Noe Valley SF

This Week In Noe Valley: Census Data For SF, A Pride Profile, And Crafts For Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:28:00 +0000

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

Get to know your neighbors [The Front Steps]
Fun with signs at Noe Valley Wine Merchants [Burritos and Mosquitos]
LGBT Pride Profile: Punk Domestics founder Sean Timberlake [Bay Area Bites]
Have you seen this lost dog? [poster]
Mike Adamick nearly brings Peter Hartlaub to tears [The Poop]

Oh Look It's The Noe Valley SummerFest

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:14:00 +0000

SummerFest is tomorrow, and if this is the first you've heard of it don't worry. For many people, the first indication that there's a festival is *clip* *clop* and "Oh Look! Horses!!" as the hay ride ambles past. But there's more to it than that, and it's a great time to hang out with others in the neighborhood.

Summerfest runs from 11am-5 pm on June 15th between Castro and Church on 24th St. In addition to the hay ride there's live music, a bouncy tent, a petting zoo, face painting, a ballon artist and SFPCA adoptions. Merchants are offering special sales and activities. Coming from out of the area (or having an especially hard time parking at Whole Foods)? $10 parking at James Lick benefits the JLMS PTSA. Other than that it's a free event.

[NVA: SummerFest]

Crime Beat: Aggravated Assault On Day St

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:36:00 +0000

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

June 8, 2013

Aggravated Assault -- 10:25pm, 100 Blk Day St. Officers McMilton and Peregrina responded to an aggravated assault. They located a victim who was bleeding profusely from the head area and immediately summoned an ambulance to the scene. The reportee was on scene and told them that he was leaving his home when he saw a male hitting the victim over the head several times with a baseball bat. The victim then fell to the ground and the reportee called the police. The suspect fled toward Church but the witness said he would not be able to identify him.

The officers attempted to speak with the victim who said he could not recall the events clearly. He told them that he was walking down the street and saw the suspect pass him, but did not think anything. Suddenly, he said, he was hit from behind, but did not know with what. He told the officers he would be unable to recognize the suspect if he saw him again.

The officers took pictures of the victim’s injuries and assisted the ambulance with the transportation to the hospital. There were no other witnesses at the scene and no surveillance cameras were located in the vicinity.

This Week in Noe Valley: Outer Noe Oasis, Mitchell's Is 60, And The Trouble With Being A Landlord

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 03:33:00 +0000

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

Noeteca revisited: A public parlor in the outer lands of Noe Valley [Spoonwiz]
Mitchell's Ice Cream turns 60 [SevenSquaredSF]
Why it's so hard to find a decent apartment to rent in Noe (or anywhere else in SF for that matter) [NY Times]
88 year old lesbian pioneer in Noe waits (im)patiently for Prop 8 to fall [eBAR]

[Photo: Mansha Khithani]

Town Square: Farmer's Market Twice A Week?

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:01:00 +0000

[Photo: Dressed in Orange]

Yesterday the Board of Supervisors authorized Rec and Park to purchase the Noe Valley Ministry parking lot and convert it to a much-anticipated Town Square. But there was another interesting item that quietly passed just before the Town Square vote:

Park Code - Farmers’ Market Permits
Sponsor: Wiener
Ordinance amending Park Code, Section 7.21, to authorize Farmers’ Markets on Recreation and Park Department property to operate more than once a week, and specifying the applicable permit fee; and making environmental findings.

PASSED, ON FIRST READING by the following vote:
Ayes: 11 - Avalos, Breed, Campos, Chiu, Cohen, Farrell, Kim, Mar, Tang, Wiener, Yee

There are a very few other farmers markets that operate on Rec/Park land, so this isn't that big a deal. But then we remembered this goal from the Town Square folks: "...will host everything from twice-a-week farmers markets to food pantries, music events, evening movies, neighborhood bingo, exercise classes, cafe seating, senior citizen events…"

Fresh peaches, strawberries and heirloom tomatoes available midweek? We're in. Probably don't need to get the freshest winter kale, but a 2nd summer market would be a bonus.

Of course there is still much to do before any of that happens. But now that the Town Square is a go it's time to think more seriously about how to use the space. We expect there will be more meetings, but feel free to start the process here in the comments.

[SFBOS: Draft Minutes, June 4, 2013]

Noe Valley Town Square Becomes Reality With Unanimous Board Of Supervisors Vote

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:40:00 +0000

Good news from Todd David and Residents for Noe Valley Town Square:

I am ecstatic to report that the Board of Supervisors just unanimously passed Supervisor Wiener's legislation to purchase the Noe Valley Town Square!!

IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE

PIZZA PARTY AT THE PARKING LOT--5:30PM TO 7:30PM

Please join us tonight AT THE FARMER'S MARKET PARKING LOT for a FREE pizza party sponsored by Patxi's Pizza from 5:30PM to 7:30PM at the Farmer's Market parking lot. (Children will be served first from 5:30 to 6:30 and then the whole community from 6:30 to 7:30). Drinks are being generously donated by Noe Valley's Whole Foods.

ADULT CELEBRATION AT THE VALLEY TAVERN--8:00PM TO ???

After putting the kids to bed, please join us tonight at the Noe Valley Tavern starting at 8PM for an adults only celebration.

IT'S TIME TO COLLECT PLEDGES

We are now collecting pledges. If you made one - or would like to now that the Town Square is happening -- please feel free to bring a check made out to "The San Francisco Parks Alliance" to the pizza party or the Valley Tavern. If you have forgotten if you pledged or are unsure of the amount, do not fret. . . simply send me an email at todd@noevalleytownsquare.com and I will let you know. Also, we will be contacting everyone who pledged soon!

If you have not pledged or you want to INCREASE YOUR PLEDGE (we still need to raise at least an additional $400,000), you can do so at the following link http://noevalleytownsquare.com/pledge/

We are looking forward to seeing all of you wonderful Town Square supporters tonight!

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

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 03:17:00 +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.

June 2013

Front Page: Local travel guru Chris McGinnis offers travel tips; A Noe Courts update; Profile of Mike Adamick, author of Dad's Book of Awesome Projects.

Letters: Praise for Scott Wiener's response to every day minutia; Recycling thieves' idling cars causing smog; Praise for the Noe Valley Garden Tour from a volunteer; 1220-1222 Church St is painted but still empty; Does AT&T pay fees for new cabinets on the sidewalk? [Ed.--yes]; In Memory: Jack Garvey.

Features and Short Takes: SummerFest is June 15th; A rundown of the various utilities digging up Noe Valley streets; New manager at the NV/Sally Brunn Library and possible new hours (PDF).

Cost of Living in Noe: Super expensive flips raise the average/median home cost.

Rumors: A detailed history of the Noe Valley Town Square starting with the firing of Real Foods employees 10 years ago to the launch of the farmer's market to the crazy meetings about the Plaza to the founding of Parklets to today's effort to preserve public space; Griddle Fresh opened; Noe Valley resident and founder of Code Pink Medea Benjamin who repeatedly shouted down Barack Obama on May23rd; "I wish this was..."; Kale Chips at Luva Java; That great photo of Drewes before they were always going out of business.

Notable Trend: Realtor ads are taking over the NVV.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week in Noe Valley: Town Square Pizza Party, Lost Railroad Tracks, And More Real Estate Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 00:56:00 +0000

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

Pizza party planned for after final Town Square vote on June 4 [NVTS]
The lost railroad tracks of the Mission and Noe Valley [Curbed]
Noe Valley homes average $1.97M in April; the median price is only slightly saner [Downing & Co]
Omnivore Books June newsletter with events and happenings [Omnivore]
Clipper Corner dog grooming is shutting down; space available [@NoeValleySF]
Scott Wiener's May newsletter [Scott Wiener]
Raw sewage leak at 22nd and Hoffman has plagued neighbors for 6+ months [CBS]

[Photo: Burritos & Mosquitos]

Noe Valley Power Outages

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Tue, 28 May 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Neighbors have reported multiple power outages in Noe Valley over the last month. We're curious: is the power going out more often than the historical norm or does Twitter magnify small outages? Here are examples of some Tweets from the last few days:

@noevalleysf @rle Electrical pole fire on 27 street takes the power out for neighborhood. PGE said that it was caused by fog
— Curtis Smolar (@csmolar) May 26, 2013

@noevalleysf is there public data on power outages in SF? My power on Clipper has been out for 3 hours in the last month.
— Nelson Minar (@nelson) May 24, 2013

@noevalleysf 4 power outages this month in Noe.Each take out several recessed lightbulbs. Today's killed our Tivo/XFinity/TV set-up. FAIL
— Rebecca Eisenberg (@rle) May 28, 2013

Yet another power outage in Noe Valley #SF - actually a brownout, grid at 66.0v
— Jim Constantine (@jgc94131) May 28, 2013

PG&E tracks current outages, but as far as we can tell doesn't make public data on power outage trends by neighborhood. So we're asking for your input - send us reports of power out within Noe Valley via email or Twitter and we'll map all data. Maybe there's a trend we can talk to PG&E about.

[NVSF: Map of Noe Valley Power Outages]
[PG&E: Outage Map]

This Week In Noe Valley: Town Square Reactions, Betabrand's Cosentino Clothing, Local Kale Chips and More

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Sun, 26 May 2013 03:17:00 +0000

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

The Chronicle notices Noe Valley wants a new town square [SF Chron]
Grumpy person complains she'd prefer parking to a park (Ed.--note all the empty spots behind her on 24th) [ABC7]
Betabrand wants input on a line of Chris Cosentino chef clothes including butcher briefs and meat socks (via @offalchris) [Betabrand]
Those kale chips at Luv a Java? They're handmade by a Noe Valley entrepreneur trying to survive [SF Gate]
Just how hot is Noe Valley? A realtor runs the numbers [Real Data SF]
Easy Breezy makes a connoisseur's top froyo list [Froyo Girl]
More kids in SF schools, and more parents pleased [SFUSD]
A Victor Reyes mural on a Noe garage [via @ArtAround]

[Photo: Of Recreation: Fog creeping over Twin Peaks]

More Good News for the Noe Valley Town Square

noreply@blogger.com (Noe Valley, SF) — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:41:00 +0000

The Town Square got a thumbs up from the budget and finance committee today prompting Todd David to send out this update (emphasis ours):

Hello Noe Valley Town Square supporters:

I'm thrilled to report that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee unanimously (5-0) voted today to recommend to the full Board the legislation authored by Supervisor Wiener to acquire the land that will be the future home of the Noe Valley Town Square. This vote is consistent with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission's unanimous vote for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to approve $4,242,500 from the Open Space Acquisition Fund for the purchase and remediation of the Noe Valley Ministry parking lot. (The 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.) The last hurdle to clear is the vote by the entire Board on June 4th – a 6-person majority plus mayoral approval would make the acquisition a reality!

A huge thank you is in order: We never could have come this far without the steadfast support and legislation of Supervisor Wiener and hundreds of Noe Valley Town Square friends and neighbors who have made financial pledges, written letters of support, and appeared at today’s and the previous Rec and Park hearings. Thank you – it does take a village to create a Town Square! (If you or your friends have not yet donated to the Town Square, now that we’re this close it’s great time to make a pledge! Even with the acquisition, we will still need to raise an additional money to transform the parking lot into our future Town Square.)

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.