potrero view

March 2010

Short Cuts

Rebuild What!?

Last month roughly a dozen Potrero Hillians responded to 20th Street resident Buck Schmitz’s call for a meeting to increase community scrutiny of proposed redevelopment of the Potrero Annex and Terrace complexes.  Schmitz is concerned that, despite an eighteen month planning process that drew in 500 people, not enough community members are aware of the project.  Meeting participants questioned Bridge Housing’s proposals to almost triple the complexes’ density, the paltry amount of open space included in current plans, and a lack of retail amenities.  In an editorial in the December View, meeting participant and publisher Steve Moss pointed to the need for considerably more financial resources to develop the necessary amenities for the project, such as significant open and retail space, transportation infrastructure, and investments in local public schools.  This one is far from over, and is likely to be a multi-year slog before shovel hits dirt.  But the time to get into the scrum is now… Power flickered throughout San Francisco last month at exactly the moment Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) was testing the new Trans Bay Cable.  PG&E is investigating whether the test caused the flicker, as well as how many people lost power for longer than a moment.  The half-billion dollar cable could convey 40 percent of the City’s power needs, and will enable the Potrero Power Plant to close.

Showplace Park

The results of a year-long open space planning process focusing on the Showplace Square area were unveiled at a San Francisco Planning Commission meeting held in late January.  With upwards of 5,000 residents expected to be drawn to new housing projects in the area over the next decade, community members identified eight existing quarter acre or smaller parcels that could be transformed from streets and sidewalks into pocket parks and greenways.   Underutilized areas at 7th and Berry streets, in Daggett Triangle, and on Carolina Street, adjacent to Jackson Park, were among the most popular targets for greening.  While praising the planning process, a scattering of activists at the meeting – including Neighborhood Parks Council board member Isabel Wade and Mission Bay Citizen Advisory Committee member Corrine Woods – expressed disappointment that a larger open space vision hasn’t yet emerged, and no significant financing sources to acquire parks found.  Showplace Square resident Carla Leshne pointed-out that some potential open space areas – particularly what remains of a Channel/Carolina street parcel, most of which was traded to Recology for additional park land in Little Hollywood – weren’t included in planning discussions.  Even assembling the smaller pieces is unlikely to occur until at least 2011, and that’s assuming the upwards of $20 million dollars needed to do so can be located.  Oh, it’s right there, under that skyscraper…   

Safety Patrol

Last month Chez Maman was robbed at gunpoint by two masked men who took money and valuables from the til, cooks and diners. How brazen can you get?...As the View was going to print a suspect was in police custody... In response to requests from McKinley Square neighbors, Bayview Police Captain Greg Surh has launched periodic motorcycle patrols around the park, as well as nearby Vermont Street and The Benches.  Until they were notified by residents, the Honda Tactical Unit was unaware that there was more to the park – five acres more – than the upper turf and playground.  While increased safety is always welcome, some locals are concerned that deployment of the off-road vehicles will result in unwanted police intrusion and noise...Potrero Hill continues to be plagued by automobile break-ins.  Nationally, GPS devices are the most stolen item from vehicles, most often from foreign models.  Take those bad boys, along with every speck of plausibly valuable dust, with you, and lock your car...According to Surh, Bayview is home to roughly 1,000 individuals who are on parole, with perhaps less than 500 people committing all of the crimes in Southeast San Francisco.  The captain is keeping a watchful eye on these repeat offenders…Bring Your Own Big Wheel wants to return to the City’s crookest street this Easter Sunday.  The event, in which costumed adults barrel down Vermont Street on tricycles, garbage cans, and all varieties of small-wheeled conveyances, attracts hundreds of participants and onlookers.  It’s unquestionably fun, but some nearby residents are concerned about the threat to their property caused by the hordes of strangers, and are opposed to the disruption to the area on what is celebrated by many as a family holiday.  The Department of Parking and Traffic will consider whether to approve a permit for the event, or shift it to McLaren Park, on March 11.

Tragedy of the Commons

Tensions are again rising over the poor conditions of Dogpatch and Potrero Hill parks, as well as the frequency of off-leash dogs romping in leashed-restricted areas.  Last month Bayview police officers were called to ticket off-leash dogs on the Arkansas Street playing fields.  And Esprit Park neighbors are noticing a distinct degradation in the quality of that beloved space’s grassy area.  Over use, or under-maintenance, of common areas is a problem that dates back to the first goat herd.  There are a handful of solutions to the “tragedy of the commons:” adopt voluntary use protocols, enforced by community norms; legislatively restrict use, and enforce (existing) laws; collect fees, often from users, to pay for proper maintenance; or create more open space.  Doing nothing leads to the tragedy indicated by the phrase, in the form of denuded areas that are less beneficial to everyone…Department of Recreation and Parks staff Mike Bross and Adela Dominguez – who provide programming at the Potrero Recreation Center – along with 120 other employees were handed pink slips last month.  Bross had previously worked at Jackson Park.  Forty Rec and Parks positions will eventually be retained, though it’s unknown which ones.

Crushed

Crushpad, which allows customers to make their own wine, is moving from its Dogpatch digs to the Napa Valley.  The soon not to be urban winery’s customer base mostly consists of clients who don’t live in the Bay Area, and is dominated by commercial wine brands, undermining Crushpad’s original vision of serving as a sort of wine community center.  Let’s all raise a glass to what was a noble neighborhood experiment. ..Depressants may be out in the City, but stimulants remain firmly in.  Ecco Caffe will be moving to Potrero Hill this summer, where it will open a combination café and roastery.  Ecco honcho Andrew Barnett hasn’t released a specific address, but rumors are that the store will be sited somewhere on Mariposa Street.   Ecco is considered one of the country’s top artisan roasters.  While we may sample Ecco’s wares now and again, the View remains dedicated to Farley’s as the community’s cup of choice…Goat Hill Pizza was declared a “Bargain Bite” by the San Francisco Chronicle last month, which is almost better than appearing in Michelin when it comes to attracting more business.  Known for its crisp sourdough crust, Goat Hill has been a neighborhood fixture for 35 years.  Natives may need to share tables with the Valencia Street and Lower Haight crowd for a few weeks…The Hells Angels have apparently signed a lease at the old Carpet Connection on Hudson Street.  

If Not Now, When?

Last month the Westboro Baptist Church, a fringe hate group from Topeka, Kansas, threatened to picket outside Brandeis Hillel Day School, in addition to several other venues, including the San Francisco Jewish Community Center and Lowell High School.  As the school prepared its response, calls and emails of support flowed in from other schools throughout the City, including Potrero Hill’s own International High School.  While the hate group’s protest was stymied at another one of their targets, Stanford University – someone slashed their tires – the show of support from San Francisco students was inspiring.  Let’s return the favor, and stand-up for our kids in the face of threatened massive budget cuts to public schools, which include the cancellation of summer school for junior and high school students, as well as those attending City College.

Ship Shape

The 260,000-square-foot, 62-year-old Building 813 – currently an abandoned warehouse – at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is slated to be overhauled and reopened as a clean-technology incubation campus and United Nations Global Compact headquarters.  The Global Compact is a decade-old joint venture between the United Nations and some of the world’s largest companies that focuses on issues of business and sustainability.  Clean-tech companies could lease small spaces at the renovated facility, adding square footage as they grow.  Renovation is slated to start within the next two years, with a $7.5 million federal grant providing initial funding for the $35 million project.

Baked

The latest jargon in political-speak land is “baked,” which appears to mean intrinsic to a given project or proposal.  For example, community benefits are “baked” into Lennar Corporation’s development plan for the Hunters Point Shipyard; or key renewable elements will be “baked” into negotiations with the San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s Community Choice Aggregation contract.  As long as we’re cooking, how ‘bout baking up some more school funding, greater amounts of open space, and a decent public transportation system…  

Tooth Fairy

Tooth Fairy – a dreadful movie that, like its namesake, should never be seen – prompted pre-adolescents throughout the land to ask whether the alleged nocturnal creature is real.  The View has decided not to deploy an investigative reporter to dig into this potentially explosive parental conspiracy.  But the paper can relate a few of the more insightful theories about what happens to teeth after the Tooth Fairy retrieves them from under thousands of sleep-dampened pillows each night.  There’s a long-standing rumor that the pebble-like sound that’s emitted from spray paint cans when they’re shaken is caused by children’s teeth.  One seven-year-old boy speculated that the teeth are planted into new mommies’ tummies to grow into babies.  And of course there’s the possibility that all that sand on the beach is the worn-down remnants of the billions of teeth collected over the centuries.  This hypothesis dovetails nicely with the Sandman, who comes nightly to sprinkle old tooth dust to induce restful sleep and toothsome growth by children.  And that’s the tooth and nothing but the tooth.

Political Milk

Supervisorial candidates filed their first significant financial reports last month.  Malia Cohen, a consultant at Power Forward Consulting, had raked in roughly $18,500, with View publisher and San Francisco Community Power executive director Steve Moss next highest at about $16,000.  Cohen has qualified for public financing, which means she’s been able to demonstrate that she’s collected funds from at least 75 San Francisco residents.  Eric Smith, who serves as the executive director of Green Depot, and Attorney Kristine Enea had each raised less than $10,000.  Tony Kelly, who works for the San Francisco Symphony, and Lynette Sweet, of HMS Associates, entered the race after the initial financial filing.  With backing from Willie Brown, it’s expected that Sweet will quickly displace Cohen as the lead fundraiser…A District 10 candidate – almost certainly Sweet – is surveying district residents, asking such questions as how satisfied we are with our neighborhood, what we think about Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, and floating the idea of recruiting a professional women’s basketball team to play in a stadium to be built at Hunters Point.  The pollster also want to know our attitudes towards Brown, since, as Sweet’s primary backer, she needs to know how well he plays with district voters.

District 10 Coverage     

With View publisher/editor Steve Moss a candidate for District 10 supervisor this November, the paper needs to find an ethical way to provide needed coverage of the race.  To that end, San Francisco Community Power, also lead by Moss, is soliciting donations to its Neighborhood Newswire initiative, www.neighborhoodnewswire.net, to hire an independent editor and writer to cover the election.  Under this approach the View will publish election-related pieces written by independent editor/reporter without any prior screening.  If you’d like to provide a tax deductible donation to this effort, please send your check to San Francisco Community Power, 2325 Third Street, Suite 344, San Francisco, California  94107.  The View is hoping to launch this effort with the June issue.

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