Bernal Dads Build Muni Race Car to Speed Up Public Transit

/ Todd_Lappin / 17 Comments

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There’s been a lot of controversy lately about new schemes to improve the quality of our local public transit service. Some say we need to make Muni faster, so buses become more attractive to would-be riders. Others say we need to respect automobile drivers, for whom the car is still an essential way to get around. Both approaches have pros and cons, but when those petroleum-huffing papas from the Bernal Dads Racing Team looked at the problem, they saw an opportunity to deliver a big win-win for both transit riders and motorists.

The Dads started by taking a family-friendly car, and turning it into a bus. Then, to hasten the commute, they added horsepower — lots and lots of horsepower. The result is what you see here: A 1992 Volvo 240 station wagon that’s been repowered with a higher-output BMW M52 engine and converted into a Muni bus.

Say hello to Bus 670, Muni’s first public transit race car.

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Designed to upgrade the quality of service on Muni’s existing 67 Bernal Heights Line, Bus 670 was built to provide super-express service between Bernal Heights and downtown San Francisco. Before entering regular service, however, the Bernal Dads took the vehicle to Thunderhill Raceway last weekend to conduct high-speed endurance testing under live race conditions in a 24 Hours of LeMons competition.

At first, the judges at 24 Hours of LeMons judges expressed some concern about the authenticity of Bus 670 because, they said, it did not sufficiently reek of piss, vomit, or feces. Nevertheless they determined that all of the vehicle’ safety equipment was in order, including the rear-facing “Stop Requested” sign that engages in tandem with the rear brake lights.

When the green flag came out, Bus 670 quickly validated its basic design concept. With the BMW motor installed where an anemic Volvo engine used to sit, Bus 670  became a formidable competitor in heavy traffic — with no “red carpets” required:

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However, in classic Muni style, Bus 670 did experience some teething pains. After about  two hours on the track, the clutch failed. Bus 670 was returned to the yard, and a team of ace mechanics quickly set to work on repairs.

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Eight hours (and a complete engine removal and reinstallation) later, Bus 670 was ready to return to duty:

With the new clutch in place, 670 performed flawlessly during seven continuous hours of express service on Sunday:

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Of course, like the signs say, your picture and voice may be recorded on any contemporary Muni vehicle, and Bus 670 is no exception. Here’s a 360 Video of your Bernalwood editor taking a lap around the track:

… and this video gives a sense of how nimble Bus 670 can be in brutal traffic:

All told, this trial run of Bus 670 was a huge success.

The Bernal Dads Racing Team estimates Bus 670 has the potential to transport commuters from Pinhole Coffee on Cortland Avenue to the Ferry Building downtown in five minutes or less with limited-access traffic controls. To verify this, the Bernal Dads look forward to strapping SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin into the rear passenger compartment for a high-speed proving run.  Just remember our motto, Mr. Reiskin: “Information gladly given, but safety requires avoiding unnecessary conversation.”

Welcome aboard!

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Anna, Maker of Piroshkis on Cortland, Celebrates New American Citizenship

/ Todd_Lappin / 8 Comments

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Hooray! Anna Tvelova is the founder and proprietor of the certifiably delicious Anda’s Pirsoshki shop at 331 Cortland, and her piroshkis taste so authentically amazing in part because Anna originally hails from Russia.  This week, however, she also became a naturalized American citizen, and she’s thrilled about it.

To celebrate her new status, Anna engaged in a hallowed naturalization ritual that dates back to the earliest days of George Washington and the Founding Fathers: A hilltop Zumba line dance.

Anna tells Bernalwood:

Had blast dancing Zumba On Bernal Hill this weekend with SF Jay!  Because I love Zumba, I love Bernal, and my piroshki shop out here. This event was created in support of Bernie Sanders, and it’s my first act as a brand new citizen.

Congratulations, Citizen Anna!

Put on your powdered wig, sharpen your quill pen, and join Citizen Anna as she celebrates her new status by shaking her naturalized American groove thang atop Bernal Hill:

PHOTO: Citizen Anna at her naturalization ceremony, courtesy of Citizen Anna

Next Phase of Esmeralda Slide Park Re-Renovation Underway

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

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The ongoing effort to re-renovate Bernal’s iconic Esmeralda Slide Park resumed last Saturday, May 14, as a group of community volunteers joined forces with civic leaders, City agencies, and construction professionals to begin work on a new sidewalk and irrigation system.

Esmeralda neighbor Joan Carson has helped champion the project, and she shares this update on what happened last weekend, and what’s coming next:

Last Saturday’s event took place from 9 to 10 am, and it marked the beginning of the next phase of renovation for the Park. In particular, we all came together — folks from our Bernal neighborhood, San Francisco Public Works, Laborers Local 261 and San Francisco Parks Alliance — to help remove some of the concrete salvage created when WebCor builders demolished of the plaza’s old pavement. Although our efforts were mostly symbolic on Saturday, the act drove home the incredible partnership that’s making this renovation a reality.

We all remember the plaza rebuild last summer, when the picnic table, benches, slide landing and it’s approach, and the planter were rebuilt. That was the first phase of the City’s re-emergence on the scene to give a face lift to Esmeralda Slide Park. In early Fall, San Francisco Public Works, Laborers local 261 and a few of us folks started work on the next phase of renovation, including planning for park-wide irrigation and additional planting areas.

This led to the City doing more land-use planning for needed infrastructure improvements, like of curb cuts for sidewalk ramps that meet ADA compliance, a land use survey detailing what’s in the Park and its terrain, a tree assessment to determine the health of the trees and identifying which trees needed to be removed to make way for future more appropriate plantings.

On March 9 of this year, San Francisco Public Works held a community meeting at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center where those of us involved in the planning of Esmeralda’s continued renovation gave a presentation on the next phase of work. We got a small turn-out, but all those who showed up were really excited by the plans.

That brings us to where we are right now. WebCor joined the partnership in March and is doing the plaza demolition and new concrete pour. While construction is underway it’s an inconvenience for all us who now using the Esmeralda Stairs to get where we want to go, and it’s sad not be able to enjoy the slide.. But, in a few weeks, we’ll have water pipes underground to deliver water throughout the park and a new pavement in our plaza.

Nancy and I will keep you posted on landscaping plans for the park, including a new landing pad, more planting beds, and more volunteer days to join together and put new plants into the park.

Here’s a special celebrity bonus shot of Neighbor Joan, in seasonal hardhat chic:

joanmay14BIG THANKS to everyone who is helping to make the Esmeralda Slide Park better than ever.

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

Bernal Merchant Seeks Revisions to Mission Street “Red Carpet” Program

/ Todd_Lappin / 36 Comments

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Neighbor Eden Stein is a resident of the La Lengua Autonomous Zone and the proprietor of the fabulous (and resilient) Secession Art & Design store at 3235 Mission (@Valencia). She’s also president of the Mission-Bernal Merchants Association, which represents merchants along the Bernal’s stretch of Mission Street.

In recent weeks, Neighbor Eden has expressed concern about Muni’s new “red carpet” bus lanes on Mission Street. Although bus riders report the new red carpets have noticeably improved public transit, Neighbor Eden says local merchants are struggling because the rollout of the new traffic configuration has coincided with reduced foot traffic and sales in Mission Street stores.

This morning, Neighbor Eden released a letter summarizing her views on Muni’s new red carpet along Mission Street:

Two months ago, MTA reconstructed Mission Street, introducing red transit lanes and forced right turns. The bus is running two to five minutes faster, but I have observed a decrease in pedestrian traffic and clientele, especially for daytime businesses. My business is not only a go-to for locals, but a destination for people from all over. The forced right-hand turns funnel drivers away from shopping and local restaurants, making it harder for our customers to show up and support us. This is a direct call to our customers to walk, bike, take public transit, or drive to support local businesses impacted along Mission Street.

My specific concerns for Mission Bernal are to make sure it is safe for pedestrians, residents, and our valued customers. A request has been made to MTA to put in protected left turn signals at 29th and Valencia, remove the right hand turn at Cesar Chavez, and review positions of new bus stops. I am concerned that the Mission-Powers bus stop is not well-lit and is located in front of a preschool. My other concern is when it rains the red paint is causing the buses difficulty in stopping. I have seen the buses slide through the intersection at 29th Street on the red light because they are slipping on the red lanes. This is a safety concern for our whole community. I support public transit, but not at the cost of safety or small business. I am for finding a balance that works for all us.

My grandparents owned a storefront for over 40 years in Philadelphia. Their legacy business was one of the things that inspired me to open Secession Art and Design in an emerging area of the Mission in 2007. Mission Street has been home to my gallery and boutique for 9 years, supporting over 60 local and independent artists and designers. Businesses along Mission Street all want the chance to be legacy businesses, and live out our dream that small business can thrive in San Francisco. This is why I became president of the Mission Bernal Merchants Association, so my neighborhood would have a passionate point person who lives and works in Mission Bernal.

I have attended many MTA meetings, sometimes closing my store to make sure my voice is heard. A happy medium needs to happen, so small businesses aren’t forced to shut down. I want to continue my grandparents’ legacy of doing what I love everyday, being the owner of a small business. I’m working to help Mission Street culture return back to its vibrant and artistic hustle.

Thank you to everyone who has been supportive, encouraged me to go outside my comfort zone and speak up for my community, and reminded me to be strong and love what I do!

You rock, Eden

PHOTO: Top, a worker installs flexible bollards to prevent traffic from crossing Mission Street at Cesar Chavez, April 7, 2015. Photo by Telstar Logistics

For Sale: Genuine 1906 Earthquake Shack on Bocana, at a Very 2016 Price

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

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Metaphor Alert! A former earthquake shack that was relocated to 164 Bocana Street after the Great Earthquake of 1906 was recently listed for sale, with an oh-so 2016 asking price of  $779,000.  For those keeping score at home, CurbedSF calculates that’s a 1.5 million percent increase from it’s original post-1906 price of $50.

CurbedSF adds:

The city dates it to 1909, although that may be just the year it was moved to its present location. Most earthquake shacks were built in the months immediately after the 1906 quake and migrated from their original locations in park refugee camps after tenants paid off their rent-to-own leases.

However it got here, this one-bedroom number a block from Bernal Heights park is about as cute as it gets, with its shingled facade, cathedral ceiling, stained glass windows, gas fireplace disguised as wood stove, and frosted glass on interior doors.

There are lots more photos of 164 Bocana inside and out over at CurbedSF.

PHOTO by Zephyr via CurbedSF

New Song Is Called “Bernal Heights,” But the Video Is Somewhere Else

/ Todd_Lappin / 1 Comment

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This week, Duckwrth released a new video for his song “Bernal Heights.”

The song is a sweet jam, but fair warning: The words don’t match the visuals. Duckwrth was raised in San Francisco, but he now lives in Los Angeles, and the video for “Bernal Heights” was filmed on the streets of South Central.

Oh well. Still, the song does owe its genesis to this place we Bernalese call home, as Duckwrth explained to the Free Bread blog:

“Bernal Heights, the majestic hill that lives on the southside of San Francisco. In 2014, I wrote this song (produced by Spencer Stevens) about a shroom trip I had with a girl on this hill. Due to the push of the Nowhere project, I never got a chance to drop this song. So recently, Emmeline Kim, Free Bread and I came together to create visuals for BH. Unfortunately we couldn’t get to San Francisco to shoot this, so instead we used my old neighborhood in South Central, Los Angeles to create this story about romance, envy and sweet fuckin’ victory.”

Check it out:

Yeah, that sounds about right: “Bernal Heights… where the grass is greener, with a chill-type demeanor.”

Despite the offsite location scouting, we hope “Bernal Heights” helps make Duckwrth a superstar. There’s precedent for this, after all: Jhameel got a bump when he released his “Bernal Heights” back in 2010. Here’s hoping the Bernal muse will work her magic twice.

Bernal Neighbor Named Director of City’s New Homelessness Office

/ Todd_Lappin / 12 Comments

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While Bernal residents keep an eye on efforts to address the homeless encampment underneath the Cesar Chavez/101 interchange, one Bernal Heights neighbor will soon be paying particularly close attention: Yesterday, neighbor Jeff Kositsky of Precitaville was introduced as the first director of the City’s new Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

Heather Knight from the San Francisco Chronicle covered Neighbor Jeff’s appointment:

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s plan for a new department of homelessness — an idea bandied about at City Hall for at least 14 years — is taking shape, with a budget of at least $160 million, nearly 200 workers and a new director, who was announced Wednesday.

He’s Jeff Kositsky, a well-known figure in the city’s homeless service system. Since 2013, he has worked as executive director of Hamilton Family Center, which provides emergency shelter and other services to homeless families. He led the Community Housing Partnership, which manages housing for 1,300 formerly homeless adults, for nine years before that.

“The city has all of these amazing programs that are really world-class,” Kositsky said. “To be able to bring all of those under the same department under a unified strategy to help really amplify Mayor Lee’s vision for addressing homelessness in San Francisco is an honor and an amazing opportunity.”

In his new role, Neighbor Jeff will oversee a department with 110 employees and an annual budget of more than $160 million. His top priorities in the big new job will include opening more Navigation Centers to provide interim shelter for the homeless and deploying a new information system to improve management and coordination of homeless cases and services. The new Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing will launch on July 1.

PHOTO: Neighbor Jeff Kositsky photographed by Connor Radnovich for The San Francisco Chronicle

City Dismantles Cesar Chavez Street Homeless Encampment

/ Todd_Lappin / 32 Comments

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Yesterday, workers from the San Francisco Department of Public Works removed the homeless encampment along Cesar Chavez Street under the US101 freeway. The camp had reportedly become the largest in the city.

The San Francisco Chronicle was there:

Street cleaners, police and outreach counselors descended upon the camp about 6 a.m. and spent the morning methodically bagging up trash and flopping tents onto flatbed trucks. The counselors’ goal was to get the campers into homeless shelters or other poverty services, but the cleaners’ goal was purely to clear out what has become a smelly, messy eyesore to passersby and neighbors in recent weeks.

Camps have dotted the maze of trails, bushes, freeway-ramp ledges and dirt lots at that part of Cesar Chavez for decades. But ever since a giant encampment along Division Street was finally swept out in March the Cesar Chavez population has mushroomed into the largest street settlement in the city.  […]

“Thirty years ago you saw older people and vets with bad luck,” David Johnwell, foreman of the hotspot cleanup crew for the Department of Public Works, said as he directed the dismantlement operation under Highway 101. “Now you see a lot more younger people, women and dogs and needles.

“It’s not for us to say where they should sleep… They’ll move back in, but we did our job. Nobody has the answer. But at least when we leave here it’ll smell good.”

He said officials have been contemplating erecting fencing to keep campers out, but nothing was imminent. Fencing successfully reduced camps at a similarly longtime homeless haunt near the Caltrain station at Interstate 280 after tents were swept away from there in 2013. At that time, it was the biggest camp in the city.

That was yesterday. As of this morning, some of the tents have already been re-established.

PHOTO: Encampment under US101, February 24, 2016 by Telstar Logistics

Coyote Becomes a Familiar Neighbor on Bernal Hill

/ Todd_Lappin / 34 Comments

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Sightings of the coyote who lives on Bernal Hill have become a routine occurrence, and with increasing frequency comes a growing sense of familiarity. No longer an exotic new arrival, many Bernal residents now regard the coyote as just another neighbor.

Neighbor Doug  describes an experience with the coyote last week:

We came upon the coyote at the upper gate of Bernal Hill at 5:55 AM, and he followed us down past the lower gate almost to the big intersection on the east end of the hill (almost 15 minutes later). He tried playing with my dogs almost the whole way, frequently bounding up within 10 ft. of us. He REALLY wanted to play.

Neighbor Doug also shared this video of the encounter:

Tuesday Afternoon: Hear Beethoven at the Bernal Heights Library

/ Todd_Lappin

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Valerie Reichert, manager of your Bernal Heights public library, shares this announcement about a special, live performance of Beethoven’s music happening on the library patio on Tuesday, May 10 at 4 pm:

Cypress String Quartet
Beethoven in the City: Opus 127
Bernal Heights Library: Front Patio!
Tuesday, May 10th, 4 PM 
All Ages Welcome

We’re excited to announce that we are a host for Cypress String Quartet’s 20th year celebration Beethoven in The City. The celebration featuring Beethoven 16 String Quartets takes place this month throughout (11) districts of the City. All concerts are free and publicly accessible.

Beethoven in The City was conceived by the CSQ as a way not only to give back to the city that has fostered and inspired their music making, but also as a celebration of San Francisco. Through Beethoven in The City, the CSQ aims to bring Beethoven’s music to the broadest range of individuals possible. As a composer who overcame severe personal challenges to propagate his belief in the equality of humankind, Beethoven is a great ambassador for both classical music and human rights, and CSQ believes his music can speak to anyone. Come join us this May for an incredible City-wide musical celebration!

This is a feature event, and given that good weather is forecast for Tuesday, it should be really lovely.

Free Bike Rentals for Bernal Residents on Bike to Work Day

/ Todd_Lappin / 3 Comments

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Cortland Avenue’s newfangled bike shop, The New Wheel, has a special offer for Bernal Heights residents: A free ride to work on a electric bike for Bike to Work Day this Thursday. They say:

The New Wheel is offering free electric bike rentals to residents of Bernal Heights on Thursday May 12th, Bike to Work Day.

Here’s the fine-print:

Neighbors interested in renting bikes should email info@newwheel.net to secure a rental. Quantities are limited. Bikes will be available for pickup the day before Bike to Work day, between 5 and 7pm on Wednesday May 11th.

The New Wheel will equip renters with an appropriately sized bike, a helmet and a lock. Bikes must be returned no later than 7pm on Thursday May 12th. This time window is designed to allow for a fun and swift ride to work and back home on Bike to Work Day, with no rental fee. Late returns will incur a rental fee.

All electric bike rentals require a fully refundable security deposit in the event of damage or theft. Renter takes full responsibility for the return of bike in the condition it was rented.

PHOTO: Courtesy of The New Wheel

Secession Art and Design Wants to Set You Up for Mother’s Day

/ Todd_Lappin

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Pro Tip: Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 8.  Don’t forget!

Neighbor Eden from the fabulous Secession Art and Design wants to help you remain in good standing with mom. She writes:

Secession Art & Design (3235 Mission @Valencia) is consistently inspired by the moms that shop our gallery and boutique. In our eyes, they’re rockstars! Stop by this weekend, 12-8pm, to pick up a card, gift, or art that will make mom smile from head to toe.

As a special bonus for Bernalwood readers, we’re offering a 10% discount on our jewelry collection this weekend. Just mention Bernalwood when you stop in the store, and have a great Mothers Day!