San Francisco artist, Elaine Badgley Arnoux, had a vision after coming across a pile of toilets in her apartment building’s basement; she saw our 45th president sitting on top. Fourteen artists have transformed toilets into pieces reflecting on the state of democracy as part of FLUSH: a Protest Project, exhibiting at the Swedish American Hall,…
San Francisco Police Department Wants Parking Restrictions Around 17th Street Facility
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is considering a proposal by San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Deputy Chief Mikail Ali to permanently designate three blocks of red curbs and “police vehicles only” signs around a SFPD-leased 17th Street building. The facility, home to specialized equipment, and which hosts constabulary trainings, is located between 1700…
10 Townsend Temporarily Rerouted
While the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency doesn’t plan to permanently alter the Muni bus route, 10 Townsend, riders may be impacted by a temporary redirecting due to construction underway on 25th Street between Dakota and Connecticut streets related to HOPE SF. The project, approved in 2017, is steadily redeveloping the Potrero Annex-Terrace housing complex,…
Community Amenities Shrunk at New Islais Creek Bus Facility
The San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA) opened its Islais Creek bus facility last month and, if promises are kept, neighborhood groups hope that the long-neglected area will soon have a landscaped promenade featuring displays honoring the creek’s waterfront labor history. “Going forward a maintenance plan will be executed to ensure this space is welcomed…
Construction of Crane Cove Park May Begin Next Month
Amidst a chaos of construction that includes the University of California, San Francisco Child, Teen and Family Center/Department of Psychiatry Building to the west, the Chase Center to the north and apartment buildings in between, there’s a 9.8-acre parcel along the waterfront that was supposed to have been turned into a park by 2017. Last…
Seniors Clinging to San Francisco, Despite Challenges
Rapid economic growth, which has attracted more residents and commuters, congesting streets, has changed, yet again, the nature of City life. San Francisco’s homeless population remains stubbornly high, with a sense that erratic street behavior has become ubiquitous. Among the many demographics impacted by these vicissitudes are senior citizens, who struggle with age-related health and…
Underground History
History buried for more than a century is regularly discovered during construction projects in San Francisco. Earlier this spring, foreman Mike Handyside led a team removing tons of old bricks to make way for the foundation of a development underway at 16th and Carolina streets. One brick caught Handyside’s eye. Crisply imprinted on it was…
Sixteenth Street Improvement Project to Continue this Fall
Construction will be returning to 16th Street this fall. The work, at the behest of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), will involve widening sidewalks at bus stops and installing boarding islands to make public transportation faster and increase pedestrian safety. Driving the changes, and of keen interest to Potrero Hill residents, is SFMTA’s…
Transit-Only Lane Citations Spike in First Quarter
Initiated by former State Assembly member Fiona Ma – who is now running for State Treasurer – in 2007 San Francisco embarked on a pilot program to examine how to reduce the number of private and commercial vehicles parked or stopped in lanes reserved for Muni buses. The Transit Only Lane Enforcement program was one…
Interstate-280 to Stay Intact, With No Mission Bay Caltrain Station
Proposals to demolish the final 1.2-mile northern stretch of Interstate-280 as part of the development of a new Caltrain station at Mission Bay have been nixed, at least for the moment. The suggestions were floated two years ago as municipal planners studied ways to get trains to the new Transbay Transit Center at Mission and…
Planning Continues for Redevelopment of Potrero Power Plant Site
Plans for the site that used to host the Potrero Power Plant continue to be fleshed-out, with the owners, Associate Capital, soliciting suggestions on how to best develop the parcel. Last spring, Associate Capital principals helped judge the Architectural Foundation of San Francisco’s 49th Annual High School Design Competition, which featured the plant location as…
Food Bank, Rather than Recreational Space, Slated to Occupy Dogpatch Parcel
Add hunger to the list of things that’re booming in the Bay Area. The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, which just purchased a 38,000-square foot facility in San Rafael and plans to expand its 65,000-square foot warehouse on Pennsylvania Avenue, estimates that 29 million meals are missed annually in the City alone. “When we first moved…
Small Grocery Store Planned for Dogpatch
A corner market space is available for lease at 602 Minnesota Street, on the ground floor of a University of California, San Francisco student and trainee affordable housing complex that’s slated to open in a year. UCSF wants the 5,140 square foot space – four times the size of The Good Life Grocery on…
Clay Room Molds Community
On a weekday evening in spring, the Clay Room, located at 17th and Arkansas streets, welcomed visitors with lit candles, hot tea, a plush lounge, beautiful wall accents, and a vibe of a place where people laugh and socialize as they unwind from their day. The Clay Room isn’t a café, bar or yoga studio;…
Drawing Class Fosters Community in Dogpatch
The Dogpatch Center for Arts and Culture’s life and botanical drawing class is attracting residents from throughout San Francisco to learn from different models, a skilled instructor, and one another. Classes run for six weeks, from 6 to 8 p.m., on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, taught by David Tenorio, an artist and assistant manager where the…
Potrero Hill Residents Contribute to DocFest, Frameline Film Festivals
“I moved here because I had a friend who had a spot open up in the house she was living in, and it seemed like such an amazing neighborhood and a beautiful house,” said Laura Green, who has lived on Rhode Island Street since 2012. Green has directed and/or edited five short documentaries: Lady Razorbacks,…
Vermont Street Drug House Finally Shuttered
After years of complaints about loud noises, mounds of trash, screeching cars and random people coming and going, the occupants of 584/586 Vermont street, some of whom were suspected of engaging in illegal drug sales, were evicted, and the home boarded up, last month. Vermont Street residents had spent years discussing what could be done…
Mark Leno for Mayor
We live in a spectacular city. Many of the gifts we enjoy come naturally: topography that creates fantastic coastal views; mild weather; diverse geographies. Others are human made: dynamic, delicious, and abundant food, music, art, theater and cultural scenes. We’re sufficiently wealthy to support more than $10 billion in annual municipal expenditures without much trouble,…
Only One “Healthy Nail Salon” in Potrero Hill
Three years ago, the View reported on the health risks nail products pose to salon workers in the United States, in “Nail Salon Industry Slow to Clip Health Hazards,” July, 2015. Since then, hundreds of salons throughout California have improved their health and safety standards. Known as the “toxic trio,” three chemicals commonly found in…
Legislative Proposal to Usurp Local Land Use Controls Defeated
A controversial State Senate bill, which called for circumventing local land use controls as a means to accelerate housing development, failed to make it through the State Transportation and Housing Committee last month. The legislation is dead this year. Its author, Senator Scott Wiener (D), indicated he’ll introduce a revised proposal in 2019. Senate Bill…
London Breed Pledges to Represent Everyone as San Francisco Mayor
District 5 Supervisor, London Breed, is hoping to complete a narrative in which she rises from a childhood in public housing to Room 200 of City Hall as San Francisco’s next mayor. The 43-year old Breed is one of eight candidates vying to win the June 5 mayoral election. At an editorial board meeting held…
Alioto Vows to be the City’s Neighborhood Mayor
With San Francisco’s special mayoral election to be held June 5, candidates have been running campaigns that focus on differences that set them apart from their rivals. Angela Alioto, a civil rights attorney, former member and president of the Board of Supervisors, distinguishes her candidacy by highlighting her deep City roots. “People know my words…
Citizen Involvement Embedded in San Francisco’s Planning Process
Whether related to demands for affordable housing, better aesthetics, or wider sidewalks, citizen input is an integral part of San Francisco’s building process. While participation slows the pace of development, civic advocates insist that community-molded modifications improves projects. The argument over whether community input is critical to a better built environment or a blunt expression…
Candidates for Mayor Vow to House the Homeless
In his recent “State of the City” speech, Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garrett, stated that “homelessness isn’t an issue, homelessness is the issue.” Candidates to become San Francisco’s next mayor appear to agree. Frontrunners London Breed and Mark Leno have each offered comprehensive plans to end homelessness. Jane Kim has identified a framework with which…
District 10 Residents Vote on Participatory Budget Proposals
Last month, District 10 residents cast votes to decide how to spend $250,000 to improve their neighborhoods. Proposals were compiled by residents at three brainstorming sessions held in 2017 and submitted online as part of a Participatory Budgeting initiative. Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which locals identify and vote on community projects for…