November 2008Short CutsCheez it, the Cops! Last month the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Budget and Finance Committee, on which Jake McGoldrick, Sean Elsbernd, and Ross Mirkarimi sit, unanimously approved a proposal to lease the old Jamba Juice and Sports Basement buildings, located on 16th and 17th streets, to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), despite opposition from the Potrero Hill Merchants and Boosters associations. District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, who was nowhere to be seen during the vote, is apparently unwilling to put pressure on the Board to stop the lease. At this point it seems likely that the SFPD’s tactical, motorcycle, bomb, and homeland security units will be moving to our neighborhood… Just for You Cafe is now open for dinner, Wednesday through Saturday…The Potrero Hills Archives has a new website; check it out at www.potreroarchives.com.
Last month the Municipal Railway Board of Directors approved a major overhaul of the transit system, including changes to existing Potrero Hill bus routes. Under the plan the 53, Southern Heights, line will be discontinued due to low ridership, though some existing segments will be served by modified 12 Pacific and 19 Polk lines, which will provide Downtown and BART connections. The 22-line will be altered to travel along 16th Street to Third Street to serve Mission Bay. If you’re not happy about these changes there’s still time to protest them; they’re not expected to be implemented until next summer.
With roughly $76 million of the estimated $600 million to conduct basic renovations on Pier 70’s 17 most significant historic structures riding on the passage of Proposition D, developers are licking their lips over one of the last great waterfront opportunities in the City. Build Inc., Catellus, Pacific Waterfront Partners TMG Partners; and Wilson Meany Sullivan are circling around the 64-acre Port of San Francisco-owned site, which has 40 historic structures, and could accommodate 2.5 million square feet of new construction. In addition to Proposition D funds, the port is proposing that $400 million come from a combination of tax increment financing and historic preservation tax credits; $10 million from a recent parks bond; and $45 million from the sale of Lot 337, another prime property the port is attempting to develop. The port, which hopes to pick a developer by spring, puts the entire redevelopment price tag at just under $1.9 billion. Somebody’s ship is about to come in; let’s hope that it’s the neighborhood’s.
Shit Happens Speaking of toilets (see this month’s piece on San Francisco Community Power’s water-saving toilet program), a group of water conservation auditors and trainees were dispatched to a home on Bayview’s Ingerson Street one afternoon last month. As the team approached the address they saw that it was surrounded by a dozen and a half police cruisers, along with a huge vehicle emblazoned “San Francisco Bomb Squad.” It turned out that someone was being held hostage in one of the homes on the block. The lead auditor called Shirley, the homeowner who’d requested the audit, and asked, “Shirley, are you being held hostage?” “No,” she answered, “but there have been cop cars trying to save the hostage across the street since 8:30 this morning,” something she failed to mention when the auditor confirmed the appointment 30 minutes earlier. Either Shirley really wanted that free toilet, or hostage situations are a dime a dozen in Southeast San Francisco. And, no, the auditors didn’t go into the home….By the by, everyday San Franciscans throw unwanted or expired medicine down the toilet, where they end up in the Bay. Dispose of yours responsibly by taking it to Green Dentistry, 360 Post Street.
In addition to blinding greed on Wall Street, let’s not forget another important origin of our economic collapse: sprawl. The combination of inexpensive land and cheap gas allowed (also greedy) developers to build homes far afield from metropolitan centers, such as Placerville, Tracey, and Vacaville. The United States population growth rate between 2000 and 2003 was roughly 0.7 percent; in zip codes with foreclosure rates higher than one percent – the national average is about 0.3 percent – the growth rate during that three year period was more than four times the national average. As gas prices and adjustable mortgages rates rose, those who’d been lured out to the fringe struggled to make ends meet: some folks were spending upwards of one-quarter of their household income just to get to and from work. The moral of this sad story is clear: sprawl predicated on cheap energy is not sustainable for the environment or our prosperity. Like refugees from an oil war, we can expect individuals and families to come straggling back to the Bay Area in search of jobs and affordable housing. We better make room for them.
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This Month's StoriesTransportation Agency Attempts to Calm Hill Traffic Public Schools Partner with Parents, Principals and Local Businesses to Raise Funds in Hard Times New Design Guidelines Proposed for Eastern Neighborhoods More Bike Lanes Slated for Potrero Hill Merchants Announce Buy Local Pledge Community Continues to Discuss Redevelopment of Potrero Hill Public Housing Complex Saving the Environment, One Bug at a Time Shop in San Francisco, Get More for Your Money Home Cooked Meals That You Don’t Have to Prepare San Francisco to Host Renewable Energy Conference On-going FeaturesPublisher's View: Reconstruction
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