According to Jim Cunha, who was born, raised, educated, and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for most of his 72 years, he and his wife, Maureen, didn’t leave California; California left them. Despite the presence of multiple siblings, children, and grandchildren the Cunhas found it difficult to downsize from their home in Orinda…
Despite the pandemic, Potrero Kids, with campuses in Dogpatch and Potrero Hill, had mostly returned to a normal routine last fall. That changed in January with the Omicron coronavirus variant, which pushed half the staff of about 20 teachers into quarantine. “It’s really the first time that we saw a large number of cases,” said…
It’s no secret that the City has become prohibitively expensive for emerging artists, largely due to its proximity to Silicon Valley and the tech, now biotech, boom of the last twenty-some years. Previously bohemian neighborhoods, such as the Fillmore, North Beach, and Potrero Hill, are no longer affordable. In recent years even established galleries with…
In July 2020 Mayor London Breed announced a goal of getting 6,000 people off the streets within two years as part of her Homelessness Recovery Plan. With roughly six months left on the Mayor’s self-determined objective, just 2,662 housing placements, 44 percent, have been made, though the number may be higher because it doesn’t account…
In December, California College of the Arts’ unionized staff voted to authorize a strike, accusing the administration of unfair labor practices. Jennie Smith-Camejo, of Service Employees International Union Local 1021, told the View that “as of now, there’s not a date set” for a labor action. “Things are still kind of to be determined right…
Mission Bay sidewalks continue to sink, a challenge that could point to greater problems than twisted ankles and scraped knees. “People fall a lot,” said Brian L. who has worked at Cafe Reveille for the past three years. The café, located at 610 Long Bridge Street, is moated by a separated sidewalk edged with a…
Potrero Annex-Terrace residents are concerned that Bridge Housing and the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) aren’t responding to problems plaguing the public housing complex. Among the identified issues are empty units being invaded by trespassers without City response; common areas of recently built Block X, a 70-unit apartment building located at 1101 Connecticut Street, that’re…
The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department’s (RPD’s) renovation of 1.8-acre Esprit Park, located at 19th and Minnesota streets, includes controversial plans to create a partially fenced, partly artificially turfed, dog-friendly zone on the park’s north side. More popular modifications include installation of exercise stations, construction of protection platforms for large trees and planting of…
Potrero Hill residents met over Zoom in October to discuss new designs, public art opportunities, and potentially renaming Jackson Park. Participants generally wanted a greater amount of open space and an American Disabilities Act-compliant community center with interior and exterior bathrooms. There was also support to add a dedicated off-leash dog play area, a larger,…
Mission Bay’s population almost doubled over the past decade. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the neighborhood grew from 9,000 residents in 2010 to more than 17,400 two years ago. What wasn’t long ago a marshy area with few built amenities has emerged as a mixed-income community with parks, open space, multiple dining opportunities, 6,060…
Dogpatch Hub faces an uncertain future after the San Francisco Port Commission rejected a proposal to site the hoped-for community center adjacent to Crane Cove Park at an October meeting. In response to Commission request-for-proposals (RFP) to repurpose the historic Kneass building at 651 Illinois Street, Friends of Dogpatch Hub, a nonprofit whose seven-member committee…
California hosts a largely hidden and fast growing grid of dispersed diesel generators; those low buzzing big boxes located at internet server farms, hospitals, police stations, and, during Outside Lands, Golden Gate Park. In 2018, roughly 6,500 back-up generators, known as “BUGs,” were littered across the San Francisco Bay Area, able to power up a…
San Franciscans have a once in a decade opportunity to influence the political boundaries of their supervisorial regions; what neighborhoods will be clumped together for representation on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. “A board of supervisor will advocate on behalf of their District for resources to be put into their ‘thing,’ whether it be…
Last fall schools welcomed back students for in-person learning five days a week, many for the first time in a year and a half. Potrero Hill parents and their students have largely greeted the return to normalcy with relief. “People are so excited to be back. You feel it from teachers, the principal, parents,” said…
Samuel Thomas is angry. During the public health crisis, the 10-Townsend – a bus line he and other Potrero Annex-Terrace residents relied on to go shopping, travel to medical appointments and get to work – stopped running. “I’m old and sick, I use a walker,” Thomas said. “A lot of us are sick, old. We…
In August, Jude Deckenbach, Friends of Jackson Park (FoJP) executive director, introduced the idea of renaming Jackson Playground at an online meeting of the Potrero Boosters, a neighborhood group consisting of Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, and Showplace Square residents. “We are in touch with Jude and have shared our park renaming policy,” said Tamara Aparton, San…
David Maron was named captain of the Bayview Station last February, after more than 25 years with the San Francisco Police Department. His appointment was made in the wake of a year of civic unrest demanding changes to policing and public safety nationwide. Maron was previously a lieutenant at Park Station on the Westside for…
According to data collected by Civic Hub – a San Francisco incubator for technology projects that improve quality of life – crime incidences have generally declined since 2018. Even before last March’s COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, theft occurrences trended downward over the past three years. Almost one-half million reported crimes were committed in the City since…
Electric vehicle sales in the United States reached a record high last March, with 122,016 EVs sold. According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, that month Americans purchased 75,959 hybrid-EVs, 33,370 battery EVs, and 12,687 plug-in hybrid-EVs. California accounted for almost half of national EV sales in 2021, most of which occurred in Los…
In response to pressure from Dogpatch residents, Amazon will make improvements to the area around 888 Tennessee Street, a two-story industrial building that the almost two trillion dollar company leases to serve as an UltraFastFresh site to deliver groceries. “It looks like we’ll be getting a new sidewalk on 20th Street between Minnesota and Tennessee…
“Accessible” and “customer-driven” aren’t necessarily what come to mind when you think of the retail wine experience. But San Francisco’s neighborhood wine bars—with hybrid retail and dining options—have evolved to become fun and educational gathering places, thanks to a new crop of sommelier founders. Sommeliers, co-founders and owners of DECANTsf, Simi Grewal and Cara Patricia…
Residents are concerned about potential impacts on community cohesion, economic activity, and transportation caused by University of California, San Francisco developments in Dogpatch. Some say UCSF is expanding far beyond its intended footprint when it first moved to Mission Bay. “UCSF made promises to not come south of Mariposa Street when it was granted…
The Play Bocce In Dogpatch league’s inaugural season began in June and runs until mid-August. The league’s eight teams consist of residents of Bayview, Potrero Hill, Mission Bay, and, of course, Dogpatch. Dogpatch resident Adam Gould created the league to bolster the number of neighborhood-based bocce teams. He also wanted to increase the amount of…
A 450-unit residential development proposed to replace a commercial building at 300 De Haro Street has attracted significant opposition. Potrero Hill residents are upset that the apartments would be microunits, as small as 220 square feet. They’re also concerned about the complex’s size: 120 feet high, with 11 stories. “This is not housing. It’s lodging…
Recall SF School Board has gathered more than 20,000 signatures to recall two San Francisco School Board members, board president Gabriela López and Alison Collins, and in excess of 18,500 signatures to withdraw board vice president Faauuga Moliga. “We are recalling the School Board because they have consistently failed to put students first,” said Autumn…