Look at this huge Christmas Tree taking up all the space at a bar on Lombard Street’s Motel Row.
It’s been covered over with Valentine’s day-related tchochkes, gewgaws, knickknacks, baubles, and lagniappes.
See? (Customers’ and employees’ faces darkened out of respect.)
Happy Valentines!
Here’s what’s funny about the certain rich NIMBYs of Cow Hollow – they don’t want auslanders coming ’round to their backyard. So of course that’s why they oppose any increase in traffic in the Presidio due to, I don’t know, building a museum, or a lodge, 0r reopening a moribund movie house. They moan about all that potential traffic they do.
But then, when the Presidio Trust starts experimenting with closing streets to cars as a way of decreasing traffic, the neighborhood associations don’t like it neither. Here’s the thing – Congress, in its Wisdom, put the Trust, not the National Park Service, not flighty, nearby homeowners, not nobody but the Board of the Trust, in charge.
Does San Francisco want to buy the Presidio from the Feds? No. Does San Francisco want the Feds to sell the Presidio to the highest bidder and have the place go all-condo? No. So oh well.
What’s the Law? Let’s see.
Where will the rich kids of Cow hollow joy-ride in their exoticars, fast as lightning, now? Not amongst the eucalyptus of windy Presidio Boulevard, that’s for sure.
Poor little richers
Here’s Da Law:
Title 36: Parks, Forests, and Public Property
PART 1001—GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 1001.5 Closures and public use limits.
(a) Consistent with applicable legislation and Federal administrative policies, and based upon a determination that such action is necessary for the maintenance of public health and safety, protection of environmental or scenic values, protection of natural or cultural resources, aid to scientific research, implementation of management responsibilities, equitable allocation and use of facilities, or the avoidance of conflict among visitor use activities, the Board may:
(1) Establish, for all or a portion of the area administered by the Presidio Trust, a reasonable schedule of visiting hours, impose public use limits, or close all or a portion of the area administered by the Presidio Trust to all public use or to a specific use or activity.
(2) Designate areas for a specific use or activity, or impose conditions or restrictions on a use or activity.
(3) Terminate a restriction, limit, closure, designation, condition, or visiting hour restriction imposed under paragraph (a)(1) or (2) of this section.
(b) Except in emergency situations, a closure, designation, use or activity restriction or condition, or the termination or relaxation of such, which is of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a significant alteration in the public use pattern of the area administered by the Presidio Trust, adversely affect the natural, aesthetic, scenic or cultural values of the area administered by the Presidio Trust, require a long-term or significant modification in the resource management objectives of the area administered by the Presidio Trust, or is of a highly controversial nature, shall be published as rulemaking in the Federal Register.
(c) Except in emergency situations, prior to implementing or terminating a restriction, condition, public use limit or closure, the Board shall prepare a written determination justifying the action. That determination shall set forth the reason(s) the restriction, condition, public use limit or closure authorized by paragraph (a) of this section has been established, and an explanation of why less restrictive measures will not suffice, or in the case of a termination of a restriction, condition, public use limit or closure previously established under paragraph (a) of this section, a determination as to why the restriction is no longer necessary and a finding that the termination will not adversely impact resources of the area administered by the Presidio Trust. This determination shall be available to the public upon request.
(d) To implement a public use limit, the Board may establish a permit, registration, or reservation system. Permits shall be issued in accordance with the criteria and procedures of §1001.6.
(e) Except in emergency situations, the public will be informed of closures, designations, and use or activity restrictions or conditions, visiting hours, public use limits, public use limit procedures, and the termination or relaxation of such, in accordance with §1001.7.
(f) Violating a closure, designation, use or activity restriction or condition, schedule of visiting hours, or public use limit is prohibited.
So that’s that, right? Do you see anything in there about seeking counsel from unelected, self-proclaimed representatives of the Cow Hollow?
How they jive and jingle/ when you’re in their backyard
How they jive and jingle/ when you’re their sacrifice
Oh well.
And oh yes, when C.W. Nevius talks about how ”everybody hates” the temporary road closure, he must have a very narrow definition of “everybody.” Reality regrets the error. (Reality used to be a friend of his.)
Oh well.
And oh yes, they’re closing another one:
Battery Caulfield Road Closed October 12-26, 2009
The next phase of remediation for Landfill 10 in the Public Health Service Hospital (PHSH) District will require a temporary two week closure of Battery Caulfield Road in order to re-grade and resurface the road and adjacent parking lot. The closure will be in effect Monday, October 12 through Monday, October 26. The closure starts at Battery Caulfield and Wedemeyer Street to the north, and at 15th Avenue and Wedemeyer to the south.
There will be no “through traffic” access from Washington Boulevard to 15th Avenue through the PHSH District during this time. For safety, there will also be no PHSH District access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and hikers.
Work hours for the Landfill 10 project are 8am to 5pm. The contractor will use several pieces of equipment including a grader, a loader and an excavator, with a crew of approximately 10. Additional clean soil and other materials will be imported to Landfill 10 to raise the grade, per the approved remediation plan. Construction traffic will continue to enter and exit the site via Battery Caulfield Road. Noise impacts for this phase of work will be similar to that of current PHSH District remediation activity. Dust monitoring and control measures will be part of daily operations.
If you have any questions, please contact Diana Parker, Presidio Trust, at 415.561.5468, or dparker at the presidiotrust.gov.
Will people be able to find their way to the Kimochi, Inc. fundraiser this October 17th at the Officer’s Club?
Most likely.
Feel the need, the need for screed, after the jump
Apparently, there’ll be some showdown this afternoon at the City Hall SFMTA meeting regarding the proposal to add trailers to some buses on Union Street. That plan, according to some Cow Hollow NIMBYs, turns buses into “monsters.” Perhaps not as monstrous as this 300-passenger job from China or the Knight Bus, but enough to “destroy” the entire neighborhood.
Let’s hear from C.H.N. Marcie Judelson, from her recent letter to the Chronicle. Some excerpts from “No monster buses“:
You get the idea.
Here’s something to ponder – if 60-foot buses going down the street destroys the surrounding area, that means that all the other hoods in town with 60-foot buses have already been destroyed, right? So all you godforsaken souls in the Mission and the Richmond, well you’re dead but you just don’t know it. How can you tolerate subsisting in your non-charming non-village?
That’s the NIMBY mentality.
But, maybe the buses will roll and Life in the Cow Hollow will go on as before?
Yes, in all probability, yes.
Let’s check in with the Cow Hollow area on Union Street, where lots and lots of business lots are for rent these days, per this recent bit from Sally Kuchar at CurbedSF. Well, here’s the news of the day: There’s a new proposal from MUNI to have bigger bus stops and longer buses on the 41 Union line.
The reaction? Crazy, Kramer-esque banners from millionaire homeowners. See? But don’t laugh, signs like these get results, sometimes. Like when the World’s Smallest Burger King over in the Inner Sunset went under after being subjected to one man’s incessant campaign. RangeLife has the story on that one.
But let’s hear from today’s Union Street NIMBYs themselves. Happy reading!
60 FEET-LONG MONSTER MUNI BUSES
THREATEN TO PUT SMALL UNION STREET INN OUT OF BUSINESS
A SF Muni proposal is currently in the works to establish a 291 feet long Bus Terminus at Union & Fillmore. This is to accommodate 60 feet long articulated buses which are planned for service on Union Street. This act of folly places the terminus at the very doorstep of the Union Street Inn, and could place the very existence of the jewel-like Inn in jeopardy.
Objections to the ill-conceived plan voiced by merchants of the Union Street Association at recent meetings were summarily dismissed, leaving the impression that the plan is a done deal. The proceedings were termed “farcical” by some merchants.
The impact on The Union Street Inn and other merchants in the area could be crippling. With the small inn already struggling to survive in a bruising economy it is inconceivable to think that Muni would even consider removing five revenue-earning meters directly outside the Inn in order to make way for a totally inappropriate, peace-disturbing terminus that would start operation at 5 am and continue throughout the day.
Closure of the award-winning Inn would not only be a tragedy, wrought by bureaucracy run amok, but would also result in a loss of $40,000 a year paid by the inn through the City Hotel Tax.
An appeal for intervention by Supervisor Alioto-Pier has, as yet, only elicited a polite formal response from a Legislative Assistant.
CONTACTS: David Coyle, Innkeeper, Union Street Inn, 2229 Union Street; Lesley Leonhardt, Union Street Merchants Assn.
Boy, it was touch and go for a few years there, but news comes today that our beloved NIMBYs have managed to preserve the Great Northern Parking Lot of San Francisco.
See it? 700 spaces, free of charge. It’s historic, you know. When the U.S. Army wasn’t out there killing a million or so Filipinos it managed to create the GNPLoSF. Therefore, these parking spaces are sacrosanct:
Now that that pesky modern art has been gotten rid of, a question remains over what to do with the upper end of the Main Post. You know the Burger King corporation had an outlet that served as an Army Mess on the Presidio for so many years, it would be only fitting to give it the right of first refusal to get a chance to replace the famous itty bitty bowling alley that’s up there now.
An artist’s conception, avec just one installation of evil modern art thrown in to see if the NIMBYs can tolerate it.
You see, that old, historic Presidio BK was a place “where a simple guy serving his country could get an inexpensive meal with a stunning view.” Wouldn’t it be nice to honor those memories with the biggest Burger King in the world? Put it right where the museum was supposed to go.
Either that, or a Jollibee. Your choice.
Uh oh, seems as if there’s a little unrest at the paradise that is this weekend’s Union Street “Eco-Urban” Festival 2009. No, it wasn’t the Republican party recruiting again, it was trouble with promoter Steven Restivo trying to tamp down on the boozy house parties that have occurred on Union Street during festival weekends past.
What you would have is hundreds of kids at Union Street residences drinking beer. Heaven forfend! Let’s hear from Party Person Brooke on the Yelp:
“Each year (for the last 5!) some friends of mine who live on Union St have a big party during the festival which allows all of us to get together, drink, dance, and be merry and peruse in and out of the street festival. It’s a well managed production, with control of who comes and goes, safe, in control, etc…. This year Steven Restivo has put an end to it, and the festival hasn’t even started yet! Steven took it into his own hands by calling the police, the fire marshals, and LANDLORDS of the apartments and buildings on Union St ahead of time, to ensure there were no parties this weekend, OTHER THAN THE ONE HE WAS THROWING. It seems he’s a big cry baby and thinks the house parties which are a custom with Union St Fest detract sales from the Beer Gardens he hosts.”
Doesn’t that just twist your mellow? Stevo “slandered the organizers of the party and contacted the building owners“? Oh well. That means no more house parties, like this one from last year.
The perils of post-adolescent Union Street Fest shotgunning. The front of this house faces Union.
That entire residence was filled to the brim with partiers in 2008. Ah, memories.
Oh well, on to this year. Of course, you’ve got to expect more than a modicum of peroxide, silicone, designer funglasses and lapdogs. Of course, it’s Cow Hollow.
Having said that, the seems a perfectly fine fest. Let’s take a gander at 2009. By the way, it continues tomorrow.
This thing is biiiig – it will take you a long time to wander about Union even if you don’t hit the biergärtens:
You know who proved popular was Tom Rigney, “electric violinist, Cajun fiddler, composer, graphic artist, and leader of the American roots music band, Tom Rigney and Flambeau.”
Best in Show – Candy Wrapper Handbags, something like this, as seen on Oprah
Micro cupcakes continue their dominance over the cuisine of the late aughts
Your streetfest four basic food groups are poultry (including turkey legs, they’re not just for renaissance festivals anymore), corn on the cob, couscous (not pictured) and garlic fries (not pictured).
2.5 star-rated Left at Albuquerque offered crowd-pleasing beer towers to sidewalk diners:
Now they’re renting out A2B electric scooters to tourists. Do people really ride these things on the Golden Gate Bridge sidewalks at 20 per back and forth to Sausalito? People do. Anyway, Blazing Saddles bike rentals was offering test drives.
Suds on the Roof, but much less than in years past. I think a man partying outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a red cup of suds.
Last year’s “Eco-Urban” fest featured a hell of a lot of gas powered Honda generators, but this year, not so much. Originally, I thought this distribution amplifier was a box full of car batteries, but now I’m at a loss at figuring out how this band got its power. If they had a generator, they hid it well.
What’s this?
It’s an overhead extention cord leading from a Union Street business to one of the food vendors in the middle of the street. Is that an extension cord being used as internal wiring? Cough electrical code cough.
Oh, there it is! One of at least two Hondas in operation today.
But at least all the amplified music won’t disturb this slumbering. ear-protected pooch.
See you there tomorrow and next year!
See all the participants, after the jump.
The Presidio Trust has just announced a last call for comments about ending the arrested decay of the Presidio Main Post – so finish up your drinks and get your comments in by June 1, 2009.
END OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
June 1, 2009 is the end of public comment period for several key documents related to the Main Post planning process. Three draft documents have been circulating for public comment since February 27, 2009:
1. Revised Draft Main Post Update
2. Draft Supplement to the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Preferred Alternative
3. Revised Draft Finding of Effect
The Revised Draft Main Post Update reflects the land uses and improvements the Presidio Trust intends to pursue to re-establish the Main Post as the heart of the park. Through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, the Trust identified a “preferred alternative” that is detailed in the Revised Update and analyzed in the Draft Supplement to the SEIS. The Revised Update is also analyzed as the “undertaking” in the Revised Draft Finding of Effect; prepared under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) as part of the assessment phase of the Section 106 consultation.
In June 2008, the Trust released an earlier draft of the Main Post Update and a Draft SEIS which analyzed a range of alternatives. An earlier Draft Finding of Effect was released in August 2008, which analyzed the effects on historic resources of all the alternatives that were presented in the Draft SEIS. All documents can be found on the Trust’s website: www.presidio.gov.
Comments will be accepted on all documents, both current and past drafts. Commentators are free to organize their comments in any way they choose. They may comment separately on the different documents, or address all documents at one time. Commentators are also welcome to address specific issues or comment on specific proposals. The Trust will consider and respond to comments on all of the drafts when developing the final documents.
NEXT STEPS
NHPA Section 106 Consultation: Finalizing the Finding of Effect and Resolving Adverse Effects
A Final Finding of Effect will be issued early this summer, formally completing the assessment phase of the Section 106 consultation under the NHPA. The Historic Resources section of the Final SEIS will be consistent with the Final Finding of Effect. The Final Finding of Effect will be available on the Trust’s website and will be sent to all consulting parties.
The next phase of the Section 106 consultation process is the resolution phase during which consulting parties identify ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the effects presented in the Finding of Effect. The resolution phase results in an agreement document that establishes parameters for how projects can proceed. A schedule for the remainder of the Section 106 consultation will be issued to all consulting parties early in June.
NEPA: Finalizing the SEIS and Main Post Update
Over the course of the summer, the Trust will finalize the environmental review, issuing a Final SEIS and Final Main Post Update sometime in the fall. The Final SEIS includes a response to all comments. A notice of availablity will be issued once the final documents are released. The final documents will also be available on the Trust’s website. After the final environmental documents are issued, a 30-day no action period ensues.
Record of Decision
The Trust will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) only after both the NEPA and NHPA processes are completed. The ROD memorializes the decision made by the Presidio Trust Board of Directors and clearly articulates the actions that the Trust will pursue in the Main Post and the reasoning behind the Trust’s decision. Once the ROD is adopted, the Final Main Post Update will amend the Presidio Trust Management Plan for the Main Post District.
Your Presidio Trust has just announced another two Open House sessions concerning the Main Post. Make note of the location at Building 105, that Brokedown Palace (but I can assure you that parts of it are excellent). It’s sandwiched between Lincoln (no, not THAT Lincoln), Taylor (no, not THAT Taylor) and Montgomery (no, not THAT Montgomery). Just pop open the Google Map here. See? It’s right near where the Google Maps car got busted (or not, if you believe a certain U.S. Park Police Sargeant, who, really, oughta know).
Just get to the Building 104 Mouse House and then go downhill a skosh. There’s probably not going to be a program or anything – just drop by and yickety yack a bit…
Main Post Open House with Presidio Trust Staff
Monday, May 18, 9 to 11 am
&
Wednesday, May 20, 6 to 8 pm
Main Post Information Center, 105 Montgomery Street
There’s always room for one more:
“Please join us for informal “open house” sessions at which Presidio Trust staff members will be available to respond to questions about proposed projects for the Main Post as well as questions about historic resources, transportation and parking, visitor use , and environmental sustainability. The public comment period for Main Post planning ends on June 1, 2009. Comments may be emailed to mainpost@presidiotrust.gov.”
You know what makes you better than all those melon farmers out there? It’s the fact that you hang your hat every night in the City and County of San Francisco. That makes you special. To celebrate you, the California Academy of Sciences is offering free admission for you (and your neighbors). Just match up your zip code with the handy chart below, gather up the necessary proof of where you reside, and head on over to Golden Gate Park.
And the nice thing about this free admission program is that it probably won’t be as crowded as it sometimes gets on the third Wednesday of the month, when everyone gets in sans tariff.
Celebrated Missionites getting a little camera time in front of the green screen before entering the Cal Academy yesterday. Bide your time, your free day is coming:
Read the fine print. Click to expand:
Thanks, Bank of America.
The Pros and Cons of Progress at the Presidio Main Post – A Kind of Dialogue
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009This recent post here regarding the Presidio inspired a correspondent to take pen to paper (so to speak) and leave a comment. Below are the words of “PresidioPal” along with some queries. (Surprisingly, he’s not a NIMBY.) Anyway, enjoy.
The mighty, historic Great Parking Lot of the Presidio is jeopardized by the Main Post Plan. The Presidio Trust just might unpave this paradise and put up a…lawn. Heaven forfend. What happened was the Army put it in and then left. Are we bound to have it forever?
Says PP:
“If we are talking about the “decay” of the historic character of the Presidio, which is a rare national historic landmarks district chosen for the layer upon layer of American history visible on Main Post…”
What does that mean to people – landmark status? Why should people care about this? The historic character of the South was Jim Crow laws (not that we didn’t have James Crow laws outside the South, but that’s another story) - would the “historic character” argument be useful for maintaining segregation? Would you like to turn the Presidio itself into a museum, where nothing ever changes? Isn’t it an underpopulated Land of Wind and Ghosts now?
“…the Fisher art museum…”
Isn’t the name of the proposed museum Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio (CAMP). Isn’t it specifically not called The Fisher? Isn’t that one of its selling points? Isn’t it going to have like a “b” as in boy billion dollars of art in it or something, that’s not otherwise available for public view?
”…a hotel…”
Or lodge, some people are calling it a lodge, in keeping with the whole “park” theme of the Presidio. What’s wrong with a lodge in a park?
“and a modern movie house”
Or “modernized,” I’ll give you that. Didn’t it used to seat something like 1000 GIs back in the day? Do you think your millionaire NIMBY allies would like to have all those blue-collar types back in the Presidio in “their neighborhood” near the houses they inherited from their parents fair and square? Isn’t it true that the Presidio Theatre seats zero people today and that’s the way the owners of competing theatres in San Francisco like it? Isn’t it true theater owners kicked in money to oppose the Main Post Plan because they don’t want competition? Is that a good reason to oppose opening up a small three-screener that would seat far fewer people than the 1000 it was built for back in the day?
“…ADD to the “decay” by introducing non-historic elements that detract from the historic site itself…”
Does the non-historic TransAmerica pyramid detract from historic San Francisco? Should nothing ever change in town? Did a collection of histrionic societies, millionaire NIMBYs and movie theatre owners object to the Louvre Pyramid in Cour Napolean? Probably, but isn’t the pyramid a good thing, despite its “non-historic” status?
“If you take “decay” to mean delaying needed repairs to historic structures, the new buildings have nothing to do with that.”
You and your NIMBY allies are fighting for the status quo, whether you realize it or not. Congress, in its wisdom, could have put your organization in charge of the entire Presidio. It didn’t though, right? Do you acknowledge that? Why should anybody pay attention to your unfunded mandates? Your half-baked if-we-had-some-ham-we-could-have-a-ham-sandwich, if-we-also-had-some-bread-but-only-if-five-million-dollars-fell-from-the-sky alternative plans? Back in the 1990s, Congress did something quite unique with the Presidio. Of course, it could have sold off a lot of land to condo developers. Would you prefer that?
“Let’s get it straight, the proposal is for three major new structures in a national historic landmark.”
Is that really an argument? Shouldn’t you go further and explain why people should care about national historic landmark status? And actually, it’s more than three structures, but I get what you mean. Is the 700-car parking lot historic? Was the Burger King historic? Should we bring it back to honor the military?
“Why not a contemporary museum on Alamo Square?”
The reason why is that millionaire NIMBYs and the Planning Commission would tear that one apart. That’s the short answer.
If I had any advice for the Main Post, it would be this – lively up yourself, mon! This may or may not happen, depending upon the lawyers, the judges and the juries associated with the forthcoming lawsuits.
We’ll see.
Tags: 2009, art, board, camp, chronicle, comment period, contemporary, contemporary art museum of the presidio, contemporary art museum presidio, cow hollow, David Grubb, directors, Disney, don fisher, doris, doyle drive, eir, eis, gavin newsom, hotel, june 1, landmark, lodge, Main Post, Mayor, military, modern-art museum, museum, museum nimbies, nimbies, nimby, nimbys, pelosi, presidio, presidio pal, presidiopal, San Francisco, socketsite, theater, theatre, trust, whit hall
Posted in parks | Comments Off