potrero view

February 2009

Letters to the Editor

Editor,


The Potrero View continues to offer great coverage, and I was very pleased to see the January article on plans to replace public housing in Potrero with a new, mixed neighborhood.  Bridge Housing is an outstanding partner with a proven record of working well with the community while undertaking the sensitive and challenging task of remaking homes, not just housing.

I also want to let readers know that the HOPE VI program, used effectively in five other major demolition and replacement of poor public housing in San Francisco, is not defunct. It has continued to award grants of about $20 million every year for just such projects. The total budget provided by the President and the Congress to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has been sharply reduced, but communities across the country continue to receive these grants.

A first step is for the local housing authority and mayor to apply for a HOPE VI grant. Potrero could well be a successful candidate for $20 million in federal funds to help this project, but so far the City has declined to apply for federal funding.

Thanks for the opportunity to clarify this important point.



Larry Bush

Public Affairs Officer, Region IX

U.S. Department of Housing and   

Urban Development


Editor,


As co-chair of CC Puede, a community organization working to transform Cesar Chavez Street from a “traffic sewer” into a more pedestrian-friendly, livable corridor, I was delighted to read both your lead story on the Potrero Hill traffic calming plan and the inside piece about local bike lanes (January issue). The two efforts are connected, as bike lanes help define traffic flow more logically, and widen the buffer between cars and people using the sidewalks. Potrero Avenue is a good example of how bike lanes have been used in conjunction with new medians, turn pockets, and crosswalk enhancements.

I hope the resident who fears that calming Kansas Street will increase congestion can consult with people living on other streets that have undergone similar changes. They’re pretty happy. Simply making cars slow-down and pay attention to pedestrians and other users of public space actually makes traffic flow more smoothly and creates a much better environment for all.

And the truck users near Illinois Street, who are concerned about how their traffic would be affected by bike lanes, should be reassured to know that one of CC Puede’s prominent supporters is Veritable Vegetable, the organic produce distributor at Tennessee and Cesar Chavez that uses numerous large trucks in its daily business. We are working with industrial users to ensure that their needs are addressed.

Bike lanes aren’t the only goal for Cesar Chavez. We hope to widen sidewalks where they’re too skinny and add sidewalks where they don’t exist at all. Currently, crosswalks along the eastern stretch of the street are few and far between, making it rather dicey for workers who cross for lunch or other users. We hope to improve this dangerous situation and welcome participation from Potrero Hill residents and merchants. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact me at frances.taylor@cmpmedica.com or 874-4570.  Visit www.ccpuede.org for more information.


Fran Taylor
26th Street


Editor,


I read the article “Public Schools Partnering with Parents, Principals and Local Businesses to Raise Funds in Hard Times” (January) with great admiration for the success of groups at Alvarado, Leonard Flynn and Starr King elementary schools.  The story left me feeling that despite the threat of education budget cuts, our community is doing a formidable job of holding on to its schools.  These public schools are fortunate to have parents who are willing and able to soldier forward, raising money on their behalf.

My hunch is that we should thank our preschools for initiating parents into the school system.  By the time their children reach elementary school, many parents are already seasoned fundraisers.  They’re drawn in to the worthy cause as soon as their children enter preschool, which depend heavily on community funding. It is here that many parents develop their fundraising skills and where, for some, community activism is kindled.

Julie Jackson spent four years organizing the annual fundraiser at Friends of Potrero Hill Nursery School (FOPH).  She’s now co-chair of Leonard Flynn’s parent-teacher association.  Many other FOPH parents are committed community advocates:  Nancy Gnass, a Parents for Public Schools ambassador; Antje Kann and Dave Maltz, spearheading Friends of Franklin Square to reclaim that abandoned park for neighborhood use, starting with the playground rebuild currently under way; Kelly Yon, a co-founder of the Mission Roots urban street-greening project; Katherine Doumani, a Potrero Residents Education Fund founder; Amy Gregg, editor of the Mom Go Green blog; and Natalie Freeburg, who reinvigorated the Potrero Hill Parents Association. At this rate of community activism among our current preschool parents, my hope is that all of our local public schools, so set on raising the banner, are assured of a glowing future.

FOPH is Potrero Hill’s oldest preschool. Founded in 1996, more than 200 families have benefited from the school, which enables their children to remain in Potrero Hill for their formative education.  The school welcomes all families on a sliding-scale basis for tuition. Funding for scholarships – around 25 percent of the children in any given year – and a portion of operations is wholly reliant on parent involvement and community support, mostly raised at the annual fundraiser.

Join us on March 7, 2009 for our annual fundraiser, “Swing into Spring”, at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House from 6.30 to 10 p.m.. It promises to be a particularly fun one: a silent auction with genuinely good stuff on offer, like a holiday cottage in the Cape wine lands (South Africa) and a month’s unlimited classes at Pretzel’s Yoga; a delicious bite and a wine bar (sporting some exotic surprises!).  Ticket prices are just $15 in advance, $20 on the night. There will also be superb entertainment, with guest appearances from Dan Hoyle, the performer and writer, and Gaucho, a gypsy jazz band. Magic is in the air!


Heather Wagenfeld

Mississippi Street

 Subscribe to The Potrero View

All rights reserved. Copyright © 2006 The Potrero View.

Content on this site may not be archived, retransmitted, saved in a database, or used for any commercial purpose without the express written permission of The Potrero View or its Publishers.