Neighborhood Empowerment A decade ago a coalition of activists, neighborhood and merchant associations, nonprofits, faith–based organizations, foundations and academic institutions launched the Neighborhood Empowerment Network, to inspire San Francisco neighborhoods to become more resilient. Last month, NEN presented its 10th annual award for Outstanding Neighborhood Watch Group to Kansas Street SAFE Association. Dogpatch won the Comeback…
Corovan Last fall, Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ming-mei Lee issued an order that upheld San Francisco Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors approvals for a mixed-use project at 901 16th Street and 1200 17th Street, known as the “Corovan” site. Save The Hill and Grow Potrero Responsibly had argued that portions of the development’s environmental…
Parking A parking space dedicated to handicapped individuals is now available in front of the Potrero Branch Library, with an additional public space for 20th Street shoppers, replacing the two Zipcar spots formerly located there. The change was sparked after Hill resident and former mayor Art Agnos conveyed to San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director…
Endorsement Likely before most District 10 voters are aware that there’s an election, or know who the potential candidates may be, last month Mayor Ed Lee endorsed Board of Education president Shamann Walton for District 10 Supervisor in the November 2018 ballot. “Our City needs leaders like Shamann Walton, who are truly committed to improving…
New Future Kansas Street resident Keith Goldstein predicts that Anchor Brewery’s new owner, Sapporo, will develop the facility into condominiums by 2030. And rumor has it that the now Sapporo employees were asked to sign new job agreements with language stating that they can be fired at any time, for any reason…Potrero Democratic Club president…
Anchor’s Away! Anchor Brewing, which first launched 121 years ago, is being sold to Japan’s Sapporo Holdings Ltd. Anchor Distilling, which produces spirits, such as Junipero Gin and Old Potrero whiskey, isn’t part of the deal, and will become a separate company. Anchor representatives said its beer will continue to be brewed on Mariposa…
Resident Shot Last month, Potrero Hill resident, Jesus Sandoval, headed to the Mission for a night out, according to Rebecca Muzquiz, a friend who spoke with him at her aunt’s house, where Sandoval had been living. “I remember Jesse asking me for hair gel before he went out,” she said, adding that he generally wore…
Business Last month, Dr. Frank Gilson, a local chiropractor, replaced Keith Goldstein as president of Potrero Dogpatch Merchant’s Association (PDMA). Goldstein sold his company, Everest Waterproofing and Restoration, in 2016. He’d taken over PDMA leadership from Philip De Andrade, owner of Goat Hill Pizza, and run it for a dozen years, during which membership…
Elect! The race to succeed Fiona Ma on the state’s troubled tax board got easier for District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen, after former assemblyman Rich Gordon dropped out last month. Gordon was troubled by a damning Department of Finance audit that led Governor Jerry Brown to call for an investigation of the board. The audit,…
District 10 in Play Last month, Shamann Walton, a City native and San Francisco Board of Education president, announced his candidacy for District 10 Supervisor in the November 2018 election. “I’ve spent my entire career fighting to improve our southeastern neighborhoods, and I’m running for District 10 Supervisor to make sure City Hall addresses the…
Looped Last month, the California Supreme Court removed the last legal barrier to a long-planned Muni streetcar ring in Dogpatch, rejecting an appeal by the Committee for Re-Evaluation of the T-Line Loop, which wanted the tracks redirected. The loop will run along 18th, 19th, and Illinois streets, and provide a link to the Central Subway,…
Next Neighbor Former Potrero Hill resident, Edward Lortz, who recently left the Hill after 30 years, is advocating that long-time community members be allowed to remain on social media site Nextdoor even if they live elsewhere. “I have historical knowledge and opinions about Potrero Hill…,” said Lortz. “At least 100 people here know I’ve gone,…
Theater Hits the Road The 10th Street building that theater company, Thrillpeddlers, has occupied since 2004 has been sold, forcing the troupe to vacate the premises by the end of this month. For the past 17 years Thrillpeddlers has performed an annual “Shocktoberfest,” and has had significant success with revivals of many 1970s Cockettes musicals,…
According to The New York Time’s Top Stories – a blog-like screed that can be found on the Internet – U.S. Representative “Nanci” Pelosi has a campaign email address that’s registered with Goat Hill Pizza, “which has made numerous donations to the Democratic Party.” The blog, or perhaps more aptly, blech, identified the email address as…
Homeless Kansas Street resident Sherri Franklin, who leads Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, located on Alabama Street, is one of 10 individuals nominated to be CNN’s Hero of the Year. On December 11, at 2 p.m. West Coast time, she’ll appear live on the network in New York City with Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa and…
Homeless Potrero Hill residents Jennine Jacob and Stacey Randecker Bartlett, along with other San Franciscans angry about encampments in their neighborhoods, pitched tents last month in Civic Center Plaza. The protest followed an incident in which Jacob took her three-year-old son to Franklin Square playground and found a homeless man sleeping in the sandbox; at…
Corovan Lawsuit Save The Hill and Grow Potrero Responsibly have filed a lawsuit challenging the environmental review conducted on the development of 395, primarily market rate, residential units on approximately 3.5 acres at 901 16th and 1200 17th streets. According to the community groups, the City improperly relied on an “outdated” 2008 environmental study from…
Crushed High-technology motorcycle helmet maker Skully’s, a startup located on Third Street, has crashed. The business ceased operations in July, quickly followed by a lawsuit alleging that the company’s cofounders, brothers Marcus and Mitchell Weller, spent thousands of the company’s dollars on a strip club, sports car, groceries, paintings, and rent for their Marina apartment…Restaurateur…
Shot San Franciscan Rayshawn Larue, 48, was gunned down last month on Potrero Hill’s South Slope. Larue was shot and killed while standing between two cars parked along Dakota Street, a half-block from 23rd Street in the Potrero Terrace public housing complex. Neighbors rushed to help the victim; others called 911. Paramedics and police got…
Church Windows At a Planning Commission hearing held on June 2, the St. Gregory’s of Nyssa Episcopal Church, located on the 500 block of De Haro Street, won the holy war it has been waging against The Murphy Trust since January. The church had raised concerns about how a planned condominium project would affect the…
Mac How much macaroni and cheese can Potrero Hill eat? We’re about to find out. After just five months, Dat Spot, on 18th Street, closed and, last month, reopened as Mac Daddy. The cheesy move followed Jocelyn Bulow’s shuttering of Chez Papa Bistrot, shifting Chez Maman into its former space. Mac Daddy’s chef, Brandon Peacock,…
Political Visits President Barack Obama made a fundraising visit to the Arkansas Street home of Steve Phillips, former president of the San Francisco Board of Education, and his wife, the philanthropist and heiress Susan Sandler. Preschoolers waited on the sidewalk to see the commander in chief go by, as did nearby residents. “We were really…
Green Spent on Green Last month, the newly created Green Benefit District (GBD) spent roughly $34,400 to repair and clean seven green spaces in Dogpatch and northwest Potrero Hill: Benches Garden & Park, Minnesota Grove, I.M. Scott Sidewalk Gardens, Fallen Bridges Mini-Park, Potrero Gateway Loop, Progress Park, and Woods Yard. The funds were used to…
Pier 70 Restored The high-end home furnishing retailer Restoration Hardware will move into Pier 70 next year, the sprawling redevelopment project that’s transforming 66 acres of waterfront land east of Dogpatch with 1,000 units of housing, offices and waterfront parks. The Corte Madera-based furniture company, which has a cult-like following in the interior decorating business,…
Family House The Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House opens next month in Mission Bay. For more than thirty years, Family House has served as a home away from home for families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, providing physical comfort and emotional support, free from financial concerns. The Family House is a…