— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
Jay Leno is in the Mission today filming a segment for his show “Jay Leno’s Garage” in front of the San Francisco Motorcycle Club on Folsom at 18th.
A crew member confirmed that the show runs on CNBC, and that Leno is not in fact here to audition for a guest starring role on 94110.
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
Dandelion Chocolate, the self-described “bean-to-bar chocolate factory” on Valencia between 18th and 19th Street, has just successfully completed a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of a parklet in front of their store. From the Kickstarter page:
As part of the San Francisco “Pavement-to-Parks” program, we are transforming two parking spaces into a beautiful seating area where all can enjoy Valencia Street and linger outdoors. […]
We have spent a long time visioning, designing and submitting proposals to the City of San Francisco in order to develop a safe and intimate space for pedestrians to socialize, relax and appreciate their city from an alternate perspective.
The campaign, which surpassed its original goal of $13,000 by several thousand dollars, ended this past Wednesday. And as the project page lists a July completion date for the parklet, we may soon have a “beautiful and functional community space” in which to lounge while we eat our $12 chocolate bars.
[Photo: Dandelion Chocolate / Kickstarter]
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
Last year’s closure of The Attic, an unabashedly no-frills bar located on 24th just west of Mission Street, was met by many with what has become an all-too-common lament—there goes another Mission dive bar.
And while the death of The Attic was certain, the future of the location was not. The owners had not sold the business (and attendant liquor license) to a budding cocktail artist—rather, they had packed up and taken the license with them. And so the neighborhood was left wondering what would replace The Attic.
A sign affixed to the exterior of the building, revealing the name of the new bar to be 24th Street Bar, was not much to go on.
However, a few hints about the future of the space can be gleaned from the transcript of a February 5th Board of Supervisors meeting that, among other agenda items, approved the transfer of a liquor license to 24th Street Bar (The Attic’s liquor license was transferred to Gashead Tavern). In the meeting, 24th Street Bar’s owner Caroline Brown explained that she is “very passionate about keeping a local neighborhood bar and not creating another yet hipster bar in the Mission.”
In response to concerns about potential noise emanating from the bar (one neighbor’s complaints about which plagued The Attic for years), Brown stated that “I’m not concerned […] because it’s not going to to be that kind of bar with a dj or live music it’s going to be fairly reasonable and moderately low so I’m not afraid of noise coming out into the street.”
The transcript from the Board of Supervisors meeting leaves the distinct impression that Brown just wants to run a low-key neighborhood bar in a neighborhood she loves.
“When the space came up I thought that this was perfect for me because I know the neighborhood the good, the bad, the ugly, and I love it.”
The BOS meeting did reveal one additional interesting bit about the latest addition to the Mission drinking scene—Supervisor Campos is “excited” about it.
[Photo: Capp Street Crap]
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
A dispute over eviction proceedings moved into the court of public opinion last week, with one party publicly accusing the other of wrongfully evicting an elderly tenant, only to then be accused of taking advantage of the same elderly tenant in response. The battle over the unit, located within the same building as the W-K Market at 24th and Folsom, has been going on for over a year. However, the parties involved changed when the family that runs W-K Market bought the building from the previous owner in February.
The dispute now lies between the new owners of the building and the unit’s master tenant—Ron Wander. Wander, an artist who has lived in the rent controlled unit since the 1960’s, shares the large space with five subtenants and is fighting the eviction with the assistance of the Eviction Defense Collaborative.
According to Ali Alomari, who manages the W-K Market and is one of the new owners of the building, the trouble started last year when the previous owner attempted to evict Wander, and by extension his subtenants, for what the owner deemed to be illegal renovations to the unit.
Uptown Almanac was unable to reach Wander for comment, but we were able to speak with two of his subtenants—Nick Hage and Jon Chaney—who explained that “last year our previous landlords tried to evict us. We took them to court for illegally raising the rent and we won.” It was shortly after this that the previous owner decided to sell the building.
Alomari told Uptown Almanac that when the previous owner notified him of her intention to sell the building, he was immediately concerned about the implications the sale would have on his family’s business.
“A building at 24th and Folsom? If we didn’t buy it, we would be evicted [by whoever the new owner would be.]”
And so, his family worked with a bank and were able to finalize the purchase in February of this year. It was almost immediately thereafter that they began eviction proceedings against Wander.
Then flyers started to appear around the neighborhood, urging locals to boycott the market:
Hage explained by phone that the intention behind their flyering is to make the new owners “aware that the neighborhood doesn’t agree with these type of actions,” adding that there were “one hundred better ways to address this.” In response to a series of written questions from Uptown Almanac, Hage and Chaney clarified that while “Ron did not assist in creating the flyers or website, […] we ran all ideas through him first.”
The flyer, which claims that W-K Market is wrongfully evicting an 82-year old veteran, prompted the following response from the downstairs market:
When asked about the claim that the subtenants are “taking advantage of an elderly man and paying [Wander] only $144 in rent each month,” Hage and Chaney replied that the “unit is rent controlled and we were court ordered to split the rent evenly. We consider Ron a friend and roommate.” In conversation, Hage continued that “anyone who knows us knows that claim is untrue. Ron’s an artist, and we’re all artists and musicians. […] If he didn’t have people living here to help him fight the eviction, he’d be in serious trouble.” Wander’s only living family member is a niece in Alaska.
When asked about the intention behind the eviction proceedings, Alomari stated that “we’re not trying to get rid of him so we can re-rent the unit out for more.” Alomari went on to say that all the unpermitted work in the unit is a fire hazard—a concern that cannot easily be written off in light of the recent fire above a corner store at 24th and Treat that resulted in several deaths.
However, Hage countered that the renovations in question had been done over the course of the past forty years—long before any of the current subtenants moved in—and pose no fire risk. In contrast to Alomari’s claim, Hage stated that the work was done with the permission of the previous owner, and that aside from one concern over wiring (which Hage said was addressed by the previous landlord), there have not been any specific code violations cited by either the old owner or the new one.
According to the SF Assessor’s database for the property, the only building permit issued for the unit was in 2005 for work to “remove illegal (sic) built kitchen, bath, [and] partition.”
Hage claims that immediately after the new owners finalized the purchase of the space, they gave Wander three days to fix unspecified safety violations or face eviction.
“Three days to fix it or get out? Three days to take forty years of lofts out is just not realistic. They want to move in, fix it up, and then rent it out for more money.”
The eviction will ultimately be decided by the courts, but both the tenants and new owners hope the community will make a judgement of its own.
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
Plastic sheeting blew off the roof of the (as-of-yet unopened) Gus’s Community Market this morning, downing a power line on Alabama Street between 16th and 17th and knocking out power to over 2,200 PG&E customers in the process. According to a PG&E worker at the scene, power will remain off in the affected area for three to four hours.
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
It’s official, The Fizzary’s Mission Street location is for sale. The self-styled “vintage candy and soda pop retail showroom and beverage museum,” located on Mission Street between 25th and 26th, has been struggling since at least this past February when the company’s second location on Haight Street shut down.
According to an ad posted to Craigslist earlier this week, the owners are closing the shop to focus on their wholesale business:
We are excited to announce the legendary Fizzary is for sale! The ownership is focusing exclusively on our wholesale business and have no time to properly manage this retail location. […]
We are offering for sale, all fixtures, inventory, secrets, etc! Last year The Fizzary sold about $140k and this year is on track to break $200k with our new food service permits allowing a soda-bar and small bites. Run it as-is or modify to your particular interests! […]
The favorable lease extends up to 8 years at $4000, which includes the shop, a warehouse ‘atrium’, and upstairs offices. (or whole building for $5500 with extra warehouse space and 1 car garage!) Live/work potential exists at this location.
[Hat Tip: Capp Street Crap]
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
Last Tuesday the San Francisco Recreation And Park Department held three meetings to discuss Dolores Park, both the current construction schedule and the future of the popular hangout spot. The evening meeting, held at Dolores Park Church, was led by Taylor Emerson of Rec and Park and billed itself as an opportunity to “learn about the capital project, the campaign to keep the park green, and how you can be a part of making Dolores Park great.” The meeting, which spent a predictably lengthy amount of time addressing neighbors’ complaints about garbage, was interesting mainly for reasons other than the detailing of new trash management policies.
In addition to announcing that the north side of the park would reopen to the public late “June-ish,” and that the south side of the park would be closed for roughly twelve months, Emerson took time to make it clear that Rec and Park is not trying to shut the wonderful party that is Dolores Park down. Rather, they are attempting to ensure the park is safe and enjoyable for all—including the vilified IPA drinking crowd. To this end, she said that park rangers patrolling Dolores would focus enforcement on hard alcohol and amplified sound, leaving the hypothetical weed smoking didgeridoo player free to drone on in peace.
What’s more, in a fascinating example of dedication to informed policy making, Emerson detailed an afternoon she spent shadowing Michael—better known as the dreadlocked, machete-wielding coconut and rum dude. Calling him “a very important part of the park,” and “an ambassador,” Emerson explained that by working with Michael to impress upon his clientele the importance of composting spent coconuts, almost 100% of the coconuts he sold that day were properly sorted into the compost dumpster. It is this type of approach—working in collaboration with those who use the park instead of ticketing them—that seems to be the most thoughtful way forward.
Emerson did take time to acknowledge the much-hyped problem of trash in the park. She was quick to address complaints from those in attendance, admitting that some culpability resided with Rec and Park as they had “not provided adequate [trash receptacle] capacity,” both in regards to numbers of cans and the frequency with which they are emptied. Emerson explained that in addition to working with Recology to increase trash capacity (read: get more trash cans and have them emptied more frequently), the Rec and Park Department consulted with Burning Man to devise a new trash management system—specifically, the Eco Pop-Up that debuted in the park a few weeks ago.
The Eco Pop-Up pilot program, which somewhat counterintuitively includes the removal of all but two trash cans from inside the park itself, is scheduled to run on weekends until the end of summer. The pilot program brings large compost and recycling dumpsters to the edge of the park, and includes employees to ensure waste is properly sorted.
Perhaps with the newly increased trash capacity, and the proposed semi-reasonable approach to enforcement, the party in Dolores Park can continue uninterrupted. We may not have to wait much longer than “June-ish” when the brand-new north side opens to find out.
[Bottom Photo: San Franpsycho]
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
The much loved small Mission District venue SUB-Mission in is danger of closing by the end of the month. According to SF Weekly:
The SUB-Mission gallery, a performance art space that has existed in the Mission District for almost 20 years, may be closing down within a month. Hefty building code violation fines, the cost to renovate and retrofit the space, and a rent increase of $3,000 a month has the venue — one of the last all-ages venues in the city for smaller bands to play — on its last legs. […]
The city estimates the budget for all the renovations and retrofitting shouldn’t be any more than $360,000. Finally, it wants $15,000 for the proper permits.
“It’s a legal way to kill you,” [SUB-Mission owner and co-founder Txutxo Perez] said of the slow process of getting approval to start the renovations. “They just give you the runaround [until you run out of money],” he said.
Perez has not given up, however, and has launched a GoFundMe campaign which lays out the venue’s predicament in more detail:
The thing is, with the above listed [city permitting] problems, we cant make rent without being open, and we can’t be open to make rent because of the building permits, and cost associated with.
We are really stuck in a catch 22 situation, but the main thing for us is to make rent, so we don’t lose our space, which has done so much, for so many people through out the almost 20 years we have been existing in the Mission District. Any and everything will help us stay a float.
[Photo: Abeer Hoque]
— By Jack Morse (@jmorse_) |
It turns out that the Elbo Room is, in fact, closing. And rather soon at that. The building that houses the venue is set to be demolished in order to make room for a five-story condo development. In advance of this demolition, the building’s owners decided they will not renew the bar’s lease when it expires on November 1st of this year.
The announcement was made earlier this evening, via a post to the Elbo Room’s Facebook page:
Hey Everyone. There is finally news. [Building owners] Dennis and Susan Ring had a meeting with the powers that be and they seem quite confident that their condo project will be able to move forward. As a result, they have decided not to renew our lease which expires Nov. 1st, 2015.
Yes, we are in shock.
What’s next? We will be looking for a new space to continue what we are doing. With hopefully as little lapse as possible.
We own the liquor license, the business and all contents inside (except for pinball/pacman). Hopefully we can find something soon.If you have any leads on a space for us, or wish to help… please email mattshapiro@mac.com
Thank You for your ongoing support
Matt Shapiro/ Erik Cantu and the staff of Elbo Room
The impending closure of the Elbo Room marks the loss of yet another of the Mission’s rapidly dwindling live music venues. But on the bright side, at least no one has tried to blame it on the minimum wage.
[Photo: Darius Lock]
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
This weekend, flyers began lining the Mission District advertising an open casting call for a new television drama 94110. To many, it seemed like a joke: the show’s premise, self-described as “the story of six leading technology executives living, learning, and loving together in San Francisco’s Mission District,” reeks of the unbearable cheese associated with network TV’s most hackneyed dramas. But it is not entirely clear if this is another local techie troll job.
When reached by phone by Uptown Almanac, one of the producers behind 94110, who seemed completely unaware of the Twitter chatter surrounding the show, simply described the independent pilot as “Mark Zuckerberg fan fiction.”
The producer, who declined to identified himself as anything more than a representative of “94110 Official,” was also quick to quell fears that the production is seeking to exploit the Mission’s growing notoriety as tech enclave.
“The main collaborators are all residents of the Mission community,” the producer explained. “We want to take the neighborhood’s new reality and do something with it.”
However, it is unclear how much traction the pilot has—or how seriously people should take it. The pilot has not be ordered by any network, nor has not been fully financed. According to the show’s producer, 94110 is “looking for seed and angel investors right now.”
The casting call also states that “each role will be cast with no preference toward age, race, or gender”—a promise that seems absurd given the racial and gendered homogeneity of the industry 94110 is supposed to cover. When asked about this claim, the producer merely confirmed that the script has already been written and they have “six specific executives” they are casting. He went on to emphasize that the production has a range of roles open.
Andrew McClintock, publisher of the SF Arts Quarterly magazine, which is advertised as hosting the casting call, confirmed in an email to Uptown Almanac that the production is “legit and we are looking forward to it.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more.