December 2009Cowell Foundation to Match Library DonationsBy Ben TerrallDespite the bad economy, the S.J. Cowell Foundation remains steadfast in its support of Friends of the San Francisco Public Library (FSFPL), a membership-based nonprofit that helps sustain the City’s library system. Over the last two years FSFPL has facilitated fundraising to furnish and equip the renovated Potrero Branch, with the Cowell Foundation pledging a matching grant for that effort. SFFPL needs to raise $50,000 by December 15 to receive $25,000 from Cowell. The Cowell Foundation also funds BRIDGE Housing, which is working on the Rebuild Potrero project that, according to its website, “plans to replace all 606 existing public housing apartments and integrate additional affordable and market-rate homes into the community along with amenities such as open space, neighborhood services, and retail opportunities” (see related article this issue). According to Lise Maisano, Cowell’s vice president of grant programs, the foundation focuses on “place-based grant making.” The library upgrade is “investing in the long term health and well being of children” in the community. “Over the next several years [Cowell] will look for other grant making opportunities [on Potrero Hill] in our priority areas,” she said. According to Mary Abler, SFFPL neighborhood library campaign organizer, Potrero is one of 24 branch libraries being upgraded to meet Americans with Disabilities and seismic retrofitting requirements. The original two story Potrero library had no elevator, with a single set of public restrooms on the second floor. The renovated branch will be wheelchair accessible, and feature an elevator, family restroom on the ground floor and gender-designated restrooms on the second floor, new windows, higher ceilings, a new teen section, and more shelf space for books. The San Francisco Arts Commission selected a sculpture by Gina Telcocci to be installed at the branch. The remodeled Potrero Branch will also include more computers and wi-fi. The children’s section will have an interactive wall installation – similar to the one at the main branch – to help promote literacy skills. A new atrium and skylight will provide natural light, and a program room will be available for community meetings after-hours. According to Potrero Branch manager Lia Hillman, the new view of the City is gorgeous, extending to the Golden Gate Bridge. Hillman, who currently serves as the temporarily interim children’s room manager at the Mission Branch Library, will return to the Potrero Branch when it reopens this spring. To make a contribution to the Potrero library, go to www.friendssfpl.org or call 626.7512 x107.
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This Month's StoriesSchool District Denies K-8 School at International Studies Academy Campus Kaiser Permanente Floats Revised Plans for Proposed Development City Budget Discussed at Town Hall Meeting Mariposa-Utah Street Neighborhood Association Challenges Development San Francisco Board of Supervisors Hosts Hearing on MTA Parking Plans Smashburger Replaces Blockbuster at Potrero Center on 16th Street Third Street Police Station to be Rented Hill Resident Helps LGBT Seniors SF Shines Brings Façade Improvements to Bayview As Neighborhood Transforms, Bayview-Hunters Point Still Plagued By Trash Bayview Professor Goes to Harvard Dogpatch Wine Bar Gets Trivial Thieves Repeatedly Steal “Safe and Clean Zone” Fence at McKinley Square Frameline37 Film Festival Features Potrero Hill Filmmakers The French Set-up Shop in Potrero Two New Officers Keep the Beat On-going FeaturesPublisher's View: Middle School
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