their lack of compassion in the first place.

The police arrived within 10 minutes and took me to identify the suspected perpetrator. Indeed, they found the suspect. He apparently is a frequentor of the area, well-known to the police, and had also been recently cited for harassing customers at a local coffee shop. I don’t know of his fate. However, I can honestly say that I do not have any hard feelings for him as it was plainly obvious that he had mental health issues.

I do, however, have hard feelings for those clerks at La Loma Produce, who had the ability and choice to help me but wouldn’t. In fact, I find the lack of compassion very disappointing. I can entertain many reasons why they would not call the police, but to be frank, I don’t care. A society declines if we make an active choice not to help others in need, if we are void of compassion. I cannot support a community store that does not support its community. Thus, we will exercise our choice: my family will no longer be shopping at La Loma Produce, 3835 Mission between Crescent and Richland.

Young Son of Accused Holly Park Hit and Run Driver Is Arrested for Hit and Run

October 25, 2013October 25, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 11 Comments

On top of everything else, this is simply unbelievable:

The son of a city gardener accused of running over a woman in a San Francisco park has been arrested for leaving the scene of a collision with a bicyclist. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to pursue the case, but 19-year-old Jonathan Burnoski was booked by police, on a hit-and-run charge.

Police said the hit and run incident happened Wednesday afternoon in the Outer Mission shortly after Burnoski left the courtroom where his father was being arraigned.

Investigators say the 19-year-old hit a bicyclist as he was making a right turn. That person was not badly injured. Burnoski lives about a mile from where the accident occurred. He was followed by a witness who then called police. He was arrested for hit and run and booked into the county jail.

ABC-7 has video coverage of the younger Burnowski’s encounter with the law.

IMAGE: Scene of Jonathan Burnoski’s alleged hit and run, on Mission at Regent, via ABC-7 video

UPDATED: Felony Charges Filed Against City Worker In Holly Park Tragedy; Driver Allegedly Made Two Attempts to Flee Scene

October 23, 2013October 24, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 10 Comments

The other shoe has dropped in the aftermath of the Sept 5 tragedy in which SF Recreation and Park employee Thomas Burnoski ran over and killed Christy Svanemyr while she was relaxing on the grass in Holly Park.

Yesterday the San Francisco DA’s Office filed felony vehicular manslaughter and hit and run charges against Burnoski. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Vivian Ho has the story:

Thomas Burnoski, 58, turned himself in to face the charges leveled by the district attorney’s office in connection with the Sept. 5 death of Christine Svanemyr, 35, at Holly Park. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

Burnoski was arrested the day of the accident, but had been free on $25,000 bail while police and prosecutors continued to investigate. Prosecutors did not explain Tuesday’s decision, but the charges suggest they believe Burnoski acted recklessly.

The Recreation and Park Department employee ran over Svanemyr in a city pickup truck as she relaxed in the grass with her dog and her then-10-month-old baby, Isa Amalie.

Burnoski’s attorneys said he veered onto the lawn from a paved pedestrian path to avoid an unleashed dog. However, park department policy does not allow workers to drive on pedestrian paths.

After hitting Svanemyr, the gardener continued down the grassy hill, hopped off a curb to Holly Park Circle – which surrounds the park – and drove to a staff meeting at nearby St. Mary’s Park. According to his attorneys, he then told his supervisor that he believed he hit something, but didn’t know what, and they returned to Holly Park.

“We believe in this case it was a tragic accident, but it wasn’t criminal,” attorney Tony Tamburello, whose firm is representing Burnoski, said Tuesday.

Burnoski, a parks employee since 2006, was placed on unpaid leave after Svanemyr’s death. He had no recent criminal record, though he was cited last year for talking on a cell phone while driving, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Tamburello said Burnoski was devastated by the incident. The gardener’s 20-year-old daughter, Tiffany Burnoski, had died in a car accident in April in Fresno County.

“He understands what this all means and is devastated and feels very strongly,” Tamburello said. “He relates to the child that has to grow up without a mother and a husband who has to parent by himself. He understands all that. It’s been very difficult.”

A press conference on the charges filed against Burnoski is scheduled for this afternoon; Bernalwood will update this post if additional information becomes available.

UPDATE 24 October: SF Chronicle reporter Vivian Ho follow up with additional details about the prosecutors’ case against Burnoski:

The San Francisco city gardener accused of fatally running over a woman in a Bernal Heights park before leaving the scene told his supervisor that he thought he hit “a dog or a child” after he tore down the grassy hill where the victim lay with her baby, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Prosecutors outlined some of their case against the gardener, 58-year-old Thomas Burnoski, a day after charging him with felony vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run in the Sept. 5 death of Christine Svanemyr, 35, at Holly Park.

The district attorney’s office said the felony manslaughter charge, which requires a finding of gross negligence, was merited because Burnoski was simply looking for a shortcut when he veered onto the grass.

After he left the scene, prosecutors said, his supervisor forced him to return – before he made a second effort to get away.

But an attorney for Burnoski, who pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment Wednesday, said his client had no idea he struck a person after he was forced to swerve off a pedestrian path to avoid an unleashed dog.

The Department of Park and Recreation gardener quickly alerted his supervisor to what happened, and they returned to Holly Park, said the attorney, Tony Tamburello.

The prosecution and defense argued over Svanemyr’s death as they fought over bail. In the end, Superior Court Judge Monica Wiley decreased Burnoski’s bail from $350,000 to $100,000, which Tamburello said Burnoski’s supporters plan to raise.

Burnoski drove his Ford F-250 truck about 30 feet down a hill and over a spot where Svanemyr was relaxing with her dog and 10-month-old baby. He continued about 30 feet more over the grass, then jumped a curb onto the roadway below.

Tamburello said Burnoski had felt a bump under his wheels, but saw a dog running from under the truck and a baby about 45 feet away – and assumed both were safe.

Of the unleashed dog that purportedly darted in front of Burnoski’s car on the pedestrian path, Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai said, “There’s no evidence of that. Even if that was the case, I would press the brakes. I wouldn’t swerve into an area where there might be people.”

Talai said Burnoski drove to a staff meeting at nearby St. Mary’s Park, where he told his supervisor, “I hit something. It was maybe a dog or a child.”

The supervisor told Burnoski they needed to return to Holly Park, and they headed back in separate cars. When he saw police there, Burnoski tried to make a U-turn that was consistent with an attempt to flee, according to Talai.

IMAGE: Illustration by Bernalwood. Inset, Thomas Burnoski via SFPD. Background, tire tracks at Holly Park incident scene on Sept 5, 2013, by the San Francisco Examiner.

Your Bernal Heights Crime Report for October 2013: Lock Doors and Windows, Club Your Honda, Beware During Early Sunsets

October 22, 2013October 22, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 5 Comments

Neighbor Sarah, your vigilant volunteer Bernal Heights crime reporter, attended the SFPD Ingleside Community meeting last week, and she filed these terrific summary notes on the latest Bernal Heights crime trends. (Thank you, Sarah!!)

Read on, read carefully, and stay safe:

Notes from Ingleside Community Meeting: 10/15/13

Captain Falvey presided.

CRIME STATS & TRENDS:
See Sept 2013 Compstat file (included below) for detailed statistics

Homicide: There was a homicide last Weds. at 4pm near Mission and Brazil. The police are gathering evidence, including possible video evidence. The Violence Reduction Team is also in the district.

Robberies: Up 21% YTD, which is the same as the citywide number. Cell phones continue to be a big factor, but jewelry theft is on the rise. Arrested two men who were robbing elderly women of necklaces.

Robberies have moved away from the transit hubs, where the police had deployed resources, to further out, especially near the border with Taraval, where there was a cluster of similar robberies. The Violence Reduction Team had IDed three possible suspects.

Muggers also seem to be targeting people coming out of bars between 12am and 2am.

Robbery arrests up 77% YTD.

Daylight saving time ends 11/3. There was a big increase in robberies at this time last year. SFPD is deploying more officers to BART and nearby to warn commuters.

Burglaries: Creeping up. Unlocked windows and doors continue to be a problem. Same with homes under construction or renovation. Burglars look for easiest routes – make it hard for them. Burglary arrests are up 38% YTD.

Auto Thefts: Spiked the last 2 months. 50% are pre-2001 Hondas or Acuras. Buy a club-like device or get a new ignition from the dealer!

Ingleside got overtime grants for vehicle theft abatement, which while be used to focus officers in specific areas where lots of cars are stolen. Police use license plate readers on some patrol cars, but thieves thwart this by stealing front license plates from other, similar cars. (Police also look for back plates with no registration tags.) Police do NOT chase car thieves because of risks involved in high-speed chases on residential streets.

Larceny: These are thefts that are not from a person, but rather things like shoplifting or someone taking your computer at a coffee shop while you’re in the bathroom. Be vigilant. City College is seeing a lot of this.

Auto Boosting: These are thefts involving property taken from autos. Do not leave anything in your car! Recent thefts at Good Life involved multiple laptops each (items were not left out, but were in in bags inside car).

Internet/Gambling Cafes: Neighbors continue to have concerns, esp. about NetStop on the 4400 block of Mission. The “Sweepstakes” model currently seems to get them out of being prosecuted for gambling. Crime is clustering around certain sites, new cafes springing up. NetStop building owner has made some changes – reduced hours, added security, prevented loitering.

Reminders:
Call 911 for any crimes in progress. (Including crimes like this one)

Wear reflective clothing when walking at night!

Drivers, be extra-careful to look for pedestrians.

Do not jaywalk with your kids because it teaches them that it’s OK.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
PAL 3×3 Basketball Jamboree at SOMA Rec Center, 11/7, 8:15am-6pm. Need 7th and 8th graders, any level.

Bayview Gun Buyback: 12/14/13

Ingleside CPAB Gun Buyback: 4/5/14

Q&A:
Glen Park residents requested traffic enforcement on Diamond from Diamond Heights to Bosworth. People run all the stop signs. Captain agreed to do so. Advised them that they recently did a similar operation in another neighborhood, and it turned out that most of the people running the stop signs (34 of 40 tickets) lived within 3 blocks. Still worthwhile to do, but it wasn’t the “outsiders” the neighbors had assumed were the problem.

GUEST SPEAKER:
Jimmer Cassiol, Community Liaison for SF Department of Public Works: jimmer.cassiol@sfdpw.org, 415-641-2625

DPW has a variety of community programs that are volunteer-based: Adopt-a-Street, Graffiti Watch, Clean Team

The Clean Team’s cleanup for Districts 8 and 9 is SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20 – meet at O’Connell High (Folsom/20th) at 9am to help clean and green the area. Supervisors Campos and Wiener will be there.

ALSO: Gigantic 3 e-waste and bulky item dropoff for Districts 8 and 9 is Saturday, 10/20, 8am-12pm. District 9: Firehouse 7 at 2300 Folsom; District 8: St John’s School (925 Chenery). Call 330-1300 for an appointment or drop by (but wait in line).

Giant Sweep is the umbrella over all of these programs. The goal is to get residents and businesses involved in keeping the city clean, as well as prevent littering by reaching kids at an early age.

Adopt-a-Street – they give you supplies for keeping your block clean and graffiti-free.

Graffiti Watch – also involves free supplies but you must go through training on how to use the solvents. Graffiti removal is for public property/city “furniture” only.

Street Parks – adopt small piece of land and turn it into a park.

Finally, what’s the difference between art and graffiti? “Permission.”

Sign Up Now for This Free Personal Safety Workshop

October 21, 2013October 20, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

Neighbor Sarah, your valiant crime correspondent and local liaison to the SFPD, encourages you to attend an Oct. 24 workshop at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center that will provide valuable tips about protecting your personal safety and residential security:

It’s a fact: Crime (especially robberies and burglaries) spikes in the winter, often shortly after Daylight Saving Time ends. Last winter’s robbery spree was especially frightening, but it was not an anomaly — robberies continue to be a problem around SF, and they are consistently more violent than they used to be. This is a great time to think about personal safety, especially because many of us will be commuting to/from work in the dark.

Moreover, there are concrete steps we can take to improve the security of our houses and the lighting for pedestrians on our streets. Furlishous Wyatt from SFSAFE will be leading the session, and he’s great – he’s been doing this for 30 years and is extremely knowledgeable. Someone from SFPD will be on hand to answer questions as well. Let’s make Bernal as unappealing to criminals as possible.

For those needing additional enticements, there will be food and drink, and we’ll be raffling off a new Dropcam Pro, which is a wifi-enabled home security camera (I have two and can vouch for them).

The workshop is free, but we only have room for 90 Bernalese, so we encourage people to sign up ASAP to reserve a space.

To RSVP, send your name to info@bernalGOteam.org.

Alert Neighbor Photographs Illegal Trash Dump In-Progress on Bernal Hill

October 9, 2013October 9, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 22 Comments

If you drove along the south side of Bernal Hill yesterday afternoon, you might have noticed this pile of illegally dumped trash at the east end of the park.

The pile of trash probably made you feel sad.

The pile of trash probably made you feel angry.

The pile of trash probably made you wonder: Who were the wretched asshats who left that pile of trash there?

Well, wonder no more. A Bernal neighbor photographed two men in the act of dumping their refuse on our lovely hill at 1:45 pm yesterday. Check it out:

Here’s a nice head-on view of the perps in-progress:

Let’s zoom and enhance to vector in on one of the men’s faces, shall we?

Unfortunately, there’s no license plate on the front of the van. But that’s okay, because the van had a handy-dandy U-Haul vehicle number on the bumper. Another zoom and enhance:

Ah. Nice and clear: U-Haul Vehicle # BE 7747 N

So, in theory, it should be a relatively straightforward matter to track down the records which show who had custody of U-Haul vehicle BE 7747 N on Oct. 8, 2013 at 1:45 pm, and bring them to justice. Right?

Well, maybe.

Bernalwood really really really hopes the SFPD will follow up on this incident, because the last time we provided the City with direct evidence of an illegal dumping, the Assistant DA never pursued a prosecution in the case, even though Bernalwood had photos of a hauling truck with a frikkin’ phone number on the side going up and down the hill in the middle of the night (which we withheld from publication at the DA’s request).

Which made us sad.

And frankly, rather angry.

So here’s more evidence of a dumping incident on Bernal Hill.

Take it away, Assistant DA.

UPDATE: A quick reminder by Neighbor Sarah from the SFPD Beat:

Obvious question: did anyone report it to SFPD? Remember: crimes in progress, even things like dumping, mean you should call 911.

Family Shaken After Violent Weekend Robbery in Holly Park

October 8, 2013October 8, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 11 Comments

A Bernal neighbor shared this sad story about a violent incident that happened over the weekend in Holly Park. Unlike the sanitized reports we receive from the SFPD, this provides the victim’s perspective on a very upsetting street crime:

Just to let Bernalwood know, my kid and some friends were violently assaulted and robbed at Hollly Park on Saturday night (October 5) at 10 PM. It was on the north side of the park, up where the little tables live along the third base side of the ball diamond at Bocana & Holly Park Circle

A bald white male was seemingly just walking by, and then all of a sudden, he punched my kid in the nose (two fractures), then asked for his backpack, wallet and phone. He was accompanied by a woman who actually was pleading with him not to do it, but didn’t or couldn’t stop him. He also took another kid’s skateboard. The kids were all 17-18 years old. They said he seemed hopped-up or drunk.

A police report was filed and my kid ended up at Davies Medical Cener via ambulance.

I just think there is some bad mogambo brewing over there lately, after the hit and run and all, and I feel people should be aware of it — and that this crazy guy is on the loose.

The amateur gumshoe in me thinks he is from around here, as it wasn’t gang-related, nor did it seem related to the near-by projects. Plus, the phone tracking thing lead to a scary-looking house on the 300 block of Richland for a few hours before the battery went out.

The main thing is that this was a seemingly random, and for-real violent episode that happened in our neighborhood.

Your Bernal Heights Crime Report for September 2013: Robberies Down, Burglaries Up, and Lock Your Upper Doors and Windows

September 24, 2013September 24, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

Ingleside Station Community Meeting – 9/17/13

Captain Tim Falvey presided. He has now been captain for one year and 24 days.

CRIME STATS AND TRENDS

See attached handout (below) for Compstat summary.

Homicide — 1 in August in Sunnydale; 6 YTD vs. 14 last year at this time.

Robberies – lower by 22% in August vs. August 2012. Arrested 18 people for robberies this August (vs. 1 last August). Half of robberies occurred in the “5-car” sector – roughly City College to Crocker-Amazon Park. Robbers may be following people farther away from Balboa Park BART after the police focused on that area for some time. Ingleside has also been getting help from the Violence Reduction Team (plainclothes officers deployed from downtown) – they have 4-5 officers, 2 days a week this month.

Burglaries – up 37% this August vs. August 2012. Arrests are up 63% YTD.

LOCK YOUR WINDOWS AND DOORS – even on the 2nd or 3rd floors! One-third of the 41 burglaries were at houses where doors were unlocked or windows were left open.

Another trend is that homes being remodeled or homes under construction are being targeted – there were 6 of these last month. Thieves took appliances, tools.

The police made one arrest when a neighbor got up to use the bathroom at 3:15am and decided to look at the crescent moon. He saw some guys with hoodies and flashlights in the house under construction next door. He didn’t call 911 (but should have – call 911 for any crimes in progress, even property crimes) but did get a license plate number. He reported it the next day, and the police located a van with $4600 in stolen appliances in it. If you’re in doubt about calling the police, ask yourself: if it was your house, would you want someone to call the police? And if you’re remodeling, have your contractor put tools in a proper, lockable storage container. And if construction is happening around you, you should know this is a trend – so call the police if you see people at “off-hours” in a house under construction.

Auto theft – pre-2001 Hondas and Acuras are 59% of the vehicles stolen and recovered in the District. On average, 88 cars stolen a month in the Ingleside. Last month, 122. Use a club-like device if you have an old Honda or Acura. Better yet, get the ignition re-keyed at the Honda or Acura dealership (should be $150-200).

Violent crime – up 7% YTD, but all driven by robberies. If robberies weren’t up, violent crime would be down 5%. Property crimes are up 15%, driven by theft from auto. Do not leave bags, computers in your car!

Side note by captain: If you’re a victim in a crime, please testify! Can’t put criminals in jail if no one will testify.

Ingleside held traffic education/enforcement operations around SFUSD schools when school started up again. Wrote more than 1000 tickets.

Q&A:

I asked about speeding on Stoneman and Folsom. Traffic enforcement operation will happen soon.

Someone asked about shots fired in Vis Valley – the captain said they haven’t had any shots fired over there since August 27; it may have been on the Bayview side. Sunnydale now has security cameras – the Housing Authority got a grant.

Someone else asked about pot-smoking in public – do police care? It’s illegal, but the police won’t do a lot of proactive enforcement. If you call in a complaint, they will investigate. For example, businesses complain when people go to dispensary and then smoke outside, with smoke blowing into other businesses.

GUEST SPEAKER:

Lucia Casaravilla, Community Boards, 920-3820

Community Boards offers conflict resolution services for neighbor disputes & other conflicts. Founded in 1976, longest-running public mediation group in US.

They offer mediation and facilitation services – ‘agency of first resort’ for disputes. Safe, neutral, impartial space – all info is confidential and cannot be used in litigation. They provide a panel of three trained mediators – are all volunteers who have had 40+ hours of training.

Process – there is a one-time fee of $40 to open a case, but the mediation is free.

They’ll contact the neighbor, set up mediation, do follow-up. Completely voluntary, so neighbor does not have to participate. Mediation is 3 hours – most of the time, you will get a resolution. If needed, they will schedule a second mediation.

GUEST SPEAKER:

Cyrus, Rebuilding Together SF, 905-1611

Group does free home repairs for qualifying residents on the last Sat. of October and April each year.

Mostly does work for seniors, but open to all homeowners who live in SF and make under $62,200 a year (one person). They also do some safety modifications for renters.

Always looking for volunteers, especially those with trade skills.

Website currently under construction, so call the number above to ask for an application or to volunteer.

NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, October 15, 7pm, Ingleside Station.

IMAGE: Telstar Logistics

As Investigation Continues, City Worker Says He Did Not Realize He’d Hit a Person in Holly Park

September 17, 2013September 17, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

The hit-and-run that caused the death of Christy Svanemyr in Holly Park at 2:30 pm on September 5 was a terrible tragedy that continues to unfold in many sad chapters.

Vivian Ho at the San Francisco Chronicle has been reporting on Thomas Burnoski, 57, the Recreation and Parks employee whom police say was driving the City-owned vehicle that ran over Svanemyr as she lay on the grass with her infant and dog:

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department worker who ran over a woman as she lay with her baby in a Bernal Heights park initially suspected he had hit something, but did not realize it was a person until he was arrested, his attorney said Friday.

Thomas Burnoski, 57, was driving a city truck on a pedestrian path in Holly Park just before 2:20 p.m. Sept. 5 when he veered onto the grass to avoid an object on the pavement, said his attorney, Robert Waggener, providing his client’s first public account of the fatal accident.

It was the end of Burnoski’s shift and he was on his way to St. Mary’s Park a few blocks to the south, where city gardeners gather at the end of the day, Waggener said. When he arrived, Burnoski told his supervisor he thought he had struck something back at Holly Park, but wasn’t sure what it was.

The supervisor suggested they return to Holly Park. But police stopped both of them on their way back, Waggener said.

He said it was only when Burnoski was in custody at the Ingleside Police Station that he learned he had run over Christine Svanemyr.

As the investigation into the incident continues, The Chronicle reports that Burnoski is currently free on $25,000 bail while prosecutors decide upon possible charges.

In a written statement released by his attorney [Burnoski] said that he and his family “wish to express our profound sorrow to the family of Christine Svanemyr and her community of friends.”

“My actions caused the death of this person and there is nothing I can do to bring her back,” the statement reads. “I am absolutely devastated by this tragic accident. Mere words can never convey what I and my family feel, knowing that a child will grow up without her mother, and that Mr. Svanemyr faces parenting alone, in shock, bewilderment and immeasurable grief.”

In a separate Chronicle item, columnist C.W. Nevius follows up with Vegar Svanemyr, the surviving husband of Christy:

“Someone told me that grief is really chaotic and never what you expect,” [Vegar Svanemyr] said. “One moment I feel OK and then it just washes over me. I feel like I am in this dream state. Everyone feels the need to do something and there’s nothing to be done.”

His natural tendency, he admits, is to withdraw. But that day, standing next to Christy’s body at the hospital, he made a decision.

“I’ve always been kind of reluctant to share my feelings and thoughts,” he said. “I don’t know why. But I kind of made a promise to her not to be a hermit but to open myself up. When I saw her lying there, I felt an immediate need to open up my heart to the world. I think it makes all the difference to talk.”

There are a few things he wants to say. First, the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.

“I have felt completely held and loved by everyone, from family and friends to total strangers that have cooked us meals and donated breast milk,” he said. “I’m experiencing a strange blend of total loss and total gratitude.”

And second, he’s moved beyond the blame and anger.

“My wish would be to say something beyond that this is so shocking and how can this happen,” he said. “Some things seem terribly unimportant right now, but I want to be sure whatever I do from here has value and meaning.”

Bernalwood will continue to provide updates about the Svanemyr family, memorial efforts, and the criminal investigation as additional information becomes available.

IMAGE: Illustration by Bernalwood. Inset, Thomas Burnoski via SFPD. Background, tire tracks at Holly Park incident scene on Sept 5, 2013, by the San Francisco Examiner.

UPDATED: Mother Killed by City-Owned Truck in Holly Park Hit-and-Run Identified; Driver Arrested

September 5, 2013September 9, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 94 Comments

An unimaginable tragedy has transpired in Holly Park.

This is what we know: [UPDATED] During a warm and sunny afternoon on Thursday Sept 5, 2013 in Bernal Heights, Christine Svanemyr, 35, her infant daughter Isa, and her dog Ponyo were relaxing under a tree on the south side of Holly Park. Shortly after 2 pm, a green Ford pickup operated by the San Francisco Department of Parks and Recreation and driven by Rec and Park employee Thomas Burnoski, 57, ran over Svanemyr as she lay on the grass. Burnoski fled the scene of the incident, and despite valiant efforts by first-responders, the gravely injured mom later died at SF General. Her infant and dog were unharmed. Police quickly located Burnoski near St. Mary’s Park, and took him into custody. A Rec and Park employee since 2006, Burnoski has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run, and remains in jail with bail set at $315,000.

Reporters Nanette Asimov and Vivian Ho from SFGate describe what happened:

The 35-year-old woman was lying with her baby and a dog in the grass at Holly Park when the driver struck her at about 2:20 p.m., said police spokesman Officer Tracy Turner.

The woman was taken to a hospital, where she died. The baby girl was not injured and is now in the custody of her father. The dog is with Animal Care and Control.

The driver left the park after running over the woman, but was detained by police several blocks away, Turner said. He was taken to Ingleside Station for questioning, and police plan to book him on suspicion of felony hit and run.

His name was not released because he has not been officially arrested.

The driver has been an employee of the Recreation and Park Department since 2009, parks spokeswoman Sarah Ballard said. Neighbors said there is a gardener known for driving recklessly on both the grass and paved pathways.

Neighbors report that streets around Holly Park were closed by the SFPD after the accident, with multiple TV news vehicles onsite.

KCBS says this was the Park & Rec vehicle involved in the incident:

ABC7 News details how and where the driver was located:

A witness tells ABC7 News that the truck was driving across the grass, which was very busy at the time, and then ran over the woman who was sunbathing with her child and dog nearby.

The woman was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries where she later died. The child and dog were not hurt.

The driver of a green parks department vehicle took off after the incident but was later found and detained by police at Crescent and Agnon avenues.

Neighbors say that parks vehicles are always here and it’s a big problem with people driving on the grass.

KTVU carried aerial footage of the scene, which clearly showed both the vehicle tire tracks and the white blanket where the victim had been sitting:

The San Francisco Examiner has a view of the same scene from street level:

Horrific.

Bernalwood will provide updates as additional details become available. We will also provide guidance about memorial and neighborhood assistance efforts as soon as possible. In the meantime, please keep the victim and her family in your thoughts.

UPDATE Sept 6, 9:30am: The San Francisco Appeal has an update on the victim’s identity. She was Christine Svanemyr, 35, from Daly City.

A woman who was fatally struck by a San Francisco Recreation and Park maintenance truck at a park in the city’s Bernal Heights neighborhood on Thursday has been identified by the medical examiner’s office as 35-year-old Christine Svanemyr.

Svanemyr, a Daly City resident, was struck by the Rec and Park vehicle shortly after 2:20 p.m. in a grassy area on the south end of Holly Park.

She was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said.

Bernalwood has located a biography for Christy Svanemyr, Director of Development for New Ventures West:

UDPATE: 10:55am The driver of the Park & Rec pickup has been identified as Thomas Burnoski, 46. He has been arrested and charged. From SFWeekly:

Police say it was 46-year-old Thomas Burnoski was driving the city truck when he ran over Christine Svanemyr, killing her. He was arrested and booked into San Francisco County Jail on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run.

Added tragedy: It appears that Mr. Burnoski’s daughter died in April 2013 at age 20. The SF Chronicle wrote about the car accident that took Tiffany Burnoski’s life at the time.

UPDATE Sept 7 8:50 am: The SFPD released this photo of Mr. Burnoski after his arrest.

In today’s front-page story, the SFChronicle brings details of the Rec and Park Department’s policy on staff driving in public parks:

Sarah Ballard, a spokeswoman for the Recreation and Park Department, said she couldn’t comment on an open investigation, but said the department’s vehicle policy is that workers are never allowed to drive on park pathways, sidewalks, closed roads or the actual park area “merely for convenience purposes.”

“If work requirements necessitate operating a city vehicle on a park-scape or other surface not designed for vehicle operation, utilize a staff person outside the vehicle to serve as a safety watch or otherwise guide vehicle movement,” the policy reads.

No spotter was in place, according to police reports, and the site of the collision was well off any roadway.

“It was definitely on the grassy areas. It didn’t have a sidewalk near it or a pathway,” said police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza. Svanemyr was on the southeast end of the park when she was hit.

Ballard said employees who operate Rec and Park’s 707 vehicles, which include mowers, cars and trucks, must complete training every two years. The department’s vehicles include 312 road vehicles that travel more than 1 million miles a year.

The Chronicle also reports that of the four official complaints filed with Rec and Park by citizens over the past two years about poor driving by employees, two were filed about Rec and Park driving in Holly Park.

UPDATE: 2:15pm, Sept 6: D9 Supervisor David Campos just released a statement about the death of Christine Svanemyr:

“I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the killing of Christine Svanemyr yesterday in Holly Park. I, like the rest of the City, am dismayed and upset that a new mother was taken from her family in such a senseless way.

I have been in conversations with the General Manager of Rec and Parks and law enforcement for answers as to how this horrific event could have happened in a place where families and children expect to be safe and protected. I assure you that my office will do everything we can to get to the bottom of what happened and to ensure that there is accountability and transparency about this tragedy.

Any residents who may have witnessed the tragedy or who have surveillance video of the area should contact the Ingleside Police Station to help further the investigation.

UPDATE: 11:50 pm Sept 5: Via NBC Bay Area, we learn that Park & Rec General Manager Phil Ginsburg issued a statement Thursday night:

“On behalf of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim of a tragic accident that occurred at Holly Park this afternoon. This is a devastating day for all. The Recreation and Park Department is cooperating fully with the San Francisco Police Department as they investigate this accident.”

NBC Bay Area also reports that Bernal neighbor have already started leaving flowers on the patch of grass where the mother had been sitting.

Friday, 6 September 7:30 am: Neighbor Sarah sends this photo of the scene at Holly Park this morning. It’s a preview of what will follow in the days ahead; sad memorials and intense media scrutiny:

IMAGES: Top, screengrab via NBCBayArea. Map via GoogleEarth. Pickup truck via KCBS; Aerial of scene via KTVU; Street-level view by SF Examiner; Flowers, Neighbor Sarah.

Enraged Parking Note Becomes Threaded Argument as Bocana Street Neighbor Squares Off Against Wool Street Neighbor

August 30, 2013August 30, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 167 Comments

It’s been a dramatic week for streetparking in Bernal Heights, but the drama isn’t finished yet.

Over on Bocana, a parking note situation earlier in the week (d)evolved into a threaded blog-style argument between an angry Bernal neighbor and another Bernal neighbor who owns the parked vehicle in question.

Bernalwood has been in touch with the vehicle owner, who tells us:

I live on Wool just below Eugenia. I parked on Bocana just above Eugenia. I parked there on Sunday at around 11:00 a.m., after taking my dog for a run at a park. I returned home to find no parking within a one block radius of my house. I almost never have to park even as far as Bocana, but everything was all parked in. I thought my only problem was going to be remembering where I parked!

This was on my windshield on Tuesday morning. Bocana neighbors are hair trigger, I guess! The best part is the last sentence.

True, the comment about how “you don’t even live on this block” seems rather rich.

But that was not the end of the matter. Car Owner from Wool used some whitespace on the original note to respond in kind, writing:

Wow, seriously? I parked here from 11:30 am on Sunday through 8 am on Tuesday — not even 48 hours. On Sunday there were no spots near my house, so I parked here. These parking spots belong to everyone, even people who don’t live on the block. Please reserve your nastiness for people who are actually doing something wrong.

— Your neighbor on Wool Street

Oh, but that was not the end of the matter either.

Finding but a small patch of whitespace remaining at the very very bottom of the note, the Angry Bocanan added an angry counter-response:

Wool isn’t Bocana & so you don’t live on this block & you must be out of your meds, unless you can time travel, you were parked here on Saturday. Get your facts straight.

Snap! That’s the state of play in the Great Bocana Parking War of 2013.

Fellow Citizens of Bernalwood, what say ye to the plaintiff, The Angry Bocanan?

And what say ye to the defendant, The Car Owner from Wool?

Kick your feet up and open a fresh bag of Doritos, because the Bernalwood People’s Parking Court is now in session.

Your Bernal Heights Crime Report for August 2013: iRobberies Continue, Lock ALL Your Doors and Windows, and New Trash Removal Rates

August 26, 2013August 25, 2013 / Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

Neighbor Edie was kind enough to attend the August SFPD Ingleside Monthly Community Meeting for us, and she typed up some excellent notes that contain lots and lots of valuable crime-prevention tips. Read the whole thing and you will be wiser and safer:

Ingleside Police District Monthly Community Meeting
August 20, 2013
Captain’s Report by Captain Tim Falvey

STATISTICS
Ingleside is the third safest district in San Francisco to live and work in!

Homicides – Down 62% (There were 14 homicides YTD in 2012, and 5 in 2013).

Unfortunately, there was a shooting Monday night, at the intersection of Sunnydale and Cora. A car was fired upon, and the driver and one of his two passengers were hit. Fortunately, both survived. The assailants are unidentified at the time of this meeting.

SFPD has a violence reduction team that can be deployed along with gang task force for a major event like a shooting. Gang injunctions are still enforceable for specific locations, however, a judge recently decided that the police can’t enforce No Trespassing signs on public housing, making it difficult to arrest people who are hanging out and refuse to leave.

Robberies – up 30% over last year YTD and arrests are up even higher. It shouldn’t be a surprise that 62% of robberies this year involved cell phones! High theft areas are BART stations and buses, so in September the police will implement an education outreach campaign distributing flyers at BART and on major bus lines to advise the cellphone-using public to stay alert and teach them what not to do.

For instance, a woman had her phone stolen while was walking down the street talking to her mom via FaceTime. She didn’t see the thief at all. So put your phones away and pay attention, please!

Burglaries – down 5% YTD. First 6 months, they averaged 44 per month, this month we’ve had around 30. Police are reviewing the criminal history of recent parole violators to try and get some of the burglars off the street.

In Bernal there have been several Cortland corridor burglaries—homes with an unlocked door on the side of garage or a door with a broken lock. Make sure you lock all your doors and windows, check that your outdoor lights are all working and turned on at night, and trim back your vegetation to increase visibility. SF SAFE can send someone to do a security check of your home. Call 553-1984 to get on the appointment list.

Auto Theft – down 1% from last year. Earlier thefts were mostly older Hondas and Acuras, now Saturns are being stolen. Again, police looking for auto thieves on probation as likely culprits.

Auto Boosts (break-ins) – up 52% YTD. There’s been a recent and ongoing problem at the end of Bosworth where it turns into Glen Park at O’Shaughnessy. There were auto boostings every Friday from 9am to noon, till an officer was stationed there, when they stopped. Remember, don’t leave anything in your car – including your garage door opener.

Personal or Other Thefts – (person leaves phone or laptop on table, purse on barstool, to go to bathroom, comes back and its gone). Doesn’t happen as much here as downtown, but remember not to leave any personal property behind, no matter where you are.

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES:

1. Tues Aug. 6: National Night Out. 220 people attended. Thanks to Stephen Currier and the Community Police Advisory Board for a great job.

2. Kids are now back in school and the police hope everyone will focus on safety around the schools. Parents, now’s the time to teach your children to be safe – remind them to watch out for drivers and cyclists, and not to cross in the middle of the block or run while crossing the street. Pedestrians, pay attention to where you’re walking, and never assume that drivers are going to stop for you, even when you have the right of way. Drivers, remember the speed zone around schools is now 15 mph.

3. August 17 to October 26th: Saturday at the Park. 7 free concerts on Saturdays at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park.

4. August 30, SF Police Academy graduation: 50 new officers will graduate.

Coincidentally, about 50 officers are expected to be promoted to Sgt, so the 50 new Academy graduates will step into their (large) shoes. The Ingleside will get six of them.

5. In September, the Auxiliary Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) is signing up new NERT-trained civilian volunteers to aid law enforcement during times of disaster.

GUEST SPEAKER: Recology: Chris Levaggi, Recology Golden Gate

The city of San Francisco is the best composter and recycler in North America: 80% of our stuff goes into the blue or green bin, goes to Goodwill, or is given away, reused, or repurposed for something else, and we’re aiming for Zero waste by 2020.

Zero Waste creates new jobs to pick up and manage the recycling and composting, provides compost for our gardens, and reduces greenhouse gases, but it requires a new pricing structure to pay for the work that’s actually done.

What’s affecting the pricing? If you’ve noticed the trucks coming at different times, it’s because they used to send out one truck, now two trucks go to every residence (one for recycling / garbage, and one for compost), with the routes restructured accordingly. Three trucks cost $1 million, and biodiesel fuel costs are increasing. Labor costs are the largest expense, and since garbage collection is one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs, insurance and healthcare costs have increased.

What were / are the rates? The old rate for a 32-gallon black can, picked up once a week, was $27.91. Blue and green cans were picked up at no charge. As of August 1st, the new monthly fee structure for residential customers includes:

$5.00 base rate per dwelling unit + $25.08 for a 32-gallon black bin (landfill) +

$2.00 for a 32-gallon blue bin (recycling) + $2.00 for a 32-gallon green bin (compost) = $34.08

If you use a smaller landfill bin, or a larger recycling or compost bin, rates will go down or up accordingly.

Recology also does many education and outreach programs to educate the public’s understanding of recycling. These include school programs (so kids can teach their parents), tours of the recycling facility, an artist in residence program-creating found-art projects (with an exhibit on September 20th), and representatives to speak at community meetings.

The number one customer complaint is scavengers, who pick through the blue bin and take out the valuable recyclables. Recology loses a million dollars a year from this, but the problem to residents is mostly the bother and mess the scavengers make. It’s not legal for scavengers to take your recyclables and many work for a guy with several large trucks that sends crews out all over the city to take our recyclables. There’s a limited number of buy-back centers, such as Safeway on Market and on Mission, where drug dealers wait for scavengers who are users to turn their bottles into cash to buy drugs. The most effective means of prevention is to close the buy-back centers.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics