Noe Valley SF

This Week In Noe Valley: Town Square Gets A Vote, A Foreclosure Flip, And A Game Of Thrones Feast

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:47:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

Board of Supes Budget and Finance committee to take up the Noe Valley Town Square on Wednesday; 5% of all sales at Whole Foods will go towards the Town Square on same day [NVTS]
Game of Thrones feast at Contigo (more mead, wench!) [Eater SF]
Noe Valley has a plant fairy godfather [The Shingled House]
Scott Wiener's May Newsletter [Scott Wiener]
Church St home purchased from bank after foreclosure on a 40-year mortgage returns to market for $2.55M [Socketsite]

[Photo: Matthew Shuey]

This Week In Noe Valley: Hot Noe Food Trend, Quirky Houses and 1906 Mystery Photo Solved

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:15:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

Dashboard bacon, a new Noe Valley artisanal food trend [@rachaelshafer and SFist]
Noe is home to not one but two of SF's quirkiest houses [urbanhikersf]
Do people really like the parklets on 24th St? Not everyone's convinced... [SF Examiner]
Mystery 1906 photo turns out to be this spot on outer Church... [SF History Assoc.]

[Photo: @rachaelshafer]

This Week In Noe Valley: The Home Of Lux Homes, Another Stuck Bus, And The History Of San Francisco Street Names

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:15:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

Noe Valley was king of luxury home sales in SF for first quarter of this year [SF Biz Times]
New to SF? From SF? This map will make you smarter [Noah Veltman]
"Another great moment in corporate busdriving" [@bwalsh]
Yet another realty company's video guide to Noe Valley [ClimbSF]
Want to donate perishable food? This week we learned how. [@dolface]

[Photo: soniafaleiro]

NVV May 2013: We Read It So You Don't Have To

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:01:00 +0000

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories online until the middle of the month.

May 2013

Front Page: The Town Square clears a major funding hurdle - the city looks set to buy the lots; Noe Valley wine makers will offer a taste of their wine at the May 11 Garden Tour, AT&T setting locations for the U-Verse broadband boxes - neighbors want them out of sight; local Mother's Day potraits.

Letters: A patron is upset with Walgreens' rewards program; an Elizabeth St. resident is still not happy about the de facto off-leash dog park status of Noe Courts; a Day St resident reports on the declining quality of Starbucks and La Bou since they merged; another Day St resident defends the blue bin recycling bandits: "on this small scale nobody suffers, the fellow makes a bit of change, Recology receives your same monthly payment... the police have more important things to do that deal with this pettiness..." [Ed.-- For the record, lost revenue from stolen recyclables is part of why your Sunset Scavenger rates are going up]. A Dolores St resident credits the NVV for shaming the owner of 1220-22 Church St into repainting.

Features and Short Takes: St. Luke's plans for a new 7-story hospital; Fair Oaks Street Fair (mega garage sale) is May 11 from 9am-5pm on Fair Oaks between 21st and 26th.

Cost of Living in Noe: Good luck finding a condo or single family home for under $1 million right now; the high mark was set by a 1900s cottage on 23rd St. that was updated and sold for $3.6 million.

Rumors: A truck driver gets his rig stuck on the ultra-steep 22nd St on April Fool's Day; look for sidewalk sales on 24th St on Saturday May 18 as part of Small Business Week; NV eagerly awaits the new eatery from the owners of La Ciccia called La Nebbia; the former Noe Valley Deli on 24th St is under construction [Ed.-- Griddle Fresh]; Mazook learns about what's in season at the Farmer's Market and why people like to hang out in Dolores Park; a clothing boutique on Church St. called Kitami Ropa is now officially open.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Bomb Threat Evacuates 4100 Block Of Cesar Chavez

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:33:00 +0000

News today via Celia Sack of Omnivore Books that fire and police were converging on Noe Valley:

What's up Noe Valley? Police cars screaming in every direction!
— Omnivore Books (@omnivorebooks) May 3, 2013

She also Tweeted that Search/Rescue and HazMat were on the way, too. @bling0 confirmed with more detailed information:

Bomb squad in Noe Valley near Cesar Chavez and Castro. Residents told to evacuate area.
— Benjamin Ling (@bling0) May 3, 2013

Neighbor @coudron pinpointed the location and confirmed evacuation:

I was just asked to evacuate the 4100 block of Cesar Chavez because of a bomb threat. Anyone have updates?
— Chris Coudron (@coudron) May 3, 2013

And while we figured it wise to stay away, other neighbors were more adventurous. A nearby neighbor sent us the scoop:

I overhead some of the people who live in the building that was evacuated talking ... apparently a guy who lives in one of the units is a bit strange and recently has been getting stranger, possibly a paranoid schizophrenic. Over the last few months, he’s been switching numbers on people’s doors as if he doesn’t want someone to find him, leaving notes around the building about Donald Trump wanting to blow things up… fun stuff like that. Then today he called the police with a bomb scare, saying someone was trying to blow up the building. When the cops arrived they found some stuff in the front of the building that didn’t look right and decided to play it safe and call in the bomb squad. According to their report, the crazy neighbor was taken into custody by the police, screaming in the back of the police car. You can tell they were really tired of this guy.

Of course there will probably be more once the police start talking and the news crews figure out how to find this dead end street. Stay tuned.

@noevalleysf NBC investigative unit van just drove by heading up there (love when they all hit that dead end!).
— Omnivore Books (@omnivorebooks) May 3, 2013

Update 3:45pm:

Residents in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood are being evacuated this afternoon after police detained a man and then called the bomb squad to the area, a police spokesman said.

Around 12:40 p.m., police were notified about a suspicious person in the 4100 block of Cesar Chavez Street, Officer Gordon Shyy said.

Arriving officers found a man in the carport area of a residential building and detained him.

While responding, officers determined there were a suspicious object or substance in the area and called for the department’s bomb squad and hazardous materials team to come to the area.

Homes on the dead-end street were evacuated around 1:45 p.m. and the intersection of Castro and Cesar Chavez streets was blocked off to pedestrians and motorists, Shyy said.

As of 2:50 p.m., the area remained shut down.

No injuries have been reported, Shyy said.

Sasha Lekach, Bay City News

Update 4:30pm: The helicopters are gone.

Ok, people, show's over, no Noe bomb. Just a huge waste of taxpayer resources.#NoeValley #nobomb@noevalleysf
— Erika Was (@erikawas) May 3, 2013

This Week in Noe Valley: Mystery Blackout, La Nebbia Love, And Honor For Victims Of Violent Crime

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:32:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

Omnivore's May newsletter wants you to learn how to cook [Omnivore]
A $780,000 shack is reincarnated as a $3.1M home with a cottage [California Home & Design]
More La Nebbia love from the interwebs [Zagat]
The garden tour is coming May 11 [FONV]
Hog and Rocks chef moves to Potrero and misses Noe Valley – a lot [7x7]
Yellow is the "it" color of the moment for Noe dining rooms [Home Design Lover]
Total blackout in Noe Valley for 13 minutes on Thursday night – confusion ensues [@rsarvar, @KristinHenry]
Victims of the 24th St rapist honored by DA Gascon for their courage in testifying against assailant [SF Appeal]

[Photo: Campoy83]

Real Foods: I Wish This Was...

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 01:08:00 +0000

It's been almost 10 years of lawsuits and blight since Real Foods abruptly shut its doors, and aside from the mural behind the glass this is one of the best things we've seen on site. From a frustrated neighbor:

Well, I've had these 10 stickers in my desk for probably 3 years now, always intending to go put them up at Real Food, and today I finally did! It wasn't more than a minute before people walked up and asked for my Sharpie so they could write on the stickers. The project is by Candy Chang and the stickers remove without any damage to the window, so it isn't vandalism. And really, after what will be TEN YEARS this September, when the heck are they going to make that space into something usable? What a waste!

Anyway, the responses that the first few people had were awesome. I'm sure the stickers will be gone by tomorrow, but for today I hope the 24th street walkers enjoy the statement.

As of 4:30 this afternoon there will still two blank stickers. What would you add? Some examples below.

[Candy Chang: I wish This Was]

Update: Cesar Chavez Streetscape Improvements

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:55:00 +0000

Work on Phase II of the Cesar Chavez sewer upgrade streetscape improvement project began last month and like the sewer work will move east to west. Crews are currently rerouting curbs and catch basins between Hampshire and Bryant. CC Puede's Fran Taylor attended last night's neighborhood meeting and sent this update:

The work is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year and will be done in phases:

Drainage and bulbouts: 20 bulbouts on the corners with planters to catch rainwater will be done first.

Median: Next, the median curbs will be laid out.

Repaving: The repaving will be done in sections: Hampshire to Florida in Sept/Oct, Florida to Folsom in late October, Folsom to Mission in November, and Mission to Guerrero at the end.

Sidewalks: Next, the new street lamps and other sidewalk improvements will be done.

Plantings: The last step will be sticking all those new plants In the ground on both the sidewalks and the median.

Lanes were reconfigured after sewer work was completed to approximate traffic flow when finished. The pavement has been rough, but traffic seems to flow smoothly. When this project was first announced plenty of our readers expressed dismay over the loss of traffic lanes despite the addition of dedicated turn lanes and bus pullouts. Now that the changes are more evident, we're curious - how have the changes affected your commute?

[SFDWP: Cesar Chavez Sewer & Streetscape Project]
[NVSF: Cesar Chavez: Work Starts In June (2011)]
[Photo: SFDPW (PDF)]

Letter: Privacy Issues With Walgreens' Balance Rewards Program

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:37:00 +0000

Walgreens has added a membership club and at least one neighbor is not pleased. Marianne has concerns:

I am upset at Walgreens.

They have a new “membership rewards” program. Not sure what it gets you, but I don’t want to be a “member” of Walgreens.

Today I went in to get a bunch of things, and because I am not a member, they disallowed all the price discounts on my items.

I spoke to the manager and he said he’d “make an exception” for my purchases. That is not the point. The information gathering is too pervasive especially since they already have all my prescription info. The advertising pricing is deceptive – it’s a neighborhood store - and only members get discounts? There’s something creepy about that. And that the manager could “make an exception”? What’s that all about? I don’t want to be an exception. I just don’t want to be a member.

Member clubs aren't new and it's no suprise that Walgreens would institute one. But Marianne has a good point - Walgreens is the only pharmacy in the neighborhood and already has a huge amount of protected health information on Noe Valley residents. Do you want them to also track your shopping habits?

It's bad enough that they make you push a button that announces "assistance needed in the hemorrhoids aisle."

For what it's worth, Walgreens states that it adheres to its privacy policy, and that HIPAA-protected information can only be linked to the Balance Rewards program with explicit consent.

La Ciccia Plans To Open La Nebbia On Outer Church St

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:44:00 +0000

La Ciccia's Tuna Heart Pasta

Great news from Inside Scoop today - La Ciccia, one of the best Italian restaurants in the US, is opening a second location at 1781 Church St:

“Our idea is to do an enoteca,” says Conti. “An enoteca, but also a prosciutteria and fresh cheese bar.”

The plan is to offer a selection of 10 or so cured hams from Italy and beyond, giving guests a way to compare the various Italian versions with their counterparts from Spain, America, Germany, France and Portugal. The fresh cheese options will be similar, featuring mozzarella, burrata and ricotta — both local and Italian.

At 36 seats, La Nebbia will also feature a double-deck pizza oven, with one level for pizzas and another for roasted vegetables and a daily meat special. The oven will also churn out one more component of the restaurant: lasagna. According to Conti, he’s liked lasagna since he was a kid, but for some reason, never orders it in restaurants; he wants to offer four to five different types, be it vegetarian, sausage, meat and so on.

“We’d like to have fun with it,” he says, calling it more of a San Francisco restaurant than an “Italian” restaurant, given the local ingredients they’ll use on the pizzas and such. “We want it to be a fun place where you can go have a great glass of wine and some prosciutto — a neighborhood place, but also something different and unique.”

Cece's Closet and Napra's Back and Muscle Treatment vacated adjacent storefronts last June while the building owner made changes required by ADA laws. Permits filed 4/2/13 specify change of use for both 1781-1785 Church St. If the building and change of use permits sail through planning La Nebbia plans to open this fall.

[Inside Scoop: La Ciccia working on a new project nearby: La Nebbia]
[NVSF: More Changes on Outer Church Street]

This Week In Noe Valley: A Beautiful End To A Crazy Week

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 01:27:00 +0000

Whether because of the great weather, the grind after returning from spring break or the focus on all the other crazy news this week, there's not much to add for the weekly roundup. Enjoy the weekend.

[Photo: @humphryslocombe] ]

Noe Valley Town Square Clears Major Hurdle

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:43:00 +0000

The San Francisco Rec and Park Commission met today to consider (among other things) whether to endorse the purchase of the parking lot from the Noe Valley Ministry. Via Todd David:

I'm happy to report that the Rec and Park Commission unanimously voted today to recommend the purchase of the Noe Valley Town Square to the Board of Supervisors!!--(A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO THE APPROXIMATELY 20 NOE VALLEY RESIDENTS WHO SPOKE IN SUPPORT OF THE TOWN SQUARE.)

The recommendation from the Rec and Park Commission is for the Board of Supervisors to approve $4,242,500 from the Open Space Fund for the purchase and remediation of the Noe Valley Ministry Parking lot (Noe Valley Ministry would receive $3.9 million and the additional $342,500 would be used for remediation of the lot that used to be a gas station.)

Earlier in the week, Supervisor Wiener introduced legislation that will allow the Board of Supervisors to act upon the Rec and Park Commission's recommendation--namely purchase the Noe Valley Town Square!

Next on the calendar for the Town Square is the Board of Supervisor's Budget and Finance Subcommittee on Wed May 22nd. And then a final vote by the full Board of Supes on June 4th.

In other news, RNVTS submitted its concept proposal for a Prop 84 Urban Greening Grant from the State of California. The concept proposal requests $722,916.00 for development of the Town Square. Rec and Park staff took the lead on this concept proposal and did an amazing job!

That's all the news for now. If you or your friends have not donated to the Town Square, now is great time to do so: http://noevalleytownsquare.com/pledge/.

The SF Examiner caught up with the story just prior to the hearing and added a few more details:

“The site has already clearly demonstrated its positive benefits,” said Rec and Park general manager Phil Ginsburg. David’s group has raised nearly $500,000 in donations to pay for amenity improvements at the location, and the residents’ organization and Rec and Park have applied for an additional $720,000 state grant.

The residents hope to add two play areas, a stage for musical performances, additional trees and a more permeable surface to replace the asphalt, David said. The farmers market will remain a centerpiece of the space.

Rec and Park hopes to acquire the lot by July 1, and until the funding arrives, it will act as an unimproved public open space, Ginsburg said.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, whose district includes the site, introduced legislation Tuesday that would enable the purchase.

“This has been a truly bottom-up, grass-roots effort led by community members in Noe Valley,” Wiener said. “Their ongoing commitment proves how much this neighborhood needs this park.”

[NVSF: Town Square: A Giant Leap Forward]
[NVSF: Noe Valley Town Square: Concepts]

Blight Watch: What's Up With 1220 Church St?

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:51:00 +0000

A letter to the Editor in the April 2013 Noe Valley Voice asked about the vacant 2-unit Edwardian at 1220-1222 Church St. We were able to report that the City considers it abandoned and an investigation is ongoing. Today we noticed scaffolding on the facade and demolition crews on site and dug a little deeper.

According to records on the Department of Building Inspection's website, an October 2005 complaint was filed by a tenant stated there was no heat and that water leaks were throughout apartment, and it snowballed from there. A Notice of Violation as issued for various issues with the code, but most significantly for an illegal unit in the garage.

Some of the minor violations were corrected and heat was provided by Feb 2006; the heat stopped working a month later. No permits were pulled to remove the illegal unit in the garage until Nov 2007. It appears the unit was removed, but the permit was never finalized and other structural problems remained.

A new complaint filed by the tenant in October 2008 stated the landlord had turned off the water. More inspections confirmed there was no water, and that other violations were still outstanding. There's no indication that the water was ever turned on, and there's no further communication from the tenant.

The latest complaint was filed in June 2012: "This building is vacant, Broken glass on the front area - Peeling paint, 2nd floor ceiling about to cave in; there is a lot of debris in the front area of the property behind their gate. Dry rot in the structure. Overgrown yard ... lots of weeds." Attempts to reach the owner have failed, and no one representing the property showed up to a hearing on April 2, 2013. It appears that the City may be trying to take control of the property and likely put it up for auction, but we can't confirm.

At this point, what we know for sure is that the building is owned by The Perez Family Trust and that they filed two Ellis Act Petitions in 2006 (PDF). We know that the complaints are outstanding, and we know there are no new construction or demolition permits. It would be interesting to know the history of how the family has fared and if this is a byproduct of a long foreclosure process.

At any rate, the scaffold hints at fresh paint and the noise from inside suggests this building could be inhabited sometime in the near future. Maybe - they better figure out the permit problems and make nice with the DBI.

[Photo: Google Street View]

It's Windy! Mother Nature and MUNI Mix It Up On Church St

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:42:00 +0000

If your wait for the J Church seems longer than usual today, it's not your imagination. The wind downed a tree on Church St. just north of 24th St and the carnage has disrupted trains for hours. As of this writing, trains were still not running and buses had to detour around that stretch of Church.

Enormous tree just crashed right in front of home. J-Church MUNI & electrical are down. Ooky-strange-surreal day. twitter.com/aprilrinne/sta…
— April Rinne (@aprilrinne) April 15, 2013

Incidentally, it's the same set of trees that caused this MUNI backup and power outage last May.

If you're headed outside, hang on to your hat and watch for falling branches. The winds are expected to die down tonight.

This Week In Noe Valley: Let's Play House

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:52:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

March home sales were a mix of fixers and "family ready" $3M homes [Downing & Co]
The trend continues in April [The Front Steps]
4033 26th St was a fixer, then sold for $2.6M three years ago; it just sold again for $3M with a 7-day close [Lance Fulford; also: as it was in 2008]
Want to buy a house? Any house? Bring cash. All cash. [Inside SF RE]
Don't want to buy? Put your money into mini golf like Noe Valley resident Steve Fox [Inside Scoop]

[Photo: NVSF, 2011]

Revealed: Griddlefresh (Or Something Like That)

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:55:00 +0000

With work ongoing behind the paper at 4007 24th St, we've been trying to get more info about what to expect when it opens. Neighbor businesses report variations on "some kind of food," and workers on site are limited to "I'm just the plumber/drywall guy." But we did find a clue on their beer/wine license: DBA GRIDDLEFRESH. Could it be GriddleFresh? Griddle-Fresh? Dunno. But we're guessing bacon is in the mix.

Update (4/12): A new sign in the window settles it: Griddle Fresh.

Update (5/18): Open as of this morning.

[NVSF: What's Next For Noe Valley Deli?]

Fundraiser: Pasta Pomodoro For Alvarado Elementary School

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:52:00 +0000

Pasta Pomodoro has announced April and May days when it will donate 20% of all sales to Alvarado Elementary. The benefit applies to anyone with a flyer - you do not have to attend the school to qualify. The flyer? Print the image from this post. No printer? No problem - just mention the benefit when placing your order.

This month's dates are April 24-25, and the benefit will be repeated May 22-23.

This Week In Noe Valley: Another Stuck Truck, Noe Valley History, And A Debate About How To Help Restaurants Thrive

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 01:27:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

Nailed it! [The Bold Italic]
Pictures of stuck trucks on our hills never get old [Mitchell Fox]
A brief history of Noe Valley [Yahoo!; better: Bill Yenne]
Upper Noe Rec Center's April newsletter [UNRC]
A benefit at St Aidan's Church in Diamond Heights [St Aidan's]
More debate about whether the hot hot hot Valencia St restaurant scene needs a moratorium like the one that Noe Valley (finally) discarded [Uptown Almanac]
Not the brightest blowtorch wielding ATM thief [SF Examiner]

[Photo: inger]

UNN Meeting: Update On St. Luke's Hospital

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 02:02:00 +0000

The battle to keep a privately-run full-service hospital in the south part of the City has waged for years between Sutter Health (which operates CPMC) and local activists and officials. Early plans called for the closing of St. Luke's, as CPMC wanted to focus their energy (read: profits) in other neighborhoods. The most recent proposal from CPMC was to build a 555 bed hospital on Van Ness Avenue and to rebuild St. Luke's as a 60 bed hospital. Suffice it to say no one was happy.

In March, the SF Board of Supervisors unanimously supported a compromise that shrinks the Van Ness hospital to 274 beds and grows St. Luke's to 120 beds. Planning is set to take up the project in May.

Meanwhile, Upper Noe Neighbors is hosting a meeting next week to get feedback and update locals:

As many of you may be aware, the City recently came to an agreement on the future of St. Luke's Hospital on Cesar Chavez near Valencia...how it will be rebuilt/redesigned and the services it will offer. This was part of a larger plan for California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) and their other campuses and new building on Van Ness. Since St. Luke's is very close to our neighborhood and a critical resource for our neighbors in Noe Valley and nearby neighborhoods, its future is important.

Supervisor Campus (District 9) will attend the meeting and explain what he pushed for in a hospital in his district and what he thinks about what's been decided. A representative from the Mayor's office and CPMC (Sutter Health) will also be on hand to explain what will happen and when.

What: Upper Noe Neighbors Meeting
Where: Upper Noe Rec Center, Day at Sanchez
When: April 10, 7:30PM

[Mission Local: Mayor Unveils Pact to Save St. Luke’s Hospital]
[SF Biz Times: S.F. supes OK CPMC's Cathedral Hill deal]

Town Square: A Giant Leap Forward

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 03:56:00 +0000

Some good news for supporters of the Noe Valley Town Square via email today:

Residents for Noe Valley Town Square (RNVTS) is pleased to announce that it is looking extremely likely that the Noe Valley Town Square is going to become a reality!

Representatives from Rec and Parks recently informed RNVTS that it is recommending to the Rec and Park Commission as well as the Board of Supervisors that the complete purchase of the Ministry's Parking Lot be financed by the Rec and Park Open Space Fund. This is fantastic news, but just the beginning of a long journey. After the parking lot is purchased by Rec and Parks, we still need to “build” a Town Square. This means we will need to continue to raise money from the community as well as work towards a positive outcome for our Prop 84 Urban Greening Grant from the State.

Please consider making a pledge today at http://noevalleytownsquare.com/pledge/

Here are the key dates and events to follow:

Wed, April 3rd an "acquisition overview" will be presented to the Rec and Park Capital Committee Meeting.

Thurs, April 18th the whole Rec and Park Commission will vote on whether to recommend the Noe Valley Town Square acquisition to the Board of Supervisors.

Wed, May 22nd the Board of Supervisors Budget Finance Subcommittee will vote on whether to recommend the acquisition of the Town Square to the full BOS.

Tues, June 4th the whole Board of Supervisors votes on whether to acquire the Town Square.

If approved by the BOS, RNVTS will start collecting pledges on June 5th!

If approved by the BOS, the City will own the parking lot free and clear by July 1, 2013 (which allows the RNVTS to apply for Prop 84 development funds from the State of CA.

This is all incredibly exciting and something that the greater Noe Valley Community should be very proud of accomplishing.

If you have not had a chance to make a pledge to the Town Square yet, please do so at http://noevalleytownsquare.com/pledge/

Todd David

[Noe Valley Town Square]

This Week In Noe Valley: Easter To-Dos, Old Noe Valley, And Modern Sushi

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 01:17:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

Here's an alternative for those missing the cancelled Noe Valley Easter Egg Hunt [SF RecPark; related: NVMPA]
Even better - help the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence clean up Dolores Park [The Snitch]
A 1906 view of Noe Valley (note the elevated railway in front of St Paul's) [@SF_Historian; more: BurritoJustice]
Russian Roulette at Tataki South [Refinery29]
And Saru Sushi in pretty photos [EatsPorkJew]

[Photo: knucklesamwick]

NVV April 2013: We Read It So You Don't Have To

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 01:10:00 +0000

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories online until the middle of the month.

April 2013

Front Page: The faces of Noe Valley - a photo collection of local residents from the NVV archives.

Letters: A neighbor's harrowing tale of being almost run over at 24th and Douglass (and breaking her wrist) while trying to walk her dog; another walker complains of stroller pushers and dog owners running solo pedestrians off the sidewalk and into traffic; a whistle-blower sends the license plate of a blue bin recycling thief; and curious minds wants to know why the flats at 1220-1222 Church St. next to Happy Donuts have been empty for so long [Ed.-- no answer from NVV, but according to the DBI the building is listed as abandoned and currently under investigation].

Store Trek: Little Folkies.

Cost of Living in Noe: Very little inventory is driving up prices for rentals and homes. Case in point: An Eastlake Stick Victorian that was once the home of August Coppola in the 90s (brother of Francis Ford Coppola) listed for 1.79 million and sold for 1.93 million.

Rumors: A history quiz of Noe Valley designed to make you feel like an interloper (unless you're from here); "Ninety-generian" Jeanne Galarza will celebrate her birthday eating out at a 24th St restaurant (for the first time) with SFPD officer Lorraine Lombardo; Everyone likes the new Happy Donuts sign; Mark Zuckerberg was spotted buying flowers at The French Tulip; Chris Cosentino of Incanto was nominated for a 2013 James Beard Award; Contigo and La Ciccia get a nod in 7x7 for best Spanish and Italian restaurants in SF; Selecta Auto Body is moving to Bernal Heights and Noe Valley Autoworks is expanding upstairs; Noe Valley Deli is under construction; the Asian fusion restaurant on 25th and Church has passed inspections but an open date is still unknown.

Notable: No back page full of April Fools stories. What replaced it? A Zephyr ad.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: Yoga Pants, J Church Disruptions, And Local Stairway Walks

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:56:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

J-Church to share transit-only lane north of 16th starting this weekend [SFMTA]
Scott Wiener's March 2013 Newsletter [SW]
MTC: Google would be 7th largest transit agency in Bay Area [SJ Merc]
Noe Valley stairway walks [The Whole Hog]
Nearby St Vincent adding Saturday tastings, bottle sales and food [Eater]
Time to get dressed, Noe Valley Ladies [WaPo]

[Photo: @friscolex]

Crime Beat

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:40:00 +0000

Information is from Mission and Ingleside District San Francisco Police Station newsletters.

March 14

Robbery -- 11:01pm, 27th/Sanchez. Ingleside Officers McMilton, Peregrina, and Brown were dispatched to a report of a robbery. The victim told the officers she had just exited a Muni bus and was walking home when an unknown man ran up and grabbed her computer bag containing her cell phone and other items. She said she struggled with the robber for several seconds before he escaped and ran away Northbound on Sanchez Street. The victim said, after the robbery, she ran several blocks and was unsuccessful in getting several citizens to call police on her behalf. She finally saw Officer Brown at Mission and Cortland who took her back to the scene of the robbery.

Emphasis ours.

This Week In Noe Valley: Condo Sales Insanity, Homegrown Hostess Cupcakes, and Word Week Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 03:28:00 +0000

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

Field trip envy: check out the view from the cupola atop City Hall [Hayeswire]
Noe Valley condo sales are on fire - $998,000 is average (if you can find one) [Downing & Co.]
The gentrification of San Francisco 2.0 [Marketplace]
Lusting after Hostess-style cupcakes from scratch from Noe Valley Bakery (with photos) [love from the bay]
Noe Valley Word Week featuring local authors starts today [FONV]

[Photo: j_gail ]