Posts Tagged ‘ross mirkarimi’
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Here’s the scene this morning at the official ceremony kicking off all the Divisadero Streetscape Improvements and the Cafe Mojo Parklet at 639 Divisadero betwixt Hayes and Grove.
BIKE NOPA has all the deets for the new parklet in front of popular Mojo Bicycle Cafe, where you are beseeched to “ride in – hang out – get your fix – ride on.”
Of course District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimiwas there* – he was working the crowd and expressing his appreciation for improved bicycle and pedestrian safety on the Divisadero Corridor. He also pointed out the success of the nearby Divisadero Farmer’s Market, which is no longer seasonal. It’s open every Sunday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM year-round these days.
Mayor Gavin Newsom addressing a large crowd on the tiny parklet:
Click to expand
And all the while, the honking yellow Hummer of Main Contractor Synergy Project Management was discretely parked across the street, as discretely as possible given that it’s a honking yellow Hummer:
I’m on the record as not being a big fan of all the changes, but oh well.
SocketSite has more info about Divis and Curbed SF has all the history, as you’d expect.
Brand new median trees and old-school streetlamps for as far as the eye can see:
These days, it’s Mojo a gogo. A fixie bike mounted outdoors as art:
Welcome to the New Divisidero.
*Wearing the same drip-dry suit he was wearing at the recent opening of the Hamilton Recreation Center and Pool.
All the deets, after the jump
(more…)
Tags: 19th avenue, 2009, 2010, 24th street, 639, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, architecture, ARRA, Balboa Street, Berenio Lumber, bicycle, bike, Bison Innovative Products, board of supervisors, bulb out, cafe, cafe mojo, cars, ceremony, Cesar Chavez, cycklists, cyclists, debut, department of public works, director, district 5, district five, divisadero, Divisadero Great Streets Project, Divisadero Streetscape Improvement Project, dpw, Ed Reiskin, Feeney, Flora Grubb Nurseries, gavin newsom, geary, great streets, grove, hayes, hummer, Improvement, inc, kick off, kickoff, lamps, Leland Avenue, lights, Lower Polk Street, management, median, mojo, Mojo Bicycle Cafe, Muni, OEWD, Office of Economic and Workforce, park, parking, parklet, PAVEMENT TO PARKS, paving, program, project, refuge, repaved, repaving, Rg, RG-Architecture, ross mirkarimi, San Bruno Avenue, San Francisco, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, sewer, SFMTA, SFPUC, sidewalks, space, stimulus, street, streetlamps, streetlights, streetscape, Studio Upwell, Supervisor, synergy, Synergy Contractors, synergy project management, TLC, traffic, Transportation for Livable Communities, trees, valencia, van ness, Waller, wide, widen, widening
Posted in streets | 3 Comments »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
From District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi comes this newsletter update concerning floats at the upcoming 2010 ING Bay to Breakers footrace. Certainly appears as if last month’s plan to start floats only at Divisidero and then stop them 1.2 miles later in Golden Gate Park is dead.
The new idea is having two staging areas for floats to enter the race – at the beginning in eastern SoMA and at Civic Center. Deets below.
These mariners will need a place to sail their float again in 2010:
Oh, whoops, they abandoned their stripper pole-equipped vessel in the Golden Gate Park Panhandle last year. Oh well.
Bay to Breakers Update
The 99th Bay to Breakers will be run on Sunday, May 16th. Last year’s race saw a significant reduction in problems and impacts on the neighborhood, although there is still more work to do be done. Plans are still being developed for how floats will participate this year. Race organizers initially proposed having all floats start on Divisadero; however, this raised concerns with both neighbors and with float advocates. Supervisor Mirkarimi organized a meeting with the race organizers, the Mayor’s office, float advocates, and neighborhood representatives. We are still waiting to hear the organizers’ revised plan, but they have indicated that they now plan to have two staging areas for floats: at the beginning of the race and at Civic Center.
We are encouraged to hear that the organizers plan to adopt Supervisor Mirkarimi’s suggestion to implement a registration system for floats. This will generate additional revenue to pay for the impacts of the floats, and also create a new level of accountability for floats that are abandoned on the streets. Despite the improvements last year, the impact on the Panhandle area was still unacceptable. Supervisor Mirkarimi remains committed to changing the practice of floats celebrating in the Panhandle for hours after the race has passed. Ross continues to encourage the race organizers to provide an end-point for floats in Golden Gate Park. He believes creating an event in the Park that encourages floats not to stop in the Panhandle will significantly reduce the impact on the neighborhood.
More information:
- www.baytobreakers.com
- Float registration information (to be posted soon)
Tags: 12k, 2, 2008, 2009, 2010, 5 fulton, 7, 97th, 98th, alcohol, alix rosenthal, annual, anschutz, b2b, bad, Bay, bay to breakers, bay2breakers, beer, body, breakers, cars, carts, channel, Chepkurui, chris fox, citizens, Conor Johnston, cops, corrals, CPBB, crawlsf, cups, david scott, David William Scott, department, dept., destroyed, direct, district, divisadero, divisidero, dj, dpw, dumpsters, edelman, Edward Sharpless, Elite, eventbrite, facebook, fell, floats, footrace, footstock, foto, fundraiser, gabe, garbage, gavilanes, Gavin, glass, golden gate park, good, Greater Body Expo, haight Ashbury, howard, ing, John, John Gray, Jon Dishotsky, kegs, Kelsey Nagie, kgo, KGO-TV, Kipsang, Korir, Lineth, liquor, Liz Brusca, map, Matt Seliga, Men's, Mike Moscuzza, Muni, naked, nat ford, Newsom, nimby, nimbys, nude, paint, panhandle, photographs, photos, plastic, police, police department, pr, preservation, public relations, purple, recycling, red, richmond, roe, ross mirkarimi, sam singer, Sammy Kitwara, San Francisco, SFPD, smoove, store, street, sunset, tickets, towed, trash, TV, ugly, vehicles, Wilson Ling, women's, zaq, zero tolerance
Posted in events, sports | No Comments »
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
This was the scene at Geary and Steiner in the Western Addition / Japantown area today as hundreds gathered to see the debut of the new Hamilton Recreation Center and Pool. This place has it all – basketball, tennis courts, giant murals, the works.
Click to expand
After hearing a performance from students at the Willie L. Brown, Jr. College Preparatory Academy…
…and some brief heckling from Giants Cap, who wants laid-off RPD employees rehired…
…out comes Ross Mirkarimi, your District 5 Supervisor, to give his stemwinder, as seen on this CNN iReport (entitled “‘Bay Area Girls’” Teanage Girls perform [Pat Benatar's 'I love Rock and Roll'] at the Inaugural of the Hamilton Recreation Center”) and then cut the ribbon:
The mise-en-scene inside - it’s like a mini water park. Throw in an orca or two and then there’d be no reason to travel to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (aka Marine World) in Vallejo:
But who’s that atop the ladder for the yellow slide wearing his street clothes? It’s Ross!
Here he comes down the slide…
…and here’s the aftermath, looked like fun. Bill Wilson should have some good shots of the wettened supe. [Like this.]
OTOH, the orange slide is terrifying, apparently:
(I think you’re supposed to cross your arms like you’re an ejecting pilot – that’s what some people were doing in the orange tube/slide contraption.)
Not sure how much it costs to employ six(!) lifeguards (that would seem a lot more than required at slide-free Sava Pool in the Parkside) but oh well.
Bon courage, Ham Rec!
Tags: (415), 1900, 2010, 5, 6, 6th, b ball, band, basketball, bay area girls, blvd., board of supervisors, boulevard, center, City Hall, courts, cut, debut, department, dept., district, district 5, expressway, fillmore, five, geary, gym water, ham rec, hamilton, hamilton rec, i love rock and roll, japantown, kick off, kickoff, life guards, lifeguards, march, Mirkarimi, mural, opening, orange, park and recreation, parks and recreation, pat benatar, playground, pool, post, recreation, recreation and park, Recreation and Park Department, ribbon, ribbon cutting, ross, ross mirkarimi, rpd, San Francisco, scott, SF, slides, splash, steiner, street, Supervisor, swim, swimming, swimsuit, tennis, waterslides, western addition, wet, yellow
Posted in parks | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
[UPDATE: Word on the street is that, for 2010, floats will be confined the 1.2 mile stretch betwixt Divisadero Street and Arguello Boulevard. Is that a fact? No se, hermana/o. And people, use your words - this new rule ruins B2B because....]
Let’s see here, the Citizens for the Preservation of Bay2Breakers (Bay to Breakers) are upset about not being consulted with a change to where the floats start at the 2010 ING Bay to Breakers coming up on May 16th?
Today’s Beef of the Week:
“Even with an organization of more than 25,000 members built in just a couple of weeks in 2009 to fight AEG’s bans and preserve the traditions of the race, AEG did not approach CPBB or any of its officers to discuss the new 2010 restrictions prior to their announcement. AEG did not approach Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s office or the Board of Supervisors to discuss the new 2010 restrictions. AEG did not approach Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office to discuss the new 2010 restrictions. AEG did not approach the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association to discuss staging floats in their neighborhood instead of at the start of the race.”
All right. Spokesman Sam Singer is saying that the rules will be the same as last year, except for the float starting point. Actually, I thought people were mad in 2009 when they were required to start their floats down in the SoMA starting area. Oh well. Won’t this all get worked out when the permits get issued, and during the ISCOTT hearing ’n stuff? I mean the Third Sunday in May is three months away, right?
Haven’t run this photo in two or three months, or something. Click to expand:
Maybe changing the float starting point is a bad idea, I don’t know. There are pluses and minuseses.
This change wouldn’t seem to be enough to be able to “destroy” the B2B race though…
Tags: 12k, 2, 2008, 2009, 2010, 5 fulton, 7, 97th, 98th, alcohol, alix rosenthal, annual, anschutz, b2b, bad, Bay, bay to breakers, bay2breakers, beer, body, breakers, cars, carts, channel, Chepkurui, chris fox, citizens, Conor Johnston, cops, corrals, CPBB, crawlsf, cups, david scott, David William Scott, department, dept., destroyed, direct, district, divisadero, divisidero, dj, dpw, dumpsters, edelman, Edward Sharpless, Elite, eventbrite, facebook, fell, floats, footrace, footstock, foto, fundraiser, gabe, garbage, gavilanes, Gavin, glass, golden gate park, good, Greater Body Expo, haight Ashbury, howard, ing, John, John Gray, Jon Dishotsky, kegs, Kelsey Nagie, kgo, KGO-TV, Kipsang, Korir, Lineth, liquor, Liz Brusca, map, Matt Seliga, Men's, Mike Moscuzza, Muni, naked, nat ford, Newsom, nimby, nimbys, nude, paint, panhandle, photographs, photos, plastic, police, police department, pr, preservation, public relations, purple, recycling, red, richmond, roe, ross mirkarimi, sam singer, Sammy Kitwara, San Francisco, SFPD, smoove, store, street, sunset, tickets, towed, trash, TV, ugly, vehicles, Wilson Ling, women's, zaq, zero tolerance
Posted in events | No Comments »
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Via the N Judah Chronicles and the Inner Sunset Neighborhood Group comes news of tonght’s Inner Sunset Town Hall:
“The Inner Sunset will have a Town Hall Meeting with Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Ross Mirkarimi, and SFPD Chief Gascon at 7pm in the County Fair building in Golden Gate Park, located just past the park entrance at 9th and Lincoln.”
The Inner Sunset District: King of All the Sunsets:
Overcast weather and overhead wires – the Inner Sunset has it all:
See you at the meeting tonight.
Tags: 2010, 28th, 5, 7, building, chief, Chronicles, county, district, gascon, George, George Gascón, golden gate park, Hall of Flowers, inner, january, meeting, n judah, N Judah Chronicles, police, public, ross mirkarimi, San Francisco, Sean Elsbernd, SFPD, sunset, town hall
Posted in crime, government | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
That big residential solar project in the Lower Haight / Western Addition / Hayes Valley from SunWheel Energy Partners just went live. The juice, she is flowing.
See all the deets in this 15 minute video - it’s just like being there.
San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil “The Thrill” Ting was there for the ribbon-cutting…
…as was District 5 Supervisor Ross “The Boss” Mirkarimi:
San Francisco Affordable Housing Sites Power On Solar Energy
Federal, State and Local Officials, Site Residents and Community Members Celebrate Green Energy and New Jobs at Western Addition Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
San Francisco, CA, January 26, 2010 – On Monday, January 25, 2010, Sunwheel Energy Partners, which provides turnkey solar energy systems for urban and community partners, celebrated the commissioning of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at three affordable housing community sites in San Francisco’s Western Addition and Hayes Valley neighborhoods — bringing solar power, green jobs and financial relief to residents and owners. The ribbon cutting ceremony at Plaza East Apartments was widely attended by a notable group of federal, state and local officials as well as the site’s residents and community members who were hired to install the solar panels.
Dignitaries in attendance included Henry Alvarez, Executive Director, San Francisco Housing Authority; Timothy Alan Simon, CPUC Commissioner; Phil Ting, SF Assessor-Recorder; David Rubin, Director of Service Analysis, PG&E; Michael Carlin, SFPUC Deputy General Manager; Neola Gans, Vice President, SF Housing Authority Commission; Caroline Krewson, Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Stephen Schneller, Director, San Francisco Office of Public Housing; Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco Supervisor; and representatives of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s offices. Senator Mark Leno issued a proclamation commending the site.
Even more deets, after the jump
(more…)
Tags: Assessor, Assessor-Recorder, barbara boxer, Caroline Krewson, commission, commissioner, CPUC, David Rubin, Deputy Regional Director, director, Director of Service Analysis, district 5, electric, electricity, Energy Partners, Executive Director, gavin newsom, general manager, hayes valley, Henry Alvarez, hope VI, house, housing, Housing Authority, HUD, low income, mark leno, Mayor, nancy pelosi, Neola Gans, north, offices, panels, PG&E; Michael Carlin, Phil Ting, photovoltaic, Projects, public, pv, Recorder, representatives Congresswomen, residential, rooftop, ross mirkarimi, San Francisco, San Francisco Office of Public Housing, Senator, SFPD, SFPUC Deputy, solar, south, speaker, Stephen Schneller, sun, SunWheel, SunWheel Energy Partners, Supervisor, Timothy Alan Simon, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Senator, vice president, Wheel
Posted in environment, government | No Comments »
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Here’s the scene on freshly-paved Scott Street this afternoon. The greening of the “bike box” red light waiting area on Scott Street near Oak at the terminus of the famous Wiggle Bike Route has begun. At long last, it has begun.
For now, anyway. The partial lifting of the Bicycle Plan injunction isn’t a 100% thing, but the City is moving ahead anyway.
Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Ross Mirkarimi, MTA chief Nat Ford, and Mayor Gavin Newsom all got in on the fun. Click to expand:
As Our Mayor’s extended paint roller got closer to the throng of reporters Supervisor Dufty was all, ”Watch out media, Gavin’s coming your way!” And here’s the reaction – a that’s-right-laugh-it-up-funnyboy smirk and then a quick departure:
Gavin’s ill humor wasn’t helped later on when Emmy Award-winning CBS5 political editor Hank Plante started asking about Geo Fanelli wanting his recent $500 donation back. Akit’s suggestion about suing in small claims court is interesting, non? I mean, you can’t give everybody their money back, right? (After your campaign buys a copy of PhotoShop, you don’t get much change back from a $500 banknote.) However, Geo has a pretty sympathetic case to make. Mmmm.
Anyway, in all the excitement, Bevan started painted bike helmets green, making mementos to allow us to remember this Special Day. (Bro was on today with all his Ammiano-like bons mots.)
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition leader Leah Shahum and Nat Ford were all smiles today:
Supervisor Mirkarimi looked dashing on his Trek Ride+ electric-assist bike. It’s just like Board President David Chiu’s. Said one wag, “Ross, you have the right equipment.” The loud reply, from someone famous: “That’s what she said!”
All in all, it was quite a celebration.
But this isn’t all for today. San Francisco’s first protected bike lane is now on Market Street, as of this AM.
Tags: 30, alamo square, alamo square neighborhood association, bevan dufty, bicycle, bicycle coalition, bike, bikes, cancelled, ceremony, chief, cyclist, cyclists, EaPA, East of Panhandle Area, fell, gavin newsom, green, green paint, india, injunction, Judge, lane, leah shahum, Mayor, media, mta, Muni, nat ford, NOPA, oak, paint, path, photo op, photo opportunity, plan, postponed, protected, ross mirkarimi, route, San Francisco, scott, scott street, sfbc, SFMTA, street, transit, wiggle
Posted in bikes | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
San Francisco District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi gave a stem-winder to a crowd of 100 or in the Civic Center on the steps of City Hall yesterday. Why? Because he wants local hiring for the Doyle Drive replacement project (you know, the one with all that President Barack Obama / Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi federal stimulus money) up in the Presidio.
Here are some deets:
Resolution Urges Local Hiring for the Doyle Drive Replacement Project
On Tuesday, September 15th, the Board of Supervisors will consider a resolution authored by Supervisor Mirkarimi that urges Caltrans and its contractors and subcontractors working on the retrofit of Doyle Drive to hire from local workers, and in particular, workers from our economically disadvantaged communities. Federal stimulus funds will be used to replace the Doyle Drive approach to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Supervisor Mirkarimi has worked hard to strengthen local hiring requirements for City contractors. However, the Doyle Drive replacement project is managed by Caltrans, who is not bound by city policies regarding Workforce development. The non-binding resolution requests that Caltrans and its contractors and subcontractors actively participate in San Francisco’s Workforce Development Programs when pursuing projects within San Francisco.
A rally and press conference will be held at noon, Tuesday, September 15th to raise awareness on the issue and highlight the successes of the City’s workforce development programs.
Tags: 2009, 5, california department of transportation, CalTrans, City Hall, Development, district, doyle drive, federl, five, Golden Gate Bridge, hire, hiring, local, Mirkarimi, money, nancy pelosi, obama, presidio, protest, rally, ross, ross mirkarimi, san francsico, steps, stimulus, Supervisor, workers, workforce
Posted in transit | Comments Off
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
The Japantown “Better” Neighborhood Plan Organizing (nee Steering) Committee held a meeting last night to “share information on the status of the plan and to develop effective steps to incorporate community input into the process.” 68 somber souls showed up – people expressed their opinions but it was nothing like the Chernobyl that occurred in Golden Gate Park when they tried to charge admission at Strybing Arboretum to everybody not born in San Francisco, or something.
As it looked at the JCCCNC at 1840 Sutter Street:
Can you see some of the themes of the evening? Click to expand:
Here’s the takeaway – the Organizing Committee is aware of a little blowback over The Plan. In the words of one attendee, “There was a feeling that these issues weren’t fully explored.”
O.K. then, but realize that there’s no developer chomping at the bit to start digging, and there’s no Environmental Impact Report yet, and the Planning Department hasn’t assigned the 20-hour-per-week worker to get going on things, and the Board of Supervisors hasn’t voted yet, etc. So it’s all going to take a while. And The Plan will change.
Al right, what’s on the mind of The Community?
Well, parking for one thing. The Community Wants Parking during renovations and after. So, if you tear down the underground parking garage and lose 700 spaces, where is everyone going to park? What’s that you say, Transit First? Yeah, they’ve heard of that concept, but they don’t accept it. So, an inadequate parking situation will “kill the merchants of J-Town.” That’s what they’re saying.
(By the way, did you know that the Cathedral Hill Hotel (the former Jack Tar Hotel) on Van Ness is going to turn into a 550-bed hospital one of these days? Is there worry about the 2500 employees “on any given shift” stealing the parking spaces that belong to J-Town? You bet.)
And where would the merchants go during the renovation time? Would you want to shut down Webster Street and put in temporary structures complete with running water and electricity? Would that be following the post-Loma Prieta earthquake Santa Cruz Model when businesses set up in temporary buildings? Yes. Would the developer pay for that? Maybe yes, maybe no.
And There You Have It.
Look forward for another meeting before year’s end. After that, who knows?
Come and learn about the status of the Japantown BNP Draft Plan and how to get involved in making it responsive to community needs. The Japantown BNP Organizing (formerly Steering) Committee is hosting this community meeting to share information on the status of the plan and to develop effective steps to incorporate community input into the process.
The agenda for this meeting will include:
* Summarizing the Draft Plan.
* Reviewing the Planning Commission Resolution approved on June 25.
* An update on the Planning Department’s proposed workplan and funding for the next 12-months of the plan process.
* Getting the community involved in reviewing and improving the Draft Plan.
* General questions.
Tags: better neighborhood plan, bnp, brt, bus, bus rapid transit, committee, department, dnp, DPT, fillmore, gavin newsom, geary, government, Japanese Cultural and Community Center, japantown, Japantown Better, Mayor, Muni, Nakayoshi, neighborhood, Paul Osaki, Planning, planning commission, redevelopment, ross mirkarimi, San Francisco, street, sutter, traffic, young professionals
Posted in government | Comments Off
