Potrero View 2012: December

BY L EE A NDREA M ORTON

Last month a new mural began to take shape at the Vermont Street enclave, an otherwise mostly derelict open space at the southern base of McKinley Park. The mural project was launched by Friends of the Vermont Street Enclave. The group has initiated a series of beauti cation projects over the past three years, and secured $3,000 to execute the mural. The San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW) picked-up half the cost, with the rest raised from Hill residents.

Vermont Street resident and Friends member Erica Hilton, who is leading the mural initiative, recruited the project’s artist, Megan Spendlove. “We wanted someone who was kid-friendly but didn’t want to paint cartoons,” said Hilton. “She envisioned flowers, poppies, and other native plants. We wanted something soothing and natural.”

The new mural isn’t the only change happening at the enclave. Friends of the Vermont Street Enclave has formed a committee to determine the best uses for the space. Committee leaders include Hilton, Jennifer King, and Emmanuel Weisgant, who are contemplating a number of ways to rejuvenate the enclave, including a children’s playground, outdoor gym for adults, community garden, and picnic area.

“We just want to see anything in the space,” said Hilton. “We aim for an innovative area for Potrero residents that allows people to not feel afraid

Vermont Street Enclave

to be in the enclave at night, and that will last for generations. A few years ago there was crazy prostitution. There were drug deals and tagging every other day.”

Three years ago, King convinced DPW to install lights on the wall on which the mural is located. Currently, one of the lights is broken and is habitat to a stray tennis ball. Although the xtures are regularly busted, neighbors believe that their presence has reduced nighttime criminal activity. Broken lights are usually xed quickly, and the police respond within minutes to criminal reports.

Initially, the lights were meant to be temporary, but after King and other neighbors stressed their desire for lighting in the area, DPW agreed to leave them up. Even after the mural is completed, the enclave lights will remain.

Although crime has been reduced at the enclave, issues remain that deter residents from spending time, or even passing through, the area. “People are always trekking past the enclave to get to McKinley Square, but they totally avoid this area,” stated King. A homeless encampment is located just around the enclave’s hillside. The Cali-

fornia Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is looking for contractors to build a wall to deter people from passing through the enclave from the Highway 101 side of the hill. Friends of the Vermont Street Enclave have requested that the wall be designed to include a living garden to make it more difficult for people to cut through the space and to reduce highway noise. While the contracted company will consider the community’s recommendations, Caltrans will determine the wall’s materials and aesthetic features.

Like many public-private initiatives, bureaucracy prevents change from happening quickly. The enclave is owned by three different agencies: Caltrans, DPW, and San Francisco Recreation and Park. The jurisdictional division slows decision-making, and complicates the funding process. For example, since the enclave isn’t totally owned by Rec and Park, it isn’t eligible to apply for beauti cation efforts from many grant-funded resources.

It will take approximately three weeks for Spendlove to complete the mural, with an unveiling party to celebrate the new, colossal piece of art this month. “I want the community to know that something’s brewing and that this project is going to make a big difference in the quality of life on our historic, curvy street,” King said.

To nd out about the mural unveiling party or how to support the Vermont Street Enclave beauti cation project, check the kiosks on the 900 block of Vermont Street.

DowntownHighSchoolPrincipalEnjoysJob

BY E LLEN W ON G, AS TOLD TO J IAN H ON G

After serving as Downtown High School’s assistant principal from 2009 to 2012, Ellen Wong was promoted to being the school’s principal, starting with the 2012 school year. The View met with Wong in her office at the high school, and asked her to explain how she ended up leading Downtown, which caters to students who’ve had difficulty at other schools.

“The reason I am here at Downtown High School is because of my son,” she said.

“If my eldest son hadn’t inspired me to pursue my passion for reaching out to the underserved youth population, I would not have found a rewarding career. I am very delighted to be Downtown’s principal.

I immigrated to San Francisco from Taiwan when I was six years old. I attended San Francisco’s Lowell High School and the University of California, Berkeley, for math and science. Instead of entering the mechanical engineering eld, I worked in the travel industry. But after twenty years working as a manager for recruiting and organizing the USA Pavilion at foreign trade shows, I no longer found my job ful lling.

I took a year off to examine what I wanted to do with my life, besides focusing on my family. At first I

thought about pursuing a business degree because I hadn’t studied business as an undergraduate student. After auditing some classes at San Francisco State University, I realized that I had no interest in business. But when I audited some classes in education, I was drawn into them because I had always been involved in my sons’ school’s Parent Teacher Association and enjoyed being a school volunteer.

At the same time, my eldest son was not successful at Lowell High School. As a mother of two sons, I didn’t know anything about continuation high school, until I started looking for alternatives. I found out about Downtown High School, a continuation high school that offers project-based learning. Students apply what they learned from and did in integrated projects to a product they develop and create. Downtown t my son.

In 2001, while taking graduate courses in education at San Francisco State University, I volunteered at Downtown because of my son. Volunteering ignited my passion for outreaching to underserved, at-risk, and low-achieving students. I found my niche in working with these kids. As a high-achieving person, I encouraged them to work hard and offered them guidance to accomplish their goal: nishing school. Like the Energizer Bunny, I was energetic to

help them, giving them hope to go to college. When I saw those motivated kids graduate, I danced around and around. Such a wonderful joy I found nowhere else except Downtown.

After my son graduated from Downtown in June 2002, I was ready to volunteer there again.

“I am ready to hire you, Ellen,” the new principal said, “as a parttime ‘classi ed person’ doing lots of data analysis and input for our school. Also, as the chairperson for the school site council.” I jumped for joy at such great news.

As Downtown’s new principal, I love giving advice to students who are at-risk of dropping out. “You are the one in the driver’s seat,” I always tell them. Their decisions will determine what options are open to them. I realize that I can’t be successful with all of our students. If they are not going to be successful here, I want to give them counseling on what the next step might look like; what else is out there for them. They are leaving us, not because they are not successful, but because they haven’t found the right niche for them to be successful. I, as well as my staff, can’t serve everyone. I do my best to help students make transitions and nd the next step for them to move forward in their lives.

Everyone develops mentally at different speeds. Some young people need more time to mature to be able

to help themselves. Some learn the hard way. They have to go through that experience in order for them to learn what to do next. I don’t think in terms of failure, but of nding the inspiration to move forward.

What’s going in the family can prevent students from being successful. If students are able to deal with family problems quickly, they can be successful at comprehensive schools and on track to graduate on schedule. But if students are low on credits, they are referred to us; we have an accelerated credit program so they can earn credits faster here. If they come to us at the beginning of their junior year, they have the potential to recover enough credits to graduate on time. In order for them to earn credits, they must come to our school. We are a continuation school based on attendance. At comprehensive schools, they could have bad attendance, but still earn all their credits. But here it is strictly by attendance, so if they come half the time, they can only earn half the credit.

In order for a high school to be successful, we have to have solid and dedicated leadership, staff, students, supportive parents, and mentors, and share a common vision of where we are going.

My goals for my first year at Downtown are not only to continue PRINCIPAL pageS16

Mendell plaza Struggles to re-invent itself

BY B RIAN R INKERS

Almost every day, around 11 a.m., Charles Milton turns on the music, breaks out the dominoes and chess boards, and gets ready for an afternoon of games at Mendell Plaza, an area many consider to be a gathering place for drunks and drug dealers, with frequent episodes of violence. “Instead of ghting, play chess. Instead of hitting somebody, play dominoes,” said Milton, who volunteers for the duty, often wearing a black security guard uniform. “It takes a lot of anger out of the people.”

Providing the games is part of ongoing efforts to disrupt violence and disorder by bringing positive activities to Mendell Plaza. Merchants, residents, and community-based organizations want the plaza to be a neighborhood gathering place and center for the arts, which they hope will one day draw people from throughout the City to shop, stroll, and have fun.

Located on Third Street, between Oakdale and Palou, four bus lines and the T-train stop at the plaza, which is considered by many to be Bayview’s town center. Since the games began last spring, the change in the plaza has been like “night and day,” said Barbara Ockel, director of the Bayview Opera House, which is located adjacent to the space. Ockel said people seem to feel safer as they walk through the transit hub. The games tend to be played by the people who already hangout at the plaza, said Ockel, giving them a positive diversion from more hard-scramble pursuits.

a volunteer chaperone Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. “It’s a remarkable development,” Ockel said. “It doesn’t cost us a dime. They self regulate and self police.”

While some people think the plaza is safer and more commercially vibrant than it was a few years ago, others believe that it still needs help. According to Robert Davis, in the four years he’s lived in the neighborhood the social problems at Mendell Plaza haven’t changed at all. “The public drunkenness, urination, defecation is inappropriate and unacceptable,” he said.

“ There is still drug dealing and drunkenness and in that kind of atmosphere anything could happen anytime.”

San Francisco Arts Everywhere, a community group dedicated to bringing arts to Bayview, launched the chess program in the plaza. Dominoes soon followed. The Opera House provides the games. Milton, a plaza regular, quickly took charge of theactivities, and won the other denizens’ trust. Milton sets up the games and serves as

Davis’ primary concern is blight. The commercial vacancy rate on Third Street between Evans and William streets was 28 percent in 2010 and 2011, according to the Mayor’s Office of Economic Workforce Development (OEWD). Public urination and defecation in the plaza are also big concerns for Davis. According to Al Garmesen, who owns a Victorian glass shop on the plaza’s edge, people pee on his building all the time. With no public restroom nearby, people go where they can, he said. “There aren’t many options,” he added. “There’s a tree, or a pole, and thirdly there’s my building.”

The City cleans the plaza every morning, but Garmeson said it’s never clean enough. In the 1980s, when drug dealing in the area was particularly troublesome, Garmeson thought barricading off Mendell Street would scare away dealers. “Drug dealers don’t like to be cornered,” he added. While the

barricades didn’t solve the issues that plagued the area, it did set a foundation for the future plaza.

“Mendell Plaza is kind of like the heart of the Bayview,” said Davis, who is a member of Bayview Residents Improving Their Environment, BRITE, a group dedicated to combating blight in Bayview and turning the plaza into a community asset. “It’s ironic because the plaza is right in the center of everything and embodies all the problems of Bayview at the same time.”

According to longtime Bayview resident Dan Dodt, the police come when called, but the cops backed off during a 12-week free concert series offered on Saturdays by Mendell Plaza Presents last summer and fall. Dodt, who is active with both Mendell Plaza Presents and BRITE, said that the plaza is changing for the better. After a stabbing last winter under the palm trees near the plaza’s tip, at Third and Palou streets, a group of community members demanded that District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen close the space for 60 days. Dodt said that they didn’t really want to close the plaza; they wanted the City’s full attention. Mendell Plaza Presents emerged in response.

Davis and Dodt have different ideas about how best to tackle the plaza’s problems. Davis wants to turn it into a mini civic center, with the City leasing the adjacent vacant art deco building located at 1441 Mendell, currently called the old Metro PCS building. By having municipal offices right on the plaza, the comings and goings of civil servants would dis -

Bayview home to poet Laureate alejandro Murguia

BY KEITH B U RBANK

Often associated with the Mission District, San Francisco poet laureate and Bayview resident, Alejandro Murguia, describes himself as an internationalist. Born in the United States, Murguia lived with his family in Mexico until he was almost seven years old, before moving back across the border as “a total stranger.” His first language was Spanish. As an adult he spent a signi cant amount of time in Latin America, including in wartime Nicaragua.

Last summer, in Kerouac Alley, Mayor Ed Lee announced that the San Francisco Public Library and Friends of the San Francisco Public Library had selected Murguia as the City’s sixth poet laureate. Jack Hirschman, a former San Francisco poet laureate, nominated Murguia for the title. Hirschman has known Murguia for roughly 35 years, and said that he has “been a really important voice for the Latino and Chicano people.”

Murguia is a professor at San Francisco State University, where he teaches creative writing in the Latina/ Latino Studies departments. Despite any connections people may claim to Murguia, “I actually belong to the whole City,” he said. “I think that is important.” Murguia is no stranger to Potrero Hill; it’s the rst place he stayed when he came to San Francisco, in a second- oor at near a 22-Filmore bus stop. “I was visiting a friend,” he said.

Murguia identi es as a Chicano, or Mexican-American. His mother is from New Mexico; his father is from Jalisco, Mexico. I have a “unique perspective,” he said. “At the same time, I’m an internationalist,” representing every neighborhood in San Francisco.

According to Latina/Latino Studies Department chair, Teresa Carrillo, Ph.D, Murguia’s involvement in the Chicano rights movement, and his experience in Latin America, are assets to the department, which has a Latino student population that’s more diverse than the overall Latino population of the United States, which is 60 percent Mexican. “We were very lucky to hire him for a tenure-track position before two of his books came out,” Carrillo said. After Murguia was hired, both his books won American

Neigh

AlejandroMurguia. PHOTO COURTESY SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIvERSITY

PHOTOS BY DON NOLTE

Strutures May have Been illegally torn down at Former Berkeley Farms Site

BY K EITH BU RBANK

The future of 2065 Oakdale Avenue is uncertain in the wake of what appears to be an unapproved demolition of most of the structures that had been located on the site. Previously owned by Berkeley Farms – which used it as a dairy distribution point from 1977 to 2000 – most of a 1964 building has been taken down, and the familiar oversized milk carton sign is nowhere to be found.

The San Francisco Planning Department con rmed Dodt’s assertion.

“The project at 2065 Oakdale was processed as an alteration permit that was designated as a form number eight for over the counter approval, as opposed to an alteration permit that is a form number three, which requires further review,” wrote the Planning Department’s Kevin Brusatori, in an email.

“ The Building Department determines if a project is an alteration or a demolition.”

Concerned residents believe that Jack Tseng, the property’s owner, demolished perhaps 10,000 square feet of an existing structure by obtaining a permit most people would use to remodel their bathroom. According to Bayview resident Dan Dodt, the form submitted to the City by Tseng is more typically used for an alteration, not a demolition. “It doesn’t reveal the scope of the work,” said Dodt.

“That determination is made by the Building Department at the time of submittal. The Building Department determines if a project is an alteration or a demolition.

In this case they determined it to be an alteration.” A Department of Building Inspection (DBI) report on the property indicates that a partial demolition had been requested, to “remove deteriorated vacant warehouse building, extg main building to remain.”

Dodt is concerned that either Tseng

or his demolition contractor – Peninsula Hauling and Demolition, Incorporated, of San Carlos – failed to secure the required permits to address air quality, as well as the safety of people traveling on nearby sidewalks and streets, during the demolition.

Last October the Bayview Office for Community Planning, a group of residents, business owners and community advocates, filed a complaint about the demolition activity at 2065 Oakdale Avenue, claiming that the scope of the work exceeded what was allowed under the permit. The City and County of San Francisco’s Board of Appeals suspended the permit a few

days later, and scheduled a public hearing on the issue for December 5, to be held at 5 p.m., in City Hall, Room 416. The Board of Appeals, formerly known as the Board of Permit Appeals, is a quasi-judicial body that consists of ve members: president, Chris Hwang, vice president, Frank Fung, commissioner, Arcelia Hurtado, commissioner, Ann Lazurus, and a vacant commissioner’s seat. At the hearing, the board, Tseng, and the Bayview Office of Planning, as well as the City Attorney and a DBI representative, will be present.

According to Laef Barnes, a commercial research analyst with Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate Services, which was involved in the building’s sale, 2065 Oakdale Avenue is 55,695 square feet, and was purchased by Tseng last July for $3.9 million. In April, Tseng requested a “letter of determination” from the Planning Department indicating the allowed uses for the property. According to Tseng’s attorneys, Reuben & Junius, Tseng wants to use the site to house a company that will fabricate stone and manufacturer metal studs – long, slender building materials made of metal and wood that are used in constructing walls in homes and other buildings – indoor and outdoor storage of metal studs, wholesale sales and parking, and office space. Tseng may ultimately add an auto repair shop and sell other wholesale building materials from the site.

“We want to see professional oversight,” Dodt said of the development work being done in Bayview. Otherwise, Dodt said, the community will be like the Wild West.

KEV IN B RUSATORI

PHOTOS BY DON NOLTE

MUrgUia from page d13

Book Awards. “He generates a lot of enthusiasm”...“around poetry and short stories...,” Carrillo added.

But Murguia does more than teach. “He’s not only teaching, but he is out in the world doing good,” said Gabriela Segovia-McGahan, who has taught in the Latina/Latino Studies Department for a dozen years. Segovia-McGahan said that Murguia inspired her to begin writing. “He is good at imparting writing skills and knowledge even to people that aren’t in his classes,” Segovia-McGahan said. According to Stacey Lewis, who is involved in publicity and marketing at City Lights Books, Murguia has been involved in San Francisco’s political and poetry scene since the 1970s. Lewis worked with Murguia on his book This War Called Love, which City Lights published in 2002.

Murguia said his poetry is personal, but also a collective expression. Often it touches on what’s going on around town, incorporating the City’s history. “These are my techniques,” Murguia said. “So the poem is not just about me.” Segovia-McGahan said many of Murguia’s stories are cultural, describing what it’s like to be Latino. Part of him “bleeds through” many of his stories, SegoviaMcGahan said. “I am sure there is a lot of mythology around him.” One of Segovia-McGahan’s favorite Murguia stories reminds her of the struggles and challenges people face in their lives. “He’s been our poet laureate for many years,” Carrillo said.

rupt the loitering, drinking and other social problems that plague the area, Davis said. The City’s occupation would serve as an anchor, or Oak tree, encouraging other businesses, like acorns, to sprout up, he added.

“I respectfully disagree,” said Dodt, pointing out that Third Street is a commercial corridor, making Davis’ mini civic center a poor use of space. Crezia Tano, OEWD project manager, agreed with Dodt. “The City shares that same goals of the Oak to Acorns plan to increase foot traffic within Mendell Plaza,” said Tano. “However, activating the plaza with retail and programming will bring far more positive activity and growth.”

from the now defunct Redevelopment Agency.

The City has helped complete 21 façade and tenant improvements in Bayview, with two more in the pipeline, and attracted three businesses to the Mendell Plaza area. Fresh and Easy, which opened a few blocks south of the plaza on Third Street, was provided with tax credits. Limon Rotisserie, next to the Opera House, was given façade and tenant improvement grants. Radio Africa and Kitchen, across the street from the plaza, secured a loan

Yourhealthcare, closeathand.

“Without a doubt Mendell Plaza is better off now than it was a few years ago,” said Tano. “The City remains committed to making strategic investments to improve Mendell Plaza.” OEWD is trying to attract businesses to occupy three nearby properties: the old Metro PCS building, Wendy’s Cheesecake, at 4942 Third Street, and the Your Muslim Bakery, at 5147 Third Street. Last summer, in the wake of the Redevelopment Agency’s dismantling, the mayor budgeted $1.2 million for Bayview, $763,000 for scal year (FY) 2012, and $512,000 for FY 2013. Although Cohen’s legislative aide said the plaza was of great concern, Cohen didn’t respond to requests for comments from the View

shot nearby, Ockel began to take serious notice. “I was sitting in my office when I heard the shots,” Ockel said. “I saw the aftermath.

“It’s ironic because the plaza is right in the center of everything and embodies all the problems of Bayview at the same time.”

ROBERT DAV IS

Mendell Plaza Presents was initially funded by OEWD. Although the concerts ended in October due to lack of funding, OEWD recently awarded the organization a grant to sponsor more events. The free performances, dominoes and chess games haven’t drawn many paying customers to neighboring business, but they do help combat the negative perspectives many people have towards the plaza, said Dodt. “What we’re seeing is a real shift in the plaza,” he said, as he walked around the space shaking hands and making small talk with plaza regulars. He knew most people by rst and last name. “More people feel comfortable to be here.”

Violence in the plaza prompted the Opera House to get more involved. After Kenneth Harding Jr. was chased through the area by police and fatally

It was terrible.”

The Opera House offers educational activities, especially catering to young children. “It’s not all that dangerous,” said Ockel. “But every time there is a violent incident it disrupts us.” Some parents are afraid to let their children attend classes at the Opera House. Last fall, when a five-year-old girl was shot in the knee walking near the plaza with her father, 90 students from one school and 60 from another canceled their visits. The schools and their children have since returned.

The police have a large presence on Third Street, in and around the plaza, and work with residents and community groups to improve policing services. Two teams of beat cops, on foot and on bicycles, regularly patrol the area. They can often be found hanging out in front of Torrino’s liquor store, across the street from Mendell Plaza. According to Ockel, the police have been very cooperative, and the area is much better than before. Yet the scene is still unpredictable. “There is still drug dealing and drunkenness and in that kind of atmosphere anything could happen anytime,” she added.

Bayview Captain Robert O’Sullivan said that he targets drug dealers with undercover units that try to make cases and arrests by purchasing drugs. “The residents are tired and don’t want to see this drug dealing going on down there,” said O’Sullven. “I want to make it plain and clear that Mendell Plaza is not a place to come and sell drugs.”

MeNdeLL pLaZa from page d13

PHOTOS BY DON NOLTE

PlowGrowsCustomers

BY S ASHA L EKACH

Two years ago, Maxine Siu and Joel Bleskacek converted a former architecture studio into a restaurant that’s quickly become a Potrero Hill stalwart. Plow offers back-to-basics breakfast, brunch, and lunch menus made by locals for locals. The eatery is located around the corner from Siu’s and Bleskacek’s 19th Street home. The couple, with their 10 and 12 year old children, who attend the San Francisco Waldorf School, share a passion for food.

In March Bleskacek sold Ruby Wine, a shop he’d owned at 1419 18th Street, to focus full time on Plow, where Siu, who has worked for various Bay Area restaurants, serves as chef. “We have our hands full,” Bleskacek said. “We are happy with it.” With 35-seats, Plow has long wait times for weekend brunch, and is packed for weekday breakfasts, serving more than 300 customers daily.

Siu and Bleskacek regularly get requests from neighbors to open for dinner, but according to Bleskacek the restaurant’s current hours – Tuesday through Friday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and

weekends 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. – keep the owners sufficiently busy. “Sometimes in life you have to realize when to stop,” he said. The couple is also constantly approached with offers to open another Plow in San Francisco or elsewhere, but Bleskacek insists that there isn’t enough time for that. “We want to watch our kids grow up.”

Bleskacek, who is from Wisconsin, and his wife Siu, a San Francisco native, are raising their children as true City kids, with re ned palates and a love of good dining, which often includes breakfast at the restaurant so they can see their mom before heading to school. The dining establishment, which aims to be family friendly, serves what Bleskacek said he feeds his family at home. He considers the restaurant an extension of his home. “We’ve always blurred the line between home and work,” he said.

Plow’s menu changes seasonally; the kitchen sources a lot of the produce directly from California farms. Menu favorites include lemon ricotta pancakes and a fried egg sandwich. After a stellar review from the San Francisco Chronicle in February, Bleskacek said the bar has been

25 TH STREET CLEANUP

raised, but success pushes the couple instead of placating the husband and wife duo.

Dogpatch resident Kieran Lal has been taking his one-year-old daughter, Kiera, to Plow since she was born, creating something of a daughter-daddy weekend tradition. Lal, who works as a technical director at a local software company, said he usually orders the “Plow” special or pancakes, but sometimes dines on granola. “When we go now we are always the rst in line to get the back left table on the bench so [Kiera] can sit on my lap or beside me. She loves to watch patrons,” he said. He avoids egg dishes that tend to end up on his daughter’s shirt so that his wife won’t pick up on the location of the “secret” fatherdaughter outing location.

that make the restaurant stand out.

“The monthly special dinners with wine pairings are some of the best on the Hill. The family style brings out terri c menus and a fantastic opportunity to meet our newer neighbors on the Hill, those who have lived here less than our 27 years,” he said. “It’s always well worth the occasional wait.”

“... the tastes are delightful and very lling and the menu changes regularly.”

E DWARD L ORTZ

As Lortz indicated, Plow hosts a popular monthly wine dinner, which lls up quickly given the limited seating and rare opportunity to dine after-hours. The restaurant also holds private events, which ramp up between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

According to longtime Hill resident Edward Lortz, who lives on the same block as Siu and Bleskacek, “The food is very, very fresh and seasonable” and “the tastes are delightful and very lling and the menu changes regularly. For Maxine, soft scrambled means soft and poached eggs are never overdone.” Lortz noted that the food and service aren’t the only aspects

ThecampaigntocleanupSan Francisco’s newest neighborhood-the south of dog patch area-continued with a recent tree plantingonastripoflandalong 25thStreetbetweenIndianaand Minnesotastreets.District10 supervisor Malia cohen (third from left), and landscape planner heidi becker (hands in pocket) joined theeffort,whichwasorganized by bruce huie (kneeling), with severalvolunteersinvestingsweat equityintotheirneighborhood. Thecampaignbeganwiththe conversion of a dilapidated weedlotunderthe280onrampinto ProgressPark.Thenextprojectwill focusoncleaninguptheareaon thesouthsideof23rdStreetnear IowaStreet.

According to Bleskacek, being in 94107 is a boon, especially since the locale is often overlooked as a gourmet destination. The area is starting to get the recognition it deserves, but still has a “quaint, small neighborhood” feel and has “real people,” he explained.

The meteorological conditions are also helpful, with the restaurant receiving copious amounts of indirect sunlight, adding to its appeal. Plow attracts people from all over the Bay Area. Bleskacek said some of his favorite moments are when customers make their rst stop at Plow after coming into San Francisco from the airport. Bleskacek was quick to credit much of the restaurant’s success to its loyal staff of 15 servers and kitchen workers, who he said work hard and whom were rewarded with a twoday staff retreat in Lake Tahoe last month.

As for the name, Bleskacek said thousands of monikers were considered when they rst started building the space. They nally settling on “Plow” because of its urban yet pastoral feel. They liked the name’s simplicity, and hoped it invoked a feeling of simpler, relaxed times. Like the atmosphere in the couple’s home, where they still cook and eat as a family despite the hours spent at the restaurant, often dining on beans, peppers, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables culled from their backyard garden.

Plow is located at 1299 18th Street; 821.7569 or www.eatatplow. com.

PHOTO BY QUINTON JONES

PHOTOS BY DON NOLTE

CO mmuNIty CaLEN dar

CALLFORART!

Art:SteelstoWheels

The Potrero branch library and Farley’s invite artists to participate in From Steel to Wheels, an exhibition dedicated to the past, present and future of the current Cor-o-van structures (1200 -1210 17th Street and 965 16th streets at Mississippi). Proposals are welcome through January 2013. The exhibition will open on Saturday, February 23rd at the Potrero Library, and March 1st at Farley’s. Information and submission guidelines: corovan.blogspot.com or e-mail hillianpotrero@gmail.com

ThroughDecember

Lights:HyattRegency

With the days colder and shorter, a great way to spend the afternoon is to visit the Hyatt Regency, where you’ll be dazzled by thousands of strands of lights cascading from the enormous atrium courtyard. Lounge on the sofas at Eclipse Bar, and sip a favorite beverage while taking it all in. Don’t be surprised by intermittent snowfal. Free. 5 Embarcadero Center. Information: 788.1234.

4-8

Music:StringQuartet

DelSol

Celebrate the Del Sol String Quartet’s 20th anniversary with a week-long collaborative series of performances. The Quartet will present three unique concerts of new music, conduct a workshop with local university composition students, and hold an open rehearsal of commissioned works by young and emerging Bay Area composers. Tickets: Free to $100. Z Space, 450 Florida Street. Information: 374.0074, info@delsolquartet.com, or visit delquartet.com.

Food:DIY Cookie

Decoratingwith

BatterBakery

Find out how grandma made those amazing cookies that not only looked good but tasted great. Learn the best recipe for royal icing, how to mix and tint for color, and how to add detail using sprinkles and sand. Each participant will decorate six cookies: four shortbread, two gingerbread. 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets: $35. 18 Reasons, 3674 18th Street. Information: info@18reasons. org

December6through15

Theater: 9TenMinutePlaysThat PutTheFuninDysFUNctionOver theHolidaysby3G irls

3Girls Theatre presents a holiday showcase along the theme: it’s funny when it’s not your family, right? The company’s twisted take on holiday love and togetherness features nine short plays by 3GT playwrights. Gird yourself for the holidays with an evening of love and laughter. Tickets: $25. Phoenix Theater, 414 Mason Street. Information: info@3girlstheatre.org or 967.0348.

Holiday:Wreath-Making Workshop

Create a gorgeous holiday wreath with fresh greens and berries guided by hands-on instruction from experienced oral designers. Bring your own ornaments and accents to add, and choose from materials available for purchase. Base price includes a 14-inch wreath base, assorted greens, berries, cones, and ribbon. The instructors are Linton Bowie, head of College of San Mateo’s floriculture department, and Melanie Heisler, floral designer and graduate in oriculture from the college. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets: $40. San Francisco Botanical Garden/County Fair Building, 1199 9th Avenue. Information: sfbg.org.

PublicHealth: InformationalMeeting forActiveLivingFunding inPotreroHill

Community Health Promotion and Prevention, part of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, is accepting applications to fund projects and agencies doing active living activities within, and for residents of, Potrero Hill. This Request for Applications (RFA) totals $175,000 — to be divided between projects or agencies, for a maximum of $75,000 to any single project. Funds for this RFA have been made available through a settlement associated with the Mirant Power Plant closure. Attendance at this meeting is required for applicants. 1:30 to 3 p.m. 30 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 2300. Information and RFA available at: http://tinyurl.com/ ActiveLivingRFA.

Theater:RetroHoliday SlideShowwith CharlesPhoenix

With his abundant joy, clever wit, and keen eye for oddball detail, retro pop culture humorist Charles Phoenix supercharges this celebration into a laugh-out-loud roast and toast of midcentury New Year’s, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holidays. Phoenix also shares his seasonal food craft experiments. Guaranteed to get you in the mood for the holidays. 8 p.m. Tickets: $25. Empress of China Ballroom, 838 Grant Avenue. Information: charlesphoenix. com.

Music:CaptainCasual BluesBand

Captain Casual is local stringbender Andrew Goberman, with Paul Olguin on bass and Peter Tucker on drums. The band plays a mix of bluesbased favorites and obscurities, some swing tunes and some early-1960’s “brill building blues.” There’s always an interesting guitar on hand, some snappy patter and good clean musical fun. Free. 8 to 9:30 p.m. Farley’s, 131518th Street. ¬†

Film:CanyonCinema Works

Theater:Solo Performances atStageWerx

These one-person shows mix stand-up and storytelling, with a cast of thousands, bursting from a single performer. The results are hilarious, heartbreaking, passionate, and provocative. This show features Kenny Yun, performing his Happy Hour with Kim Jong II, Kurt Bodden, and Steve Seabrook. “Solo Sundays” is produced by Ty McKenzie and Potrero Hill resident Bruce Pachtman. 7 p.m. Tickets: $12. Stage Werx, 446 Valencia. Information: stagewerx.org.

A cornerstone of the Bay Area experimental lm scene, Canyon Cinema has grown since its founding in the early 1960s to represent 340 lmmaker members and distribute more than 3200 works on lm and DVD. This program includes a selection of 35-mm lms from the Canyon collection, including Donna Cameron’s World Trade Alphabet (2001); Tomonari Nishikawa’s 16-18-4 (2008); Pat O’Neill’s Horizontal Boundaries (2008); Peter Tscherkassky’s Dream Work (for Man Ray) (2001); Scott Stark’s Traces (2012); Louise Bourque’s Self Portrait Post Mortem (2002); and Antoni Pinent’s Kinosturm Kubelka (2009). 7 p.m. Tickets: $10 general; $7 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art members, students, and seniors. Phyllis Wattis Theater, SF MOMA, 151 Third Street. Information: 357.4000 or sfmoma. org.

Music:MusaeinConcert

– DivineFeminine: WomeninHolidaySong

Experience this mighty and wonderful, sometimes heart-breakingly subtle, allfemale holiday music phenomenon. The combination of austere medieval carols, contemporary compositions, raw and passionate Russian polyphony, and lush Romanticism will recharge your spirit.

4 p.m. Tickets: $10 to $25. St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1111 O’Farrell Street. Information: events@musae.org.

Kids:LetItSnowatthe RandallMuseum

Join the Randall team for their Saturday Drop-In Science session, and make some snow for San Francisco! Learn about crystal formation, and make your own crystal-covered snow ake decoration. 10:30 a.m. $4 per child. Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way. Information: 554.9600 or randallmuseum.org/Drop-InScience.

ChristmasEve:Saint Gregory’sChurch

Join the wonderful tradition of Christmas Eve pageant, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Christmas Eve Liturgy begins at 10 p.m. St. Gregory’s 500 DeHaro Street. Information: 255-8100

24+25ChristmasMass:

St.Theresa’sChurch

Tradition continues at St. Theresa’s. Mass schedules as follows: December 24 at 4:15 p.m. with a special Children’s Liturgy. Christmas Eve Family Mass begins at 9 p.m. with caroling by the choir before the Mass. December 25 at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. 390 Missouri Street. Information: 285-5272.

Art:ContemporaryJewish Museum

The museum offers a great way to spend the entire day, free! Explore three traveling exhibitions: The Art of Ezra Jack Keats, the author of The Snowy Day; The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League 1936-1951; and California Dreaming, Jewish Life in the Bay Area from Gold Rush to Present. Then, make your own Keats-inspired cityscape book bags and add your artistry to the ongoing Keats Community Mural. And don’t miss the ever-popular Bay Area band Octopretzel, known to wow audiences of all ages, with performances at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Boxed lunches will be offered at the Museum’s café, American Box at the CJM, and the Museum Store is open all day. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission Street. Information: 655.7800 or info@thecjm.org.

LiveMusic:SoulDelights

The ever popular Soul Delights! The Soul Delights always draw a crowd. Come on in and enjoy the tunes. Free. 8 to 9:30 p.m. Farley’s, 1315 18th Street.

December26throughJanuary1

Kids:AnnualHolidayAnimationFest

Take friends and family to the McBean Theater to enjoy a selection of playful, engaging animated lms that are great for all ages. 12, 2 and 4 p.m. Included in general admission to the Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon Street. Information: 561.0360; exploratorium.edu/visit/calendar

Popcorn 5 Cents

B Y ROSE MARIE OSTLER

Almost every Sunday, my mom, brother and I would go to the matinee at the New Potrero Theater at 18th and Connecticut Streets. We would have our usual lunch of pasta, quickly do the dishes and be at the movie house before the 1 p.m. start.

The theater was owned and run by a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, what a pair they were! She was short and pudgy, and he was very tall and thin. She always wore a white uniform with great yellow epaulets on the shoulders. The coat had large gold buttons and she topped it off with a white captain’s hat which also had gold braiding. Under her hat was a big, black wig. Of course she had a black bow tie. Mr. Holmes always wore a black suit with a white shirt and he also had a black bow tie. Neither one smiled much. He was very silent and always hovering in the background. He ran the projector. Once the movie started, she patrolled the aisles with her ashlight making sure no one was up to any mischief.

When we arrived we would pay our 25 cents and enter through the little side door. We would immediately head for the old-fashioned popcorn machine with our nickel. We took one of the little brown bags from the slot, placed it under the hole, put in our nickel and watched the yellow, buttered popcorn slide down into our bag. Oftentimes the “General” or her Icabod Crane husband would be lurking around the machine. The popcorn was usually stale and salty, but we loved it and gobbled it up quite fast as soon as the movie started. Sometimes we would get a candy too; maybe Necco Wafers or JuJuBees.

The lights would go down and the movie would begin. After the rst movie there would be a newsreel, a cartoon, coming attractions and then the second movie. What a wonderful afternoon of make believe it was.

There was one drawback. The nickname for the show house was the “ ea hole” and we often went home with a few bites. We would usually get home after 5 p.m. and mom would make pizza on English Muffins and we would have a special treat.....a coke. How simple those Sunday afternoons were.

We saw most of the wonderful musicals there and that began my love of tap dancing. I often imagined myself up on the screen dancing with Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire.

I’m not sure when the theater opened but much to our dismay it closed in the late 1950s. It was a great loss to our neighborhood, but of course the big screens and stereo sounds were becoming popular and the little “New Potrero Theater” could not compete. It gave many hours of wonderful entertainment to the working class who could not afford much more. Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Holmes.

OldMoviesReturntoHill

B Y P ETER L INENTHAL for the Potrero branch library.

The unusual red brick building with black columns located at 312 Connecticut Street – almost next door to Goat Hill Pizza – was built in 1913, as one of San Francisco’s early movie theaters, the Alta Nickelodeon. Silent films were shown there until 1929 when the small theater converted to sound and changed its name to The New Potrero Theater, which closed in the 1960s.

Since 1993 the building has been home to the San Francisco Gurdjieff Society, which has extensively remodeled it. There isn’t much left of the theater. Half way up an interior brick wall is evidence of where the joists of the theater’s raked oor were anchored. An interesting tiled patio with great views has been carved out; wooden paneling in dark and light shades animates many spaces.

Gurdjieff Society president Terry Lindahl generously opened the building for three shows of silent films last month, an experiment sponsored by the Potrero Hill Archives Project to gage public interest in viewing old movies in the neighborhood. The results were impressive. Crowds came to each show; neigborhood history was shared as popcorn popped again on Connecticut Street.

The rst lm shown, made in the 1930s, begins with the announcement “...shown through the courtesy of the management of the New Potrero Theater as a community service and will not be shown in any other theater in San Francisco.” A procession from St. Teressa’s Church in honor of Saint Vincenza marches through familiar Hill streets, accompanied by a precision marching band. The nal shots pan the congregation of hundreds of elegantly dressed parishioners on the church steps. This lm hadn’t been presented in the theater where it premiered in 75 years. The other lm shown, Sunrise by F. W. Murnau, was a riveting 1927 silent, shot in a striking expressionist style.

Barbara Angeli, whose family has operated Parkside (now Thee Parkside) for generations, recognized an altar boy in the film: her father, August Angeli. Angeli and several other audience members saw movies at the New Potrero before it closed, and shared memories of the Flea Hole. Frank Rahmer said that Mrs. Holmes, one of

the theater’s owners, ticket sellers and flashlight holding guard of darkened aisles, was related to Yul Brynner.

“ The popcorn was usually stale and salty, but we loved it and gobbled it up quite fast as soon as the movie started.”

ROSE MARIE OSTLER

Once Mrs. Holmes’ white captain’s hat fell off, taking her wig with it. Underneath she was completely bald. Rose Marie Ostler’s memoir accompanies this article. Mary Wasserman went to the last lm shown there in the 60s, The Guns of Navarone

The old movie shows raised $1,200

Christopher’s Books sold tickets, St. Teressa’s Church loaned chairs, and Live Oak School provided the crucial popcorn machine. Many people asked if showing old movies could become a regular neighborhood event. While that may not be practical at 312 Connecticut, perhaps another site would work.

Peter Linenthal can be reached at ppotrero@pacbell.net.

(From left) rose Marie ostler, a fullhouse packed the new (old) potrero Theater,speakerTerryLindahl. PhotoscourtesyofAlexaBush