Potrero View 2010: July

public Benefits Delayed in Eastern Neighborhoods

By Sarah Mcdonald

Roughly a year and a half ago, the City re-zoned parts of the Central Waterfront, Mission District, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill, East SoMa and Showplace Square – the eastern neighborhoods – to allow for more housing and mixed-uses in the historically industrial area. In addition, the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan describes the public infrastructure – including parks and streetscapes –needed to sustain projected population increases.

The plan took a decade to develop, and was adopted almost simultaneously with the collapse of the Bay Area’s housing market. During what may be the tail end of the Great Recession, stakeholders are evaluating how well the rezoning is performing. “The pipeline is kind of stalled because of the economy,” said Bruce Kin Huie, a Central Waterfront resident who is a member of the Eastern Neighborhood Community Advisory Council (ENCAC), which advises the City on plan implementation.

ENCAC’s 13 members are ap -

pointed by the Mayor and Board of Supervisors, and live, work, or own property in the neighborhoods affected by the plan. Chris Block – who serves as the Commission’s vice-chair, appointed by District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty – believes that rezoning brought a more balanced approach to development. Letting developers do whatever they want might be cheaper and bring in more tax revenue, he said, but “you might not have created the City you want to live in.”

A 2006 Nexus study found that the population of the eastern neighborhoods could grow by 11,386 people by 2025. According to Tony Kelly, a candidate for District 10 Board of Supervisors, this growth will principally occur in neighborhoods that don’t even have sidewalks or public transit lines. “So what do people do?” he said. “The difficulty has been this part of town is already deficient.”

A portion of the public infrastructure called for in the plan is

see BENEfItS page 10

New Economy Emerges in Dogpatch Historic District

By Bill Slatkin

In the midst of the Great Recession, a new economy – built around concepts like energy independence, green practices, and innovative approaches to health care – is emerging in Southeast San Francisco. Enterprises located throughout the area are transforming vehicles from

channel Street Used as private parking lot

By Sarah Mcdonald

The City and County of San Francisco is losing a potential revenue source from a public street located near the Central Waterfront that’s being used for private parking. Channel Street, which is 628 feet long and runs from Carolina to 7th streets, is fenced off on both entrances, and flanked on either side by private businesses. Rows of Ride the Ducks and Classic Cable Car tour buses, and Budget rental trucks, are parked inside the fenced area. According to Barbara Moy, acting manager for the Bureau of Street Use and Mapping, San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW), the businesses don’t have a permit to park on the street. Mario Balestrieri, manager at San Francisco Mini Storage, which parks Budget trucks on Channel Street, said he doesn’t believe his company has a parking permit. “We’ve maintained

the property and kept it closed,” he said,“because if we didn’t the homeless would move in.” The fence was installed with the City’s permission in 1992 by Moody Property Management to keep out vagrants.

Channel Street “has a history of being leased out for eons,” said Moy. The site has been occupied by private businesses – typically those occupy-

see chaNNEl StrEEt page 11

gasoline dependence to electricity, creating back-to-the-future manufacturing processes, and integrating eastern and western healing modes, among other ventures. Anchored by the University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay medical center to the north, and someday potentially extending to a new green technology center at the former Hunters Point Shipyard, a neglected former industrial zone is steadily reemerging as a node of employment and innovation.

DogPatch Biofuels

DogPatch Biofuels, located on Pennsylvania and 23rd streets, is in its third year as the City’s only retail biofuel station. The facility is a model of modern sustainability, offering a depository for used cooking oil, and pumping vegetable oil-based fuel into diesel powered vehicles.

Those vehicles include the 15 passenger vans operated by Incredible Adventures, an ecologically aware tour company that recently purchased DogPatch Biofuels from founders Michele Swiggers and Robin Gold.

The acquisition enables Incredible Adventures to continue its green and clean practices and “continue to foster this business model as Robin and Michele always intended, “ chief executive officer Jolie Ginsburg said. “This is a great neighborhood.

see Dogpatch page 16

Serving the Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Mission Bay and SOMA Neighborhoods Since 1970

Classic Cable Car tour buses are just some of the private vehicles parked on Channel Street. Photograph by Carla Leshne.

Foodies flocked to Dogpatch last month for the Outside in 5 street food event. More than one-dozen specialty foods were offered by vendors and local businesses, drawing hundreds of locals and others to the normally quiet neighborhood. Photograph by Lisa Tehrani.

pUBlIShEr’S VIEw Truth

By Steven J. Moss

Last school year, a small fire broke out in a first grade classroom at a San Francisco private school. A heat lamp duct taped to a wire hanger broke-off and fell into a nest of chicks – class pets – sparking modest flames, triggering the sprinkler system, killing all the birds. The school’s official story, however, was that most of the chicks survived; a more soothing outcome to elementary school students than a fried chicken holocaust. To protect the teacher’s reputation, blame was publicly placed on faulty wiring, rather than the Gerry-rigged system. School children and parent chatter focused on the chicks that were saved – that is, quickly replaced – rather than death and incompetence.

“…the truth will set you free,” states the New Testament, in John 8:32. But even this oft-quoted assertion is open to interpretation: whose truth? We’re surrounded by halftruths, perceptions, and outright falsehoods, concocted as a means to sooth, manipulate, communicate, and obfuscate. Advertisers boldly announce that our sex lives will improve if we buy their products. Politicians promise us the moon. Even after the bloom of early romance has faded, our spouses are responsible for whispering sweet lies.

Whether the truth is, and should be, told depends on the context. Every civilized man knows that the correct response is a firm “no” when a woman questions aloud whether she looks fat. Donning an expensive new pair of eyeglasses, my wife asked a friend – a skilled salesperson – how she looked. He peered at the spectacles, looked her up and down, exclaimed, “that’s a lovely dress,” and excused himself to freshen his drink.

Politicians are known liars, but the expectation of that behavior is so universal as to almost excuse the behavior most of the time. “Yes we can,” President Barack Obama’s ubiquitous campaign slogan, was both brilliant messaging and an art-

ful dodge. It conveyed an all in this together action towards achieving something…that we want to achieve!

Contrast it with Ronald Reagan’s “It’s morning in America,” with its subtle claim that providence itself is shining upon us simply because we are Americans, like a mother beaming at a newborn baby. Obama’s let’s get to work communitarianism versus Reagan’s let’s kick back and enjoy the sunshine libertarian clarion call. Neither is a lie; neither reflects a clear understanding of reality.

The media, particularly newspapers, are supposed to hold to a higher standard of truth. But even that’s suspect. In its upwards of 28 pages the amount of truth the View can tell is limited, even setting aside equally limited resources to fully investigate a given story. Some truths are hard to tell. In the past this paper has killed “he said, she said” type stories that focused on mutual accusations of bad behavior by community advocates, and decided against reporting on a host of issues, including which seemingly healthy local merchant regularly parks in a handicapped zone, what well-known neighborhood nonprofit has defaulted on City loans, and which lobbyists seem to have which community leaders’ attention. These are hard stories to tell, and, even if accurate, border on needlessly destructive gossip for a neighborhood newspaper.

Still, we depend on honest information sources to make decisions about our lives, whether it’s a friend telling us we have spinach in our teeth, or a politician explaining how to address chronic budget deficits. It can be hard to look ugly straight in the face, whether it takes the form of our steadily warming planet, or too often low student achievement. The truth can make us angry, or sad. And in the end, it may not set us free, but bind us to take action to honestly address the truths that we don’t like. Perhaps that’s where liberation occurs: knowing the truth. And then changing it.

The View and San Francisco Community Power (SFCP) have four interns on staff this summer.

Top photo: Brittany Riddick (top), a junior at Lick Wilmerding High School, is writing articles and using her photography skills for the View. Linda Sun (left) and Thomas Yuen (right) are visiting from Hong Kong Baptist University under the Metropolitan Attachment Program. Sun is helping with SFCP’s Demand Response Program while Yuen is working on varoius newspaper activities. Left: University of California, Berkeley graduate student Jovanna Rosen is also working on SFCP’s energy curtailment program.

McKinley

The community garden adjacent to McKinley Square is being repeatedly tagged with graffiti. And last month someone snipped off some poppy flowers in the garden, most likely in the hopes of using them for a transformative experience. Next time they should do a little research into the medicinal uses of plants before being meaninglessly destructive…May marked the 100 year anniversary of the official naming of McKinley Square – which had been called Buena Vista – by the San Francisco Parks Commission . William McKinley, who died in 1901, was the 25th president of the United States, and most notably presided over the Spanish-American War of 1898.

Economics

Two-thirds of the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) employees earn between $25,000 and $70,000, indicating that the academic institution plays a significant role in providing working class jobs… Salesforce.com Inc . founder Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne will give $100 million to UCSF’s new children’s hospital. UCSF is developing a $1.5 billion medical complex, slated to be open by the end of 2014, including a cancer center, women’s hospital and children’s hospital, which will be called UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital…Last month Moody’s downgraded Trans Bay Cable LLC’s

Short Cuts

submarine transmission line because of delays in commercial operation. The nearly complete 53-mile, high-voltage, direct-current line is supposed to bring 400 megawatts of electricity from the City of Pittsburg to Dogpatch via underwater cables.

It was scheduled to be operational in March, but completion has been held up by problems in the voltage converter units that switch the power back to alternating current.

Those units are part of the substations at each end of the line, which cost roughly a third of the pre-delay estimated $450 million price tag.

Component developer Siemens AG is replacing the problematic parts, and is liable for liquidated damages covering most of Trans Bay’s cost during the delay. The rating agency said Trans Bay’s parent company, SteelRiver Infrastructure Fund, has pledged to pay the rest of the bills through at least September. The project could supply up to 40 percent of San Francisco’s load, eliminating the need for the Potrero Power Plant’s largest unit.

Politics

In response to a Mission Loc@l article that appeared in last month’s paper (“Crowded Race for District 10 Supervisor”) public relations consultant Lynette Sweet contacted the View to clarify that as measured by a poll conducted earlier this year and amount of funds raised she’s the leading candidate in the race. The

David Binder poll apparently indicated that district voters preferred Sweet over other names, with View publisher Steve Moss the next most mentioned candidate. Of course at this point it’s unlikely that more than a tenth of District 10 voters know who is running. Sweet has collected in excess of $50,000 from individual citizens, compared to the more than $80,000 Moss has secured, and the at least $65,000 collected by social networking consultant Malia Cohen, through a combination of private and publicly-financed sources. Other candidates who appear to be steadily raising funds include attorneys Dewitt Lacey and Kristine Enea , biofuels manager Eric Smith, policy analyst Chris Jackson, and magazine production specialist Tony Kelly Enea announced that she qualified for public financing in late May...Letters to the editor in response to articles written by Mission Loc@l and published in the View should be submitted to Mission Loc@l, which will determine whether and in what fashion they should be printed in the paper.

Candidates seeking to assert a statement or opinion about themselves are welcome to advertise in the View. The paper will provide a 50 percent discount on ads for candidates receiving public financing. Those who have rejected public financing or haven’t qualified for it will be charged regular advertising rates, including local discounts.

Shout Out

Peter Linenthal , steward of the Potrero Hill Archives Project, wanted to make sure Lia Hillman, the 20th Street Library Branch Manager was acknowledged for her instrumental help in getting the Archives’ copius records digitalized. Thanks, Lia, for keeping our history alive!’

Restaurant Update

Skool opened in the Showplace East building at De Haro and Alameda streets last month. Their fish-oriented menu includes sustainably harvested catch with international accents...If it’s sushi you fancy, you may want to head to 18th Street, where Rocketfish , the Japanese “tapistro” by Kenichi Kawashima , owner of Blowfish in the Mission, opened in late-June... Got kids? Head down the street to Plow which opens this month for family-friendly breakfast and lunch fare at 18th and Texas streets. Owner Joel Bleskacek , of Ruby Wine fame on 18th Street, is offering sustainably derived, homemade nourishment.

Heavy Metals

Afraid your garden may be giving you more than your daily dose of vitamins and minerals? Jennifer Gorospe, a San Jose State University graduate student and Bayview resisee Short cUtS page 22

Crime & Sa F ety

attack on Bicyclists claims four Victims, two in potrero

By Regina Anavy

On June 4, four bicyclists were mowed down by a driver in a sixminute rampage that extended from 22nd and Harrison streets to 17th and Missouri streets. One of the victims, Potrero Hill resident Rory Madden, was immediately released after treatment. The three other victims – all adult males whose names hadn’t been made public at the time of publication – were hospitalized for several days at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). According to Rachael Kagan, SFGH’s director of communications, the victims, who have all been discharged, suffered broken bones and contusions, and were expected to recover completely.

San Francisco Police Department Lieutenant Lyn Tomioka told reporters that the victims “appear to have been targeted, although we don’t know if the driver knew them or if he just had an issue with bicycles.” The driver crashed and abandoned his vehicle, a Nissan SUV, at 17th and Missouri streets, and ran from the scene, leaving behind his identification. He was arrested after he walked into a police station in the City of Albany to file a complaint that he’d been carjacked in San Francisco.

Four days after the incident David Mark Clark, 39, was arraigned in criminal court with his hands cuffed behind his back. The prosecutor, Elliott Beckelman, requested $4 million bail: $1 million for each victim. The judge, acknowledging the seriousness of the offense – 11 felony counts, including four counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of battery causing serious bodily injury – denied bail.

Outside the courtroom, Clark’s attorney, Brendan Conroy, told reporters, “Obviously my client has mental health issues. He is being held in a psychiatric facility pending finalization of his arraignment.” Conroy acknowledged having “met the defendant before today,” but claimed

he knew nothing more about the case. When asked whether he’d been hired by the defendant or his family, he declined to comment.

“I have no problem with the judge changing my request for bail to no bail,” said Beckelman. “I am anticipating a mental health defense. This is not unusual in cases of overwhelming evidence. The defendant is charged with four counts of attempted murder. He used a deadly weapon with purposeful intent; using a car is just as deadly as any other weapon. There are lots of witnesses, and they will testify.” As for the motive behind Clark’s attack on the bicyclists, “I have no idea. People are curious about this, but when you look at what happened, it’s obvious that this was the conduct of someone who was very angry.” Clark “knew the difference between right and wrong, as there was a purposeful attempt to shift blame by reporting that his car had been hijacked.” On June 17, Clark pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Clark has no prior criminal history or traffic violations. He was working as a tennis instructor in the East Bay, and claimed to be a “master spiritual healer,” who, according to his online promotion, “is a Reiki Master, Priest in the Order of Melchezidek, and Crystal therapist. After an energetic awakening in 2006, David has committed his life to the service of others through healing. He has been highly successful in treating a wide range of ailments….” Clark purported to be a practitioner of Vibrational Energy Therapy and is a member of the Association for Thought Field Therapy. His former landlady referred to him as an “avid bicyclist.”

“We are saddened to hear about this tragic incident; it is a rare occurrence,” said Renée Rivera, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s acting executive director. “The good news is that the rate of collisions is decreasing, and more people are riding bicycles. The City has made improvements along Market Street, for example, where there are special bike

Potrero Hill Crime Statistics

May 23 to June 16

Assaults: 12

Fights: 83

Burglary: 19

Robbery: 4

Shootings: 17

Theft: 21

Vandalism: 21

Other: 53

lanes, painted green and separated from motorists by plastic bollards. There have been no bike fatalities in the City this year, as opposed to one

last year. We encourage bike riders to take the free classes we offer on safe and predictable biking in San Francisco.”

In late-May three families were displaced by a night time fire at an apartment building located on 23rd and Kansas streets. Photograph by Jeremy Regenbogen.

l ack of transparency Dogs c ommunity trust fund

By Lori Higa

In 2007, TMG Partners created a $1.5 million community benefits fund as part of an agreement that enabled the developer to convert 650 Townsend – the brick building adjacent to the Concourse –from business services to offices without having to provide the hundreds of parking spaces that would otherwise have been required under the City and County of San Francisco’s Planning Code. Brokered by Dogpatch-based real estate consultant and community advocate Joe Boss, the Eastern Neighborhoods Public Benefits Trust Fund (ENPBTF) has steadily drawn on these funds to support a number of local nonprofits. However, because of the way the agreement was structured, the Trust Fund’s operations, including the identification of which organizations have received funds, has largely remained secret.

The Eastern Neighborhoods (EN) is a geographic designation created by a decade-long, hotly contested City rezoning plan. The collection of communities that make up EN – Potrero Hill, Showplace Square, Dogpatch, the Central Waterfront and northeast SoMa – sprawls across 2,200 acres, almost twice the size of Golden Gate Park. The Eastern Neighborhoods Plan, approved last year, calls for the creation of up to 10,000 new housing units in the area. The plan was designed to balance

affordable and market-rate housing, and preserve production, distribution and repair jobs (see related article in this month’s View on the front page).

As the EN planning process reached its final stages, the ENPBTF was hastily put together by Boss, with the help of District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell and other community advocates, including then Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association president Tony Kelly. The trust fund took form in a matter of weeks, a timeline forced by TMG Partners and the Mayor’s Office of Housing’s desire to collect the $6.5 million in fees for housing programs it stood to gain from the conversion.

The ENPBTF’s mission is to fund projects with long-term, public benefits in the eastern neighborhoods, and to coordinate planning with the Mission Bay and northeast SoMA neighborhoods. Initial Trust Fund grants were dispersed to Thick Description, a theater managed by Kelly, which has since significantly reduced its operations; the Potrero Residents Education Fund (PREFund), to develop a preschool at Daniel Webster Elementary School; the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House; and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. GreenTrustSF, a nonprofit dedicated to creating and preserving open space along the Central Waterfront, also received funds.

A complete list of grantees is unavailable due to the ENPBTF’s status as a donor-advised fund, as administered by the San Francisco Foundation, according to Boss. Because of its legal designation, information on the fund, its grantees and award amounts is not “public domain,” stated Boss in an email to the View

“The agreement for the ENPBTF established a policy of confidentiality which prohibits the advisors from revealing the grantees or the amounts granted,” Boss explained. “I was brokering the deal because I know TMG partners, and was asked to move this along at the request of [the] Boosters and Dogpatch [associations].” Boss insisted that he didn’t want to serve as an advisor, “but the deal was done. The fund was set up and nondisclosures were signed. If we disclose anything, then TMG Partners could rescind the funds. It was set up that way because that is how San Francisco Foundation sets up donoradvised funds, to keep people from trying to gum up the work.”

The fund’s advisors – selected from a list of 10 individuals considered by the development firm, according to Boss – consist of Boss, a long-time Potrero Boosters officer and Dogpatch Neighborhood Association (DNA) member; Keith Goldstein, president of the Potrero Hill Association of Merchants & Businesses and owner of Everest Waterproofing; and local designer Susan Eslick, DNA’s founder and vice president. Goldstein and Eslick wouldn’t provide comment for this article. “The Fund’s three advisors were chosen by the donors and accepted by the San Francisco Foundation based on their past community involvement, their understanding of development impacts to the area and their known neighborhood advocacy,” Boss said.

In addition to grants of $150,000 to Thick Description, some amount less than $50,000 to GreenTrustSF, $500,000 to SFMTA and $200,000 to PREFund, ENPBTF has provided $14,000 to the 18th Street and Rhode Island permaculture garden, to pay for a tool shed and irrigation system; several thousand dollars to the McKinley Square Park Foundation; and unknown amounts to the Potrero Hill Archives Project, Potrero Hill Neighborhood House and the San Francisco Public Library’s Potrero branch as part of its recently completed multimillion dollar renovation. Boss declined to confirm any of the above-named grantees or amounts.

According to Boss, SFMTA received what appears to be the largest chunk of fund monies “because the greatest potential impact to the area is perceived to be the increased daytime population of the project, and the lack of strong transit service in the area...the donor conditioned that over $500,000 of the funds would... [go] to ongoing transportation planning.” According to Boss, little progress has been made on the SFMTA transit assessment. The View was unable to get comment from the agency before this story went to press.

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is “a type of charitable giving account sold by community foundations and other public grant making charities... by national funds such as the Schwab Charitable Gift Fund, Vanguard and Fidelity,” according to Lucy Bernholz of Blueprint Research & Design, Inc., which provides consulting services to grant-making organizations. “They’ve been around for decades,” explained Bernholz in an email. “Donors like them for several rea-

see fUND page 21

Parking Restrictions Coming to Tennessee Street

By Sarah Mcdonald

for parking restrictions from 23rd to 25th Streets, but was amended to accommodate employees of businesses between 24th and 25th streets who start work at 5 a.m.

According to Scott Wilkinson, who was involved in the petition drive, and lives nearby at Minnesota and 24th streets, occupants of a group of campers and vans that park in the area may be causing problems in the neighborhood.

“Whenever you see the vans move in, things start disappearing and problems start arriving,” he said.

restrictions will give them a better ability to safeguard the area. “We’ve had the support of the San Francisco Police Department on this issue,” said Huie.

The block of Tennessee Street in question has no sidewalk or street lights, and is surrounded by industrial buildings on either side with no doors or windows facing the street. Wilkinson and Huie believe that the environment attracts individuals who are avoiding the police. As the neighborhood steadily becomes more residential, Huie said the problems on the block are becoming more of a safety issue. Tennessee Street is a

block away from the T-line light rail’s 23rd Street stop, which started service in 2007. Last year Huie called the police after witnessing a person he thought was homeless getting beaten on that block in what he assumed was “a drug deal gone bad.”

The petition was approved last month at a public engineering hearing for the SFMTA Sustainable Streets Division. It will be presented at the SFMTA’s August board meeting; the new parking restrictions will be posted if it passes. The board meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at noon, August 3 at City Hall, Room 400.

A block of Tennessee Street in the Central Waterfront may see increased parking restrictions soon. Business owners and residents in the area have petitioned the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority (SFTMA) to restrict overnight parking on the west side of the street between 23rd and 24th streets. If the restrictions are adopted, no parking would be allowed on the block from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., subject to towing. The petition cites “the habitual overnight parking on this street of individuals whom the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) says are meeting to plan and commit illegal acts” as the reason for the restrictions. The petition originally called

“We’ve had wiring on telephone poles stripped,” he said, and bronze caps on the fire plugs on his building have been removed. Wilkinson has seen people with shopping carts full of scrap metal near the vehicles on Tennessee Street. When the vehicles move on, they leave a mess behind, and eventually return. “I feel like that’s their home base,” he said. The City’s 311 Customer Service Center has received 16 calls so far this year about abandoned vehicles at the corner of 23rd and Tennessee streets.

Bruce Kin Huie, who was also involved in the petition drive, and lives at 23rd and Indiana streets, said community members met with the SFPD about the parking issue. He said the police are aware of the problem, and that overnight parking

New Car registrations Suggest economic recovery

New Car Registrations In California Suggest Economic Recovery

New car registrations are typically a harbinger of economic downturns, and an early sign of recovery. When registrations start to fall, so too does gross domestic product. Recently the number of new registrations in California has increased; a possible sign of a thawing economy. One thing registrations don’t tell us is changes in income disparities. It’s likely that the recession has noticeably increased inequality. Graph by Thomas Yuen.

Susan is both your PotreroHill neighbor and Realtor®. With her keen business sense and warm approach to client service, she is at once upscale and down to Earth. Kind of like PotreroHill.

•Prestigious corner home at 20th & De Haro

•Sweeping panoramic view of downtown SF, Bay, and Bridge

•Three bedrooms, two full baths

•Expansive living room with wood burning fireplace

•Exquisitely remodeled kitchen

•Two level one bedroom, one bath apt.

•Two car side by side parking

•www.2000-20thStreet.com

•Ideal family home

•Five bedrooms, two full baths

•Two levels of living space

•Open and light filled floor plan

•Eat-in kitchen

•Laundry room w/washer & dryer

•Superb location to restaurants & shops

•Large flat garden/yard

•Garage with parking for one car

•www.509Connecticut.com

509 Connecticut Street 2000 20th Street

Listed for: $1,695,000

Listed for: $997,500

And with nearly 30 years of San Francisco real estate expertise in the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, and of course her own home base of Potrero Hill, it’s no wonder she’s the first person so many San Franciscans turn to for guidance when they decide to buy or sell property. She’s been at the top of this game for years; when only the best of both worlds will do, call Susan Olk.

Large North Slope PotreroHill Home

Signature North Slope PanoView Home

Photograph by Brittany Riddick.

property owners grapple with rent control regulations

By Sarah Mcdonald

Potrero Hill resident Judy West runs 323 Gallery at 16th and Potrero, where she showcases local artists and sells Dolce Bella Chocolates made by her sister, Audrey. She owns the building where her gallery is housed, and leases the upstairs apartments. West is among a number of small property owners who believe that the City’s rent control laws have gone too far. According to West, rent control hurts small property owners like herself, and prevents renters from becoming homeowners.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted rent control in 1979 in response to skyrocketing rents, in part triggered by Angelo Sangiacomo, a large property owner who significantly increased the rents of roughly 5,000 tenants that year. Under rent control, landlords who own buildings built before 1979 are prevented from raising rents by more than 60 percent of the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with an overall cap of seven percent. The allowable increase for 2010 was .1 percent.

The law also regulates how the costs of property improvements can be passed on to tenants, puts limits on evictions, and stipulates that tenants are entitled to rent reductions if their services are reduced.

Owner-occupied buildings with four units or less were exempted from the ordinance until 1994, when voters approved Proposition I, which folded these buildings into rent control. According to Ted Gullicksen, San Francisco Tenants Union manager, Proposition I was a response to property speculators moving into small buildings in order to raise rents or evict tenants. “We had landlords who were essentially moving from building to building,” said Gullicksen.

Hill resident’s Work Gets National recognition

Tonia Macneil owns a duplex at 20th and Rhode Island streets, living in one unit and renting out the other. She generally supports rent control, but thinks the policy should be amended to protect small property owners. “I think the idea of someone being at the mercy of their landlord is a bad idea,” she said. “But I really believe in equity.” According to Macneil, who is on disability, keeping up with her building’s maintenance and repair issues is challenging. And she questions why she’s lumped with larger landlords. “It seems massively unfair to me,” she said.

While rent control makes it difficult for landlords to evict elderly or disabled tenants, Macneil doesn’t receive similar protections. “I’d like to see consideration given...to the landlord’s ability to live in the property,” she said.

West believes that owner-occupied small buildings should be exempt from rent control, asserting that purchasing property and renting out the other units is a critical pathway for middle-income San Franciscans to become homeowners. “I would never have been able to buy a house by myself,” she said. West blames rent control and the City’s high tenant population for what she believes is San Francisco’s low-quality housing stock. “Most of the voting people in San Francisco don’t have a vested interest in their property,” she said.

Gullicksen disagrees, believing that rent-controlled building owners have incentives to improve their property. Housing upgrade costs can be passed on to tenants, while the property owner gets the benefit of increased property value, as well as a tax write-off. “The housing stock here is very high quality relative to other cities,” he said.

owns several rental properties, and is a Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute board member.

“What began as a way to level the playing field has been tilted,” he said. “All the burden has shifted to the landlord.” According to Noelke, the rent ordinance has become too complicated for many small property owners to wade through. While it’s easy for a tenant to file a complaint with the San Francisco Rent Board against an unfair landlord, he said, it’s more difficult for a landlord to evict a tenant suspected of breaking the law or being a nuisance. “I think the rent ordinance ought to be looked at as something that could help both the landlord and the tenant,” he said.

Gullicksen disagreed, asserting that in relationships between landlords and tenants, “it is generally the consumer, or the tenant, who is in need of protection.”

West pointed-out that rent control applies to tenants regardless of income level, which she says is

unfair to lower-income newcomers to the City who have to pay higher rents. “Someone earning $300,000 can keep a subsidized apartment in the City while owning homes or other property, placing an unfair burden on small property owners who provide the majority of rental units in the City,” she said. She believes rent control drives up the rent for market-value apartments because it decreases the supply of available housing. But according to Gullicksen high rents in the City are more a result of the demand to live in San Francisco. “The market determines if the rent goes up,” he said.

Macneil believes that rent control should be evenly applied across the City’s building stock. Older buildings, she said, are more likely to be owned by people with lower incomes. If they are subject to rent control, newer buildings should be too. “If I had my druthers,” she said, “I’d say I’d like to see all rental units required to be under rent control.”

Potrero Hill resident Bob Noelke

Real Options for City Kids, whose executive director is Potrero Hill resident Curt Yagi, was featured on the Today Show on June 21st. Check it out at http://today.msnbc. msn.com/id/37817545/ns/today.

Maureen DeBoer Your Neighbor Bringing Good Neighbors to Potrero Hill

Vermont cleaners goes green

By Flavia and Lucia Purpura-Pontoniere

used in dry cleaning. Perc poses risks to environmental and public health. Excessive exposure to the chemical can damage the liver, kidneys, and respiratory system; topical contact can irritate the eyes and skin. Perc contaminates water and soil, vaporizes into the air, and lingers in the clothing it “cleans.”

“California was the first state to require a phase-out of most toxic dry cleaning technology,” said Raphael.

In 2007, the California Air Resources Board approved regulations to eliminate the use of perc over a twenty year period. Under the rules, dry-cleaning machines that rely on perc and that are 15 years or older must be scrapped as of this month. Younger machines are to be retired when they turn 15.

ly. Since professional garment cleaning doesn’t rely on hazardous chemicals, it poses no threats to the soil or water. It is also benefits dry cleaning workers because they spend less time around harsh, toxic chemicals. “There is a big difference between traditional dry cleaning and what we do,” said Benson Xu, Vermont Cleaners’ owner. “That difference can be identified just by smelling the clothes. When a piece of clothing has been dry cleaned, you can smell the chemicals in it. With our system, it smells fresh, no chemicals.”

Founded 11 years ago, Vermont Cleaners made the switch to green last spring, becoming the second drycleaning service in the City to make

the change. “Other dry cleaners have signs that say organic, but they are not one hundred percent green,” said Xu. Dry cleaners that advertise themselves as organic often still rely on toxic chemicals. For example, perc is classified as organic. “It has organic compounds, so it can be called organic,” said Raphael, “but it’s like calling gasoline for your car organic.”

The San Francisco Department of the Environment provides a partial rebate to dry cleaners that switch to professional garment cleaning, to help pay for the necessary machines. “We believe that once San Francisco consumers are aware of the benefits of professional garment cleaning, they’ll jump all over it to support it,” said Raphael.

Local Gardens Grow Library Funding

“Dry cleaning” is misnamed. Traditional dry cleaning is actually wet, involving dipping “garments into petroleum-based solvents,” according to Debbie Raphael, the San Francisco Department of the Environment’s (SFDE) toxics reduction and green building program manager. However, an eco-friendly alternative to traditional dry cleaning has been adopted by two San Francisco dry cleaners, one of which, Vermont Cleaners, is located on Potrero Hill. Perchloroethylene – “perc” – is the most common chemical solvent

“Perc owners need to declare what machine they’re going to switch to,” said Raphael. “The SFDE wants former perc owners to switch to professional garment cleaning because it is the most environmentally friendly.”

Under the professional garment cleaning approach clothes are washed in water with biodegradable detergents, with computers precisely controlling the wash and dry cycles so that delicate fabrics and fibers –such as silk and cashmere – can be cleaned without damage. Vermont Cleaners uses Aktiv, a detergent which includes three enzymes to eliminate a range of stains efficient-

Benson Xu outside his shop. Photograph by Brittany Riddick.

The Hidden Gems Garden Tour, a self-guided look at ten private and three community gardens located on Potrero Hill and Dogpatch, raised $4,000 in May for the newly reopened Potrero Library. To date the branch has achieved 70 percent of its fundraising goal. Contact Mary Abler for more information or to make a donation: mary.abler@ friendssfpl.org; 626.7500. Photograph by Joseph Schaller.

“Dogpreneur” Becomes Latest Career Trend

By Caroline Jaffe-Pickett

There’s a memorable scene in the 2005 movie In Her Shoes, in which a stressed-out Toni Collette quits her job as an attorney and becomes a carefree dog walker. While this career transition may have shocked audience members five years ago, it wouldn’t today. Dogs, dog walkers, dog trainers, dog spas, doggy daycares are state-of-the-art in pet chic.

The City is home to more than 150,000 dogs, according to San Francisco Animal Care and Control Agency (SFACC). An online search shows more than 200 dog walking and doggie care businesses in San Francisco reviewed by Yelp, with nearly 500 dog-related services posted on Craigslist. Like 1980s-era hair salons, cute monikers abound in the four-legged services business, with names like Way of the Woof, Fur Out, and Fetch in the City.

“It used to be just a handful of us dog walkers, and we all knew each other,” said Nancy Stafford, codirector of ProDog, a community of professional dog walkers and trainers in San Francisco, and a dog walker for the last 20 years. “Now you get a lot of people from all walks of life, full-timers as well as those looking to make just a side income. And it’s not just about the economy or people leaving their desk jobs. This growth was being seen anyway.”

Dog walking offers former nineto-fivers a flexible schedule and

decent living, while providing freelancers a way to make extra cash on the side. Rates range from $15 to $25 per dog for an hour’s outing, with higher prices for swanky options like playgroups, boarding, grooming and behavioral training.

With most dog walkers leading at least two outings a day, the income can addup. And dog walking appears to be recessionproof. A report earlier this year on CBS-5 highlighted a marketing executive who lost his business, turned to dog walking, and quickly topped his previous salary. Profiles of other “dogpreneurs” show them making as much as $100,000 a year.

Outside of general guidelines issued by the SFACC - not walking more than six dogs at a time, for example – no formal credentials are required to become a dog walker. SFACC, however, won’t allow a dog walking service to be listed with

them unless they comply with a number of requirements, including having a current dog license and identification attached to each animal, verification of current vaccinations, and to clean up all feces left by the dogs, among other items.

“Only 20,000 to 30,000 dogs are currently licensed, while there are 150,000 to 200,000 dogs within the City’s borders,” stated Elton Pon, who is Recreation and Parks’ public information officer “People get confused about licensing,” Stafford said. “It’s the rabies shots that are required, and they confuse that with the license.”

Despite these guidelines, opening shop can be as simple as posting an advertisement. According to Charlie Castaneda, a professional dog walker for more than a decade in the Potrero Hill and South Beach areas, and owner of A Girl And Your Dog, services are becoming increasingly sophisticated and dog owners more savvy. “When I started, this was mostly a cash business, and no one worried about protections on either side. Now, it’s standard for every business to be registered, insured, and bonded. The overhead is much higher than in the past, but so are the standards of care. For example, I offer very high-end organic food to my boarding clients with an option for an all-raw food diet during their stay.” Castaneda previously worked constructing interiors for Urban Outfitters stores, and taught art until two years ago. “I enjoy the flexibility of owning my own busi-

ness,” she stated. “It’s always going to be harder then working for someone else, but it’s worth it.”

“There should be a professional body overseeing dog walkers,” stated Emma Clarke, owner of Pawsitive Tails in Potrero Hill, which offers dog walking, pet sitting, and training services. According to Clarke, who has a certificate in applied animal behavior from the University of Southampton, as well as a degree in Neuroscience, “anyone with a truck and a bit of charisma can set up a dog walking business, which can become quite successful quickly.”

Popular Southeast San Francisco parks for dog walkers include Esprit Park, McLaren Park, and Bernal Hill. As a result of intensive dog use, some parks have experienced a degradation of grasses and an overabundance of lingering fecal material, despite the threat of hefty fines for off-leash dogs and improper clean-up.

“The issue is not the degradation, it’s the lack of space to begin with,” Stafford countered. She added that attempts to legislate dog walking rules and offer increased protections for dog walkers and owners have been attempted for the past decade. “Dog owners/walkers believe that their dogs need green open spaces to be able to run their dogs off-leash. Park users feel their experience is negatively affected by heavy concentrations of offleash dogs,” said Pon. He added that a Dog Play Area Master Plan is being developed, with particular attention to designated off-leash areas

“San Francisco has a huge dog population,” said Clarke, “and Potrero Hill is no different. It has the advantage of having a couple of parks in the neighborhood, and is close enough to the freeways to make going to Mclaren Park and Fort Funston feasible for most people. As far as I know, neither of the local parks allow dogs to be off leash, although they usually are.”

Proud sponsor of these and other Potrero Hill Events: Potrero Hill Festival / Friends of Potrero Library Bands for Books / the NABE’s Blues, Beer & BBQ

BENEfItS from front page

expected to be funded by developers, who will be assessed $8 to $16 per square foot for residential development, and $6 to $14 per square foot for commercial space. Fee levels are determined by building heights, with lower fees assessed on affordable housing projects.

Fee revenue will be placed into a Community Benefit Fund, and used to help finance parks, recreational facilities, affordable housing, transit, streetscape improvements, and community facilities, such as childcare centers and libraries. According to Block, it’s hard to predict how much money the fees will bring in. “It’s all hypothetical at this point,” he said. “It’s all dependent on future development.”

In May, the Board of Supervisors passed a measure to enable developers to defer 80 percent of the impact fees that would otherwise be assessed in the eastern neighborhoods, as a means to spur construction during hard economic times. Rather than paying the required fees upfront before receiving a building permit, developers can wait to pay the bulk of these charges until after construction has been completed.

According to Kelly, the policy could delay payments by three to five years. Developers who choose to defer will be required to pay interest for the period in which the fees would have otherwise been paid. The legislation, proposed by the Mayor’s

office, originally called for an option to defer 100 percent of the fees, but was amended to create some revenues to support public benefits projects. Kelly said this was an important compromise, but expressed disappointment that the fees will be deferred at all. “What’s still a problem is the fact that the plan still isn’t fully funded,” he said.

But according to Tim Colen, the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition’s executive director, deferring the impact fees could trigger development in the eastern neighborhoods that would otherwise not occur. “You don’t build the park benches and street lights before the housing,” Colen said.

In addition to a bad economy and fee deferral, other factors could muffle the amount of fee revenues generated in coming years. The plan allows developers to enter into in-kind agreements, creating their own community infrastructure in lieu of paying fees. One of these agreements, approved by the San Francisco Planning Commission in April, waived $1.9 million in estimated fees to be assessed on the Martin Building Company in exchange for construction of a childcare facility at 2235 Third Street, a 1.25 acre Dogpatch development that will include 179 rental units, as well as restaurant and retail space. According to Kelly, these agreements are dangerous because they enable developers to decide which public benefit projects get done. “You want to have the people in charge of where stuff goes,” he

said.

There’s broad agreement that fee revenues alone will be insufficient to pay for needed infrastructure, prompting a need to identify other funding sources. The Eastern Neighborhood Infrastructure Finance Working Group, which consisted of representatives from different City agencies, recommended forming an Infrastructure Finance District (IFD) and a Community Finance District (CFD) to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last year. Under an IFD, which would require a two-thirds vote of affected developers, projects would be funded through the expected property tax revenues generated by new development in the district. A CFD would allow property owners to voluntarily vote to increase taxes to pay for public benefit improvements.

According to Adam Van de Water, Assistant Director of the Capital Planning Program at the Office of the City Administrator, and a member of the working group, existing

residents will benefit from public improvements, and should share the cost. “You have to be a little more creative with your financing strategies so you can share the burden with many different parties,” he said.

In an opinion piece published in the View’s May issue – “Dense” – the paper’s publisher and another District 10 Board of Supervisors candidate Steve Moss called for a realignment of local, state, and federal infrastructure spending towards expected growth areas, like the eastern neighborhoods. “The City, and the region, is pushing higher density development into Southeast San Francisco as a means to help solve a host of problems: affordable housing, traffic congestion, polluting air and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Moss. “If we’re going to solve the region’s problems they need to solve ours.”

The Eastern Neighborhood Community Advisory Council meets monthly at the Planning Department.

Donation Based Yoga At Divine Essence

In April 2010, Potrero Hill’s Divine Essence Yoga, celebrated its first birthday and officially became a predominantly donation based studio. The founders of Divine Essence are Integral Yoga trained instructors and thus come from a lineage tradition that emphasizes selfless service (Karma Yoga). In keeping with their commitment to serve the community and make yoga more affordable, 95% of the classes are by donation.

TuesdayLauraHatha 9:00amBy Donation

Tuesday Goldenhawk Lunch time Flow12:00pmBy Donation

TuesdayDanielHatha 6:45pmBy Donation

WednesdayPninaKripalu 9:00amBy Donation

WednesdayGinnyHamsa 6:30pmBy Donation

ThursdayMelanieHatha 9:00amBy Donation

Thursday Goldenhawk Lunch Time Flow12:00pmBy Donation

ThursdayPninaYoga & Sound7:00pmSliding Scale $10-$15

FridayAnneYin Yoga9:00amBy Donation

SundayMarilynPre-Natal10:30amSliding Scale $10-$15

ing the adjacent land, which is currently owned by Ledlie Inc. – since 1945. But the last permit Moy could find authorizing parking on the street was from 1965. The companies using the street now are doing so without paying permit fees, and the permit for the fence has expired. “Why isn’t [the money] going to the City?” Carla Leshne, an 888 7th Street resident, asked. “Somebody should collect the back rent.”

Last year Norcal Waste Systems, now Recology SF, acquired half of Channel Street from the City in exchange for a plot of land adjacent to Little Hollywood Park, splitting the 100 foot wide street down the middle. According to Robert Reed, Recology SF’s public relations manager, all of Recology’s trucks are parked on their own land. Leading up to the land swap, community groups had advocated that Channel Street become a park. Instead, Hooper Street, from 7th to 8th, is being considered as potential green space by the Planning Department.

Leshne was disappointed with the land transfer, but believes that what’s left of Channel Street has potential to serve as beneficial public space. The formerly industrial neighborhood is being steadily transformed into residential developments, including Leshne’s building, where 224 units

were completed in 2008. The neighborhood is short on sidewalks and other walkways. “There’s still enough area to improve and make it a good space to walk through,” she said.

Moy said her department will notify the businesses parking on Channel Street that they need to apply for a permit. If approved, they would pay the City a negotiated rate for parking, and to maintain the fence. Ten years ago DPW sent a similar notice to Moody Property Management, who managed the adjacent land at the time. The company didn’t respond, and the City dropped the issue. Moy said the department will follow through this time.

Moy is also open to dedicating the space to another use. “If people want this opened, we can certainly look into getting it opened,” she said. But Reed said if that happens he hopes the City will maintain the area. He pointed to problems with dumping, vandalism and theft, with fenced-off streets a common solution. “A lot of the landowners end up bearing the brunt of the City’s shortfalls,” he said. “I could see why the streets were closed off.” Leshne agreed that the street should be further developed to turn it into a public walkway. “Just opening the gates, I don’t know what that does,” she said. Moy plans to consult with Planning Department staff about Channel Street’s future.

Steady Flow of Newcomers Call Potrero Hill Home

By Jaemee Wenthe

My husband, Mat, and I moved to Potrero Hill earlier this year. “I knew we wanted to live on the east side of the City because it’s an easier commute to Mountain View,” Mat explained. He works as a search and rescue helicopter pilot for the California Air National Guard at Moffett Air Field. Scouting out potential neighborhoods by train, he arrived at Potrero Hill via the 22nd Street stop. “I just started walking up the hill and the views were amazing,” he recalled. Now we’re able to enjoy those views from our apartment’s roof deck, across the street from the Potrero Hill Recreation Center.

Potrero Hill’s convenient access to 280, 101, Caltrain and its proximity to the Bay Bridge made it an easy decision to live here. This fall I begin graduate school for nursing anesthesia at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland. Mat and I thought the Hill was a fair commuting compromise. I haven’t decided on my transportation strategy, but Mat is already tired of the drive to MountainView. He often takes the train and enjoys it, but still relies on driving due to his schedule’s variability.

Potrero Hill’s location drew us in, but the people in the community convinced us to stay. We’ve happily met neighbors that have already become great friends. We take turns BBQ-ing, dog-walking and apartment-sitting. We stroll down the street for coffee at Farley’s, dinner at Sunflower, or beer and live music at the Connecticut Yankee. “Potrero Hill is an ideal neighborhood,” Mat concluded.

Potrero Hill’s location was also a big draw for Chris and Amy Hansen. “We moved here in April of 2009. I previously worked in Silicon Valley, and I thought it was a fairly easy

commute to jump on 280/101. Now I have a 10-minute walk to work.” explained Amy, who is corporate counsel for Topspin Media, located at 17th and De Haro streets. “The walk home up some of the steepest hills in the City keeps me in excellent shape for hiking in Marin!”she added enthusiastically.

Chris also enjoys his non-commute. He runs Bricks and Mortar Media, a South-of-Market start-up that produces and streams audio/ video content of independent musicians (www.bamm.tv). A short drive down the road and he’s at work, doing what he loves.

The Hansens, who live on Wisconsin Street by the firehouse, say that they’re staying on the Hill. “When we first moved here, we knew it was a hidden gem, with weather rivaled only by the views,” said Amy. “But Potrero Hill has deep roots, and having been here for a year, I feel like we’ve just scratched the surface. When people move to the Hill, they plan to stick around and they usually do. It shows, because people in this neighborhood are really invested in the community. They take the long view on issues and advocate for them, unlike other neighborhoods that might be swayed by electioncycle issues.”

Neb and Una Sebovic live on Wisconsin, up the street from the Hansens. Proximity to Caltrain attracted the Serbian couple to Potrero, who both worked as software engineers in Mountain View when they bought their Hill home. But now Neb takes Muni to work everyday,“That was one of the big perks when I started working for Google,” explained Neb. “It’s an easy Muni trip to work everyday.”

The Potrero Kids at Daniel Webster Preschool celebrated their graduation on June 23rd. There were 22 graduates of which 13 will enter Kindergarten at Daniel Webster Elementary School this fall. Congratulations to Ana Louisa, Annabel, Anthony, Becky, Bruno, Caroline, Elizabeth, Elliot, Jake, John Haley, Judah, Mia, Milo, Moss, Natalia, Peter, Ruemer, Sadie, Viktoria, Walter, Ximena and Zein!

Weighing in at seven pounds and just shy of twenty inches, Kai Lin made an unexpectedly early appearance on May 17. Nevertheless, he was lovingly welcomed by Mom, Dad, Maya, and Toast! The View is delighted to publish local kids’ birthdays, accomplishments, and milestones. If you’d like to submit an image and/or caption, please email it to graphics@potreroview.net by the 18th of the prior month. High resolution photos, please!

Ava and Bettina Curletto, age five, graduated from preschool in June! They celebrated with family and classmates with a commencement ceremony where they announced their ambitions for the future. Ava wants to be an artist, while Bettina hopes to be a teacher. Armed with brand-new backpacks, they’ll be attending Kindergarten in August.

Happy (belated) fifth birthday to Annabel Bay Bartlett. You are our sunshine! Love, Mama, Daddy, Henry and Black Kitty.

ST. LUKE’S

Learn more about your new proposed community hospital!

Meet and talk with the St. Luke’s revitalization team about architecture, landscaping, sustainability, construction management, and patient services.

Saturday, July 10 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

St. Luke’s Campus 3555 Cesar Chavez San Francisco

SponsoredbyCaliforniaPacificMedicalCenter Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact Frieda Edgette at edgette@barcoast.com or (415) 364-0000.

REUNIÓN SOBRE EL CAMPUS DE ST.LUKE’S ¡Aprenda más sobre su nuevo hospital comunitario propuesto!

Conozca y platique con el equipo de revitalización de St. Luke’s sobre la arquitectura, las áreas verdes, la sostenibilidad, la administración de la construcción, y los servicios al paciente.

Sábado 10 de Julio

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Campus de St. Luke's 3555 Cesar Chavez San Francisco

PatrocinadoporCaliforniaPacificMedicalCenter

Se ofrecerán refrigerios.

Para más información, contacte a Frieda Edgette en edgette@barcoast.com o al (415) 364-0000.

454 San Bruno Avenue

co mm un it y CALENDAR

Through July 10

theater: Blackbird: Honoring a Century of Pansy Divas

in the aftermath of foreign occupation. Thursdays through Saturdays 8 p.m.; Sundays 5 p.m. Tickets: $15 to $25 sliding scale. Thick House, 1695 18th Street. Information: www.asianamericantheater.org.

July 4

community: farely’s annual Safe and Sane fireworks Show

Join in Farley’s annual Independence Day block party with the best fireworks Potrero Hill has to offer. Live acoustic soul music by local Rob Garner and Paul Griffiths. Appropriate for all ages. Music starts at 7:30 p.m. and fireworks at dark. Free. 1315 18th Street.

July 6

Music: the Melee Brothers

Potrero Hill resident Seth Eisen performs in Blackbird: Honoring a Century of Pansy Divas. 8 p.m. Tickets: $20 to $25; http://www.brownpapertickets.com/. Mama Calizo’s Voice Factory, 1519 Mission Street.

July 1 through 17

theatre: Beijing, California

Presented by the Asian American Theatre Company, Beijing, California is about the invasion of America by China in 2050 following a series of natural disasters and financial meltdowns that lead to America’s collapse. Focused on characters and stories in the Bay Area over a span of 50 years, the production discovers what can happen to American values

Spend your evening listening to Rob Garner on bass, Jinx Jones on guitar and Chip Trombley on drums playing Miles, Montgomery, Pickett, Brown, Bland and others, and help celebrate the Dalai Lama’s birthday. 8 p.m. Free. Farley’s, 1315 18th Street.

July 9

art: anna rather Exhibition Farley’s hosts a reception for its artist of the month, Anna Rather. 7 p.m. Free. 1315 18th Street. Information: annarathersfineart.weebly.com.

July 13

community: Labor Storytelling in the New Depression

Farley’s presents storytelling by the LaborFest Writers’ Group, featuring Keith David Cooley, Susan Ford, Adele Kearney, Phyllis Holliday,

Jerry Path and Alice Rogoff, along with musicians Margaret Cooley, Mary Huber and Eric Shackelford, in a dialogue of spoken word and music exploring today’s workforce. Open mic to follow with your labor stories, poetry, music and songs. 7 p.m. Free. 1315 18th Street. Information: Susan Ford, 407.4297, suford@earthlink.net.

July 18

Music: watcha clan with charming hostess

Presented by the Jewish Music Festival in association with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Watcha Clan’s nomadic sound blends Berber, Algerian, Sephardic, Ashkenazi and French traditions while Charming Hostess brings its own array of Jewish, African, Pygmy and Andalusian inspired tunes. The evening will take you on a musical journey around the world. 8 p.m. Tickets: $25 general admission. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street, at Third. Information: www.ybca.org.

July 17 and July 18

performance: Made from Scratch

In its third annual showcase, San Francisco jazz troupe Scratch 4 Bloomin’ presents their newest performance, choreographed by Saki Suto. 8 p.m. Tickets: $20. CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission Street. Information: www.counterpulse.org.

July 17

art: Night light - Multimedia garden party

SOMArts premieres the new 3-D film by Kerri Laitala titled Afterimage: A Flicker of Life, with soundtrack by musical star Wobbly. A special collection of local film installations and video art from Oddball Film archivist and director Stephen Parr will also be screened. The evening will conclude with a performance by Ajna Lichau and Bryson Hansen called 100 Songs, in which both artists perform while wrapped in cassette tape. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. SOMArts, 934 Brannan Street. Information: www. somarts.org.

community: 40 trees for Dogpatch

Friends of the Urban Forest has 40 trees available to plant on the sidewalks of Dogpatch. For $75 per tree they’ll take care of the City permitting, cut the concrete, organize the community tree planting day, teach you how to take

July 2010

newest addition to the neighborhood for 18 months. Attend a meeting on the 17th to learn more. 4 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous, 699 22nd Street.

July 18

Music: president’s Breakfast

President’s Breakfast is hailed as a collective of some of the Bay Area’s most talented Jazz and Funk musicians. 2 p.m. Free. Farley’s 1315 18th Street.

July 21 and July 22

performance: Bridge Builders and Other Unconventional Women

Flyaway Productions presents the young women participating in its summer apprenticeship program. Ranging in age from 14 to 20, the apprentices will dance on flying 2 x 4s and present their own choreography. 7 p.m. Tickets: $6 to $12. CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission Street. Information: www.counterpulse.org.

July 24 and July 31

theatre: Three Wolves and a Lamb With the Playwright Festival happening right in our backyard at the Thick House, considering checking out Yussef El Guindi’s Three Wolves and a Lamb The play is about Rachel and Idris, a Jewish and Palestinian married couple who convene a meeting with their peace-activist friends only to discover personal revelations that threaten to destroy their relationship. 8 p.m. on July 24; 4 p.m. on July 31st. Tickets: $15. 1695 18th Street. Information: www. playwrightsfoundation.org.

July 24

Spirituality: Kriya Master Yogiraj Sat gurunath Siddhanath

Himalayan Kriya Master Yogiraj SatGurunath Siddhanath visits the Bay Area to discuss life from an enlightened viewpoint and share his mission of Earth Peace through Self Peace. 7 to 11 p.m. $20 donations requested. St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church, 500 De Haro Street. Information: www.hansa-yoga.org.

July 29

Music: the randy craig trip

Bay Area legends Terry Haggerty, guitar Randy Craig, Steven Strauss and Peter Tucker perform a night of Jazz originals, standards and improvisation at Farley’s. 8 p.m. Free. 1315

Dogpatch from front page

We’re very happy to be part of it.” said the company’s president, Brian Deninger.

According to manager Joe Marlin, the station has been pumping from seven to ten thousand gallons of biofuel monthly, with a recent marked increase, as more dieselpowered vehicle owners discover a way to fuel up without buying a petroleum product. BP’s Gulf Coast oil spill has also been good for Dogpatch Biofuels’ business. “People have told me they used to come here just when it was convenient; when they were in the area. Now I’m hearing customers say that because of what happened in the Gulf, they make it a point to buy biodiesel,” Marlin said.

“It’s not a matter of vegetable oil coming in on one side [of the station], and going out the other as fuel,” Marlin pointed out. There’s an intermediate process, conducted by specialized facilities, that converts vegetable-based oils to B-100 biofuel. “I’ve been in fleet management for many years and it used to break my heart a bit to send vehicles out to pollute the air. It’s great to know ours are running so clean,” said Marlin.

Green Gears

Another campaign to wean vehicles off petroleum is being waged less than a half mile from Dogpatch Biofuels. At Green Gears technicians install lithium ion batteries in Prius automobiles to shift the electricgasoline balance towards electricity.

Green Gears uses hymotion 123, one of several conversion technologies, to increase fuel economy and reduce harmful emissions. It’s the only approach that doesn’t compromise an automobile’s ability to meet federal crash-test standards and emissions requirements.

Green Gears emerged from Pat’s Garage, located at 24th and Indiana streets. An entrepreneur more than a mechanic, owner Pat Cadam has been learning and teaching the latest automotive technologies for a quarter-century. “My shop was the first one in San Francisco to

fishing for catfish on the Mississippi with Grandpa and Grandma.” Cadam recently helped San Francisco City College secure a half-million dollars of Federal Stimulus Act money to train students in electric vehicle technology. The resulting curriculum is available to independent auto garages, as well as the crew responsible for maintaining the City and County of San Francisco’s fleet of hybrid and electric cars.

Cadam established Green Gears – a partnership he founded with Nick Rothman, an engineer he met at Farley’s – to modify hybrids so

ers to operate their vehicles in the most fuel-efficient manner. “The brilliant thing Toyota is doing is teaching people how to drive in a new way. It’s making them engaged with the vehicle, forces them to be aware of what they are doing,” he said. “The company is preparing drivers – training us – so we’re ready for all-electric vehicles.”

San Francisco Community Power

computerize so we could handle the newer vehicles and stay on top of the technology,” he said. There were bumps along this road, according to Cadam. Electronic vehicles manufacturers – Ford, Honda and General Motors – “were not willing to share the information about their cars.”

Cadam participated in the independent repair industry’s battle, which achieved some success in the early1990s, to extract information from manufacturers to enable non-dealers to work on the vehicles.

While nurturing a life-long passion for automobiles, Cadam is also dedicated to the environment. “I think what really impacted me as a kid was spending time on my uncle’s farm in Iowa. And I still remember

they’re less petroleum dependent, at a cost of roughly $4,000 a vehicle.

“The modification makes it possible to get a lot more energy out of a vehicle’s battery,” said Cadum. “A typical Prius owner might get 50 or 55 miles to the gallon. When I drive mine right, I can get 125 or more.”

Cadam worked with the San Francisco Public Utility Commission and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E ) to set-up three electricity recharging stations in front of City Hall. Cadam is establishing similar conversion enterprises throughout the country.

Cadam pointed out that the Prius and other hybrids display engine performance details, such as the rate of fuel consumption, enabling driv-

In the American Industrial Center (AIC), located on Third Street, a nonprofit working to help lower utility bills for low-income families and small businesses considers the flow of information to be as important as the flow of electricity. San Francisco Community Power (SF Power) launched its “demand-response” (DR) initiative in 2006. With cash as an incentive, SF Power encourages small companies to reduce their electricity use when demand for electricity peaks.

According to Steve Moss, SF Power’s founder, publisher of the View, and a candidate for Distict 10 Supervisor, when Bay Area demand for power peaks, PG&E puts its most expensive and polluting resources into service. “That increases energy costs as well as pollution, because the last-in-line resources typically consist of older equipment that’s not as clean,” he said. Under SF Power’s DR program, which is funded by utility ratepayers, participating small companies and some cities – including Hayward, Pittsburg, Antioch and Fremont – are notified when

“Now I’m hearing customers say that because of what happened in the Gulf, they make it a point to buy biodiesel.”

- Joe Marlin, Dogpatch Biofuels Manager

demand for the area’s power grid is approaching available supplies. The participants then turn off lights and shut down power-using equipment to reduce pressure on the system

In exchange for their efforts, over the past three years more than a quarter of a million dollars has been distributed to roughly 200 small businesses and cities, according to SF Power’s associate director, Paul Liotsakis. Liotsakis noted that when the initiative began SF Power was “the only organization in the state, as far as I know, actively enrolling small and medium-sized businesses” in a DR program.

When the enterprise first set-up shop on Evans Street in 2001 – near the Hunters Point Power Plant – and later moved across the street from the Potrero Power Plant, it wasn’t because of the neighborhood’s attractions. “Being in this area,” said Moss, “is actually part of our mission. We work with low income families in Bayview-Hunters Point to improve their energy efficiency.” An important part of the nonprofit’s mission, according to Moss, is to fight for a cleaner environment. SF Power was active in the successful campaign to decommission the Hunters Point Power Plant, and has long targeted the Potrero Power Plant, which will likely be shuttered once a cable delivering power from the East Bay is placed into service.

Rickshaw Bagworks

Rickshaw Bagworks moved into the heart of the Dogpatch commercial area two years ago. According

to founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Dwight – a Stanford University Masters of Business Administration graduate and former CEO of Timbuktu – there’s a place in the economy for “companies that can produce and distribute things cheaply, things we don’t have an emotional attachment to. I want my razors to be cheap. I use a lot of them. I don’t have a real connection with something like that.” But there’s also demand

affordable, Rickshaw has adopted a manufacturing model developed decades ago by automobile companies.

Starting with a basic black chassis for the bag’s structure – similar to an automobile manufacturer beginning with a chassis – the company adds the customized parts: color, fabric, and style. “That’s what gives the bag its personality. We can deliver exactly what the customer wants. Within certain parameters, you can even

the “edginess” and industrial feel of the blocks along and adjacent to the Third Street corridor. That industrial influence is obvious in her business, located in the AIC building, with its high ceilings and exposed brick and beam. But the vibe is personal and serene.

The Kitchen provides a range of health services, with a focus on women’s health and fertility. A licensed acupuncturist, See works with another acupuncturist, Nikki Fancher. Nell Waters offers curative massage, and Claudine Solin Radford provides psychotherapy services. “There’s a saying that western medicine is hard to learn but easy to use. And eastern medicine is the opposite. The reason it is hard to apply eastern modes is because we recognize that every patient is different and each needs care specific for that individual,” said See. According to See, acupuncture is “about integrative medicine. We feel it’s important to be aware of both [eastern and western] approaches. Whatever is most effective to meet the individual’s needs.”

Red PMS

for artisanal products produced and sold by companies that nurture authentic and enduring relationships with customers.

Rather than manufacturing shoulder bags as a commodity – grabbing finished products off the shelf to fill orders – Rickshaw Bagworks collaborates with its customers to create one-of-a-kind items. “People are really attached to their bags,” said Dwight. “Our bags are a fashion accessory. They say something about us.” To keep made-to-order products

RGB Green (184,

Black Green PMS Honda, Acura, Subaru, Toyota, Lexus, and Hybrids

design your own bag.”

Production costs are kept low because the expensive component – the handwork that goes into constructing the chassis – is mass-produced in China. While “some people might have a problem with the idea that part of the bag is made in China,” said Dwight, “we are up front about it. You can find out about this on our website.” Dwight strongly believes that mixing components from the best available sources is an effective way to build products that satisfy consumer desires and match their budgets. Ranging in price from $40 to roughly $180, Rickshaw’s offerings represent “our brand with a specific price/performance balance.”

The company’s four product groupings include its Commuter 2.0 bag, a Moleskin folio, an iPad sleeve – its newest item – and the Zero Messenger, named for the amount of wasted material that goes into its manufacture. Rickshaw Bagworks –the name is meant to recognize customers who are bicyclists, with the Japanese term for a “human powered vehicle” – even converts recycled beverage bottles to a form of material far more attractive on a Rickshaw bag than it was when stacked in the soda cooler at 7-11.

Dwight has a passion for what he calls “the fun of making things,” a feeling that’s matched by his enthusiasm for the City and the neighborhood.

“With wine you talk about an appellation…a geographic region. Here we are in San Francisco and the geography is an ingredient, it informs our brand. This is a working family neighborhood. Dogpatch has a rich history as a working class area. We like that; the mixture and the vitality of this area.” It was this thinking that inspired Dwight to found SF Made, a nonprofit with more than fifty members devoted to recognizing and celebrating the innovative approach to manufacturing practiced by many San Francisco companies.

Acupuncture Kitchen

“It’s like living in an Ayn Rand novel,” said Caylie See, operator of Acupuncture Kitchen, referring to

The Kitchen – given its name, said See, because it’s a place where “people get nourishment and the ingredients for good health” – offers a range of herbal curatives, reflexology, skin care, nutritional information and education to help patients address health and fertility issues. That includes learning how to mix up an herbal brew to restore energy, or a salve to promote healing. “It’s important that our clients are involved in their own healing. That’s the way we can help people to make the changes that are realistic and impactful.” See explained, for example, that pain treatment using acupuncture “is not just passive where the patient lies there for the needles. We use an active approach incorporating movement. And we get much better results than passive treatment alone.”

Ordinarily a quiet place with colorful paintings displayed on a rotating basis featuring local artists, the Kitchen’s large reception area is often used for community events. Monthly gatherings typically focus on health education, with medical professionals, authors and cooking experts sharing ideas and information. In somewhat of a departure, the Kitchen’s most recent event was its “Lesbian Kung-Fu Vampires in the Dogpatch,” a party featuring Chinese elixir drinks, organic popcorn, a movie and prizes contributed by local businesses, including Rickshaw Bagworks.

A New Economy

The American corporate landscape may be populated with organizations exploiting customers - even the environment, if necessary – to increase profits. But there are emerging enterprises in a new economy: companies and nonprofits that educate and nurture relationships with customers, behave like responsible citizens and work to solve problems through innovation. Some of those organizations can be found at the base of Potrero Hill.

get a Job!

By Mauri Schwartz

The View asked Hill resident and career expert Mauri Schwartz, President / CEO of Career Insiders, www. CareerInsiders.com, to answer questions from job seekers. Submit your questions to editor@potreroview.net.

Q: What advice do you have about using a recruiting agency?

A: Having been an independent recruiter for many years, I’ll say that a good recruiter can be very useful to a job seeker, and worth every penny s/he is paid by an employer to find top talent. When jobs are plentiful, many people become recruiters with the objective of making a lot of money. In today’s tough economy, you can bet that the recruiters who are still in business are the good ones.

A good recruiter earns his/her fees by reviewing resumes, preinterviewing candidates, and presenting only thoroughly qualified candidates to the hiring manager, saving the employer time and money. That same recruiter will also do everything possible to prepare candidates for interviews. And he/

she will be your advocate.

Keep in mind that a recruiter is hired and compensated by the employer. In most cases, they are paid only if the employer hires their candidate. This means that they’re working for the employer, not for you. If you’ve met with recruiters and found them less than responsive, don’t forget that you aren’t paying them anything and that they won’t get paid for working with you unless you’re a solid match for a position for which they’ve been hired to recruit.

Sadly for recruiters in today’s market, employers are keeping most of their hiring responsibilities in-house to save money on fees. Even if a recruiter has been able to get positions from employers, the candidates they submit will be competing with those that the employers have found on their own. As a result, for two equal or nearly equal candidates, the one who comes with an added price tag – the recruiter’s fee – will be unlikely to receive the job offer. Given this scenario, you’d have been better off submitting your resume directly to the employer.

But don’t try to double dip. Once you’ve given a recruiter permission to submit your resume, it’s unethical to send it in directly yourself. And it’s unfair to the recruiter, who may have worked hard to advocate for you. Employers will avoid getting involved in such a sticky situation, and you’ll lose out.

Jewish film festival turns thirty

By Jim Van Buskirk

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), the first and largest of its kind, celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. In addition to screenings at the Castro Theatre and the Jewish Community Center, festival venues will include Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Rhoda Theatre, The CineArts@Palo Alto Square, and the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in Marin. More than fifty films will be offered, including documentaries, features and shorts from around the world, in addition to an outdoor screening of Dirty Dancing, a live music program and special guests, discussions, panels and parties.

Renowned independent filmmaker and educator Jay Rosenblatt is program director for this year’s festival. Rosenblatt, who has been making independent films for three decades, has been a film and video production instructor at various Bay Area film schools. His fourteen films and two videos have screened throughout the world, including at the Sundance Film Festival and previous San Francisco Jewish Film Festivals, and have accumulated more than one hundred awards.

The many international features of this year’s festival include The Wolberg Family by debut director Acelle Ropert, in which the Jewish mayor of a French provincial town desperately tries to keep his family together against a 1960s soul music

soundtrack. Jaffa, a powerful drama from Israel about working class Jewish and Palestinian families whose lives are intertwined through an unlikely romance. And Argentinean director Marcos Carnevale’s Anita, about Anita Feldman, a young woman with Down syndrome, who lives a happy, routine life being cared for by her mother, played by Spanish cinema veteran Norma Aleandro.

The SFJFF is known for its presentation of powerful, provocative documentaries. Among this year’s highlights are Amos Oz: the Nature of Dreams, a portrait by Yonathan and Masha Zur of the renowned Israeli author. Sayed Kashua: Forever Scared charts seven eventful years in the life of the scriptwriter of the hit Israel television series Arab Labor. War Against the Weak is based on award-winning journalist Edwin Black’s book about eugenics principles applied in Germany and the United States in the 1940s. Saviors in the Night and A Small Act both explore the legacy of ordinary people who have taken risks to help those in need. The shorts programs feature the world premiere of local director Theo Rigby’s six-minute gem, Perfect Mother, which uses home movies as a mother tries to understand what happened to the “perfect” image of her own departed mother.

A special series of screenings,

see fIlM page 21

POTRERO BRANCH 1616 20th STREET 355.2822

Tuesday 10 am - 8 pm, Wednesday 12 noon - 8 pm

Thursday 10 am - 6 pm, Friday 1 pm - 6 pm

Saturday and Sunday 1 pm - 6 pm

Monday CLOSED

Abby Bridge, Potrero Branch Librarian

Dive into a good Book! Sfpl adult Summer reading program

June 4 through July 31. Sign up at the library, track the books you read over the summer, submit short reviews, and see which neighborhood reads the most books!

go with the flow! Sfpl teen Summer reading program

June 5 through July 31. Teens ages 13 (by June 5, 2010) to 18 can sign up at the library to receive a Go With the Flow game board featuring activities such as reading, writing book reviews, visiting San Francisco sites, or attending library events. Complete six tasks to claim a flash drive and get your game board signed off by the librarian. Your signed game board becomes a raffle ticket. Attend the Teen Summer Read Party at the Main Library on August 4, 4 to 6 p.m. and enter your raffle ticket for a chance to win a MacBook, iPod Nano, Nintendo Wii or MP3 players!

water Your Imagination! Sfpl Kids Summer reading program

June 5 through July 31. Children ages birth to 13 can sign up at the library and record the amount of time they spend reading or being read to by someone else. Read 15 minutes or more each week to enter the weekly branch raffle. Read eight hours to complete the program and win a choice of prizes, including books, sketch pads, scrub toys, or tickets to see the San Francisco Giants or visit various Bay Area museums.

adult programs

Preventing Elder Financial Abuse. Elder financial abuse is a growing problem; many seniors have been victimized by strangers or family members. Loren Lopin, attorney at law, will present California State Bar Association resources, and discuss scams involving trust mills, annuities, long term care insurance and reverse mortgages. July 6, 6 to 7 p.m.

Understanding Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine with John Kolenda, Dean of Clinical Education at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a 3,000-year-old medical system that includes acupuncture, Chinese herbs, massage and bodywork, nutrition and exercises, such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong. TCM holds that when the human body is kept in a harmonious balance, health and well-being are naturally maintained. July 7, 6 to 6:45 p.m.

Saved by the Sea: A Love Story with Fish by David Helvarg. Helvarg will discuss his book about the state of our seas and the intimate ways in which our lives are linked to the natural world. This book chronicles the author’s journey over the world’s oceans and seas for the last half-century. Helvard, an awardwinning journalist, is founder and president of the Blue Frontier Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based organization working for ocean and coastal conservation. His previous books include The War against the Greens, Blue Frontier, 50 Ways to Save the Ocean, and Rescue Warriors. July 21, 6:30 to7:30 p.m.

potrero hill’s children’s programs

Baby Rhyme and Play Time. Tuesdays, July 6, 13, 20 and 27, 1:15 p.m. For infants up to eighteen months old and their caregivers.

Family Storytime. Storytime featuring stories, songs and rhymes. For children from birth to five years old and their caregivers. Thursdays, July 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 10:30 to 11 a.m. and 11:15 to 11:45 a.m.

Fun Flicks: Runaway Ralph Fun Flicks is offered every second Wednesday of the month, and includes short films based on children’s books and stories. This month’s selection is Runaway Ralph, based on the beloved book by Beverly Cleary. For children ages five and older. July 14, 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

Gerald the Magician. Participate in Gerald Joseph’s amazing tricks and sleight of hand. For children of all ages. Space is limited; visit the library or call to make a reservation. July 2, 1:15- to 2 p.m.

Insect Discovery Lab. See, touch and hold live exotic insects from around the world! Learn about the extraordinary lives of these amazing creatures and their importance in the ecosystem. For children ages five and older. Space is limited; visit the library or call to make a reservation. July 10, 4 to 4:45 p.m.

Many more programs are offered this summer at the Potrero Hill and Mission Bay branches. Please visit http://potrerolibrarysfpl.blogspot.com or http:// missionbaylibrary.blogspot.com for more information.

Downtown High School Lights Up mcKinley Square

Downtown High School, in collaboration with Southern Exposure, unveiled an art installation at the southern base of McKinley Square last month. Photographs by DB Spahn and Daniela Steinsapir.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will be voting this month on a new city budget. While there are many important priorities that must be balanced, one of the most important should be our neighborhood firehouses.

As San Francisco firefighters, our priority is to protect our community. That’s why we are working so hard to keep open our first line of defense during fires, medical emergencies or any major disaster. We know money is tight, so we are improving efficiency and even taking less pay so there is enough to keep our neighborhood firehouses open.

sons. They get professional support at a low fee, they are much less expensive than a private foundation to manage – which means much more of the money goes to communities and less to overhead – and they are very flexible.”

According to Wikipedia, DAFs are “administered by a third party and created for the purpose of managing charitable donations on behalf of an organization, family, or individual. A donor-advised fund offers the opportunity to create an easyto-establish vehicle...as an alternative to direct giving or creating a private foundation.” Donor-advised funds, cites Wikipedia, are the fastest growing charitable giving vehicle in the United States, with more than 125,000 donor-advised accounts holding more than $27 billion in assets. “Because the fund is housed in a public charity, donors receive the maximum tax deduction available, while avoiding excise taxes and other restrictions imposed on private foundations,” according to Wikipedia.

“They allow a donor to make a gift to open the DAF and take the tax exemption immediately,” Bernholz wrote. “They can then advise the holding entity...on other gifts to be made to other public charities. They are called ‘advised’ because legally, once the initial gift is made, the funds are the property of the [foundation], not of the donors. Therefore the donor can only advise future gifts.”

Dana Lanza, founder of Bayview-Hunters Point-based nonprofit Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), supports ENPBTF’s advisors’ desire to keep their giving anonymous. Lanza described the “nightmare” LEJ went through to create its green Eco Center – which was completed this year after almost a decade-long development process –located in the restored Heron’s Head wetland sanctuary. “We received a

$1 million grant from the City’s Department of the Environment for it. It was such a public process it became a nightmare. Anyone who didn’t get the grant caused a lot of trouble and made a nuisance of themselves,” Lanza recalled.

“The eastern neighborhoods are so politicized, there was rivalry, jealousy, racial politics, people jumping to insane conclusions, raising hell, and preventing progress. It added three to five years to our project and wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Lanza. Lanza, now a nonprofit consultant, even considered a restraining order against one particularly vocal opponent. “If the Eastern Neighborhoods Fund were to be more publicly visible, they would probably have to add more staff to handle the demand, which is greater than the resources they have.” ENPBTF’s advisors work on a voluntary, unpaid basis.

Architect, contractor and longtime Hill resident Kepa Askenasy, of Studio Askenasy, disagreed with Lanza. “Here we are, two years later and there’s still the same concerns about the fund: no transparency around the process, a tremendous amount of conflict of interest, a situation of self-dealing, ethics issues and so many unanswered questions,” said Askenasy. Askenasy, who has a long history of activism related to local land use issues – including participating in the EN planning process – successfully advocated that Boss register as a City Hall lobbyist. “The fund is like lipstick on a pig. It’s doing some good things, but it was a backroom deal, formed by developers and lobbyists, ostensibly for all the eastern neighborhoods, but benefitting primarily the same people who helped set up the fund.”

Askenasy believes monies donated by developers should be overseen by the City, with a master plan on how funds are to be allotted. “How much money is left? Are they keeping the lion’s share? Where’s the accountability? This isn’t FarmVille

play money,” Askenasy said. “What it says is that the neighborhood is for sale, that it can be bought, and it is not. So many people deeply care about the neighborhood.”

“Organizations that want [ENPBTF] funds have to be a 501(c)3; grants can’t go towards paying for salaries,” Boss explained. “The [fund’s guidelines] are based on criteria set up by the donors in the first place. We cannot disclose who received funds.” According to ENPBTF guidelines, grants aren’t for “one-time operational costs, but rather for...long range capital or planning functions that will have lasting impacts. The Target Areas are: Transportation, Open Space, Arts, Cultural Resources, Education and Social Services.” Boss cited selection criteria as “based on: 1. Grantee’s recognized involvement with the community; 2. The grant falls within the Targeted Areas; 3.The funding will have long-term effects on the Community (no program funding); 4. The grantees either have a long standing place in the community, or are managed or governed by people with long standing in the community.”

Boss is trying to replenish the fund, “but the current economy is making it difficult,” he said. While he described the advisors’ main job “is to represent the fund,” he pointed out that “San Francisco Foundation reviews recommendations against the criteria, and the board only votes to say yea or nay. We don’t advertise the specific fund, but most people know the fund exists.”

ENPBTF issued a 2007 memorandum that described various means of outreach to potential grantees including “1. Presentation to Neighborhood Associations. 2. Articles in local newspapers. 3. Word of mouth.” However, the fund has made few, if any, presentations at associations, and hasn’t advertised funding opportunities in the View David Cody, manager of the 18th & Rhode Island St. permaculture garden, was unaware of the fund’s existence until he was approached by fund advisor Goldstein at a neighborhood meeting.

When asked for his thoughts about the ENPBTF, San Francisco Ethics Commission executive director John St. Croix pointed out that “forming community partnerships

with developers is a rather new area in law and not regulated.” In order for the City to get involved in oversight of such a fund, “Government has to prove an overriding public interest,” he stated. Since “historically, partnerships with developers are traditionally done by cities,” St. Croix said, ENPBTF falls into a gray area.

“I’ve never heard of grants and grantees being kept secret,” said long-time local community organizer and author Mike Miller. “What’s going on with the ENPBTF seems typical of the nature of San Francisco politics...There’s no shortage of nonprofits who claim to give voice to the voiceless, but end up excluding their constituents…people are bought off in various ways, the conditions that started the protests, remain the same. What neighborhoods and communities need is the equivalent of a union,” said Miller.

This article was written with support from Lisa Tehrani

funded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will use portrayals of Jewish gangsters and “ethnic” gangsters played by Jewish actors to explore issues of class, ethnicity immigration, masculinity and assimilation. “Tough Guys: Images of Jewish Gangsters in Film” was developed by former SFJFF Program Director Nancy K. Fishman, who became interested in Jewish gangsters when she learned that Brooklyn gangster Dopey Benny Fein had threatened her grandparents by sending them a funeral wreath, probably because they refused to pay him protection money. Well-known gangster films like Barry Levin’s Bugsy, classics and obscure examples will be screened, with a panel discussion including Oakland-based Ron Arons, author of The Jews of Sing Sing, which explores the scope of Jewish criminality in New York City from the late 1800s through the 1950s.

The New Jewish Filmmaking Project, produced by Citizen Film, will present Half Remembered Stories, an online exhibition of audio, video, and text-based stories examining “lost people, lost places, and the quest to reclaim lost memory.”

For more information on tickets at the various venues: www.sfjff.org.

fIlM from page 18

BAyv IEW POLICE STATION CAPTAIN’S COMMUNIT y M EETING is held on the first Tuesday of each month in the Bayview Police Station Community Room at 201 William Street. Enter through the Newhall Street door. Next meeting: July 6th, 6 p.m.

DOGPATCH N EIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION usually meets the second Tuesday of each odd-numbered month. No meeting in July. Voting membership is open to anyone living in or owning property or a business in Dogpatch. For more information or to join/pay online: mydogpatch. org.

M C K INLE y S QUARE C OMMUNIT y G ROUP is a communication and discussion group regarding events and activities, clean up days, improvement and beautification, and other concerns, such as crime in the neighborhood. Next board meeting: July 7th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Downtown High School, 693 Vermont Street. Board meetings open to the public. Visit www.mckinleysquare.com for more information.

POTRERO BOOSTERS meets the last Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. (social time begins at 6:30 p.m.) in the wheelchair-accessible Game Room of the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. For more information: www.potreroboosters.org or email president@potreroboosters.org. Next meeting: July 27th.

POTRERO H ILL A SSOCIATION OF M ERCHANTS & BUSINESSES meets the second Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m. at Goat Hill Pizza, corner of Connecticut and 18th streets. Visit www.potrerohill.biz or call 341.8949. Next meeting: July 13th, 10 a.m.

POTRERO H ILL DEMOCRATIC CLUB meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. For more information: 648.6740, www. PHDemClub.org. Next meeting: July 6th, 7 p.m.

POTRERO H ILL GARDEN CLUB usually meets the last Sunday of the month at 11 a.m. for a potluck lunch in a local home or garden. Discussions are held on organic, edible, or ornamental gardening appropriate for Potrero Hill’s microclimate. Call 648.1926 for details.

STARR K ING OPENSPACE The next Starr King Openspace Board of Directors Meeting is on July 13th, 6:30 p.m. at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. Board meetings are open to the public. While time will be set aside for public comment, the Board may reserve some agenda items for closed session discussion. For more information: www.starrkingopenspace.org; contact the Board of Directors via email: starrkingboard@gmail.com; voice mail 415-6336-SKO (756).

NEwcoMErS from page 11

Neb’s office is located on Embarcadero and Folsom. The couple have a one year old daughter, Tara.“I love that the dog park is just down the street. Tara loves to be outside and I can walk the dog without worrying about a leash,” Una added. A working couple with a toddler, they have little spare time, and appreciate that they don’t have to venture far to enjoy a nice dinner out. “If we get a sitter for a couple of hours, it’s so convenient to be able to walk down the hill to Chez Maman or Chez Papa to have a really nice dinner and be back in no time.”

Morissa McNie 1947~2010

Morissa

McNie lived at 200 Pennsylvania in the 1960s, and 1400 18th Street in the late 1970s, where she ran one of the first recycling centers in San Francisco from a storefront that doubled as her apartment. The location gave her and her then toddler son, Jesse Kyle, a view into neighborhood activities, and she was dubbed the “Mayor of Potrero Hill”. Born April 16, 1947, and raised in the City, McNie spent time in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Arizona. Later in life she trained in Anthroposophic massage, and worked as a house help-

er at Camp Hill in Kimberton Hills, Pennsylvania, where her daughter, Serena Burman, was born. Extremely talented in the visual arts, McNie was a designer, seamstress, calligrapher, and interior decorator. Her sense of color was remarkable. In the photograph she appears with her daughter, Serena, in the 1990s. McNie fought cancer for several years with a resolve, calmness and intentionality that was inspiring to friends and family. She died June 8 on Orcas Island, one of her favorite places, surrounded by her daughter and close friends.

WHAT CAN THE VIEW DO FOR YOU?

Short cUtS from page 3

dent, is looking for 100 participants from the 94107, 94124, 94134, 94110 and 94114 zip codes to have their garden soils tested free of charge. Email sfgardeners@gmailcom for information on the survey, an educational pamphlet on heavy metals and gardening, or to be invited to a community meeting on garden soil and heavy metals. Gorospe’s research is being sponsored by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program and the Garden Club of America.

art and Music

ATTENTION ARTISTS Goat Hill Pizza is looking for local artists to show their work at the restaurant. Please call Alicia Wong at 415.641.1440 if you are interested.

BUSINESS SErVIcES

GRAPHIC DESIGN/PROMOTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS Web sites new and updates. Ads, Logo/Identity, Display, Brochure, Sell Sheet, Flash Animations, more. On the Hill. www.jcarpinelli.com 415 282-5516.

community activities

SENIORS (60+) DON’T EAT ALONE Join us for daily lunch and add to your social life. Mon-Fri, hot nutritious meals--your first time with us you get a free lunch! Bingo, cards, birthday celebrations, special events, and other activities. For more information, call Dolores Maghari at 415.826.8080. PH Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St.

HOTTEST AND N EW A NTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES AT CANDLESTICK

PARK Sunday July 18th at Candlestick

CLASSIFIED ADS

Park up to 400 booths - free parking. Hours 6am - 3pm. Admission 6am -8 am $15.00 8am - 3pm $5.00. Come find your treasure. Future dates Aug 15, Sept 26, Oct 24, Nov 28, Dec. 19, 2010. www.candlestickantiques.com, 510-217-8696.

POTRERO VIEW TURNS 40! Please join us for a special anniversary celebration on August 19th at 6 p.m. at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. RSVP to party@potreroview.net. Dinner and cake will be served!

Education

HOME BUYING SEMINAR Learn how to buy a home in today’s market & get the best loan rate. 1st & 3rd Wed. each mo., 7-8:15pm on Potrero Hill. RSVP: Michelle 415.637.1898, Zephyr RE DRE #01224725.

WANTED: CARPOOL TO LOWELL

HIGH SCHOOL to start Aug. 2010 with new school year. Student is incoming 9th grader. We live near Potrero Hill and the Inner Mission. Call Sue 415-824-0217 if interested.

garden Services

COMPLETE GARDEN CARE I will help your garden evolve into a natural paradise. Maintenance, renovation, organic

Meet Steve Moss and discuss the issues facing District 10 at an open house at Farley’s, 1315 18th Street, Monday, July 19, 5:30 to 7 pm

soil building. Calif. Native plants a specialty. Call Jeannine Zenti, 415.642.0246.

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Growsgreen Landscape Design offers a custom design for your garden. Award winning designs, featured HGTV designer. Porfolio: www. growsgreen.com, beth@growsgreen.com 415-336-9829.

home Services

ORGANIZE YOUR HOME/HOME OFFICE and feel calmed, inspired, happy. Rates sensitive to economic times. Phone Your Home Organizer, Linda James at 415.285.3266.

J.A. EMMANUEL CONSTRUCTION License #861994 is organized to provide service with optimum efficiency and flexibility. Quality work with experience in residential construction can help make your dreams a reality. New construction, house addition, remodeling and conversion. House, apartments, condos, kitchen, bathroom & more. Reasonable rates. All insurance necessary for the projects. Call 415.902.2469 for FREE ESTIMATE or visit www.jaemmanuelconstruction.com.

180 DEGREE COLOR & DESIGN SUMMER SALE! The least expensive way to change your home is color. Kathyjean Boise is your local color consultant and featured designer on HGTV. Let me help you get the right color for your home or business. Call now to find out about the special summer sale for one interior room. Get your project started! Call Kathyjean Boise at 415-285-3014.

TOM’S PLUMBING Tom has been satisfying Potrero Hill customers for over 30 years. All plumbing needs handled promptly and efficiently at a very low cost. Keep it local and call Tom Keats: 415-824-3538.

HANDYMAN EXTRAORDINAIRE! 20 years experience repair, remodeling. Elec, plumbing, light fix. Anything doors! Double-hung windows. Cabinetry, Decks, staircases MMcQuate@gmail.com. Mike (415) 308-2380.

housekeeping

DO YOU NEED HOUSECLEANING? We will do it. Just Call Marco & Sara 415310-8838.

rentals

SPACIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL Furnished guest garden apartment. Private. 1/2 blk. to restaurants. Non-smoking. 2 adults only. 2 night minimum. 415-861-3208.

VACATION RETREAT FOR POTRERO HILLIANS. Calistoga/St Helena area 3 bdrms 2 baths sleeps 6 (max). Lrg decks w/ views of stream woods & meadow. Frplace w/wood, 30 acres trails, all-year stream. Dogs OK. 3 night wkend=$500 Week=$900. Discount for repeat guests. Photos: spot02.googlepages.com. 415.647.3052.

ACTIVSPACE, FOR ART, HOBBY & BUSINESS. Rent from $395 a month utilities included. Private, Secure, Affordable, 24/7 access. Call Tama for further details 415-355-1515.

SPECIAL OCCASION COMING UP? Host your celebration at Slovenian Hall! Great rates and convenient location on Potrero Hill, just off Hwy 101. Ideal for birthdays, graduation or wedding receptions. Capacity up to 250. Space also available for seminars, meetings or classes. Short or long term rentals available. Call 8649629 or email slovenianhall@gmail.com

technology Services

COMPUTER PROBLEMS DRIVING YOU BUGGY? Problems fixed! 25 years of industry experience Personal IT consulting to small businesses or busy professionalssetup/troubleshoot wireless networks. We can install and/or help you shop for new a new computer/network/printer or shows how to use yours. If you’re not technical, don’t worry - we are. Rob (415)244-3305 www.sfcomputech.com rob@sfcomputech. com.

HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

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