Neighbors curbing their wheels, but frustrated
A note on the window of a car parked (with wheels sharply curbed) on the 700 block of Chenery.
Curb your wheels – even on flat roads – or face S.F. Muni wrath
A dreaded sight (Credit: The Chronicle)
Residents along Chenery Street in Glen Park have been perplexed in recent days to learn they live on a hill. Common sense would say the stretch just east of the canyon is flat, but when you’re talking about the Municipal Transportation Agency, common sense doesn’t always come into play.
Several residents have been shocked to receive numerous citations for $50 apiece for failing to curb their wheels when parked on the street, tickets they’ve never received before. There’s apparently a petition to fight the citations in the works and a pledge by some not to pay up.
Please read more here.
Scenes from the Glen Park Festival
Kudos to all who made such a wonderful Festival for us this year!
Photos: Michael Waldstein.
Jinx Jones (w/guitar)
P.S.: At last week’s Big Bang Gala at the California Academy of Sciences, I was seated next to John Hafernik, president of the academy’s board of trustees and an entomologist at San Francisco State. He described his passion for insects, from his boyhood in Texas. And in response to an inquiry, he said very modestly that yes, a butterfly has been named after him: The Piruna haferniki, as identified by a lepidopterist, is native to the Southwest, from Big Bend National Park south through Mexico.
The next day’s Googling allowed me to see a picture of it, shiny brown with a scattering of white speckles on its wings. A nice butterfly, but in truth, far less decorative than the scientist’s hand-printed beetle-adorned necktie.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/25/DDPN1O70DN.DTL#ixzz1tBIRvIQZ
DISTRICT 8 EXPANDS SOUTHEAST OF BERNAL CUT
Bernal Cut trail master plan.
And Other News from the Glen Park Association
By Bonnee Waldstein
College Hill is now part of District 8, since boundaries were changed citywide in April.
What is College Hill? It’s a neighborhood, newly registered with the City and County of San Francisco, that used to be home to St. Mary’s College before it moved overseas to Oakland in 1889, thence to Moraga in 1928. It has street names like College, College Terrace and St. Mary’s. Where is College Hill? It’s the small neighborhood on the “other” side of the Bernal Cut, opposite Glen Park. Specifically, it’s bounded by Randall Street, the 280 freeway entrance, San Jose Avenue, and Mission Street.
It’s easy walking from Glen Park via the Highland or Richland Avenue bridges, which cross over San Jose Avenue.
Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of it. Residents there had taken to calling themselves “The Lost Tribes of College Hill,” until some of them got together to literally put themselves on the map.
At the Glen Park Association meeting on April 19, Glen Parkers found out all about their new cousins from Tom Cantrell and Robert Lane, president and treasurer, respectively, of the College Hill Neighborhood Association. Although relative newcomers to the area – they moved there from the Castro in 2010 – they quickly got to work, along with other residents, trying to turn their turf from obscurity to San Francisco gem status.
They joined neighborhood activist Sandy Cardoza, and with the volunteer work of landscape architect Albert Cruz, they came up with a plan. It consists of six segments, three on either side of San Jose Avenue. They would have a number of beautiful and friendly diversions: a par course exercise station; improved stairways at Richland, Highland and Appleton Avenues; small park plazas and garden areas, sculpture under the Highland Avenue bridge; and possibly a mural on the Glen Park side of the retaining wall along San Jose Avenue.
At the San Jose Avenue level, they are proposing reducing the number of traffic lanes to make way for tree planting, and adding bike lanes. They want to clear, clean and plant the slopes along the avenue.
Cantrell and Lane hope that they can obtain a community challenge grant to begin work on the first two segments. The rest of the work would then follow.
Even before the official designation of the neighborhood, there’s been a longstanding cleanup of the walking paths on either side of the Cut, every third Saturday of the month.
As to the well-known problem of homeless encampments in the area, they don’t have an answer for that. Cantrell’s day job is working with the homeless, and he prefers to use persuasion and offers of resources, and to clean up the area. They hope that by making the area more attractive and used by pedestrians, the encampments will be discouraged.
This Saturday, April 28, will be the DPW/Starbucks volunteer day to work on the Gavin Newsom Lavender Garden at Appleton and Mission and the greenbelt at Arlington and Roanoke. On June 9, a DPW Clean Team event is scheduled, with the staging at Fairmount Elementary School. Details forthcoming.
Contact:
collegehillneighbors@gmail.com
Facebook: College Hill Neighborhood Association
Blog: bernalwood.wordpress.com
Glen Park Elementary School principal Marion Grady shows plans for greening of the schoolyard.
Photo by Michael Waldstein
GLEN PARK SCHOOL GOES GREEN
The Glen Park Association meeting was held at Glen Park Elementary School this quarter and it was a chance for Principal Marion Grady to tout the Green Schoolyard Concept Plan now underway at the school. The infrastructure has been updated with $5.5 million from the 2006 bond issue. The school now has entered the second phase, which is the greening of the schoolyard. They are looking for a landscape architect but have a drawing, which is essentially a wish list of everything that everyone could possibly want.
The first project will be the students’ garden of edible plants. They are also planning outdoor classroom garden space, adding onto the play structure space, a pavilion roof, and greening up the small kindergarten area.
The principal also wants to make a strong visual statement about Glen Park School – other than “big blue building” — possibly with a mosaic mural around the Brompton Street corner.
To get things underway, Grady reported that there were funds left over from the construction, and some initial design work done in that phase, so they’re in pretty good shape to start. As for the rest, volunteers and donations will play a big part. The school will have a number of fundraisers, starting with a bake sale at their booth at the Glen Park Festival.
To volunteer to help green the schoolyard @ 151 Lippard Ave., call the school office: (415) 469-4713
STREET TREE MAINTENANCE TRANSFER
After some upbeat presentations, residents were brought back to earth a bit by Chris Buck, arborist with DPW’s Bureau of Urban Forestry. He delivered a sobering account of eight years of budget cuts and resulting neglect of the City’s tree stock.
The City, through the Department of Public Works, now has responsibility for maintaining almost one-third of the City’s trees, mostly along thoroughfares or public rights of way, which in Glen Park includes several areas in the village and along Chenery, Elk, Bosworth and Diamond Streets. For public safety issues, DPW is responsible for all trees.
The recommended pruning cycle for a tree is three to five years. The reality in San Francisco is now ten to twelve years. This untenable situation has led the city to propose transferring the responsibility of DPW trees to the adjacent property owners. If anyone is astonished at this thought, Buck said it’s all legal and contained in the fine print of the San Francisco Public Works code.
The proposal is to transfer 230,000 trees to private property responsibility over a seven-year period, ending in 2018. The transfer process has already begun. It starts with evaluation by a certified arborist. The tree must have structural integrity and not require major maintenance, pruning or sidewalk repair. Then a notice is posted that the tree is being considered for relinquishment. A letter is mailed to the property owner, with a packet of advice on proper tree care.
So far they’ve reviewed 3,000 trees and sent out 1,600 notices to property owners about a proposed transfer. The property owner can have a hearing if he wishes. Of the 1,600 notified so far, only 65 have been taken off the transfer list for further review.
On the face of it, one might think no one would be in favor of the transfer. One resident, however, might have voiced the sentiments of others. In one of last year’s rains – not even a violent storm – a large tree branch from a DPW tree came down in her yard and would have wrecked the family car, had it been there. “We’ve been after the City forever, trying to get this tree taken care of – we’d be glad if we could just do it ourselves.”
Buck is hoping the political process stops this program. Supervisor Wiener is trying to pull funding together so the program doesn’t have to go forward.
Contact:
Information:
http://www.sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1478
UPDATE BY SUPERVISOR WIENER
Supervisor Wiener reported that the Glen Park Community Plan was passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors and signed into law by Mayor Lee. Now vital parts of the plan can begin to be implemented in the next few months, notably pedestrian safety and traffic flow at the Diamond/Bosworth intersection.
Wiener is generally pleased with the results of the redistricting. He wanted to protect his entire district, “even the parts that didn’t vote for me.” He was largely successful. He lost part of the Lower Haight, a portion of Monterey and one side of Joost. On the other hand, he picked up College Hill, south of Randall, between San Jose Avenue and Mission Street.
Glen Canyon Park improvements — coming soon
GLEN PARK GEARS UP FOR NEXT ROUND OF PARKS IMPROVEMENTS
By Bonnee Waldstein
It’s beginning to look as if Glen Park’s wish list for a major overhaul of Glen Canyon Park is getting closer to a dream realized.
Soon the final design will be unveiled, and construction will begin, on the projects approved through the 2008 Clean and Safe Neighborhoods bond fund. Glen Canyon Park will see trails improvements, better access on Elk Street, the relocation of the tennis courts to make way for a welcoming entry plaza The bond also provided $3 million to address the most glaring deficiencies in the worn out building: the gym floor, heating, and restroom facilities.
Now the City is proposing another parks bond issue for the 2012 ballot. One of the proposed neighborhood projects calls for $12 million for a major renovation of the Glen Park Recreation Center. The other large project in District 8 is $2 million for improvement of George Christopher playground in Diamond Heights.
A series of presentations is going on at the neighborhood level – there have been 45 so far –to introduce the scope of the proposed bond and get initial feedback from the locals. On April 18, at the Harvey Milk Center for Recreational Arts, Supervisor Scott Wiener, and Dawn Kamalanathan of the Rec and Park Department, outlined the features of the bond issue for District s 5 and 8, as well as the rest of the city.
By way of background, Wiener explained that six years ago the City adopted a ten-year capital plan. It catalogued all its assets, including schools, roads, parks and the airport; and assessed the capital needs, which run into the tens of billions of dollars. This results in a realistic view of what is attainable. The plan is updated every year.
The proposed 2012 bond is part of this ten-year capital plan. The Rec and Park Department, with over 220 properties, has over one billion dollars of capital needs. The bond would allocate $185 million towards that, the same amount as the 2008 bond. One factor in deciding how to allocate funds is to consider the rating system put out by the Parks Alliance every year. “Failing” parks and playgrounds get priority. Other factors that are considered are geographic balance and how much the facilities are used.
In order to get the two-thirds vote needed to pass the bond, it must include many diverse projects that will be of interest to the most voters.
One of the lessons learned from previous bonds is the need for funding ongoing maintenance and staffing. For that reason, projects such as park clubhouse renovation won’t be undertaken.
In addition to $97 million for proposed neighborhood projects such as Glen Canyon Park, the bond would fund waterfront parks and citywide parks projects, including Golden Gate, McLaren and Lake Merced parks.
Another feature of the bond is to continue, and expand to $10 million, the Community Opportunity Fund Program. The program provides funding through grants for smaller projects, spearheaded and applied for at the neighborhood level. These require a lot of community involvement and sweat equity, and are often supplemented with matching funds.
Rounding out the long to-do list are funds for playground safety in seven to eleven playgrounds ($15.5 million), water conservation ($5 million), forestry ($4 million), and trails ($4 million).
Some might question the fiscal soundness of issuing what feels like a steady stream of bonds. The city policy is not to raise property taxes beyond the 2006 rate, and to issue new bonds only as old ones are retired. That way a steady stream of investment in our infrastructure is assured.
Another issue that’s often raised is why the City can’t finance ongoing improvements out of the general fund. According to Supervisor Wiener, there is over one billion dollars in needs, which is just about the size of the City’s entire discretionary fund. Decades of deferred maintenance on City assets have turned ongoing maintenance needs into capital projects. A bond issue is the only way to address this overwhelming backlog.
After the neighborhood meetings have been completed, the bond proposal will go to the Rec and Parks Commission, then to the Board of Supervisors, and to the Budget Finance Committee on June 21.
The last truly major investment in the parks was in the 1950’s. Beginning with the 2000 bond, the city is trying for a renaissance of consistent renewal. The emphasis is on renovation rather than new building
The 2008 bond issue passed with 71.6% of the vote and the City is hoping for similar support for this year’s bond proposal. One advantage of the weak economy overall is a positive contract bidding climate – we’re likely to get more bang for our buck.
Information about:
The Parks Bond 2012: http://sfrecpark.org/BondOutreach.aspx
Community Opportunity Fund Program: http://sfrecpark.org/COF.aspx
ECONOMIC VIEW
The Preschool Race Is No Joke
By ROBERT H. FRANK
Published: April 21, 2012
Carl Wiens
WILDLY implausible faux news stories appear each April Fool’s Day, some of which are taken seriously. This year’s clear winner was the National Public Radio feature about a preschool’s new requirement that all applicants submit DNA profiles.
As the segment begins, the host Guy Raz is greeted by Rebecca Unsinn, described as headmaster at a school called the Porsafillo Preschool Academy, located in a striking I. M. Pei-designed building in a leafy enclave on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Dr. Unsinn walks Mr. Raz through gleaming computer labs where toddlers master C++. She proudly describes the school’s Mandarin Chinese immersion program.
We are also told that Dr. Unsinn, a pediatric neurologist, was recruited to oversee the school’s new genetic tests, designed to help winnow 12,000 applications for 32 available spots in next year’s class. As she explains, “We now know that simple DNA testing can determine whether a child will end up at Yale or at Yonkers Community College.”
It’s a preposterous claim, of course, but some took it seriously. One Web site recounted the tale this way: “Parents being what they are today, the applicants to Porsafillo don’t even blink at the requirement, some going so far as to have the sample for the DNA test taken while the child is still in the womb, according to an NPR story.” Such reactions bespeak how bitterly competitive the battle for elite preschool slots has become in New York and elsewhere.
Please read more here.
More to do Sunday during and after the Festival
From the Bird and Beckett site: www.birdbeckett.com
SUNDAY, APRIL 29
COME TO THE GLEN PARK FESTIVAL!
An all-day frolic al fresco on Diamond Street from Bosworth to Chenerey. Crafts booths, food vendors, your occasional politician and a stage full of terrific musicians entertaining you & your 1,000 close personal friends-to-be!
Music on the Fest stage starts at 10:00 a.m. when our honorary Glen Park mayor & major domo Misisipi Mike introduces the kick off act, Gayle Schmitt and the Toodalla Ramblers doing a special set for the stroller set. At 11:30, Misisip’s own Midnight Gamblers flower in the noon-day sun with a good-natured honky tonk set to get the grown-ups up & hollerin’. Neighborhood politico-musico’s District 8 follow at 1:00; and then Jinx Jones & KingTones take the stage at 1:45 for a coronation rave-up. World emperors Pangea play at 3:15, globalizing the whole deal.
The cosmos in a microcosm, on the best block in the best neighborhood in the bestest little city in the whole wide universe!
Even if the sun don’t shine anywhere else this Sunday, it’ll shine right here! C’mon out!
AND! SINCE THE SUN’S LIKELY TOO BE JUST TOO HOT TO STAND ALL DAY LONG, YOU’RE INVITED INTO THE COOL ENVIRONS OF THE BOOKSHOP FOR OUR OWN FESTIVITIES!
2:30 PM – WALKER TALKS! MYTHIC MUSINGS
Our amazing resident tale spinner will take you on a lovely ride through some of the epic myths that have taken up permanent residence in our collective consciousness. Good for kids, sure– but even better for the rest of us! All welcome!
(By the way, Walker will tell tales specifically for the kids on the Wilder Street offshoot of Festival thoroughfare early in the day– check the Festival website for the schedule.)
4:30-6:30 PM – BENGAL & BEYOND
“JAZZ CURRY, NO HURRY”
BIRD & BECKETT’S WHICH WAY WEST?
SUNDAY CONCERT SERIES
As the afternoon mellows out, a more contemplative mood naturally sets in– and there could be no better way to capture that mood than with two sets of jazz infused with a Kolkata sensibility.
Bassist Bishu Chatterjee leads the marvelous quartet, “Bengal & Beyond,” which features vocalist Sharmila Guha as well as the saxophonist Prasant Radhakrishnan and drummer Bryan Bowman.
Bengal & Beyond’s music draws on classic jazz (think Horace Silver’s classic “Calcutta Cutie,” for instance), but also on Bengali-language lyrics and melodies that have their roots in the 1970s music scene in West Bengal’s Kolkata (called Calcutta at the time) when Bishu was a founding member of the groundbreaking band called “Mohiner Ghoraguli.”
Unprecedented in the Kolkata music scene of the early 1970s, Mohiner Ghoraguli (led by Bishu’s elder brother, the now-legendary Gautam Chattopadhyay) took elements of Bengali folk forms and western folk and rock to build the musical structure underlying Gautam’s lyrically innovative “songs of daily life.” MG was way ahead of its time, and today is considered a cornerstone of the music played by many bands that are at the top of the Kolkata music scene.
The musicians that make up “Bengal & Beyond” are among the top echelon of creative musicians currently plying their trade on the San Francisco jazz and improvisatory music scene.
The Glen Park Festival is this coming Sunday!
Live music all day long, over 50 vendors (local artists/craftspeople/community organizations and schools), yummy food at our neighborhood restaurants and Off The Grid food carts, and a children’s area with a packed roster of entertainment (Tree Frog Treks, Wonderbugs, One Martial Arts demonstration — just to name a few) See more at http://www.glenparkfestival.com/entertainment.shtml
And don’t forget to buy your Glen Park Festival Raffle Tickets! The raffle is one of our major fundraisers for the grants we give to schools and children’s programs. Lots of great prizes this year!! See more at
http://www.glenparkfestival.com/drawing.shtml
Prizes are given away all day, so maximize your chance to win by purchasing your tickets in advance at Perch, Eydentity Vision, Glen Park Dental or Chenery Park Restaurant. Or, come by the raffle booth on the day of the festival.
Hope to see you there! (And please help spread the word).
-The Festival Committee
