Potrero View 2011: March by potreroview

March 2011

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City Transit Effort Mission Creek Survives Despite Two Centuries of Abuse Rides Past the Hill By Nicole Spiridakis By Lisa Gunther Last month the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) held a community meeting at the Recology Community Center on Seventh Street to discuss the Eastern Neighborhoods Transportation Implementation Planning Study (EN TRIPS). According to Steve Wertheim, a San Francisco Planning Department representative who spoke at the meeting, “the EN TRIPS is looking at the transportation ramifications of the eastern neighborhoods, which is expected to accommodate 11,000 new housing units and 13,000 jobs in the next 25 years.” Despite the meeting’s location at Potrero Hill’s northern edge, EN TRIPS does not include plans to notably increase transportation options in the neighborhood, especially when it comes to traversing its steep hills.

On a clear, warm winter day, Mission Creek gleams in the sun. Birds wheel and dive for their lunch. Water laps gently against the houseboats moored on the banks. Locals bicycle past native plants and an eco-system that’s home to 60 species of shorebirds – including Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Pelicans, Night Herons and Cormorants – most probably unaware of the complicated ecological storyline evolving nearby. In the middle of a busy city, there’s a tranquility to Mission Creek. Not so long ago the creek was used as a repository for sewage overflows, and a dumping ground for oil and paint. More recently, ongoing construction associated with Mission Bay redevelopment has radically altered much of the 300-acres surrounding the creek. As buildings rise above the water, and concrete is poured for pedestrian walkways, the habitat for birds and other species has been changed; plants disturbed. But the birds didn’t leave, nor did the fish, according to Ginny Stearns, a long-time resident of Mission Creek’s houseboat community and a Mission Creek Conservancy (MCC) member. Mission Creek runs along a three-quarter-mile stretch from AT&T Park to Seventh Street. A decade ago it was considered a regional toxic hot spot by the San Francisco

Photograph by Nicole Spiridakis

Houseboats line Mission Creek, home to a thriving wildlife community that boasts a variety of birds and native plant life.

Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, mostly because of the seven sewer discharge points installed along the creek in the late-1980s. The City and County of San Francisco is permitted to discharge sewage overflow into the waterway during heavy rains. In 2007 and 2008, seven dumps were made; during 2008 and 2009 there were four. According to Stearns, who’s lived with her husband Bob Isaacson on her Mission Creek houseboat

since 1988, the occasional sewage discharge, while not ideal, is vastly preferable to the days when a nearby paint company dumped its effluent into the creek, flooding the water with white or colored pigments. Today, on hot days, if there hasn’t been a sewage discharge within a few months, Stearns says she might even swim in the creek. Isaacson, who moved into a see mission creek page 5

New Neighborhood Restaurants Cope With a Bad Economy By Halley Cornell

Source: www.sfmta.com/cms/oentrips/indxentrips.htm

The study was initiated in 2008 as a joint effort by SFMTA, the Planning Department and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. It covers 3,500 acres, and focuses on big transportation corridors and major streets. South-of-Market (SoMa) is particularly emphasized, as the City expects a 70 percent increase in travel demand in that area alone. In addition to transportation and circulation improvements, the study also recommends pedestrian-friendly infrastructure projects. The neighborhoods included see en trips page 10

INSIDE

Short Cuts p. 3

A flock of new restaurants landed in Potrero Hill and Dogpatch last year, filling vacancies left by recently departed eateries Eliza’s and the Lingba Lounge, as well as longclosed establishments, like Third Street’s Franklin’s Bar. And while lower lease prices during the economic downturn may have attracted the restaurateurs, a shaky economy has made it challenging to carve-out a nitch in San Francisco’s crowded dining scene. An important ingredient for success, according to Joel Bleskacek, owner of 18th Street’s nascent breakfast-and-lunchery, Plow, is offering something that’s both unique to the neighborhood and in touch with would-be diners. With just a couple

p. 8

other restaurants close by offering full-service breakfast, and none other providing it right on the Hill, Bleskacek and his wife, chef Maxine Siu-Bleskacek, felt confident enough to sign a 15 year lease, starting last September. “There was a need in the neighborhood for this kind of restaurant,” he said. “The first six months can be the toughest, but we feel like we’re successfully building clientele, mostly by word-of-mouth, and now we want to sustain it,” said Bleskacek, who also owns nearby wine seller Ruby Wine. He and his wife’s long-time residence and understanding of the neighborhood helped guide their concept of simple, well-prepared, locally-sourced foods. He reports that Plow is “exceeding expectations,” filling 35 seats and managing 230 to 250 covers on a

typical day. Business may pick up even more now that a beer and wine license has been issued, the addition of 12 outside seats, and the availability of the space for private evening functions, like wedding rehearsal dinners. Rocketfish Sushi, which took over the Lingba Lounge space at 18th and Connecticut last June, faces competition from established sushi spots in the neighborhood, like Moshi Moshi and Live Sushi, as well as from a myriad of nearby Mission eateries, according to Marco Rodriguez, who co-owns the establishment with exBlowfish chef, Kenichi Kawashimi. “We get some comparisons to the other sushi places, and it seems like there’s a new place opening up every see restaurants page 8

Calendar p. 17

Curt Yagi p. 9 p. 12

Crime & Safety p. 22 p. 19

THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011

Letters to the Editor

Publisher’s View

Annex-Terrace By Steven J. Moss Say you’re the youngest child in a large family experiencing hard times. In the good old days your parents would regularly take the kids to Old Navy or Target to buy new clothes, stopping off for dinner at Goat Hill Pizza, or Aperto’s. All that ended when dad was laid off, and mom’s pay was cut. Clothes are now threadbare and patched hand-me-downs from elder siblings; meals-out consist of complementary three-dollar lunches provided at a hard-pressed public school. Such is the situation Bayview, Potrero Hill, and Visitacion Valley face as these communities struggle to replace half-century old public housing. Not long ago, when it came time to teardown poorly designed and worn complexes, the federal government would arrive with buckets of cash. Old-school towers and molding “temporary” buildings were demolished and replaced with something better, mostly courtesy of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That era of federal largess is over. Today, redevelopment of Potrero Annex-Terrace, Sunnydale, and other decaying complexes must pay for themselves, principally by leveraging the excess land on which the housing sits to create profitable units. This, in turn, puts pressure on affordable housing developers to pack the sites with as many market rate houses as they can get away with, to pay for the below-market homes and associated infrastructure. Under these conditions, nonprofit developers, such as Bridge Housing, which is responsible for Annex-Terrace, and Mercy Housing, at Sunnydale, face virtually the same economic incentives as for-profit builders: to cram as many homes as they can onto a site.

There are other ways to skin the redevelopment cat. Assuming the publicly-owned property on which Annex-Terrace sits can’t be turned into open space, or an urban farm – attractive but unrealistic, possibilities, given fiscal and political realities – the land could be sold outright. Based on recent lot sales, Annex-Terrace might fetch upwards of $140 million, after the existing structures have been demolished and removed. To recoup that investment, the developer would want to construct at least 450 market rate duplexes, housing perhaps 2,500 people. The $140 million could be used to create new affordable housing on less expensive property, or even paid out to existing Annex-Terrace tenants to help them transition to better lives. Under the latter approach each individual could receive $115,000, enough for a down payment on a modest home in Bayview or Visitacion Valley, though they’d have to have a decent job to pay the mortgage. Or half the property could be sold – keeping the rest as open space – with each resident gifted $60,000, a tidy sum, but insufficient for a San Francisco down payment. Under this approach the resulting population density would be less than current Potrero Hill patterns, with generous amounts of open space. The Hill would become more prosperous, but mostly by driving its lower income neighbors elsewhere, an inequitable, ungracious, and politically incorrect thing to do. San Francisco advocates have hammered out a “right to return” policy, which guarantees existing public housing residents a secure place more or less at the same physical location from which redevelopsee publisher’s page 9

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We Were Here

Editor, I appreciate last month’s review of We Were Here, an amazing film (“Local Filmmaker’s Powerful Documentary Reflects Upon AIDS’ Impact on S.F.”). Thanks to reporter Lori Higa for her insights. I have two observations about the article. Those of us who are afflicted always wince at words such as “afflicted.” I guess the question to ask is, would I use the word “afflicted” if I was talking about Parkinson’s, or another mainstream disease? If so, then that’s a good measuring tool for use of language about AIDS. Harvey Milk wasn’t the first out gay elected legislator. Nancy Wechsler, who was elected in 1972 to the Ann Arbor, Michigan city council as a member of the Human Rights Party, came out as a lesbian during her term, becoming the first openly gay or lesbian public office holder in the United States. When Wechsler declined to run for reelection in 1974, her seat was won by Kathy Kozachenko, who became the country’s first openly gay or lesbian candidate to win public office. Dan Nicoletta 20th Avenue

Bluepeter Update Editor, I’ve enjoyed reading your series on Mission Bay (“Mission Bay Half-Way to Redevelopment Plan Completion,” February View). As a long-time Dogpatch resident, I’ve seen the plans evolve, and appreciate having more activity and people along the waterfront from Mariposa Street to Mission Creek. With a dearth of open space and public amenities in the Central Waterfront, we all look forward to seeing new Mission Bay parks finished. However, with so much new springing up, there’s barely anything left of Mission Bay’s long and interesting history. We have an opportunity to change that. Friends of the Bluepeter formed

in early 2008 when we became aware that the World War II-era heavytimber building, located at the crossroads of Mariposa, Illinois, and Terry Francois, was slated for demolition. Neighbors rallied to promote a restoration and creative re-use of this last and quirky reminder of the area’s once thriving ship-building industry. Standing within what will be Mission Bay’s southern-most park, and located along the Blue Greenway, the building could be a public-serving amenity within the green open space. With no funds available from the Port or Redevelopment Agency, the Friends have interested a private local developer in restoring the building. After holding public meetings to discuss viable uses, and estimating restoration costs, the current proposal is to develop two or three restaurants within the 6,500 square foot ground floor, with take-out service associated with outdoor seating and gardens next to the building. A public restroom, not currently planned for the parks, would be included. Most of the second-floor would be opened to reveal the building’s soaring curved timber ceiling. Ancillary office and a community gathering/Mission Bay history space would be incorporated into the second floor. Doors and windows would be added to interweave the indoor/outdoor spaces, and to invite people to stop in and enjoy a bite to eat and/or some local history. We hope to work with the community and Redevelopment Agency to program events in the adjoining park space. San Francisco Heritage, with the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association, serves as the umbrella 501(C)3 nonprofit fiscal sponsor for donations towards the Bluepeter’s Mission Bay history component. For more information on the Bluepeter building, visit www.bluepetersf. org. Janet Carpinelli President, Dogpatch Neighborhood Association

San Francisco’s Small Businesses Are Under Seige By Frank Gilson, D.C.

™ Masthead design by Giacomo Patri

EDITOR and PUBLISHER: Steven J. Moss PRODUCTION MANAGER: Lisa Tehrani MARCH STAFF: Regina Anavy, Abby Bridge, Halley Cornell, Rheba Estante, Debbie Findling, Lisa Gunther, Lori Higa, Abigail Johnston, Sasha Lekach, Peter Linenthal, Catie Magee, Sarah Mcdonald, Sara Moss, Greg Roensch, Nicole Spiridakis and Ben Terrall Editorial and policy decisions are made by the staff. All staff positions are voluntary. Published monthly. Address all correspondence to: THE POTRERO VIEW, 2325 Third Street Suite 344, San Francisco, CA 94107 415.626.8723 • E-mail: editor@potreroview.net • advertising@potreroview.net (advertising)

T h e V ie w i s p rin t e d o n r ecyc l e d n e w s p rin t w i th s oy- b a s e d ink .

Running a small business in San Francisco has become increasingly difficult. I own a small health care business in Potrero Hill; five employees and their families depend on my enterprise’s success for their livelihood. I work hard, and give back to the community. I hold community fundraisers, donate services and work with families in need. I pay my taxes. Yet the City acts in ways that degrade my ability to thrive. On a recent afternoon the City removed the street cleaning signs in front of my office and replaced them with “no parking” placards. There are many small businesses in the area; none of us were notified of this impending change. Fifty parking spots have been confiscated

to make an extra-wide bike lane. I could identify only one official document, from April 2009, stating these plans; there was no discussion of the impact the change may have on tax-paying businesses. Now, without warning, our staff, patients and customers who park on the street are ticketed. On the day the new rules were executed the Department of Parking and Traffic came by not once, but three times to issue fines. In a panic, I rented-out five parking spaces in a lot in the alley behind my business, spending $600. I had signs made to notify my patients where they could park. A large number of homeless indisee small biz page 11

March 2011

THE POTRERO VIEW

Short Cuts Foreclosure District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen’s condominium, located west of Candlestick Park, was foreclosed on by Wells Fargo Bank last month. The unit, which the recently elected supervisor purchased for roughly $600,000 in 2006 with no money down, is currently on the market for about half that much. Cohen, who expressed relief about being able to walk away from a transaction that was “under water” now lives in a rented apartment elsewhere in the district.

Bag-o-Bombs Potrero Avenue between 17th and 19th streets was temporarily closed last month after someone found a bag of grenades while cleaning out the garage of a recently deceased family member. The Bomb Squad, located in the old Sports Basement facility at 16th and De Haro streets, didn’t have to travel far to safely remove the ordinance.

Tree Tending Carol Anaya of 18th Street called the View last month with a tip about a large ficus branch that fell on Arkansas Street at 18th. Anaya, who grew up on the Hill, noted that the trees along that street have grown

so big that they’re prone to falling. The fallen branch was large enough to block the entire road, prompting a temporary street closure. The branch break was likely a result of the wintery wind that abruptly blew through after several days of summer-like glory. Wikipedia notes that this species, which is Bangkok’s official tree, is sensitive to cold weather. Nobody was injured, but some cars parked along Arkansas were scratched…Last month the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board unanimously approved the redesign of Cesar Chavez nee Army Street. New features will include bike lanes, a permeable green median, and safer pedestrian crossings. The Planning Department is now developing plans to improve the eastern half of Cesar Chavez – from Hampshire to Illinois Street – particularly focusing on how to beautify the freeway interchanges at Highway 101 and Interstate 280, which some locals call “The Hairball”…The University of California, San Francisco has signed a short-term lease for a portion of a warehouse located at 975 16th Street at Mississippi Street, utilizing the space for construction staging activities, which will prompt intermittent truck traffic between

the warehouse and the UCSF Mission Bay research campus.

Dogpatch As if Dogpatch wasn’t already the place to be, there’ll soon be yet another reason to visit that happening neighborhood. Recchiuti Confections is opening a chocolate cafe in the old Piccino space on 22nd Street. The former café area will become retail space, selling chocolate; beverages, savories and desserts will be on offer in the previous restaurant space.

Sunken Ship Last month two century-old scow schooners – 90-foot-long workhorse vessels – were uncovered by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission near Candlestick Park. The ships are believed to have plied the bay shallows in the late-1800s, delivering hay, salt, bricks, pork, coal, lumber and other cargo. Buried under more than 14 feet of sand and dirt, the 45-foot-long hull sections came to light at the mouth of an enormous trench that will house a new overflow sewage pipe for the Visitacion Valley neighborhood. “These were the flatbed trucks of San Francisco Bay from the late 19th and early 20th century,” said

Jerome Franz, MD

INTERNAL MEDICINE

Jim Delgado, director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. “They’re largely forgotten now, but these scow schooners moved the goods that built the City and the Bay Area economy.” Before it was piled with fill dirt and paved over for development, the site held a small lagoon and spit that appeared and receded with the bay tides. A few relics from the ships - shoes, bottles and bits of ceramic – will be taken, as well as samples of the wooden beams, but the vessels’ remains won’t be salvaged. The cost of removing and preserving a 100-foot-long ship would run into the millions of dollars.

Cabbage Patch Dogpatch may soon need to change its name to Cabbagepatch. Potrero Kids at Daniel Webster was recently awarded the child care space allocated i n the Potrero Lau nch A ffordable bu i ld i ng, cu r rently under construction at 2235 Third Street. The preschool, meant to serve as a feeder for Daniel Webster Elementary School, will expand its programs to serve not just preschool age students, but also toddlers and

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see short cuts page 21

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March 2011

Homeless Advocates Rally Against Proposed Housing Cuts By Ben Terrall Last month a coalition of tenants rallied at San Francisco’s Civic Center in opposition to proposed federal funding cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The rally was organized by a number of groups, including the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP), San Francisco Housing Rights Committee, and San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness (SFCH). Paul Boden, SFCH’s co-founder, and WRAP’s director, joined homeless advocacy groups from across the Bay Area to denounce federal and state budget priorities that “create jobs for the military, homeland security and the prison industrial complex” and “cut 600,000 affordable housing units while building 800,000 jail cells.” Low-income seniors shouldn’t be forced to beg legislators not to cut funding for the elderly, Boden said. The rally was in part intended to encourage San Francisco supervisors to endorse a “Senior and Disability Pledge.” The pledge states that: “There are approximately 160,000 seniors and over 90,000 adults living with disabilities living in our city, and that number is expected to rise dramatically… over half or our seniors do not have enough income to meet their basic needs as defined by the Elder Economic Index, and 33% of adults with

disabilities live below the Federal poverty line…over 20,000 people in San Francisco rely on IHSS and nutrition programs to survive.” The pledge, which Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, David Campos, Jane Kim, David Chiu, Eric Mar, and John Avalos have endorsed, commits signers to “do everything in my power to insure that there will be no more draconian cuts to those who have the least…” to “…

Ma l ia Cohen hasn’t responded to appeals to sign the pledge. “I encourage all low income people in Cohen’s district to call her office, meet with her and ask her position on affordable housing and community-based services. Constituents need to know where she stands, as the Bayview is ground zero of redevelopment and gentrification,” said Chionsini. Chionsini lives on Bancroft

“I encourage all low income people in Cohen’s district to call her office, meet with her and ask her position on affordable housing and community based services. Constituents need to know where she stands as the Bayview is ground zero of redevelopment and gentrification.” -James Chionsini, Planning for Elders reduce administrative waste and excessive spending before agreeing to any reduction of services for seniors and people with disability…” and to “…commit to “prioritize community based alternatives over institutional care when making decisions related to the budget.” This last clause is a reference to the In Home Support Services (IHSS) program, which could be dramatically scaled-back under proposed budget cuts (See “State Budget Cuts Threaten Home Health Services” in December, 2009 View). According to James Chionsini, Planning for Elders’ interim executive director, District 10 Supervisor

Avenue in Bayview, and attributes his current housing to his wife’s diligence in dealing with the City’s bureaucracy. His family secured a below-market rate condominium th rough the Mayor’s Of f ice on Housing. “…there needs to be much more of it…there are more people out of work, and Bayview has one of the highest rates of evictions. It’s mostly families and kids, people who are poor, who are adversely impacted by the economic downturn,” he said. City Hall “needs to prioritize people who grew up in Bayview, needs to put some focus on the neighborhood that doesn’t just involve bringing in wealthy

whites.” After the City Hall rally, roughly 150 protesters marched to Hyde and 8th streets, and along Mission Street to the San Francisco Federal Building. They carried signs with messages including “Save Elder and Disability Services,” “Cut the Crap, Not Housing” and “If Egypt Can Do It So Can We.” Activist Keith Kemp spoke at the Federal Building. He described being homeless, and the six years it took him to secure stable housing, during which he lived in a single room occupancy (SRO) hotel. According to Kemp, SRO living was “dicey” because as a diabetic he needed more control over his diet than a single room with no kitchen facilities could offer. Kemp told the assembled activists that the proposed cuts would freeze an al ready long San F rancisco Housing Author ity waiting list for subsidized housing. Reading from a letter he wrote to President Barak Obama about pending HUD cuts, he said “cut this branch, Mr. President, and the people will die of despair.” Kemp feels fortunate to now be living in assisted housing on Clementina Street, South-of-Market (SoMa). But, he said, “If these cuts are made to HUD, how many years will people have to wait in the cold and rain? People are sleeping outside in doorways in SoMa and Bayview. People are going to die… if you hear this voice inside saying to give a needy person a cup of water, that’s God. Religion should be about how you treat each other.”

March 2011

mission creek from front page houseboat in 1978 and swims religiously in the San Francisco Bay, is deeply committed to the area’s ecological preservation. He serves as president of the Mission Creek Conservancy, which was founded in 1983 by members of the Mission Creek Harbor Association, Audubon Society, Sierra Club and other environmental groups in response to the planned Mission Bay redevelopment. He plans to live along the creek and work toward its ongoing restoration for the rest of his life. MCC’s “… simple goals [include] – preservation of this wild resource within a mile of San Francisco’s downtown center, in spite of the construction and the influx of thousands of people living and working in the area,” according to its mission statement When Mission Bay redevelopment planning was launched in the late-1990s, MCC, along with other environmental groups, worked to convince Catellus – which owned the land – and the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency – which was leading reconstruction efforts – that creek preservation was vital. According to Isaacson, Catellus was open to discussion, with Mission Bay Development vice president Doug Gardner particularly sensitive to the need to protect the local eco-system. Plans that had called for the creek to be lined with concrete were altered to focus on habitat enhancement, including planting native vegetation

along the creek’s shore. Over the years MCC has planted Pickleweed (Salicornia Virginica), California Sea Lavender (Limonium californicum), Alkali Heath (Frankenia salina), Fleashy Jaumea (Jaumea carnosa), and Salt grass (Distichlis spicata), among other species, along the creek. Higher on the banks the conservancy has planted lupines, ceanothus, sages, buckwheats, Seaside Daisies, Asters, Blue-eyed Grass, California Fuschia, California Phacelia, as well as other natives. In 1984 MCC published Mission Creek San Francisco. Vanished Waters, A History of San Francisco’s Mission Bay, by Nancy Olmsted, followed in 1986. Together the books provide a thorough history of Mission Creek and its ecological role in the City. A new edition of Vanished Waters was released last month. Stearns contributed to the book’s wildlife section, writing in part,” The successful revitalization of Mission Creek offers a unique opportunity for city dwellers to experience and participate in maintaining a wild habitat.” Prior to European-American settlement, Mission Bay was a lagoon and marshland. Much of San Francisco, in fact, was once bisected by creeks, as well as permanent and seasonal marshes. Mission Creek, which originated in what’s now Twin Peaks, originally emerged as a waterfall that fed a pond – located between 17th and 19th streets at Valencia – before running into Mission Bay. Mission Creek still runs into the bay, but now is lined by tall apartment

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Last month, San Francisco Quilters’ Guild presented Symphony Of Color, an exhibition of more than 300 quilts, and featuring textile artists and authors Janet Mednick and Marcia Stein.

buildings, landscaped parks, and parking lots, and is crossed by bridges and a freeway. Canoers and kayakers frequent its waters. According to Isaacson, engine-boat traffic is discouraged and virtually nonexistent. Occasionally sea lions come into the creek to feed on herring, and though porpoises are rare, locals have spotted them in the creek, too. The first human dwellers of the area – believed to be the Native American Yelamu, who populated much of California – have disappeared even more thoroughly than the City’s wetlands. The wet and shifting geography of tidal zones and rapid build-up of San Francisco has eradicated almost all evidence of the earlier native settlements. It’s difficult to imagine now, but animals once roamed freely along the water’s edge, included deer, elk, sea otter, lynx, bear, wolf, and beaver. In the creek, Threespine Stickleback and Steelhead Trout spawned, and sturgeon and salmon were fodder for the teeming bird life.

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THE POTRERO VIEW

Over the years urbanization took its toll. Mission Bay became a dumping ground. Refuse from nearby slaughterhouses, raw sewage, debris from shipbuilding and rail yards, power plants, factories, and even a whaling port – the Arctic Oil Works, at 23rd and Illinois streets – flowed into the water. Thanks to the efforts of environmental activists and volunteers, things have gotten better. Today, birds still fish, even if there’s less to fish from, and residents appreciate having a bit of the wild in the midst of urbanization. The creek has become something to be cherished in its own right, rather than used as a vehicle to shuttle debris out to sea. “I think, actually, the health of the creek today is better than it has been in a long, long time,” Stearns said, pointing to the myriad of birds outside her houseboat’s window as living proof. This is the second of a three part series on Mission Bay. Next: Neighborhood Impacts.

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An independent school located in San Francisco, Potrero Hill Day School embraces fearless learning both of one’s self and of the world around us. The school is a two-year program built around a cohort of six to seven girls entering the 7th grade. Potrero Hill Day School focuses on empowering girls to engage in their thei learning process, to embrace it, and to develop the skills to reflect upon it as they are Save Power. Save Money. Save The Environment. coming of age. sfpower.org From math to music, sewing to science, food to fine Study 5 arts, Potrero Hill Day School believes in the power of immersion to truly own these skills and knowledge. Working with a smaller class size allows us to address both concrete and abstract styles of learning while conc being able to offer deeper exploration of topics, a truly differentiated curriculum and provide one-onone guidance allowing for a fuller synthesis of information and perspective. Where independent, creative learning is framed by traditional methodology and spontaniety is always on the horizon when a teachable moment presents itself. p Save Power. Save Money. Save The Environment. Class held 8:30-3:30 September through June sfpower.org Teacher/Student Ratio: 1 Teacher to 6-7 Students

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THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011

The Nibbi Family: Building a Legacy By Lisa Gunther Sergio Nibbi has stories to tell. He recently published a book about his travels, titled Tutto il Mondo è Paese, Italian for The Whole World

Photograph courtesy of the Nibbi Brothers

Larry and Sergio Nibbi

is a Village. The book details his journeys to various international destinations, including Greece, Italy and Russia. W hile Nibbi takes delight in his adventures abroad, he’s also proud of his longti me i nvolvement w ith Potrero Hill-based Nibbi Brothers General Contractors, where he works with his brother, Larry, and two sons, Bob and Michael. The whole world may be a village, but for this family, the Hill is its heart. The Nibbi family moved to Chicago from Lucca, Italy in 1938, when Nibbi was only two and a half years old. A carpenter in Italy, Sergio’s father, Marino Nibbi, sustained his family with a $12 a week job. Two years later, the family traveled west to visit relatives in San Francisco, and decided to stay after Marino was offered a better paying position. He began working as a carpenter for a well-established San Francisco company. When the firm didn’t give him his promised vacation pay one year, Marino told them, “If I don’t get my vacation pay by Monday, I’m not coming to work!” Marino Nibbi didn’t go back to work. Instead, he pursued various independent jobs, eventually starting his own firm with the $126 lent to him by a 15 year-old Sergio. It had taken Sergio all of his young life to accumulate that money, but he believed in his father’s dream. Ma-

rino set-up shop South-of-Market in 1950, and his business steadily grew. In 1957, Sergio graduated from college and began working with his father, later joined by his brother, Larry. The two brothers took over the company in 1973, when Marino retired at the age of 62. “My brother and I just kept expanding the business,” Sergio explained. “Now, here we are and we have a $200 million a year company, and we’re one of the better known contractors in San Francisco, and probably the oldest family-owned business in the City. There are a lot of other ones, but they’re either owned by other people or have other people running the company.” Sergio’s oldest son Bob joined the fir m after graduating from Stanford University with a Masters in construction management. His younger son Michael also joined, after graduating from Chapman University with a business degree. The two sons are now business partners and owners of the firm, just like their father and uncle before them. Three generations working at the same company. Last year Nibbi Brothers General Contractors celebrated its 60th anniversary with a party at City Hall. An astounding 435 people were in attendance; a testament to the company’s longstanding connection to San Francisco. “The part that’s so nice is that we are respected, in the street,” Sergio smiled. “We’re very much involved with civic and community organizations.” The family gives back to the community, both in time and money. Sergio serves on the board of the Sa lesia n Boys a nd Gi rls Club; Larry is on the Carpenter’s Health and Welfare Board, and Bob is this year’s president of Family House, an organization that offers a “home away from home” for families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. The company is currently pursuing an impressive array of projects. These include remodeling and relocating the Exploratorium, which is set to open on Pier 15 in 2013, “creating a new campus that will place the institution at the heart of the waterfront, at the gateway to the City and the nexus of public transit,” as the Nibbi website states. The firm is also working on a project in Dogpatch, the Potrero Launch Apartments, a $40 million housing complex that consists of 196

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Nibbi Brothers is currently building Potrero Launch, located at 2235 Third Street. The project will consist of 196 market rate apartments, commercial retail space and a day care center.

market-rate units, located at 2235 Third Street. In addition, Nibbi recently completed the new Mission District Clubhouse for the Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco, located on Alabama between 21st and 22nd streets. “People ask me all the time what my father would say,” Sergio laughed. “I think he would say that he is very proud of where the company is. I wish my father was here to be able to see what he started, and where it is today….People see us now with this big company, and signs all over, and big jobs, and they have no idea where it started from, or what it took to get there.” Although Marino Nibbi passed away more than 20 years ago, his

hard-working and generous spirit can still be felt in every aspect of the company. Sergio writes in his new autobiography that his father would often invite clients home for lunch, and that as “business prospered, bankers, bondsmen, supervisors and close friends became part of a very special group.” That same sense of specialness can still be felt within the walls of their current office, an unassuming beige rectangular building on Hubbell Street that faces the 280 freeway. “It’s truly an American success story,” Sergio said thoughtfully. “People always say we’re so lucky, but I say, you know what? If you work as hard as we did, you’ll be just as lucky too.”

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Brewery Remains Anchored in Potrero By Sarah Mcdonald After being owned by Frederick “Fritz” Maytag since 1965, Anchor Brewing Company changed hands last year. Anchor Brewers and Distillers, LLC, a company established to oversee Anchor and other craft brewers and artisan distillers, bought the brewery. Anchor’s new chief executive officer, Keith Greggor, said he bought the company because he loves its beer. “It’s an incredible brewery, it’s an incredible brand, and it’s an incredible part of San Francisco,” he said. Anchor Brewery is known for its craft beers, particularly Anchor Steam, which enjoys international distribution and popularity. Anchor Distillery produces Old Potrero Whiskey and Junipero Gin, a lesserknown spirit that’s been critically acclaimed in The New York Times, Variety, and Departures. “A lot of people don’t know we’re also a micro distiller,” said Greggor. He built his career in spirits, managing Skyy Spirits, along with Anchor’s new chairman, Tony Foglio, until 2006. Greggor plans to focus on increasing the distillery’s brands and distribution. “We’ve got some great underdeveloped brands,” he said. Anchor has also expanded its portfolio, distributing imported spirits from the British wine and spirits merchant Berr y Bros. & Rudd. Anchor’s other affiliated companies include Preiss Imports,

which carries primarily spirits, and BrewDog USA, the United States’ d iv ision of the lead i ng Un ited Kingdom craft beer. According to Greggor, much of his focus will remain in San Francisco. He plans to develop a “center of excellence” in the City for craft brewers and distillers, which he said will “serve as an epicenter of development, education, entertainment and innovation, all designed to further contribute to the culture and heritage of craft beer and artisan spirits.” In the future, Greggor hopes to host classes and share knowledge with other brewers, distillers, and bartenders. “There’s a huge thirst for knowledge within the trade,” he said. “We believe we have the expertise and the knowledge.” A nchor’s reputation has allowed the company to weather the Great Recession. “A nchor was able to survive the recession very well,” said Greggor, adding that they’ve recently hired several new employees. “It’s a great feeling,” he said, to create jobs in a poor economy. “We have a phenomenal employee base,” he said. “In all the places I’ve worked, I’ve never found such a motivated, innovative set of employees.” Greggor, who lives in Marin, said he’s happy Anchor Brewery is located in Potrero Hill. “It’s a great neighborhood and a great location for us,” he said. “We have an important presence here.”

New ! ing List

Then and Now: Portwalk

Before San Francisco Giants fans strolled the Portwalk adjacent to AT&T Park, stevedores and switch locomotives plied the same stretch of pier to move cargo between freighters moored in the China Basin channel and the warehouse located where the ballpark Photographs by Stephen Fotter stands today. Pavement set with plaques commemorating Giants stars’ feats have replaced the train tracks; the stadium’s right field wall mimics the warehouse’s arched windows. On game days, in what’s now McCovey Cove, ferries deliver fans to the park and kayakers vie for splash hits where a dry dock temporarily floated. The China Basin Building, located beyond the Third Street Bridge, hunkers in both photographs. The building was constructed in 1925 by Del Monte Cannery. By 1974, when the Then picture was taken, it had been painted a rich blue. That same year it was a distribution point of a massive food giveaway conducted by the Hearst family in response to the ransom demands of the Symbionese Liberation Army, the kidnappers of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. Today the building houses corporate offices, and life science and technology firms that value their proximity to the University of California, San Francisco Mission Bay campus. That a ballpark could be built at a site so key to the economic vitality of an earlier San Francisco is a reminder of just how outmoded The Port had become by the late 20th century, left in the wake of the container ship.

-Abigail Johnston Potrero Hill Archives Project

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March 2011

restaurants from front page day in the Mission,” Rodriguez said. While he’d hoped for a “gangbusters” reception due to its unique sushi menu and competitive prices, the restaurant does mild business on most days, and draws crowds to its large open barroom and family-oriented restaurant on weekends. Rocketfish hopes to attract more customers with its regular specials, like all-you-can-eat sushi Tuesdays. The 15-employee establishment, which originally served lunch, pulled back to dinner-only service several months ago after it got a better sense of neighborhood traffic. It plans to enhance its bar-side offerings with the addition of nighttime entertainment, including DJs and small bands. A nother newcomer has also shifted to mainly dinner-only service now that it’s sussed-out its clientele. Poquito, the 49-seat, 14-employee Latin American eatery that moved into Dogpatch’s defunct Franklin’s Bar last October, now serves lunch only on weekends and dinner Monday through Saturday in part because it wants to attract neighborhood locals, and that’s when they’re around, according to co-owner Richard Vila. “We really liked the feel of Dogpatch, and we thought what we do would work well for a neighborhood restaurant, but might get a little lost in a place like the Mission. We want to establish constancy; the Mission seems more about movement,” Vila reported. He said the experience so far has been a rollercoaster, with he and co-owner Jason Yoo learning on their feet and adjusting as they go. Recent changes include re-renovating the kitchen, which was originally designed to be open to the rest of the restaurant but ended up emitting too much light to maintain the soughtafter cozy interior. Clients have rolled with the changes and keep coming back. Although the restaurant experienced a drop in traffic after the initial hype wore off, Vila said business is now matching their original forecasts, and that Poquito is building a solid roster of regulars who come in week

after week. He credits both the unique Ecuadorian/Spanish-fused cuisine and a rotating roster of interesting South American liquors and cocktails for the steady traffic: roughly 30 diners a night on weeknights, and up to 75 on weekends. Papito, Jocelyn Buelow’s newest Hilltop venture, has no problem filling its seats during lunch or dinner; there are 17 of them inside and another eight on the adjacent sidewalk. The restaurant, which serves French-twisted Mexican food like duck confit tacos, has been doing steady business since it opened last August, according to Buelow. “It’s slow everywhere. Business is not what it used to be, but there’s been no real challenges,” said Buelow. Offering food on the Hill with so many eateries clustered nearby doesn’t pose a danger, he said, since patrons like having the choice to eat at one place one day, and another the next. Papito employs a staff of 19, is open for lunch and dinner all week, and brunch on weekends. A relative oldster among the pack is Pera, the Turkish offering created by co-owners Sherry Wilson and Irfan Yalcin, which is housed in the old Eliza’s space. The pair jumped on the location when it opened up with dreams of enhancing the Hill’s offerings. “My partner used to live on the Hill, and it is a dream to be on the same level as all the great restaurants here. Hopefully we will all bring more people to the Hill, and it will be a gourmet Hill,” Yalcin said. Pera, which opened in November 2009, serves lunch six days a week and dinner every day. It has a staff of 14, who provide service to 49 seats, which the restaurant fills at least twice on an average weekend night and at least once at lunch and dinner during the week. Business is steadily growing, according to Yalcin. “There are not many Turkish restaurants in the Bay Area, so people come all over specifically for this food,” he said. Connecticut Street’s Sunflower, a Vietnamese joint that opened last August, appears to sustain a bustling weekday lunch business in the space that was previously home to Baraka. The owner, however, was unavailable for comment.

Splendor Docks in Dogpatch By Sasha Lekach The Carnival Cruise Lines ship Splendor made national headlines last November when an engine fire stranded cruise-goers off the coast of San Diego for three days with no power, running water or refrigerated food. Earlier this year, the Central Waterfront became

Before the Splendor left the Bay to take its first cruise since November along the Mexican Riviera, it took advantage of San Francisco’s dry dock, the largest of its kind on the West coast. The dock, operated by BAE Systems, underwent a $5 million upgrade in 2007. “We dredged it out,

Photograph by Jetta Disco, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Gaurd

part of the Splendor’s odyssey when it docked at Pier 70 for repairs. The Splendor – a 113,300-ton ship – rested and recuperated at Pier 70 before setting sail on Valentine’s Day for its home port in Long Beach, California. It took three weeks to repair the damage caused by the engine room fire. “We are replacing one diesel generator and two alternators in dry dock, as well as extensive cabling and switchboard components,” said Carnival Cruise Lines public relations manager Vance Gulliksen. The costs for repairs were reported at $56 million. T he repa i r s were ca ref u l ly watched over by the Coast Guard. “There is a wide range of safety regulations that these ships have to comply with,” said Dan Dewell, public affairs officer at the 11th Coast Guard District, which includes the San Francisco waterfront. “The Coast Guard has been working with the ship since the accident and repairs.” According to Dewell, the Coast Guard typically boards a ship for inspection, and an expert accompanied the ship to the Los Angeles area as part of an inspection process to be re-certified to carry passengers.

made it bigger,” said a BAE Systems ship repair worker, who said his name was “Angel.” The City paid for the dry dock renovation as an economic incentive for cruise ships to utilize the San Francisco Port; over the past few years cruises have become a more common sight on the Bay. “The only ship we probably couldn’t fit here is the Queen Mary,” Angel said. BAE Systems routinely takes in ships “for a scrub and buff and power wash,” Angel said. “We have to make sure the ships are good and when we send the boat back out everything is how it should be.” The Splendor offered more to the City than the average ship repair. According to Joe Boss, a longtime Dogpatch resident and public affairs consultant, “It’s a huge employment source…[The ship] is using state property and lands as it was intended.” Tourists and locals commented on enjoying the view of the ship, with many people snapping pictures on sunny days near Pier 70. Some were quick to highlight that this was the very same ship on which vacationers were rumored to have eaten Spam and waited hours to use the bathroom, all while on a luxury cruise liner.

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publisher’s from page 2 ment removes them. It’s a noble and politically savvy policy, eliminating the possibility of paying-out a resident’s lease, guaranteeing that every house torn down is fully replaced, and giving a few lucky poor people an inalienable right to not just any subsidized housing, but a more or less specific unit located at a designated address. Right to return, combined with little, if any, state or federal dollars, is what creates the need to bootstrap Annex-Terrace redevelopment with sales of market rate housing. Eliminate either of these two factors and new opportunities would emerge. However, politics and economics suggest that they won’t be eliminated. City officials are insisting that Annex-Terrace redevelopment must pay its own way. That’s only possible by selling gobs of higher-priced units, with concomitant increases in density. Under proposed plans the site could become home to upwards of 5,000 residents, more than four times the current population, half again as dense as the rest of Potrero Hill. There’d be 1,450 parking spots for perhaps 2,000 cars. Whether or not this intensity of density is necessary to pay for the project depends on what portion of affordable housing costs and associated infrastructure is covered by public, or philanthropic, monies, and how much the for-profit homes will fetch once they’re on the market. Neither of these variables is yet known. It may be that the originally conceived 1,200 units would be enough, or that the currently proposed 1,800 units are needed to pencil things out. Increased density has its benefits. It reduces urban sprawl – thereby protecting green space and agricultural lands from development – and, if done right, lowers automobile-related pollution. Population concentrations can help support neighborhood busi-

nesses, schools, and cultural activities. But Annex-Terrace is located in an area suffering from among the Bay Area’s poorest air quality, that’s already at a severe deficit in public transportation. The complex, like most of the rest of the community, is located on top of a hill. Without ready access to public transport, anyone who can afford to will rely on their own car to get around. Unless the new housing is matched with new jobs – located perhaps in Mission Bay or Pier 70 – the residents attracted to the new complex are just as likely to work on the peninsula as in the City. If the additional population mimics existing commuter patterns, it may not even contribute much to local purchasing, instead shopping and spending entertainment dollars outside the community. Taken together, the proposed density at Annex-Terrace will almost certainly create unpleasant parking and traffic congestion, and further degrade air quality, while making uncertain contributions to the existing community. Which bring us back to our handme-down clothes: dad, as embodied by the City, needs to get a job. Whatever densities are adopted, Annex-Terrace will only work – for its residents, the surrounding community, and San Francisco-as-a-whole – if it’s supported by a state-of-the-art art public transportation system linked with robust open space and urban ecosystem planning. The project should not be allowed to move forward unless proper funding – which could consist of a bond, incremental tax financing, or new Citywide taxes – is secured to create this infrastructure. Potrero Hill and its neighboring communities may be forced to wear public sector hand-me-downs today, but that doesn’t mean we should be locked into second-class citizenship forever. We should demand something better, or our children will be stuck wearing a different style of the same tattered clothes.

THE POTRERO VIEW

Hill Resident’s New CD Rocks On An Interview with Curt Yagi By Greg Roensch Singer/songwriter and Potrero Hill resident Curt Yagi has been hard at work on a new CD, Close My Eyes. Driven by Yagi’s distinctive vocals and rhythmic guitar playing, the songs on the CD feature an array of amazing Bay Area musicians known as The People Standing Behind Me. Be on the lookout for Yagi and the band as they get ready to promote— and celebrate—this new CD of fun, original music.

GR: If you could share the stage with any musician, who would it be? CY: I’ve always loved the Barenaked Ladies and think it would be a lot of fun to be on stage with them. Some people have said my sound is similar to theirs. Big Head Todd and the Monsters would be a blast as well. GR: Tell me a little about those people standing behind you. CY: I was joined by twelve other musicians on the CD and, yes, they are called The People Standing Behind Me. They are amazing musicians who are extremely down to earth and just love to play. With so many people involved, you never know what you’ll get at one of our gigs because we always seem to have a different lineup.

GR: Tell me about your new CD. CY: I’m very excited about this. I think I’ve come a long way since I recorded my first CD in 2007. Back then I was just getting a feel for my voice and mu sicia n sh ip. GR: What are your For the new CD, pla n s for pro I incorporated mot i ng t he C D? a la rger band C Y: I p r o b a bly while maintainwon’t be recordi n g a s i n g e r/ i ng a not he r C D songwriter any time soon, so sound and feel. I really want to I’m very happy push hard on this with the result, Photograph courtesy of Curt Yagi one. I’m going to and can’t wait to see the be blasting out to all response. of the main media channels, such as radio, film, television, print, and GR: How long did it take to record blogs. We’ll also be playing a lot of this CD? local gigs for sure, and I may even CY: It took about nine months, so I try to tour a bit during the summer guess you can say it’s my baby. Re- to promote the CD. cording always takes longer than expected, but it’s definitely worth it. GR: What’s the story behind the CD’s GR: How would you classify your sound? CY: It’s acoustic rock with a touch of funk. All of my songs start with my acoustic guitar and vocals. I build my arrangements from there. GR: Where did your song ideas come from for this CD? CY: You never know when inspiration will strike. There are songs about my girlfriend, songs about living life, and even a song about the environment. I often return to songs about my father, who passed away in 2002.

cover photo? CY: I can’t say there’s a story behind it other than that I really like the shot. It was taken by photographer Judy Mize. I loved the idea of wandering around Potrero Hill with my guitar and a big SF cityscape in the background. Come to think of it, it’s also a nice play on the band name of Curt Yagi & The People Standing Behind Me. There are definitely a lot of people behind me in that picture and on this CD too. For more about Curt Yagi: www. curtyagi.com. Greg Roensch is a freelance writer and Potrero Hill resident.

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March 2011

EN trips from front page in the study are Eastern SoMa, the Mission, high-growth areas of Western SoMa, Rincon Hill, Mission Bay, Central Waterfront, Showplace Square and Potrero Hill. According to Wertheim, these neighborhoods were targeted because of the proximity of important local and regional transit services, including busses, light rail, Bay Area Rapid Transit, Caltrain and possibly the future High-Speed Rail. Although Potrero Hill is technically included in the study area, recommendations focused on the larger corridors, and don’t address many Potrero Hill residents’ concerns about transportation mobility up and down the neighborhood’s steep hills.

ing’s structure continued as planned, and the breakout session was held for roughly 45 minutes. Objections were once again raised when it became clear that Potrero Hill wasn’t significantly represented in the new plan. One Hill resident used a sticky note to write, “What about the hill!?” on one of the paper maps lying on a table for display. “We are focused on the streets that are identified by City policy as primary corridors,” SFMTA consultant Bonnie Nelson explained. “The fact that that area is not on the map may say as much about problems with Potrero Hill as putting it on the map. There should be a primary transit corridor on Potrero Hill. That comes through loud and clear from what people are saying tonight. The

Photograph courtesy of the Potrero Hill Archives Project

San Francisco History Exposition Draws Thousands The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society held its first-ever exposition at the Old Mint last month. More than 3,000 visitors were treated to old photographs, maps, artifacts, panel discussions, oral histories, videos and slide shows, presented by some 20-plus local history groups and associations dedicated to preserving the City’s past. A magnificent quilt depicting significant San Francisco events was on display; tours of the historic old building were conducted; and a vintage fire truck was parked outside. Hill residents Audrey Cole, Phil De Andrade, Frank Gilson, Rosemarie and Micky Ostler, Manu Schnetzler, and Mary Wasserman came by the Potrero Hill Archives Project display to say hello; the 1938 aerial photos of the Hill drew in many of the expo’s participants. Bob Isaacson and Ginny Stearns of the Mission Creek Conservancy, together with Chris Carlsson of FoundSF.org, sold copies of the beautiful new edition of Vanished Waters, Nancy Olmsted’s seminal history of Mission Bay. (See “Mission Creek Survives Despite Two Centuries of Abuse” in this issue). For the Archives Project, the expo was a chance to share ideas with other groups and to be inspired. For everybody, it was big fun.

-Peter Linenthal

Photograph by Lisa Tehrani

Bus riders disembark the 22 Fillmore on 20th Street in Dogpatch due to mechanical issues during a morning commute.

After an introduction and presentation of the study’s technical analysis and recommended improvement plans, meeting attendees were invited to split into groups to view different maps of the City, each representing key corridors. Participants were encouraged to write their concerns on sticky notes, and attach the notes to the maps so that they could be discussed once the group got back together. A number of attendees expressed dissatisfaction with the meeting’s structure, stating that they’d rather continue as one large group, lest their ideas and concerns get lost in the crowd. Despite these objections, the meet-

22 is slow and unreliable, the Third Street line is also slow and unreliable when there is a ball game.” A Hill resident responded by stating that merely addressing the 22 and Third Street transportation lines wouldn’t greatly affect the current and future residents of the Potrero Annex-Terrace public housing complexes. “They need to be able to get up [the hill] and not buy cars just to get around the neighborhood,” he said, emphasizing that the elderly community, especially, suffers from this lack of mobility. To read more about EN TRIPS: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/oentrips/indxentrips.htm.

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March 2011

small biz from page 2 viduals loiter near these parking spaces; a police officer told me that my signs would serve to advertise how much time petty criminals have to break into cars. After just one month I stopped renting the parking spaces because my patients refused to use them. The alley has a constant deluge of homeless people, who camp, defecate, do drugs and attempt unpleasant conversation. For activists who don’t want the homeless to be criminalized, I ask: is it not a crime to defecate in the streets? To camp on City streets? To break into cars, especially to support an illegal drug habit? I r u n my dog fou r ti mes a week down Bryant or Brannan streets to the Embarcadero. The amount of broken glass from car break-ins is amazing. Aren’t we tired of crack heads breaking into our cars to support their drug habits? It’s time small businesses, and their allies, unite to fight for our basic rights. We need to get the persistent and aggressive drug addicts off of our streets. I’ve made 70 phone calls to the City about issues related to the homeless since last fall, and I’m only one person concerned with one block. We need tougher anti-graffiti laws. Instead of pu n ish i ng bu si nesses – a nd property owners – the City should enforce $1,000 fines, three months house arrest and hours of community service to taggers. Other cities that pursue this type of strategy have no graffiti at all. Fines for not cleaning graffiti off your building are more than getting caught defacing someone else’s property! The City should make it easier and anonymous for people to report quality of life issues. Currently, people have to file a formal complaint, give their real names, press

charges and go to court. A local merchant tells the story of a mother who reported people doing and selling drugs in the parking lot of her business after hours. The police told her that nothing could be done without her coming down to the station and giving her name to file a complaint. Is this how to keep our citizens safe? We need pension reform. The purpose of unions should be to give workers fair and safe work conditions, not for government employees to put the City on a path to economic suicide. Everyone should contribute at least nine percent towards their own pensions. There should be no spiking of benefits in the years before retirement. The base salary of an employee’s last year should dictate their pension. No more working twenty hours of overtime each week to inflate pensions. At least fifteen years of service should be required to receive pension or healthcare benefits for life, not five years. Former police Chief Heather Fong is paid more than $200,000 a year in pension. My small business cannot survive with all the pensions I’m going to be asked to help pay for. We need better work accountability, and on-the-job performance reviews. How did we get to the place where a worker can’t be fired when they’re not doing their job, or are cheating the system with overtime and sick days? I recently received a letter from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition congratulating me on our new bike lanes. I did not appreciate the irony. Why must we fight so hard for our livelihoods? Between the homeless, the parking, increasing fare hikes, increased taxes, regulations and licensing requirements, the City is making it nearly impossible for small businesses to survive.

THE POTRERO VIEW

Bayview Church Preaches Nutrition, Healthier Living By Sasha Lekach On a rainy Saturday morning last month, more than a dozen Bayview locals made their way to Metropolitan Baptist Church, on Newcomb Street. Although the church’s pastor, Shad Riddick, was present, the attendees didn’t come to hear him, but rather what Shan Amos had to say about nutrition. Amos is a nurse at Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Center. She was born in Visitation Valley, and currently lives in Daly City with her three children. Amos attended Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga after her oldest son Ken — now a senior at Riordan High School — had health complications as a baby. She’s been a nurse for a decade. Riddick saw Amos present a nutrition program at San Francisco General Hospital, and asked her to speak to his Bayview congregation. “I found her very informative,” he said. “The goal is to get more people to eat organic and fresh.” Coinciding with Black History Month, Amos’ talk focused on the origins of the modern African American diet. “We are from Africa. The way we process food, our biochemical makeup was given to us for that environment,” she told the audience, who munched on fresh fruit, toast and juices at tables throughout the church’s Rev. Nolan and Evelyn Mills Social Hall. One audience member joked that he was drinking organic water. Amos explained that many African Americans lack enzymes to break down red meat; prior to European settlement there were no cattle in Africa. Diets were filled with grains, vegetables and the occasional goat or fish. The topic of junk food riled the crowd. “I don’t remember my grandma ever eating chips,” Amos said. Many audience members vocally agreed. One participant asked if the only way to avoid junk food was to eat organic, which can be more expensive. “When I say fresh, I don’t always mean organic,” Amos answered. “Packaged foods are

horrible. You see an expiration date for 2013.” On the topic of fruits and vegetables, Amos suggested, “If you don’t do fresh, do frozen. And try to eat more raw vegetables than cooked, to get the most vitamins and minerals. Our bodies know good food.” The conversation touched on farmers markets – a good place to buy produce, and often cheaper, Amos explained – smart shopping – the perimeter of any Safeway or Lucky holds the healthier, essential foods, like produce, eggs, milk, breads, with packaged, unhealthier foods in center aisles – and exercise, or lack thereof, and its connection to heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity in the African American community. “We’re getting fat cuz we ain’t walking, we ain’t working out, we ain’t eating right,” Amos simplified. Eating right isn’t always so easy when the resources aren’t available. Pastor Riddick’s goal is to establish organic, fresh grocery stores in Bayview. He pointed out that Third Street, the heart of the Bayview neighborhood, doesn’t offer much for people who value a healthy diet. Some participants said that they like to shop at markets like Trader Joe’s, but “Where’s the Trader Joe’s in our neighborhood?” Amos asked. “But there are liquor stores on every corner.” Despite Amos’ tough talk on eating healthy and getting up and moving, her overall message is one of moderation. “If you eat four bags of chips, break it down to only two. Greasy food tastes good, but eat it in moderation,” she said. “We have to get our health back.” Riddick believes “we need more education.” Chiquita Wilder, a Bayview local and church member, came to the nutrition workshop because she recognized she lacked some knowledge on what she was eating. “I wanted to learn more about eating right,” Wilder said. After the program, she said she learned about sugar-free options and how they aren’t always better, and about the science of digestion and what’s going on internally when we eat.

THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011

Bayview-Based Pet Camp Opens Dog Park By Rheba Estante In 1997, Virginia Donohue and Mark Klaiman decided to realize their fantasy of being able to take their dogs to work. The result was Pet Camp. Over the years the boarding facility has been regularly lauded, receiving SFGate’s 2010 Best Pet Boarding Facility and San Francisco Magazine’s 2008 Best of Bay award. Donohue and Klaiman, who met when they both worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led Pet Camp to become one of the City’s first certified green businesses. “Perhaps we were inclined to be environmentally minded after working at the EPA, but it was the rolling blackouts in 2001 that really got us thinking,” said Donohue. “In 2001 we were all being asked to conserve, the state was suffering through rolling blackouts and there was talk about drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. We decided we needed to do our part to help conserve and create clean energy. With the help of San Francisco Community Power we put in solar panels, and have been on this green trek ever since.” Pet Camp features a swimming pool specifically designed for dogs. Counselors don wet suits and get in the pool with animals who need special assistance, such as dogs with injuries or who are recovering from surgery. If a dog is swimming for exercise, Pet Camp puts them in a

special harness and turns on the jets so they can swim against a current and improve their strength. Dog lodgers are divided into groups based on size and socialization skills, and

Photographs by Mark Rogers Photography

Above: A Cat Safari client embracing the fun of the Safari Garden. Left: Michelle gets a kiss from a happy Pet Camp client.

can enjoy upwards of 20,000 square feet of outdoor play space. At Cat Safari, which the pair opened in Presidio Heights a few years ago, cats can romp in a 500 square foot green house, or take a 30 minute excursion in the outdoor garden. “Pet Camp allows pet parents to design their pet’s lodging or day care experience to meet their pet’s individual needs,” explained

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Donohue. “We offer everything from all-day play for the dog whose happiest hanging out with other dogs, to a solo romp program for reserved canines who love the fresh air and sunshine but aren’t as social. Pet Camp does not have a one-size approach. Amenities are specifically designed for campers, such as huge outdoor play areas for dogs, a state of the art ventilation system, custom cat

condos, and safari gardens.” Pet Camp’s on-site owners are easily accessible to handle pet parents’ concerns. The facility employs a large and diverse staff of 20 pet counselors, who follow established protocols for safe and fun operations. Staff are carefully selected, with Donohue and Klaiman looking for individuals who can love someone else’s dog or cat as if it was their own. Trust is important, as pet parents can be as concerned about their pet’s care as their child’s. “Decisions made at Pet Camp are based on what we think is best for our campers, not a group of investors,” said Donohue. “Urban cat parents are able to give their feline companion animals a chance to play in the garden, climb trees, and turn from a City Clicker to a Masai Warrior. It is really amazing to watch cats change before your eyes as they realize that they are outside and get to do all sorts of new and exciting things.” Demand for Pet Camp’s services may increase in the face of proposed rules to dramatically limit the areas in which dogs can be off-leash on Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) lands. Under the proposals, dogs would need to be tethered to six-foot leashes in areas designated as on-leash. Dogs would be ba n ned f rom some GGN R A properties entirely. According to Donohue, the proposed rules reflect the continuing need to balance competing uses of San Francisco’s see pet camp page 15

March 2011

THE POTRERO VIEW

Kids on the Block Peace

By Avalon Edwards What does peace feel like? It feels like my mom giving me a hug on a rainy day. Like my cat rubbing on my leg. What does peace smell like? It smells like hot chocolate on a cold winter night. It smells like my mom’s chocolate chip cookies. Peace looks like snow dancing on the wind on a cold winter night. It looks like my stuffies all lined up on a shelf. Peace looks like all different color flower petals on a rose in a multi-colored vase. It looks like a willow tree in the middle of a pond reaching down to the blue water and then the water going out in all directions. Peace sounds like right after it rains and water is dripping off green leaves into a pond. It sounds like a kitten’s purr. Peace tastes like cold ice cream on a hot day. It tastes like a glass of orange juice. Peace is having fun at school.

Avalon Edwards, age eight, wrote Peace as a third grade project at The San Francisco School.

Nicolas and Isabella Ramos enjoyed a day at the California Academy of Sciences.

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Celeste M. Davis-Wicks of Daniel Webster Elementary School was selected to perform in San Francisco Unified School District’s “All Stars” Music Festival on March 12th at 1 p.m. at Lincoln High School. Happy Fourth Birthday, Lord Vader! Love, Mommy, Daddy, Annabel and Black Kitty

RGB The View is delighted to publish local kids’ birthdays, accomplishments, and milestones. Green (184, 218, 25)Please email your image and/or caption to graphics@potreroview.net by the 18th of the Red (241, 26, 10) prior month. High resolution photos, please!

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THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011

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

By Abby Bridge, Potrero Branch Librarian

Library Adult Programs POTRERO BRANCH ANNIVERSARY PARTY. Celebrate the Library’s first birthday after its renovation with a party featuring Appalachian music from the Knuckle Knockers, arts and crafts for kids, and food. March 5, 1 to 4 p.m.

A LITTLE PIECE OF EARTH. Writer and garden designer Maria Finn will discuss her book, A Little Piece of Earth: How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Spaces, and lead a planting workshop featuring edible herbs. Whether you have a yard, terrace, rooftop, or just a windowsill, you can make gardening work for you, take some control over your food supply, and enrich your life with the quiet, simple pleasure of eating your own organically raised produce. Workshop materials will be provided; books will be available for purchase after the program. March 19, 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Library Children’s Programs BABY RHYME AND PLAY TIME. For infants up to eighteen months old and their caregivers. March 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. FAMILY STORYTIME, featuring stories, songs and rhymes. For children from birth to five years old and their caregivers. March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31, 10:30 to 11 a.m. and 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. FUN FLICKS: THE SUBWAY MOUSE, TCHOU-TCHOU, CAMELEONS ARE COOL, AND CORDUROY. Fun Flicks is offered every second Wednesday of the month and includes short films based on children’s books and stories. Bring a snack! For children ages five and older. March 9, 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

Photograph and compilation by Kelli Yon

The Schoolhouse: 100 Years and Counting This month at Farley’s new photographs by Kelli Yon are juxtaposed with historic images of Potrero Hill and the I.M Scott School on Tennessee Street, as Friends of Potrero Hill Nursery School prepares to break ground at the landmark site.

MAGICAL MOONSHINE THEATER. Internationally renowned puppeteers will dazzle their audience with the story of The Little Elephant Has a Ball. For children, ages two to seven. March 26, 4 to 4:45 p.m. Unless otherwise noted, all Potrero Branch Library programs are held in the second floor meeting room.

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March 2011

THE POTRERO VIEW

Generations of Locals Talk Family, Community, pet camp and Why They Call Potrero Hill Home By Lisa Gunther Lael Robertson and her dog, Maisy, met me in front of Christopher’s Books, on the corner of 18th and Missouri streets, where Robertson works. As she walked Maisy, Robertson gave me a tour of the area. “My mom only lives about five blocks away,” she pointed down the street, “and my sister Inga lives on Pennsylvania.” San Francisco sees a great deal of people coming and going; it seems rare to talk to a family that’s lived in the same community for most of their lives. A Hill resident since childhood, Robertson didn’t leave the area until she was 25, when she went away to school and met her husband, Peter, at the Art Center in Pasadena. The couple then moved to North Beach, but decided to come back to live near Robertson’s mother and sister after the birth of their first child in 1992. They’ve lived on the Hill ever since. When they were growing up, Robertson’s three children, Xander, Celia and Oona, would visit their grandmother every Wednesday for a writing lesson; a great supplement to their homeschooling, Robertson explained. While Robertson used to work as a graphic designer with her husband at Big Think Studios, located near the bookstore, she decided she wanted to stay home with

her kids. Even though they’re now almost grown, Robertson still helps out her sister by picking up her two kids from school once a week. “It’s amazing,” said Robertson, about her family’s proximity. “I feel very fortunate that most of my family lives here. Most of my friends have to fly around the country to see their family, you know?” When asked what she loves most about the neighborhood, Robertson enthusiastically stated that it’s “The friendliness and the community-mindedness; and definitely the weather! When we’re older we can walk to the grocery store, half a block away. Public transportation is relatively easy. I could easily see staying here. It’s got the best weather in the City. It’s sunnier, warmer; it’s a good climate, so you can grow more vegetables in the garden. You have incredibly easy access to two freeways, and to a train system that takes you to the south bay, and there are enough businesses that you don’t really want for anything.” Tia Winn, a Hill resident for almost ten years, described the community as family-friendly. “We can walk to our cozy neighborhood businesses, like Good Life, Goat Hill, Pera, Christopher’s, and so many more. They know us and our kids,” she explained. Winn lives with her husband, Brion, and two children,

Olivia and Adam, on 20th Street. Her brother-in-law, View publisher Steve Moss and his family lives a few blocks away, on 18th Street. More recently arrived families are also enthusiastic about the neighborhood. Though she has only been on the Hill since 2005, Alison Kim, a teacher who lives with her husband and 13-month old daughter, Annabel, praised the area, saying that, “It’s a quiet residential neighborhood that feels like a community, rather than a tourist destination or a crowded and busy area. At the same time, we have easy access to all the culture and diversity that a big city offers. My neighbors are friendly and helpful. There are many families on the Hill—as well as a few former students of mine—and I run into people I know often.” The Hill has inevitably changed over the years. “At the core it’s the same,” Winn said. “The biggest change we’ve seen is the revitalization of Daniel Webster. Not too long ago it was going to close, but now it has the preschool, all the murals, and a new energy.” Virginia Sustarich—a lifelong resident—has seen major changes to the area in her lifetime. “It’s changed. When I grew up, every corner had some kind of business… see families page 19

from page 12

limited open space. “Dog and cats need interaction and stimulation,” she said Donohue. “We think dogs, like kids, really need to get outside and run around.” This month Pet Camp will open a 13,000 square foot outdoor play space. According to Donohue, it’s a large area with trees, a bridge, and rock platforms, which can be enjoyed by dogs participating at day camp or staying overnight. “We expect to make the space available to groups for pet related benefits, just like we do our garden at Cat Safari,” said Donohue. “We’re also working on plans too make it available for dog events. There is no perfect pet care service, but it’s important to find someone who demonstrates a commitment to proper care. We want to be very responsive to our clients and the community. If anyone has an idea for something that would make life happier for their pet and easier for their parents just give us a call!” Donohue is on the board of Pets Unlimited; Klaiman serves on the board of Friends of Animal Care & Control. Pet Camp is active in the Sacramento Street Merchants’ Association, the Bayview Merchants’ Association, the Bayview Rotary, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and the Pet Care Services Association. To see pictures of Pet Camp’s clients at play: www.petcare.com; 282.0700.

THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011

Boosters Executive Commitee Nominations

VOLUME 6 • March 2011

he January 29th Community-Wide Get Together was a huge success with over 175 Potrero Hill residents from all walks of life coming together to talk about the future of the neighborhood. Our District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen and other political leaders also attended the event. The participants talked with each other about their experience of community, trends impacting Potrero Hill, and through a “World Café” series of exercises, shared their ideas and dreams for the future. The event resulted in 9 action teams with identified initiatives and community projects: • Community Building and Planning • Community Services and Amenities • Transportation • Gardening and the Environment (later redubbed Sustainable Living) • Jobs • Youth/Education • New Housing • Disaster Preparedness • Safety The action teams agreed on short term and long-term goals and met on February 5th to begin working on their agendas. They will provide regular progress reports to the larger Community Building Group (CBG) that meets every other month. All are welcome to attend the next CBG meeting on March 3rd, 6pm at the Nabe. The January 29 event would not have been as successful as it was without the

participation and outreach efforts of an active planning committee and the generous donation of door prizes by dozens of Potrero Hill businesses. To all of you, we would like to express our deepest gratitude.

The Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association is accepting nominations for the Executive Committee through the end of our March meeting, Tuesday March 29th. Come get involved! You can be involved in issues of interest to you and your family here on the Hill. Contact President@PotreroBoosters.org if you want to join the board or to find out more about the opportunity.

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The Garden Committee continued its monthly field trips in February, visiting Free Farm on Gough and Eddy. Several Potrero Hill gardeners worked at the farm and shared lunch afterwards. The next field trip is scheduled for March 21 to Alemany Farm. The raised bed garden located behind the Family Resource Center was expanded in late February with two additional beds to meet the growing demand for fresh produce from Potrero Terrace & Annex residents. This garden will continue to serve the residents while the larger Texas Street garden is in planning.

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March 2011

THE POTRERO VIEW

c o m m u n i t y CALENDAR March 2011

Saturdays

Community: Quesada Gardens Initiative Volunteer Program Take part in grassroots community building at the award-winning Quesada Gardens. The Quesada Gardens Initiative was started in 2002 by Annette Smith and Karl Paige as an all-resident volunteer organization. Volunteer opportunities are now available for individuals who may not live in Bayview. Learn about gardening from expert horticulturists, and support sustainable local systems that engender cultural diversity, food production and healthy environments. Dress appropriately. Gloves, tools, refreshments, and team leaders are provided. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 1747 Quesada (under the Canary Island Date Palms trees, just west of 3rd Street). Information: Jacob Watta, 822.0800; www. QuesadaGardens.org.

March 3

Community: Loving San Francisco

and experts in the field. This show is especially for military personnel, their families, veterans and those serving the veteran community. 8 p.m. a l l days except Su nday matinee, 2 p.m. Tickets $10 to $18. Z Space at Theater Artaud, 450 Florida Street. Information: www. hopemohr.org.

March 5

Music: Celebration for the Children’s Book Project The Children’s Book Project has given more than 1,500,000 free books to hundreds of facilities serving thousands of children throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Show your support for youth literacy with an evening of music featuring Sopwith Camel, Jenny Kerr, Andy and the Twisted Twisters, the Hallflowers, the Smoke Daddies, Django Obscura and Mr. Dingle’s Neighborhood, plus special guests. 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Donations accepted. Blue Macaw Club, 2565 Mission Street. Information: www.thebluemacawsf.com; www. childrensbookproject.org.

Join SF Beautiful, Neighborhood Parks Council, San Francisco Parks Tr ust, San F rancisco Heritage, Community: Progress Park Friends of the Urban Forest and Planting EuroCircle in a networking event Participate in another planting among like-minded San Francis- event at Progress Park. 10 a.m. to noon. Indiana Street between 23rd cans. Music by Euro Circle at 8:30 For Immediate Release Contact:and Mona 25th Baroudi streets. Information: indip.m.; 9 pm to 2 a.m. DJ Marc Van 415.615.2735 anastreetgarden.ning.com. Brabant (Holland) & DJ Pollux mona.baroudi@sbcglobal.net (Soviet Union). Event starts at 6:30

March 5 through 31

HOPEp.m. MOHR DANCE ITS FOURTH HOME SEASON Free ANNOUNCES for current SF Beauti-

Art: Breathed…Unsaid…

aturing The Unsayable, a performance project bringing together dancers and war veterans, and ful members, $5 for non-members. she dreams in code, a new work by guest artist Liz Gerring Dance Company

Project 1 Art Gallery, 251 Rhode March 3 – Sunday, March 6, 2011 IslandThursday, Street. Information: http:// Z Space, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco www.p1sf.com. “rigorously crafted…unusually satisfying…” –SF Bay Guardian

Hope Mohr Dance, photo by Margo Moritz Photograph by Margo Mortiz

Breathed...Unsaid... is a group show by Katya Min and Lumina Arts. Part of the SOMA rts Commons Curatorial Fund and Residency Program, the exhibition brings together ten Bay Area transnational/diaspora artists to explore the unarticulated spaces experienced while living in multiple, and at times disparate, cultural realms. Opening reception March 5, 6 to 9 p.m.; gallery open noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. SOMArts, 934 Bryant Street. Information. www.somarts.org.

March 6

N FRANCISCO, CA, October 26, 2010—Hope Mohr Dance is pleased to announce its fourth home son at Theater Artaud, 3 – 6, 2011. its inception in 2007, Hope Mohr Dance has quickly The March Unsayable bySince Hope Mohr Dance. ned recognition as one of the leading new modern dance companies in the Bay Area, known for its laborations with a wide range of prominent artists, and its risk-taking, rigorously crafted, and otionally resonant performances.

Art: The Schoolhouse: 100 years and counting on the Hill Everyone’s welcome to a fun, fam-

its fourth home season the company will present the world premiere of The Unsayable as well as a i ly-f w work by Liz Gerring Dance Company. Artistic Director Hope Mohr’s The Unsayable is a r iend ly a r t reception w ith formance project bringing together war veterans and professional dancers in conversation to explore light music organized by Friends sonal stories through movement and text. The project adapts the methodology that Mohr developed in 08 when working on a piece with cancer patients, Under the Skin. Now, working with the ofSanPotrero Hill Preschool. New ncisco and Palo Alto VA hospitals and the nonprofit organization Swords to Plowshares, Hope Mohr nce has invited veterans of conflicts from Vietnam to Iraqpresents to join The Unsayable. Hope Mohr Dance The photographs by Kelli Yon will be on

March 3 through 6

Dance: The Unsayable & Liz Gerring Dance

display Unsayable, performance project erans participate as artistic partners, nota subjects or patients. The Unsayable aims to provide them in conjunction with historic h an opportunity for creative expression and community engagement and to offer audiences a fresh which brings together war veterans and dancers to explore personal stories through movement and text. Liz Gerring Dance Company also performs a new piece presented as part of Mohr’s Bridge Project, showcasing the work of notable choreographers. Gerring’s precise, athletic work has been described by Alastair Macaulay of the New York Times as “arresting,” “engrossing,” and “exceptional.” The matinee performance on March 6th includes a post-show question and answer on veterans issues with the performers

images relating to the neighborhood and the I.M Scott School on Tennessee Street. Exhibit and window boxes suppor t the campaign to Raise a Roof on this site. 3 to 6 p.m. Free. Farley’s 1315 18th Street. Information: www.raisearoof.org.

March 13

Music: Farley’s Event for Kids with Neil Aaron Neil Aaron is a local singer songwriter who has just released the album Love is a Family, which is filled with unique, progressive and

all-inclusive children’s music. Head to Farley’s for music, fun and games. 3:30 p.m. Free. 1315 18th Street. Information: www.neilaaron.com.

March 17

Community: Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration at Farley’s Events and activities all day long in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day and Farley’s 22nd birthday. Start the day with a bagpipe serenade at 9 a.m. Live Irish music until 1 p.m. Special dance concert begins at 8 p.m. with the Soul Delights. Free prizes and gifts. 1315 18th Street.

www.starrkingschool.net.

Music: Curt Yagi’s Close My Eyes CD Release Party Potrero local Curt Yagi and his band, The People Standing Behind Me, celebrate the release of their new CD, Close My Eyes. Yagi and his band have performed at The Fillmore, Yoshi’s and the Union Room at Biscuit and Blues. 7 p.m. to midnight. Advanced purchase tickets $10; $20 includes advanced tickets and a copy of the new CD. The Union Room, 401 Mason Street. I n for mation and tickets: w w w. curtyagi.com.

March 17 & 18

Environment: “Clean Power, Healthy Communities” Conference Loca l Clea n Energ y A l l ia nce’s second annual conference brings together activists, stakeholders and entrepreneurs in promoting local equitable solutions to the challenges of climate change and rising energy costs. Be part of the movement to reduce energy consumption, produce local clean power, and create thousands of green jobs right in the Bay Area. Registration required. H appy Hou r debate on F r iday night will host four speakers with different perspectives and strategies on how to build a clean energy system. 6 to 9 p.m. $20. Everett & Jones Barbeque, 126 Broadway, Oakland. Conference runs 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on the 18th. $75. California Endowment, 1111 Broadway, 7th Floor, Oakland. Information: www. localcleanenergy.org.

March 18

Dance: Global Dance Celebration Want to get your groove on? dance anywhere® is a participatory global public artwork created by artist and dance anywhere®’s Beth Fein. Dancers worldwide will come together simultaneously in dance to create a global public art performance. Join in the dance party happening throughout the world. 12 p.m. Free. A partial list of 2011 Bay Area locations include: The Legion of Honor, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Berkeley Art Museum, The Oakland Museum of California and Frank Ogawa Plaza. Information: www.danceanywhere.org.

March 19

Fundraiser: Starr King Elementary School Spring Fling Local school budgets are again on the chopping block! Support Starr King Elementary School’s annual Spring Fling; a party featuring music, food and kids activities. Monies raised will support arts and educational enrichment programs, greening and gardening projects, student wellness programs and smaller class sizes. 1 to 5 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. Information:

Photograph by Ruby Bloom

Sara Mapelli performs a ritual dance with 12,000 bees in Queen of the Sun.

March 25

Film: Queen Of The Sun: What Are The Bees Telling Us? Directed by Taggart Siegel, this film takes viewers on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive. Engaging and ultimately uplifting, the flick weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world, including author Michael Pollan, world renowned biody namic beekeeper Gunther Hauk and Indian activist Vandana Shiva. Together, they reveal both the problems and the solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature. 8 p.m. Regular admission $9.75; sen iors and ch ild ren $5. Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street. Information: www.queenofthesun. com.

March 29

Kids: Deep in the Garden Sue Walton, Act Out Science director and long-time Hill resident presents “Deep in the Garden: The Secret World of Insects and Other Garden Critters,” a participatory science theater workshop featuring puppet-making, songs, improv, and amazing facts about local creepy crawlies and the habitats in which they live. Open to first through third graders. RSVP to actoutscience@ gmail.com. 3 to 5:30 p.m. $10 per child. The Marsh Youth Theater 1074 Valencia Street. Information: actoutscience.tumblr.com.

THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011

How much is your home worth?

This home at 1216 19th street attracted 5 offers and sold for $2,440,000. To learn more about how I marketed this spectacular view home, please visit www.FinestPotreroViews.com.

sales Prices for All Potrero Hill Homes sold in 2010*: 1216 19th street.............................. $2,440,000

739 De Haro street ............................$885,000

1261 Rhode Island street ................$780,000

1409 20th street..................................$800,000

1118 De Haro street ...................... $1,250,000

1366 Rhode Island street ................$730,000

2000 20th street.............................. $1,630,000

1379 De Haro street ..........................$665,000

1378 Rhode Island street ................$939,000

275 Arkansas street ...........................$646,000

746 Kansas street ...............................$649,000

363 Arkansas street ...........................$925,000

918 Kansas street ........................... $1,200,000

454 san Bruno Avenue .....................$651,000

594 Arkansas street ...........................$800,000

959 Kansas street ...............................$905,000

685 Arkansas street ...........................$878,000

506 mississippi street .......................$880,000

690 Arkansas street ....................... $1,225,000

534 mississippi street ......................$800,000

698 Arkansas street ....................... $1,385,000

369 missouri street ........................ $1,111,111

374 Connecticut street ................ $1,042,000

473 Pennsylvania Avenue ........... $1,040,000

435 Vermont street............................$980,000

455 Connecticut street ....................$975,000

525 Rhode Island street ............... $1,300,000

636 Wisconsin street ..................... $1,175,000

505 Connecticut street ................ $1,100,000

773 Rhode Island street ............... $1,115,000

704 Wisconsin street .........................$850,000

509 Connecticut street ....................$925,000

1029 Rhode Island street ................$778,000

783 Wisconsin street .........................$950,000

515 Texas street............................... $1,081,500 558 Texas street...................................$891,000 599 Texas street...................................$599,000 612 Texas street...................................$835,000

In 2010 the average sales price for a home on Potrero Hill was $995,016*. If you’d like a free report on the value of your home, call Tim Johnson at 710-9000. TIm JoHnson

Paragon Real Estate Group DRE# 01476421

415.710.9000 tim@timjohnsonsF.com www.timjohnsonsF.com

*sales information as of December 31, 2010 from sFAR mLs.

March 2011

THE POTRERO VIEW

Poignant Film about Hawaiian High School families Singing Contest Had Genesis on the Hill By Lori Higa Potrero Hill has long been a fertile ground for artists. A recent arrival to the lengthy list of neighborhood-inspired creations is filmmaker Lisette Marie Flanary’s documentary, One Voice. One Voice captures a “Glee” meets indigenous pride song contest held annually at Hawai’i’s Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu. The film screens at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAF) this month. In addition to being a filmmaker, Flanary is a hula dancer. In 1998, she met 20th Street resident Patrick Makuakane, a kumu (teacher) of the famed hula halau (hula school), Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu. Makuakane became a subject of her first hula feature film, American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai’i, which won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. The film focuses on hula and Hawai’ians living in California, the largest population of Hawai’ians outside the 50th state. Flanary and Makuakane became friends. He invited her to join his hula classes, which he’s held at Daniel Webster Elementary School and the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House for more than a decade. Between 2003 and 2006, Flanary studied traditional hula with Makuakane, staying in Makuakane’s Potrero Hill home when she commuted from New York while working on film projects. One Voice traces the lives of 10 student song leaders as they practice with their peers – guided by the best and brightest of Hawai’i’s composers and musicians – to compete in the annual Kamehameha Schools Song Contest. The contest is a powerful celebration of Hawai’ian culture. The film takes an intimate, behind-

the-scenes look at the competition through the student conductors’ personal stories. Not your typical high school musical, One Voice is filled with the uplifting and mesmerizing voices of hundreds of Hawai’ian teens singing heavenly a capella four-part

culture in the modern world. Her award-winning second hula film, Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula, followed legendary master hula kumu Robert Cazimero and the only all-male hula halau in Hawai’i. Flanary is currently shooting Tokyo Hula, the

Kamehameha High School student song leaders anxiously await the judges’ decisions at the annual Hawai’ian singing competition, as portrayed in Lisette Flanary’s One Voice.

harmonies. Through the eyes of these young artists One Voice portrays the struggles of a people whose language and culture was nearly destroyed, but now flourishes through artistic efforts such as these. Produced by Pacific Islanders in Communications, funded primarily by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with a $550,000 budget, and shot in hi-definition video, One Voice is “the first film where I haven’t had to write grants and fundraise constantly,” Flanary explained. One Voice is part of Flanary’s ouevre that documents traditional Hawai’ian

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final film in her hula trilogy. When asked why a trilogy, Flanary said, “I just couldn’t say everything I wanted to say about hula in one film. I made my first documentary because I was so sick of all the stereotypes about hula and Hawai’ians.” The filmmaker’s Japanese mother is from Hawai’i, a place she constantly returns to, despite being born in Alaska and having a home base in New York City. Flanary noted the growing popularity of hula around the world, with “hula scenes in places like Mexico and France.” She chose to focus her third hula movie on the enormous popularity of the art form in Japan, which has upwards of 600,000 practitioners, “more than all the folks who dance in Hawai’i, where hula was born.” For more information about One Voice: onevoicemovie.org; for SFIAAFF screening times and tickets: caamedia.org.

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from page 15

up the street there was a store with kielbasa smoked sausages, called Jelenich’s. Every Monday they’d be grinding the pork, and then on Tuesday they would stuff the casing. When the wind was just right you could smell the sausages cooking,” she remembered, smiling. Sustarich’s parents, Katherine and Matthew, immigrated to the United States from what was once a part of Austria, now called Slovenia. Matthew came to America in 1903; Katherine in 1910. Though they didn’t know each other in Slovenia, they met in San Francisco, fell in love, and married in 1914. “Before the freeway there used to be a boarding house and bar called Judnich’s, on 18th and San Bruno Avenue. They met there,” Sustarich explained. Born in a house on San Bruno Avenue, Virginia was raised with two sisters and a twin brother, all of whom stayed close to the community. She was married to her husband—a World War II veteran in the Navy— for 55 years before he passed away. They lived in the same Vermont Street house at which she currently resides since 1952. Sustarich is surrounded by family. Her sister, Josie, lives on Mariposa Street with her children, Michelle and David. Her daughter, Anne, lives on Vermont Street; her son John lives on San Bruno; and her son Mark lives in Daly City. Her sister Helen’s children, Doreen, Maureen and her grandson Kevin, also live on Potrero Hill. Doreen and Kevin live on San Bruno and Maureen lives on Hamilton. Her good friend, Francis—also from Slovenia—lives next door. On the comforts of having her family so close together, Sustarich said, “It helps a lot, although I’ll never forget when I was younger. I was in my teenage years, and I thought, when I get married I want to move as far away from my family as I can,” she laughed. Sustarich is as an active member of the Potrero Beautification Group and the Slovenian Hall. Looking back, she has many fond memories of growing up in Potrero Hill. “It was very family-oriented. When I grew up no one locked their doors. Anyone could come in and out. And there were a lot of children around here. There were a lot of Slovenians, Italians, Swiss, Irish. And we would play baseball down the hill. And later, on Mariposa Street we played roller derby on roller skates, because at that time, traffic was nil. There were a few cars, but not that many. You couldn’t do it now.” When I compliment Sustarich on the lovely painting of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, hanging in her living room, she replied, “I am very San Francisco oriented, as you can tell!”

Selling a bicycle? Get it listed at www.potreroview.net/classifieds or call 626-8723

THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011

John Edward Patrick Connolly On January 6 longtime Potrero house at De Haro and 20th streets. In Hill resident John Edward Patrick 1957 they purchased the house across Connolly passed away peacefully the street, where they would live for in Seattle, Washington, surrounded more than 50 years. The joy of Jack’s by family and friends. He was 88 life, his daughter Suzette, was born years old. Connolly was born in in 1959. his grandparent’s log cabin in Cut San Francisco was one of Jack’s Bank, Montana in 1922. His father, true loves. Both he and Jean loved Pete, worked in the coal mines, and the view from their home looking passed away when John – known as out on the Bay Bridge and ships at Jack – was just three. His mother, anchor in the Bay. They never tired Julia, placed Jack, his sister Mary of watching the moon rise over the and brother Jim in orphanages while Berkeley Hills. she worked to save enough money to Once retired, Jack’s passion get out of Montana, moving first to for art became his full time focus. Seattle and then to San Francisco. His favorite subject was trees. The San Francisco in the late-1930s detail in his work is phenomenal: w a s a m a g ic a l Jack seemed to place for the teensee each leaf on a age Jack; the ideal tree and capture playground was it with his pencil. Golden Gate Park. He loved nature. When Julia marYo s e m i t e w a s ried Andy Jordan, a favorite place; Jack gained a wonhe considered it derful stepfather. God’s Cathedral. Jack g raduated He loved the out of from Commerce doors, and would High School, and tolerate camping, appr e nt ic e d i n but preferred to a glass-etching sleep inside in a factory, making comfortable bed. etched shower Jack was one John Connolly, 1922 2011 doors and back of t he or ig i na l mirrors for bars. exhibitors at the His etchings of a stand of redwoods annual art show held at the Potrero can still be seen behind the bar at the Hill Library, and participated in that Cliff House Restaurant. event for more than a half-century. On December 8, 1941, Jack enlist- For many years, Jack helped mount the ed in the United States Marine Corps. show, working with the late Charles He was one of the brave young men Griffin Farr and other Potrero Hill who hit the beaches on Guadalcanal artists. Jack served on the board of and Iwo Jima, where he was wounded. directors of the California Society of Back home in San Francisco after the Printmakers, Graphics Art Workshop war, Jack attended the California and the Northern California Chapter School of Fine Arts. He immersed of Artist Equity. He participated in himself in exploring other cultures, numerous exhibitions throughout the the arts, opera and symphony. He got West, frequently at the Arboretum a job at Gump’s, where he started in Library in Golden Gate Park. His the basement, packing and shipping works are included in private collecgoods to customers. Promotions soon tions throughout the United States, followed; he ultimately became the including at the Folger Shakespeare manager and designer for the custom Library in Washington D. C. lamp department. Jack is survived by Jean, his wife In l953, Jack attempted to sell of 57 years; daughter Suzette and a lamp to Jean Carmichael, who son-in-law Paul Baker, in addition declined the fixture but accepted to many loving family members and the invitation to dinner at the Tonga friends. We’ll miss his warm smile Room in the Fairmont Hotel. Three and firm handshake, the twinkle months later they were married. in his eye and his appreciation of a In 1955 the couple moved to a little great meal.

Ash Wednesday: March 9 LENTEN SPEAKER SERIES Mass with Distribution of Ashes FR. IVAN CORMAC MARSH, O. CARM 8:30am & 7:00pm MARCH 22 Tuesdays in Lent: Mass, 8:30am & 6:15pm EARLY CARMELITES & CARMELITE SPIRITUALITY Tuesday, April 5: Taizé Prayer, 7:30pm MARCH 29 Thursday, Apr 14: Reconciliation Service 7:00pm ST. TERESA OF AVILA & CARMELITE SPIRITUALITY Palm Sunday, Apr 17: 8:30 & 10am

EASTER TRIDUUM

Holy Thursday: 7:30pm Good Friday: 7:30pm Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil: 9:00pm Easter Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00am

LAUREN VAN HAMM

APRIL 12 SPIRITUALITY OF LIVING GREEN

19th Street & Connecticut

Ralph Anderson 1928 ~ 2011

Long-time Potrero Hill resident Ralph Anderson passed away on January 20th in Santa Rosa. From the 1960s until 1993 Anderson was part of the Hill’s large artists’ colony, living and working in his apartment on Carolina Street, and later on Wisconsin Street. He was a regular at the Monday figure drawing sessions held at the late Charles Griffin Farr’s De Haro Street studio. Best known for his still lifes, Ralph was a master of trompe l’oeil painting. He was represented by Conacher Galleries on Maiden Lane in San Francisco, and painted private commissions for patrons throughout the United States. Anderson loved Potrero Hill, and was active in the community. A Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association member, he helped start both the Neighborhood Watch and the Earthquake Awareness programs on the Hill. He’s survived by his partner of many years, Jim Harris.

-Margo Bors

March 2011

short cuts from page 3 infants. The new location is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2012. It will join La Piccola Scuola Italiana and Friends of Potrero Hill Nursery School which is scheduled to reopen in the Fall of 2011.

Little Boxes Earlier this year the San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW) seized one of the View’s newspaper boxes, which was located in front of the Walgreens on 24th Street. Although the department claims it provided advance notice that the box would be taken unless it was cleaned-up, the first the paper heard of that possibility was on January 6 – the box was gone the next day – when it received the following email: “Subject: Re: POTRERO VIEW, THE commented on NRV#10NRV-6573 at 24th/Utah NW-Not Completed: Other Notes seized; Graffitited NOT PROPERLY MAINTAINED UNWANTED STICKERS/GRAFFITI.” The View is the first to admit that many of its boxes are subjected to constant humiliation. This one in particular has been used to store potatoes and shoes, and was regularly employed as a bench by local loiterers. But seizing a neighborhood newspaper box without proper notice – and sending out gibberish to boot – violates a basic principle of democracy. After a bit of back and forth, this month DPW agreed to allow the View to retrieve its box, without penalty.

Energy In February the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved an ordi-

nance that requires energy audits and annual energy benchmarking reports for more than 3,000 commercial buildings in the City. The ordinance, said to be the most aggressive law of its kind in the nation, applies to nonresidential buildings of 10,000 square feet or more, and will be phased-in over three years. Audits are a fine idea, but locking building owners into a paper-heavy, inflexible exercise won’t exactly get the creative energy juices flowing. It might have been better to mandate a range of options, including more interactive approaches…the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) gave general manager, Ed Harrington, the green light to negotiate services for wholesale power purchasing under CleanPowerSF “in a manner that comes as close as possible to meeting the core goals for the City…” including pursuing “a process and scope of work that will allow us to have the steps for building out local generation and making commitments in the market to develop local generation as that’s feasible,” said Barbara Hale, SFPUC’s assistant general manager for power. Buy local may soon become a slogan for power, as well as food, books, and other items.

Corrections In last month’s View, accompanying the story “Garbage Companies Talk Trash Over City Landfill Contract,” the photograph of the Wheatland landfill was incorrectly attributed to Irene Creps; the photo of Waste Management of Alameda County Altamont landfill isn’t, as the caption indicated, of the bio-methane processing plant. It’s a photo of the landfill.

THE POTRERO VIEW

Bayview Police Station Captain’s Community Meeting 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: March 1st, 6 p.m. Dogpatch Neighborhood Association usually meets the second Tuesday of each odd-numbered month. Next meeting: March 8th, 7 to 9 p.m., 654 Minnesota Street @ 19th Street. 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.

McKinley Square Community Group 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 meeting: March 9, 2011, 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 Neighborhood Association meets the last Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. (social time begins at 6:45 p.m.) in the wheelchairaccessible Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro Street. For more information: www.potreroboosters.org or email president@ potreroboosters.org. Next meeting: March 29th.

Potrero Hill Association of Merchants & 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: March 8th, 10 a.m. Potrero Hill 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: March 1st, 7 p.m.

Potrero Hill 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 King Openspace The next Starr King Openspace Board of Directors Meeting is on March 9th, 6:30 p.m. in “Bungalow A” at Starr King Elementary School, 1215 Carolina Street (enter at the side yard gate at Coral Road between Carolina and Wisconsin). Board meetings are open to the to the public. The Board will approve significant changes to the organization’s bylaws at the March 9th meeting. While time will be set aside for public comment, the Board may reserve some agenda items for closed session discussion. The Starr King Openspace Volunteer Work Day is held on the 3rd Saturday of each month, excluding holidays. Next Volunteer Work Day: March 19th, 9 a.m. to noon. Meet on the Openspace along Carolina Street, across from Starr King Elementary School. For more information: www.starrkingopenspace.org; email the Board of Directors at starrkingboard@gmail.com; voice mail 4156336-SKO (756). The

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complimentary ad space provided by the View

March 2011

THE POTRERO VIEW

Crime & Safety REPORT Sponsored by Mainline Security

Last month Antoine Grays, 29, was arraigned for the murder of Sylverstri Brown, 33, in an incident that took place on the 900 block of Connecticut Street on January 31. Toyia Taylor, 19, has been charged with being an accessory to murder. Both Grays and Taylor remain in custody. Bail for Taylor has been set at $1 million; Grays is being held without bail. The charges include firearm use. The motive for the killing and the relationship between the parties remains under investigation. Local news media reported that the murder occurred during an argument over a cell phone. Both defendants pled not guilty to all charges. A preliminary hearing on the matter is set for 9 a.m. on March 18, in Department 20 of the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street. According to Captain Greg Suhr of the Bayview Station, Grays “was arrested within hours of the murder. When arrested he was still in possession of what we believe to be the murder weapon.” Grays’ attorney, San Francisco Public Defender Tal Klement, said that the case is “a lot more complicated than what has been reported in the papers. The argument was not just over a cell phone, and my client did not initiate the attack.”

Police Get Guns Off the Street In the first 35 days of the year, police have recovered 11 guns from the Bayview district. For example, on February 5, two police officers pulled over a car that had run a stop sign at 20th and Illinois streets. According to the officers, a “cloud of marijuana smoke” came from the car window. When the officers searched the vehicle, they found an illegal SKS carbine rifle, described by one officer as a “cannon.”

Recycling theft continues to dog Hill residents, with some people waiting until the last minute to put out their bin, and others making sure any personal information and account numbers are shredded, to prevent identity theft. According to a Recology spokesperson, customers can get locks for their bins, at a cost of $11.05/month. San Francisco City Attorney Yvonne Meré said she doesn’t even put her bin out on the street; she pays a monthly fee to have her bin removed from behind a gate. When asked why consumers should assume these charges, essentially paying to protect Recology’s – and the City’s – product, she said, “That’s a good question.” Mohammed Nuru, Deputy Director of the Department of Public Works, said that mandating that recycling bins have locks has been previously tried “and it didn’t work. Thieves use knives to carve through the plastic containers or break the locks. Some even get their own keys. I see these guys down on Cesar Chavez,” he continued. “They get cash and then go immediately into the Mission to buy drugs.” Nuru suggested treating recycling in a similar fashion as the City of Berkeley: make it legal. “Give them a check, not cash, and have them pay taxes on it.” He noted that San Francisco has no will to adopt such a policy because “there are a lot of liberals who say these people have to survive.” Recology couldn’t provide a dollar figure for how much the company loses annually due to recycling theft, but a July 1, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle article estimated the loss at a half-million dollars a year.

Photograph by Regina Anavy

Illegal Dumping on 20th Street? No, just props for Contagion, the major motion picture being filmed in San Francisco starring Jude Law.

crime down by five percent. Arrests are up 39 percent.

Stop Sign Request Rejected Requests for STOP signs and crosswalks at 19th and Mississippi streets were denied last month by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Accord ing to T homas P. Folks, SFMTA senior engineer, “We do not recommend installing STOP signs. The vast majority of drivers comply with the right-of-way rules. These observations are further substantiated by the good safety record of this intersection over the last five years. Pedestrian volumes at this intersection are below what we

would consider necessary to mark a crosswalk.” While the signs and crosswalks weren’t approved, a few parking spaces at the corner might be lost. “As a result of your requests, we discovered that visibility could be improved by the addition of a 16-foot red zone at the northeast corner.” Gayle Keck, who lives near the intersection, said she was “very disappointed. I honestly question how many ‘fender-benders’ at this intersection – not to mention nearmisses – are actually reported to the police.” She pointed-out that the steep hill makes it difficult for drivers coming up Mississippi Street from 18th to see cross-traffic coming down 19th Street.

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94103

Suspects Arraigned on Murder Charges

Recycling Bin Theft Irks Hill Residents

California

By Regina Anavy

Crime Declines in District 10 Between January 16 and February 12 violent crime in District 10 declined by 19 percent, with property Door Closers • safes • loCks aCCess Control • ViDeo surVeillanCe Phone entry/interCom systems

94107 Crime Statistics Current

Change

Assault

-21%

Burglary

-0.35%

Fight - No Weapons

-29%

Gunshots

+100%

commerciaL & residentiaL securitY consuLtations Free estimates

A Door AnD Lock HArDwAre SALeS AnD Service compAny Bonded & insured schlage

+100%

Theft

+18%

Vandalism

-62%

Other

111

-48%

Source: www.spotcrime.com

Primus

high seCurity loCks

415.

Robbery

medeco

398.6161

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CA838913

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January 16 through February 15

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March 2011

THE POTRERO VIEW

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Home Services E M S PLUMBING Licensed contractor for your plumbing needs. Selling your home and need to replace toilets? 4th generation Potrero Hill resident. Doing it right the first time! ED 596-0883 Lic#945019. 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

HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: UPDATE, POST, & PAY ONLINE Visit www.potreroview.net & follow the instructions for placing your ad. COST $25 for up to 200 characters including spaces. Recieve an additional 20% discount provided for ads paid for six months in advance!

MAIL OR CALL IN YOUR AD View Wants Ads 2325 Third Street, Suite 344 San Francisco, CA 94107 415.626.8723 / office@potreroview.net * Payments and/or text changes must be received by the 18th of each month for ad to appear in the following month's issue.

Merchants Directory Spotlight Acupuncture Kitchen 2339 Third Street, Suite Ste. 4R-70 415.553.5999 Looking for other goods or services? Visit www.potreroview.net/merchants

Rick Collins Macintosh Help Troubleshooting / Tutoring Tune-Ups / Upgrades

Have a service to offer? An ad this size is only $60 a month.

19 Years Experience SFMacMan.com

www.potreroview.net

insurance necessary for the projects. Call 415.902.2469 for FREE ESTIMATE or visit www.jaemmanuelconstruction.com. 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. 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: 415-8243538.

Rentals SPACIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL Furnished guest garden apartment. Private. 1/2 blk. to restaurants. Non-smoking. 2 people. 415-861-3208. CHARMING GARDEN APARTMENT One

BR, 2-night minimum. Fireplace, patio, deck, French doors. 415.641.4488.

Technology Services STEREO REPAIR / HOME THEATER INSTALLATION Gene’s Sound Service offers expert component-level repair and installation of audio, video and home theater systems. On-site service with convenient day, evening or Sat appointments. Many local references. “Gene’s honest and knows his stuff. Give him a try.” Bobby McFerrin. Call Gene at 415-377-1258. More info at www.genessoundservice.com. COMPUTER PROBLEMS DRIVING YOU BUGGY? Problems fixed! 25 years of industry experience. Personal IT consulting to small businesses or busy professionals. We can install and/or help shop for computer/network/printer or setup/ troubleshoot wireless networks. If you’re not technical, don’t worry we are. Rob 415.244.3305 rob@sfcomputech.com.

Meeting Notice Port of San Francisco Central Waterfront Advisory Group, in coordination with The Potrero Boosters and Dogpatch Neighborhood Association, invites community members to hear presentations by Request for Qualification (RFQ) respondents to the Pier 70 Waterfront Site: TMG Partners/Sobrato Group & Mission Bay Development Grop. Public comment will be available.

March 7, 2011 Potrero Hill Neighborhood House 953 De Haro Street, between 20th and 22nd Streets 5:30 to 8:50 p.m. More information: 415.705.8674

Advertising Account Representative Wanted › To secure and manage major advertising accounts for The View and soon-to-be-launched larger newspaper › Modest base pay plus commission; opportunity for growth › Send resume and statement of interest to: editor@potreroview.net The View is an equal opportunity employer

(415) 821-1792

Hosting an International Student in Your Home Wonderful cultural exchange! In SF only Pays $942/4weeks or $1,122/4 weeks 415-788-3552 or kchu@stgiles-usa.com

THE POTRERO VIEW

March 2011