Bernal Literary Celeb Jandy Nelson Wins Fabulous 2015 Printz Medal

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

JandyWin

Bernal Heights is thick with literary celebrities. You pretty much can’t throw a rock on our little rock without hitting someone who’s written a few brilliant books, or gotten some rave reviews, or won a closet full of writerly prizes. Because that’s the kind of glamorous we are.

So here’s a hot celebrity tip: The newest, most glamorous Bernal Heights literary superstar is Bernal neighbor Jandy Nelson.

Neighbor Jandy’s acclaimed young-adult novel, “I’ll Give You the Sun,” just won the Michael L. Printz Award, which “honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit.”

Publisher’s Weekly (!!) describes the awesome tale of how she learned about the accolade:

Jandy Nelson had to keep a very big secret – for two whole days. Last Saturday she found out she’d won the Michael L. Printz Award for her second novel, I’ll Give You the Sun, but the announcements were not being made until Monday. “I was so taken by surprise when they called,” Nelson said, reached by phone at her home in San Francisco. “They must have thought they were giving the award to a raving lunatic. I remember hearing it was the Printz Committee, and then I started screaming. I remember they were all clapping, and that made me burst into tears. They said a lot of nice things about my book, and I screamed some more. It was one of the happiest, most exciting moments of my life.”

I’ll Give You the Sun is told through the alternating perspectives of twins Noah and Jude, which thread their way to the event that drove the once-close siblings apart. The author says the book took her three and a half years to complete. “It was very much like writing three novels in total,” she said. “I wrote Noah’s story start to finish, and I locked the file [that contained] Jude’s story. Then I wrote Jude’s story start to finish. I didn’t want their voices to blend. And I wanted each story to have its own propulsion so it would work when I combined them. Then the last year I spent interweaving their stories, and working on the book as a whole.”

Citizens of Bernalwood, you know the drill: If you see Neighbor Jandy in the ‘hood, please give her some robust congrats and make sure she gets a big high-five.

Bernal Neighbors Exasperated by Long Lines at Local Safeway

/ Todd_Lappin / 91 Comments

Safewaylines

Our Taoist Safeway, is indeed timeless and unchanging. Although, not always in a good way…

Sure, the interior received a sporty makeover a few years ago. But one part of the Bernal Safeway experience never seems to get better: There are seldom enough cashiers, so the checkout lines are infuriatingly long.

This is sad, because in theory, there’s a lot to love about our local Safeway. The location is very handy, and the store’s compact footprint means that finding what you need can be done efficiently. And the prices are reasonable enough by contemporary ridiculous post-gentrification standards. Yet all that is overshadowed by one grim fact: The checkout lines are so insane at our Safeway that many Bernalese have given up on the store entirely.

Complaints about the long lines pop up regularly on social media, but a recent blow-up even got the attention of the hapless soul who staffs the official @Safeway Twitter account. It all started here:

That prompted this Official Response…

… which only generated further rancor, because the long-line problem has been so bad for so long. Pretty soon, the trickle of complaint turned into a flood:

No surprise, then, that the Bernal Safeway gets a paltry two-star ranking on the Yelp. Typical comment:

Screen Shot 2015-02-10 at 10.08.17 AM

So will anyone at the Safeway Mothership actually do anything about this?

Last year, the entire Safeway chain was acquired by a group of private equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, which also merged Safeway with the Albertson’s supermarket chain. That does not bode well for the long lines at the Bernal Heights store, because it generally suggests the new leadership team is likely focused on the tricky task of integrating management teams and meeting near-term profitability targets, rather than on the nuts-and-bolts tasks of local staffing and customer satisfaction.

Coincidentally, on January 30, 2015 — one day before the local Twitter blowup — a Supermarket News article marking the completion of the Safeway-Albertsons merger included this comment from Safeway’s CEO:

“We plan to be the favorite local supermarket in every community we serve,” said Safeway president and CEO Robert Edwards, who becomes president and CEO of the newly combined company, effective immediately, in a statement. “We will do this by knowing, listening to, and delighting our customers; providing the right products at a compelling value; and delivering a superior shopping experience. We will also continue to be active members of our local communities.”

Memo to Safeway CEO Robert Edwards: NOT SEEING THIS IN BERNAL HEIGHTS.

But who knows. Maybe someone at the Safeway Mothership will read this and realize they have a problem on their hands at 3350 Mission Street. Maybe they will understand that our Taoist Safeway is a store that many Bernalese want to love, if only the management didn’t make that so difficult. Here’s hoping…

PHOTO: Another long line at the Bernal Safeway, on January 31, 2015, by Li Jiang

Windy Winter Storm Brings Bernal Rainbows, Erratic Electricity, Sad Trees, and Excellent Powder Skiing

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

DarcyRainbow

Last weekend’s winter storm brought a lot of welcome rain, but it also took a toll.

A group of unfortunate Precitaville neighbors on Treat went without power for many hours, until PG&E installed a handsome mobile generator to get the lights back on:

PG&E Generator

Neighbor Rusty got the executive summary:

Update on the PGE outage Friday around Precita Park (8-9pm aprox), and the extended outage on Treat.

I talked to PG&E and got the lowdown on what happened. Friday night, around 8pm, an underground high voltage line that runs along the south side of Precita between Harrison and Treat shorted out. This is the line that feeds the power pole at the bottom of Treat.

It will take several days to permanently fix the cable on Precita that feeds our street. It is unclear if this will involve digging up steet/sidewalk, they’re still investigating the details.

This explains why when the first outage happened it affected a wider area. The short tripped breakers/fuses upstream. PG&E was able to isolate the problem area (the feeder to Treat) and disconnect it, returning power to the adjoining neighborhood.

They have installed a generator on Treat in front of Oaks and the rear of Immaculate Conception. This has been connected to the power lines going up and down treat. This was slightly involved, as in required that they disconnect all the transformers up and down the street, and install jumpers onto the 120/240 feeds so it would continue up the street.

Neighbor Paul spotted a world-famous piece of landscape art: A spiral jetty in Precita Park!

spiraljetty

And then, of course, that big old tree fell in Precita Park. Sadness. Also, largeness:

tree2-1

This morning I saw a City crew was cutting away at the big fallen tree and stuffing the parts into a chipper. The tree is gone, but its biomass will live on. Farewell, Big Precita Tree.

Perhaps to make up for that, conditions were perfect for rainbows on Sunday afternoon, as Bernalwood activated the Rainbow Alert Warning System. Sure enough, at about 3:30 on Sunday afternoon, Neighbor Darcy captured the above view from Berhal Hill of a double rainbow bringing euphoria to the Mission and downtown. Neighbor Brian verified it as well:

One other blessing this storm  brought us: A fresh blanket of fluffy snow on Bernal Hill! Conditions are perfect this morning at Ski Bernalwood, and here’s a photo taken just moments ago as one lucky skier scored first tracks beneath Sutrito Tower:

Skisutrio.tltles

Have fun out there!

PHOTOS: Rainbows at top, Darcy Lee. PG&E by Neighbor Rusty. Spiral Jetty by Neighbor Paul. Fallen tree by Neighbor Merin. Powder skiing on Bernal Hill by Telstar Logistics

Here Is Your Schedule for Beer Week 2015 at Rock Bar, Starting TONIGHT

/ Todd_Lappin

beerdrinks

Brion Rosch is the manager of the fashionable Rock Bar on 29th at Tiffany in La Lengua. He’s laid out an ambitious agenda for Beer Week 2015, San Francisco’s citywide celebration of suds, so Brion is here to tell the Citizens of Bernalwood what your week will taste like:

Rock Bar is gearing up for Beer Week. A Beer-Forward Cocktail menu is in the works, and several Tap Take-Overs are planned.

Opening with beers from North Coast Brewing, following with a common man’s flight of PBR, Olympia and Schlitz and a healthy fill of Death Metal, with a lil Speakeasy and Henhouse Brewing of Petaluma in between; you’re sure to enjoy a rotating cast of characters. On Friday the 13th Let’s Get Weird returns with a set of wah wah pedals and microphones for an evening of SHOUT OUT’s – “Hey Big Daddy, where my IPA’s at?!” Join in and give a shout out to your friend Todd in Jersey who likes his Lager crisp. Valentines Day offers chocolate covered strawberries and house cured meats from The Front Porch alongside Hopped Saison’s, Imperial Stout’s, and Cask offerings. Finish your long Beer Week with a relaxing afternoon with Speakeasy, we will have 15 minute chair massages available for brewer’s the city over… Details all on the website,

What: SF BEER WEEK at Rock Bar
Where: Rock Bar 80 29th Street
When: Feb 6th-15th 2015
Website: www.rockbarsf.com

ROCK BAR SF BEER WEEK
We plan to release a BEER centered Cocktail Menu during the duration of Beer Week – Enjoy the return of The Donkey Show; Reposado Tequila, Pear Liqueur, Allspice, CRISPIN cider, mole

Friday and Saturday Feb 6th / 7th
North Coast Tap TAKE OVER

Monday Feb 9th
The Common Man Flight;
PBR, OLYMPIA, SHLITZ
Served with a healthy dose of Death Metal

Wednesday / Thurs Feb 11th / 12th
Oskar Blues Tap TAKE OVER

FRIDAY THE 13TH
LET’S GET WEIRD / BOBBY LINDER & FRIENDS
PRESENTS SHOUT OUTS!
WE WILL CALLING SHOUT OUTS ALL NIGHT LONG
YO MILLER HIGH LIFE, WHERE YOU AT?
IMPERIAL STOUT, YOU WITH US?
GRASS FED IPA YOU FEEL ME BICH?

VALENTINE’S Day
With Hen House & Speakeasy
Enjoy chocolate covered strawberries and house cured meats alongside a Flight from each brewery
Finish your date with the return of Noche Romantica as Jose Y Jose return with ballads, rancheras, cumbias, romanticas and rock n roll

Sunday Feb 15th
A Lazy Afternoon with Speakeasy 1pm-5pm
15 minute chair massages offered

PHOTO: Beer drinks at Rock Bar, via Rock Bar

UPDATED: Trees Down! Windy Storm Validates Newtonian Physics in Bernal Heights

/ Todd_Lappin / 6 Comments

GRAVITYALERT

The Bernalwood Heavy Weather Operations Center has been activated, and we are receiving multiple reports of Trees Down in Bernal Heights because of today’s high winds and rain.

Reporter Lyanne from the Action (Action… Action…) ABC7 News team shared a #superawesome #tweetreport from Crescent about an unfortunate Tree/PG&E encounter.

#woah!

Neighbor Rob also shared a video with us. He writes:

Recorded this from a few doors down from my house between Cortland and Prospect. The street is covered with branches too. Yikes! Nobody was hurt and luckily no car was parked there too. Cheers!

Lets go to Neighbor Rob, who brings you this on-the-scene iPhone report:

The winds are a-blowin’ and wooden things are a-fallin’. Please be extra careful out there, citizens.

STORM UPDATES:
At 2:57 pm today, Neighbor Judy sent this dramatic photo from Folsom near Ripley:

folsomtree

She writes:

So windy: Auntie Em! Auntie Em!
Hope you’re all warm. & dry!

6:05 pm and there’s a very big tree down in Precita Park:

That tree down in Precita Park is a big one, and it’s in the southwest corner of the park near Folsom, right in front of Hillside Supper Club. Neighbor Merin shared these photos:

tree2-1

tree1

Remember That Rainy Day When Cesar Chavez Boulevard Was Surfable?

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

Chavez.WhiteWater.Ce

While doing some digital archaeology on an old hard drive recently, I re-discovered an image I took during a very rainy day at the corner of Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Shotwell on February 25, 2004 — almost exactly 11 years ago. Since it’s raining today, this seems like a good time to look back.

Of course, the 2004 image was captured a decade before the installation of all the sexy infrastructure upgrades that gave us a brand new sewer main beneath Cesar Chavez, as well as a tropical-themed median strip. But on that wet February morning in 2004, the old Army Street sewer pipes were overwhelmed, filling the street with so much riverine water that the old concrete medians were completely submerged.

I crossed Cesar Chavez in four-wheel-drive on that day — nervously but successfully.

Later that morning, when I showed my photo to a graphic designer I worked with at the time, she decided to have some fun with the image. Let the Cesar Chavez Surf Competition Begin!

Chavez.Surf

PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics

 

The Michael Bauer Bestoweth 2.5 Stars Upon Hillside Supper Club

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

HillsidebyChronice

The Michael Bauer, His Eminence Restaurant Critic from the San Francisco Chronicle, returned to Hillside Supper Club on Precita Park recently to take the menu for a test drive. And lo, The Bauer was pleased:

Using the moniker Supper Club isn’t an exaggeration because Hillside feels like a neighborhood gathering place. That feeling was evident even when I returned for a regular meal several nights after the anniversary dinner. What I found was that in the year since I first reviewed the restaurant, the service has become more professional and the kitchen has found more consistency.

The small menu includes eight appetizers, four main courses and three or four specials printed on a blackboard above the open kitchen. The specials may include more unusual items than the ones on the regular menu, such as escargot and foie gras. These live in stark contrast to the homey Nonna’s meatballs ($9) in a sweet tomato sauce, accompanied by a chunk of focaccia.

Other starters include squid ink ravioli stuffed with Dungeness crab ($14), where the two ravioli in a brown butter glaze are set on puddles of avocado puree with celery root, poppy seeds and herbs; it’s a pleasant blend that works together well.

The kitchen’s more refined side is evident on the white anchovies ($12) crisscrossed like a checkerboard, with dollops of lemon puree and a scattering of orange segments, herbs and puffed amaranth. Duck liver mousse ($9), a menu mainstay, is served in a glass canning jar with a glaze of huckleberry gelee, a sweet contrast to the whole-grain mustard, cornichons and grilled bread served alongside.

Main courses include exceptional pot pies, with a buttery crust that clings to the side of a cast-iron skillet. One time it was filled with rabbit, another time venison ($24), its gaminess partly quelled by juniper in the veloute, along with Brussels sprouts and caramelized chunks of salsify.

The Bauer’s final rating: 2.5 stars. Yesssssss!

In other news, Hillside chef Tony Ferrari tells Bernalwood that the Change of Ownership sign in the window is no big thing; Tony and Chef Jonathan Sutton merely reorganized themselves into an LLC partnership. Bon appetit!

PHOTO: John Storey for San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

Extremely Graphic Infographic Visualizes 2014 Bernal Heights Microhood Real Estate Trends

/ Todd_Lappin / 21 Comments

bernal.microhoods.D

As you no doubt recall, Bernalwood’s 2014 Official Guide to the Subdistricts of Bernal Heights (shown above) was created to map the cultural and topographical geography of our neighborhood in a way that’s both tongue-in-cheek and also kind of somehow vaguely true. What you may not recall, however, is that the Official Subdistricts were specifically created as a playful response to a realtor who had attempted to create her own (less homegrown) sub-map of Bernal Heights.

Well, now that concept has come full-circle.

Neighbors Michael Minson and Danielle Lazier live in Bernal Heights, and they work as realtors. So when Neighbors Michael and Danielle approached Bernalwood seeking permission to use Bernalwood’s Official Subdistrict Map as a framework to analyze 2014 Bernal Heights real estate trends, we had to say yes. Because they are certified Bernalese. Because data. Because economics. Because morbid curiosity.

And what are the results? Well, when Neighbors Michael and Danielle mapped 2014 residential sales against the Official Microhoods of Bernal Heights, they got a year-in-review infographic that looks like this:

2014marketmicrohoods

They also offer this executive summary:

2014 was another banner year of double digit appreciation and record high prices for Bernal Heights. The median increase in sale price for single family houses in Bernal increased 21% from 2014 over 2013.

This followed a 23% median increase from the year prior.
The median sales price for a house was $1.16M this year.

Your intrepid real estate agents and data junkies analyzed the Bernal market using the infamous Bernalwood Microhood map as a way to further understand the market. Microhood names and designations are courtesy of our friends at Bernalwood.

Click here for the full Bernal Heights 2014 Market Recap Report. For the hardcore, you can also check out our raw data set.

Outlook–The view from the hill
> Bernal market is very strong–sellers remain in a great position
> As more inventory comes on market, prices are expecting to stabilize
> Expect $900+/sq. ft. or more to become the new median PPSF
> List prices will increase but overbidding will remain prevalent

Bernal Insights Overall – What did we see?
> Market is still very strong but may be cooling ever so slightly (21% increase in median price vs. 23% last year)
> Less inventory is keeping house prices high–10% fewer houses traded; median price is at an all-time high of $1.16M
> An increase in condo supply in 2014 may be the cause for the relatively more modest 10% median price appreciation in Bernal’s condo market
> Demand is still very high– 83% of houses and 73% of condos sold over asking, with an average of 18% and 11% over list price, respectively
> Median price per square foot for houses is $811/sq. ft., condos is $786/sq. ft.
> Overbidding is the norm: 83% of houses sold over the list price, at an average of 18% over. 73% of condos sold over asking, at an average of 11% over.

Real Estate Graphic: via MichaelMinson.com

Secession Art & Design’s Victorious Re-Opening Party Happens Thursday Eve

/ Todd_Lappin

edensoon

If you’re a fan of Secession Art & Design you probably know the basic story. If you’re not a fan of  Secession Art & Design, well, here’s why you should be…

Secession Art & Design is a creative atelier founded a few years ago by owner Eden Stein. For many moons, Secession was located on Bernal’s stretch of Mission Street, just across from our Taoist Safeway. During that time, founder and owner/impresario Eden carved out a terrific niche for Session, seamlessly combining art, fashion, home decor, and resident-artist workshops to create a storefront that won four San Francisco Bay Guardian “Best of the Bay” awards for Best Art Gallery (before the SFBG itself disappeared). Eden also became a core member of the Mission Bernal Merchant Association.

Then Secession’a landlord decided not to renew the lease. After much scrambling, negotiating, and anxiety, Eden managed to find an even better space just a few blocks north — and still in Bernal!!— inside the former SoCha Cafe/former Dell’uva Wine Bar location at 3235 Mission @ Valencia. Then came the stressful  renovation, and redecorating, and rethinking. And now, finally, Secession Art & Design is ready for its grand re-opening: Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb 5, at 6:30 pm.

Eden says:

3235 Mission is officially open on Thursday, February 5. Join us 6:30-9:30pm for a welcoming party and thank-you to everyone who helped us dream big. Celebrate with us with champagne – cheers to new beginnings!

Our new gallery and boutique has 30 feet of clothing, a showcase of locally-made jewelry, and over 250 pieces of art hung. Our current art collection features Silvi Alcivar, Shannon Weber, Hilary Williams, Melissa Wagner, Rachel Znerold, Heather Robinson, Rob Sakovich, Faern, Bughouse, Mark Brunner, Andrzej Michael Karwacki, Victoria Veedell and Nate 1.

Our doors closed at our old location last Christmas Eve. I thought we would quickly be able to re-open, but opening a new location in San Francisco requires time, patience and jumping through a lot of hoops. My team has met every challenge, and we kept our heads high when inspections went south. We passed plumbing and electrical on Friday, and passed our final inspection Monday with flying colors. We spent the month of January perfecting the look of the store while we waited for the city of San Francisco to let us open. So much fun, and I’m thankful to have a contractor who could make every whim a reality. This truly is my dream store, and I look forward to reconnection.

Our new gallery and boutique will be open our regular hours, Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 7pm, starting on Friday, February 6.

XO Eden and the Secession team

PHOTO:Eden Stein on Feb 4, 2015, by Telstar Logistics

Fabulous 331 Cortland Getting an Indoor Seating Upgrade

/ Todd_Lappin / 4 Comments

331 Cortland

Are you sitting down right now? Because as you read this, the fabulous food marketplace at 331 Cortland is getting a major upgrade, in the form of an indoor seating area. It’s also getting a new mission statement. 331 Cortland owner Debra Resnik brings the tell:

What: 331 Cortland Marketplace remodel to result in 10 seats at the formerly seatless kiosk shop.
When: Shops close for remodel Feb. 1-5 and reopen Feb. 6 with new daily opening hour of 8 a.m.
Who: Anda Piroshki, Paulie’s Pickling, and Mae Krua food kiosks
Why: To give customers exactly what they’ve asked for.

Visitors to the “three shops in one” at 331 Cortland in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood pretty much all say the same thing: “This place is amazing!” They also ask the same question: “Is there anywhere to sit?” The shop is pleased to announce that the answer is about to change to “Yes.”

In a total redefinition of purpose, the storefront is set to transform itself from small-business incubator into microcafé. Although the incubator model has been spectacularly successful, launching Ichi Sushi and Bernal Cutlery into their own storefronts (and other businesses into wholesale and retail,) property owner and in-house theoretician Debra Resnik has worked hard to give customers what they want: seating. Resnik and 331 Cortland residents Anda Piroshki, Paulie’s Pickling, and Mae Krua Thai food are excited about the forthcoming seating and remodel: Kiosk chefs Anna Tvelova, Liz Ashby, and Anucha Kongthavorn hint at expanded menus in the near future, thanks to the improved space. Paulie’s will continue to carry favorite retail items from 331 alum and friends in the new configuration as well — including Suite Foods waffles.

Locals Paul Ashby of Paulie’s Pickling and recent Russian transplant and Anda Piroshki cook Roman Ugrimov will do the construction, while a bittersweet note comes from the decision of waffle shop Suite Foods to change focus to wholesale and catering work. Their presence in the shop will be missed. However, Deb and the team look forward to giving customers from Bernal and beyond exactly what they want: seats!

PHOTO: 331 Cortland time capsule, circa 2011; by Telstar Logistics

Pinhole Coffee Connects With Bernal’s Filipino Community

/ Todd_Lappin / 13 Comments

pinholeinquirer

A few weeks ago, Bernalwood’s search robots brought an interesting headline to our attention: “Enterprising Filipina opens hip cafe in hot San Francisco neighborhood.” The accompanying article tells a very cool story about JoEllen Depakakibo, the fashionably caffeinated Filipina entrepreneur who opened Pinhole Coffee on Cortland Avenue.

Inquirer.net, a news site for Filipinos, describes how Miss JoEllen from Pinole has connected with the Filipino community in Bernal Heights:

“[Bernal Heights] was the type of neighborhood I was looking for, a mix of the old and modern, giving me the feel of the 1950s,” Depakakibo related.

“Here, you see amazing people walking and talking to each other,” she added. […] Bernal Heights has had its share of woes because of the rapid gentrification occuring in San Francisco. Before the tech surge, it was a more diverse mix of working class residents, artists and activists. Buck Bagot one of the founders of the Occupy Bernal Movement, was quoted in a piece in Bernalwood blog, saying, “When I moved here, every house on my block had a different ethnicity. There were Latinos, Blacks, American Indians, Samoans and Filipinos. … Now they’re all gone.”

Members of the Occupy Bernal movement are currently fighting to save homes from foreclosures and maintain diversity in the neighborhood. When Depakakibo chose Bernal Heights for her venture, she was not yet aware of the history of Filipinos in the neighborhood.

The late Filipino American Bill Sorro, a longtime resident and beloved civil rights and housing activist, was one of the leaders of the movement in the 1970s that struggled for nine years to prevent the eviction of low-income senior citizens, including Filipinos, from the International Hotel in San Francisco’s Chinatown. (The International Hotel Manilatown Center now stands on the site, a testament to the early organizing for affordable housing rights in the city.)

The number of Filipinos in Bernal Heights spiked starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s because of the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which paved the way for immigrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East to become permanent residents in the U.S.

Gloria Carvajal, one of the beneficiaries of the law, has lived in the neighborhood since she arrived in the US in 1968 and worked for Pacific Bell Telephone Company (now AT&T) for almost 30 years until her early retirement in 1996. She was active in Saint Kevin Church’s close-knit Fil-Am Association, which no longer exists, but she continues to keep in touch and care for housebound members of the group. […]

One afternoon, Carvajal went to Pinhole to have a cup of java, and as soon as Depakakibo saw her, she bowed, took Carvajal’s hand, and put it against her forehead, a sign of respect for elders among Filipinos. In turn, Carvajal gave her a blessing and welcomed her to the neighborhood, immediately proceeding to tell the young Pinay about Filipinos living and working in Bernal Heights. While decades separated their ages, respect for an age-old tradition and love for coffee and community bonded them instantly.

Read the whole thing on Inquirer.net, here.

PHOTO: JoEllen Depakakibo (right) gives longtime Bernal Heights resident Gloria Carvajal a traditional Filipino greeting at Pinhile Coffee. Photo my Mila De Guzman for Inquirer.net

People of Esmeralda: Wednesday Meeting to Upgrade Coleridge Mini-Park Needs You (Corrected)

/ Todd_Lappin / 2 Comments

MiniPark0007

EDIT NOTE: A previous version of this article included an incorrect meeting date. This meeting will happen on Wednesday.

Neighbor Erin Veneziano is spearheading an effort to reduce crime and unpleasantness at the glamorous Coleridge Mini-Park by adding more lights and improving the infrastructure. There’s a meeting about this Wednesday, February 4, at 6 pm at the mini-park, and Neighbor Erin tells Bernalwood why Esmeraldans should attend:

Here’s the poster I’ll be distributing to our neighbors. This is a last ditch effort (lots of badgering and follow-up) to get additional lighting installed in a critical part of the Emseralda corridor.

The original meeting was with PG&E, SF Parks and Rec, and DPT; it was more like a 3 Stooges skit with all three pointing at the other and claiming to not have any jurisdiction over the park. My wife and I have kept contact with the city officials and through many email exchanges, photos, and personal accounts, we have finally agreed on having the SF Park and Rec representative come out after hours and during the evening to see how the pocket of darkness in the park allows crime to fester. With that said, they’ve already performed a cursory “lighting survey” and have attempted to placate our efforts by installing new park signs (with curfew information) and have trimmed trees to show that they are trying to help (but not solve) this issue.

I strongly believe that if we have a good crowd of neighbors that can share their experiences that we can assert this as a priority for the health of our community.

Got that? Citizens of Esmeralda: You know what to do.

Wednesday, Feb 4, 6 pm, Coleridge Mini Park.

Light Installation and Crime Reduction Meeting 2

PHOTO: Neighbor Erin