— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
I MEAN, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, DO THEY REALLY NEED MORE BUSINESS?
Really though, I cannot wait to watch a bunch of wasted morons bust out their phones at 2a.m. trying to save 50 cents on a taco.
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Reyhan over at The Bay Citizen hips us to the outdoor cardboard xmas tree lot on 24th:
A few weeks ago, I came upon an odd sight on 24th Street: a small Christmas tree lot, on the sidewalk, outside a clothing boutique. The trees were fanned out like any other lot, except there were no green branches. The trees were made of recycled cardboard and cut by machines relying on solar power.
It turned out they were the work of Hanna Sitzer, a local artist and set designer. At the time, she had mentioned that people keep sending her pictures of their fully decorated trees. The one sitting in my living room remains bare, but there's always next year.
Hanna leaves the trees intentionally blank so you can decorate them yourself (like hanging ornaments, only with art supplies that get you high!). Unfortunately the tree lot is now closed, but you can still run into Wonderland (24th @ Alabama) to snag a tree for yourself.
(Interview and more pics of decorated trees/kids with fake mustaches over at The Bay Citizen)
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
I cannot say I've ever seen the show Top Chef, but it apparently involves a bunch of obnoxious douchebags living AND COOKING together, bratty wine snobs yelling at 20-year-old line cooks over cookie cutters, and people screaming “I'm not your bitch, bitch!” Anyway, if you want to say you live somewhere famous and have an extra $150,000 per year, you know, just laying around, this could be your future home for you.
Alternatively, if you want to live somewhere OTT but not in the Marina, you could rent the basement of the Dolores Park Church for the bargain price of $10,000/month. Realty steals everywhere!
(link)
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Eater confirms what we've all assumed since Spring:
Sad times for the DeLano's fan club today as we learn of not one, but a full-on impending fold of all six Bay Area locations of the unabashedly cheap and once-cheerful grocery chain. The manager on duty today at the South Van Ness mart said, “The Castro, Van Ness and Geary Street locations have all lost their leases” and he's “99.99.99% sure they're closing. [insert helpless chuckle]”
Too bad. I've always dug the SVN location, partly because I'm lazy and it's right there, but mostly because the Asian security guard is the coolest dude on the planet. Yeah, the prices were fairly inflated, but most supermarkets are full of apathetic douchebags. Not this place. Everyone was wicked friendly and the security guard always commented on my shitty taste in beer. Tears.
What's up next? Perhaps “Fresh & Easy,” which is some British chain. But, I'm calling it to be vacant for the next 5 years, as some neighbors will inevitably protest whatever business tries to open up there.
(link)
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Twenty goddamn dollars a can. Besides the OMG CAPS LOCK, the dramatic list of 'reviews' and the fact the the poster calls the batch “magical,” my favorite part of this review is how obvious it is that the poster bought the stock at a packie minutes before posting the classified (via the black bodega bag).
For the interested, I'd recommend skipping Craigslist for now, as you can still find it at a bunch of bodegas in the Mission (and likely other neighborhoods). One store on Capp is selling them for $4/can because “that's what people will pay.” Another on Folsom is charging $3.25. However, another on Mission refused to sell his backstock, even after we offered him $8/can, because he was terrified the city would shut down the store if he sold off his stock, so maybe you better act fast.
(link)
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed a recent uptick in businesses leaving the stretch of Valencia from 16th to 18th. Just this fall we've seen five shops hit the road:
And this is all on top of Levi's Workshop and Weston Wear closing over the summer (and Abandoned Planet before that).
Some people who think they own the neighborhood will call this gentrification, but make no mistake—this is anything but gentrification. The metaphoric battle for Valencia was lost long ago, even if people fight tooth and nail for token victories. What this trend does do is speak volumes of the character transition that the Little Street That Could is undertaking.
See, Valencia has always struck me as fairly representative of (modern) San Francisco. An overpriced tapas restaurants (soon to be an overpriced Italian restaurant) sitting across from taquerias. A local furniture store near a posh fries place. Galleries next to realtors and community centers. A chain Thai restaurant on the same block as a liquor-free music venue and a publisher. Cheap books, cheap Ethiopian, and cheap sandwiches a stone throw away from Range and a car mechanic. And let's not forget all the street art, bike lanes, bike shops, schools, and appliance/supply shops
Now, I understand some locals recall the street in the '80s as being “dumpy” with “only a handful of places to listen to punk music and grab food,” so this change is nothing new. But the recent bloodbath says a lot. Hell, we're trading one of the best, non-pretentious ice cream places around so we can have stores that sell artisan bread and cheese. Little Otsu is on its way out and Lost Weekend Video may soon be following. Meanwhile, as MrEricSir notes, “Slanted Door” is moving back in:
All this doesn't make me angry. I don't even think I've earned the right to be angry. Plus, I love Tartine as much as the next person, Delano's cheese selection isn't much to be desired, and this is a town were change (progress?) is inevitable. If the invisible hand doesn't reshape Valencia, surely an earthquake or a fire will. That said, I still reserve the right to mourn the loss of Birthday Cake flavored ice cream and being able to gawk at British imported cars on lifts. After all, if we lose all the shops and spaces that makes the neighborhood interesting and replace them with more unaffordable food, who's going to really want to hang out here?
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Wouldn't this have looked awesome in the middle of Tallboy Terrace?
A slew of information obtained through the Sunshine Ordinance revealed that the SF Department of Recreation and Parks both neglected local businesses and put little thought into the commercialization of city parks.
As you may recall earlier this fall, many area local businesses, neighborhood “activists”, and Dolores Park neighbors were upset over “chain” businesses moving into Dolores. The controversy stemmed from what they claimed was a lack of outreach done by Rec. & Parks on the program and quickly ballooned into a debate about what our parks should be used for. Eventually groups circulated a petition claiming McDonald's would be next to move into Dolores (which I initially dismissed as hyperbole), threats were made against businesses planning on opening in park, and one of the two businesses canceled their plans to open.
Following the controversy, Rec. and Park director Phil Ginsburg wrote about the merits of food carts operating in SF Parks in the Chronicle, citing the popularity of “Creme Brulée Man, Sexy Soup Lady, Adobo Hobo, Soul Cocina and Mobile Pho” as well as the thriving scene in NYC's Central Park, where people can purchase “inexpensive and popular fare ranging from soup and sandwiches to Turkish tacos.”
In a city as diverse and dense as San Francisco, the Recreation and Park Department is devoted to maintaining and improving what open space we have. Bringing a carefully chosen cadre of food carts into our parks is a natural extension of that. Food provides a reason for gathering. Gatherings are where people interact and community is formed. Parks provide a natural space to gather. Uniting food and parks creates an active, dynamic space for San Franciscans to enjoy.
While his words would lead you to believe the Department was truly interested in assisting aspiring businesses, the preponderance of companies invited to bid were non-local businesses. Among the notified companies were Auntie Annes Pretzels, Ben & Jerry’s, Burger King, Double Rainbow, Fuddruckers, Ghirardelli, Haagen Dazs, Jamba Juice, Nestle Café, Orange Julius, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Pizza Hut, Subway, TCBY, The Cheescake Factory, Walt Disney, Wendy’s, and World Wrapps.
Local businesses were almost completely ignored. In fact, of the 910 companies contacted, only a few dozen local San Francisco companies were listed, including Boulevard (Downtown), Buena Vista Cafe (Marina), Burger Joint (Mission), Cable Car Coffee Company (Powell), Castro Cheesery (Castro), City Hall Cafe (Civic Center), Deli-Up Cafe (Mission), Graffeo Coffee (North Beach), Imperial Tea Court (multiple locations), It's-It Ice Cream, La Cocina (Mission), Zuni Cafe (Civic Center). Even more troubling, no local food carts already operating in or around Dolores Park were told about the opportunity.
Program Lacked Proper Planning
Ginsburg's op-ed suggested that the Department had debated the merits of commercializing open spaces. However, the requests for program plans revealed no such thought was put into the decision to privatize parks. The request directly made to Recreation and Parks:
A copy of the business plan, strategic plan, work plan or any internal strategy documents surrounding this initiative/program. Documents that answer: How it was conceived? What are the pros/cons? What are the risks and mitigation of those risks? What were the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this idea? What are the financial projects? What are the liability issues? What is the environmental impact? What kind of outreach is necessary? What are the legal implications? Etc.
The Department was unable to provide any documents for this request, which implies no strategy was put into the program and was initiated on a whim.
Future Commercialization
Under the program that is commercializing Dolores Park, many other neighborhood parks are going to be litered with food trucks. Duboce Park is going to have a juice truck (company unknown), Marina Green will have Twirl and Dip Soft Serve and Annakoot Indian Food, the Band Shell in Golden Gate Park will have Blue Bottle Coffee, Little Guys Sliders, Sam’s Chowder-Mobile, and Waffle-Mania, and Civic Center will have Leba (a falafel truck) and Blue Bottle Coffee.
Nick Kinsey, the Assistant Director of Property and Concession Management for the Department of Recreation and Parks, also says that the Department is still accepting proposals for Dolores Park, but “I am not sure that we would consider anything additional at Dolores at this point.”
More Info
Initial Request for Proposals Letter [PDF]
List of Businesses Contacted [HTML]
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Someone give this man the businessman of the year award. There I was, watching people jumping over a trash fire in front of Thrill of the Grill, police coming up Valencia from 17th and flanking up 16th, when all the sudden I hear “COLD BEER! COLD WATER!” booming over the crowd. Sure enough, I turn around, and the legend himself is forking over two ice-cold Budweisers for $5.
This dude literally doesn't give a shit about anything around him. After making the sale, he turns around, walks up to the bonfire, makes a gesture with his head that says “oh, that's nice,” and immediately goes back to flipping beer for three times their market value.
Shortly, after I took these snaps, the riot cops began running at the crowd and Valencia Street turned into the running of the bulls. At one point I looked to my left and saw CB/CW running away from the advancing police with all the other cool kids.
My life is complete.
— By Kevin Montgomery (@kevinmonty) |
Despite this piece about the Mission in San Francisco Magazine being riddled with inaccuracies, such as saying Mission Loc@l is a “more fun” New York Times, it still has to be one of the more balanced pieces of Mission gentrification I've read:
The last time the Mission was booming, things were very different. “The dot-com era felt like living in a Latin Amer ican country, with things changing so quickly,” says Lydia Chávez, a 13-year resident who oversees Mission Local, the university-funded bilingual news site that kicks the San Francisco Chronicle’s ass. Tea recalls, “I was throwing eggs out my window at people attending web parties across the street. There was an insane, frantic, greedy energy, where one day, you had your neighborhood, and the next, it was full of speculators.” Back then, the idea of people working together in any way, or even just trading composting tips while wolfing down pupusas at the farmers market, seemed not only ridiculous but wrong, like giving up or selling out or consorting with the enemy. But that’s the difference between a boom in a bubble and a boom in a bust.
“Maybe they had a lot of money and kicked you out of your rent-control unit—now they are baristas and struggling to make it as well,” says Eric Quezada, a self-described “housing justice advocate” who is now the executive director of Dolores Street Community Services. “Instead of anger, folks want to find ways of building alliances that weren’t as obvious in the past.”
The article goes on to present the yuppie tech worker gentrification of the hood as a positive thing, despite rising rents, “The people who aren’t artists can be curators or patrons. Every artist needs a benefactor, as does every food cart, tutoring center, and cultural experiment.”
Perhaps dragging all the venture capital money to the city and spending it on food carts, burritos, PBR and expensive jeans is a good thing. A rising tide lifts all boats. But the segregated dot-com money-fest is still here. The Summit is the most obvious example; a cafe whose lavishness even makes it inaccessible to most Missionites. And unlike most of Valencia, where businesses feel welcoming to all walks of life, The Summit yells that it caters to a very limited, affluent clientele.
So even with all the wonderful things money brings—farmer's markets, sidewalk curry, art galleries and a wallet with $83 in it I found on 19th—is this boom for the best? The article concludes with a hopeful tone. To paraphrase, “The economic change is here, and everyone is doing their part to make the best of it.” But, at the end of the day, it comes down to the cost of living. As commenter Andrew O. Dugas said, “People have been talking about the gentrification of the Mission since the 1980s (earlier?) but done is done. Now it's too expensive for the hipsters who made it cool. Where are they all moving? Why, to the new Mission, of course, aka The Tenderloin. See you at Cafe Royale!”
(link)
— By Josh Constine |
I hate this band The National. So while the flannel set were droning to their supremely unexciting set at Treasure Island Music Festival, I decided to keep my negativity to myself by browsing the vendors. That's where I met Mary Weather, aka Judy Elkan, a local screen printer who lets you buy your favorite free Mission landmarks in clothing form. She takes photos, sometimes collages them together as she did for this Dolores Park number, and applies them to [vertically integrated apparel brand] t-shirts and tank tops.
Now you can be surrounded by the Sutro Trident of Hope, mafia-organized ice cream vendors, and piles of bicycles regardless of where you spend your Saturdays.
Judy says the cops told her to get permit last year, but when she found out that only allowed her to sell at the Ferry Building, she defiantly raised a fist and set up her blanket/storefront at Dolores Park. Apparently the po po haven't given her any guff this year.
Sucks for Blue Bottle because the park is apparently a very lucrative spot. “My best day I made $400 in 3 hours” says Elkan.
Where do we draw the line on commercializing public spaces? Is Mary Weather eroding the fabric of the neighborhood by selling water-based fabric ink hand prints? Is this the first step on the road towards Mission souvenir shops and mass produced “I ♥ Dolores Park” mugs?
Or is this Count Chocula shirt cool enough to make you forget your morals?
