Pennsylvania Street Gardens Struggle with Urban Ails
Pennsylvania Garden is located at 249 Pennsylvania Avenue, underneath a John F. Foran Freeway off-ramp near 18th street. Pennsylvania Railroad Garden is on the east side of the 100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. Collectively known as the “Pennsylvania Street Gardens” (PSG), the plots suffer from maladies that plague many San Francisco’s parks: pedestrians and dog-walkers…
Farley’s Celebrates 30 Years of Coffee Community
Farley’s, a cozy coffee shop located at 1315 18th Street, was founded by Roger Hillyard after he was unable to find a retailer that sold a glass insert replacement for his broken French press. He decided to open a coffee and tea paraphernalia store, which he named after his grandfather, Jack Farley, who disappeared in…
San Francisco’s Oldest Family-Owned Manufacturer Shifts to Retail-Only
McRoskey Mattress, which had been the oldest family-owned manufacturer in San Francisco, closed its Minnesota Street plant last fall after selling its production and brand rights to Fresno-based Pleasant Mattress. The shift marks a new chapter for the iconic company, which now focuses solely on retail sales. McRoskey was established in 1899 by brothers Edward…
Dogpatch and Potrero Hill Residents Unhappy About JUUL’s Presence at Pier 70
Dogpatch and Potrero Hill residents, along with their neighborhood associations, are unhappy that vaping company JUUL has leased space at historic Pier 70. The nicotine-supplying e-cigarette maker is occupying 8,000 square feet of office space at Building 102, on 20th and Illinois streets. In June, the View broke the news that Orton Development, which is…
San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency Fails to Keep its Promises at Islais Creek
Dogpatch residents are wondering when the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA) will follow through on promises it made when it developed its motor coach facility along Islais Creek, or whether the agency intends to comply at all. When SFMTA obtained permits to build its facility plans called for an accessible second floor viewing area…
The Manufacturing Foundry is Open for Business
The Manufacturing Foundry, a new outpost of the longstanding San Francisco makers coalition, SFMade, and its sister nonprofit, PlaceMade, opened in early 2017 in the Design District. Together, these nonprofits, both of which are headed by Kate Sofis, advise San Francisco manufacturing companies, helping them find affordable spaces, negotiate leases, and, in collaboration with various…
Art Helps Cancer Patients Recover
Since 1988, University of California, San Francisco’s Art for Recovery, an art-making, writing, and music program for adults living with cancer, has helped thousands of patients build confidence in themselves and work toward mental wellness. The series is open to anyone dealing with cancer; participants don’t have to be UCSF patients or even under care…
Mixed Reactions to Election Outcomes on Potrero Hill
Doug North Slope resident Encountered on De Haro Street “It’s too bad Tony didn’t win. District 10 is enormous. We’ll see what happens when Shamann gets into office. I’m hopeful. I hope he’ll be responsive to the northern part of the District. I felt like the last supervisor focused on the southern part of the…
Third Street Bridge Rehab Continues
The second phase of a $25 million Third Street Bridge – more popularly known as “Lefty O’Doul Bridge” – rehabilitation project started last fall, with work expected to continue through early 2020, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Works (SFDPW). Despite the bridge work, pedestrians, bicyclists, vehicles, and kayaks still have access above…
Relive the City’s Greatest Hits at Mission Bay Mini-Golf Course
Last summer, Stagecoach Greens, on Fourth Street, joined Urban Putt, which opened on South Van Ness Avenue in 2014, in offering San Franciscans a miniature golf experience created by San Franciscans. Co-founders Esther Stearns and Jan Cohn Stearns are keeping it local. They can see the course from their house, employ their kids’ friends, and…
China Grapples with its Past, Present and Future, at SFMoMA
Last month marked the opening of Art and China After 1989: Theater of the World, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The prodigious exhibit is littered with three-dimensional objects, videos, maps, paintings, and other items. Setting aside the crisp, white-walled institutional setting, wandering the galleries prompts a feeling of touring a community garage…
22nd Street Caltrain Station Closed on Weekends
Starting last month, the 22nd Street and Fourth Street Caltrain stations are no longer open on weekends. The closings are to accommodate installation of a catenary rail system that’ll allow Caltrain to convert the majority of its line from diesel to electric trains, known as Electric Multiple Units (EMU). Until construction is completed, weekend train…
Students Struggle to Study in San Francisco
According to Inc., San Francisco is the country’s most expensive city. Business Insider recently reported that Northern California is among the most prosperous economies in the world. While this may be great news for young people engaged in the lucrative sectors fueling growth, such as social media, high living costs have made life challenging for…
Jackson Park to Feature Community Center, Elevated Promenade
Earlier this fall, more than 100 people turned out to view a proposed new design for Jackson Park, which features an elevated promenade around the park, community center with rooftop tennis court and adjacent plaza, large public open space at the corner of Mariposa and Carolina streets, restored clubhouse, new picnic area outside the ballfields,…
Cohen to Leave Board of Supervisors at Year’s End
Malia Cohen was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors by a razor thin margin eight years ago. This December, the 41-year-old will be termed out of office, leaving her post as Board president. Her years as District 10 Supervisor will likely most be remembered for the building boom that occurred under her watch,…
Dignity Health Merger Raises Questions
A proposed merger between Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives has raised concerns about access to care for women, transgender, and low-income patients, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Nurses in Dignity’s California hospital system are also worried that the merger could disrupt labor union contracts and job security. At the same time, the…
Parking Prices Add to Pain of Bay Area Living
According to SpotAngels, in 2017 San Francisco had the country’s highest average parking ticket cost – $97.40 – ahead of New York City, with an average price of $71.40. That same year, parking ticket revenues generated South-of-Market produced $11,383,000, the most in the City, with Downtown having the greatest number of tickets levied per available…
San Francisco Schools Continue to be Places of Bullying
A study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics last year found that the prevalence of bullying among fourth to twelve graders declined between 2004 and 2014, while students’ perceptions that adults effectively help stop mistreatment and create a safe school environment rose. The View brought together a group of middle and high schoolers for…
New Student Residences Open at California College of the Arts
Blattner Hall, California College of the Arts’ new 64,000 square foot four-story student residence hall, located at 75 Arkansas Street, began housing scholars last summer. District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen, who also serves as president of the Board of Supervisors, spoke at the Hall’s September 24th ribbon-cutting. “Stable housing is essential for academic success, particularly…
Recology Pushes for Residential Towers to be Built on a Parking Lot
Recology, the firm that collects San Francisco’s garbage, has ambitious plans to recycle a truck parking lot located at 900 Seventh Street into 1,048 housing units, mixed with commercial and industrial space. The project has several hurdles to pass, the largest of which may be that Recology will need to convince the City to rezone…
Halloween and Día de los Muertos on the Southside: Traditions and New Events
For Kids October 27, Mission Bay Parks typically holds a Halloween festival for kids, either at Mission Creek Park or Mission Bay Kids’ Park. October 28, Halloween: 10th Annual Jack O’Lantern Stroll. Costumes Encouraged! Hot apple cider, popcorn and cookies will be provided. Potrero Hill families and friends are invited to bring a carved pumpkin,…
Musician Mat Callahan Explores San Francisco Politics in The Explosion of Deferred Dreams
Musician Mat Callahan was born in San Francisco in 1951, and lived on Arkansas Street, then Vermont Street, between 1969 and 1974. Callahan, who sings and plays electric and acoustic guitar, was a member of The Looters from the early-1980s to late-1990s. The rock band played throughout the City, including at The Fillmore and Bottom…
District 10 Candidates for Supervisor Shed Light on Backgrounds, Campaigns
On November 6, new San Francisco Board of Supervisors will be elected in Districts 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. Six candidates will appear on the ballot in the District 10 race: Uzuri Pease-Greene, Shamann Walton, Asale-Haquekyah Chandler, Tony Kelly, Theo Ellington and Gloria Berry. Neo Veavea is running as a write-in candidate. The candidates…
District 10 Candidates Agree More than they Disagree on Key Issues
Five District 10 Supervisor candidates debated each another in front of an attentive audience last summer, in one of more than a dozen forums likely to take place before this November’s election. The event, held at the Southeast Community Facility, was hosted by the United Democratic, Eastern Neighborhoods Democratic and Willie B. Kennedy Democratic clubs,…