July 2007 - The Potrero View

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2 THE POTRERO VIEW JULY 2007 Publisher’s View Gateway to Potrero When I first moved to the Hill almost a decade ago it bothered me that to travel to or from the neighborhood I had to go over a freeway, under a freeway, or past unpleasant looking industrial detritus. Of course this islanding effect helped give the community its tight-knit character. There were few reasons for most San Franciscans to visit our neighborhood, and plenty of visual cues that might dissuade folks from doing so, leaving residents to themselves. The Hill’s isolation began to change with the arrival of the Maktub Group, otherwise known as the owners of Chez Papa, Chez Maman, Baraka, and Couleur, who made our little corner of paradise a destination for foodies. The rising tide of integration with the rest of the City is accelerating, with Dogpatch becoming gourmet alley for restaurant start-ups and expansions, and the northern slope being populated by high-end retailers, bakeries, chain coffee shops, and, starting this summer, Whole Foods. Still, accessing the neighborhood remains a mostly depressing affair. There’s no public marker that residents or visitors are entering, or exiting, a quite special place that’s distinct from the eastern South-of- Market sprawl or Potrero Avenue speedway. We should fix that. As a start let’s turn the rather barren Kansas Street Circle in By Steven J. Moss The View’s now on the world wide web Check us out at www.potreroview.net Showplace Square into a beautiful gateway to Potrero Hill. A fountain, like the charming one located in Berkeley’s Marin Circle; native vegetation, and benches would be a more suitable visual cue that would also better serve nearby workers and residents than the current desultory statue surrounded by what amounts to a doggy litter box. An attractive public space might also foster civic pride and spur the nearby merchants into doing their part to create a lively and eye-catching public center. It is, after all, a fundamentally lovely little circle, bounded by mostly attractive buildings. But, like much of the Hill’s public space, it’s been neglected. Potrero Hill has historically prided itself on its gritty, working class, industrial-age character. We should do what we can to retain the elements of this community personality that still suit us. But it’s time for investments in public space to catch-up with our million dollar real estate market and the energetic investments in commercial buildings. The View is prepared to do its part to help beautify the Kansas Street Circle, and invites readers who share this vision to contact us at: editor@ potreroview.net. This generation’s dedication to its community will be inscribed in the parks, schools, and public spaces we leave behind to those who follow. Letters to the Editor Healthy Helipad I was disappointed by the article about San Francisco General Hospital’s (SFGH) proposed helipad that appeared in the View’s May issue. The piece mostly showcased the views of project opponents, and you didn’t investigate or attempt to verify any of the claims they made. One opponent questioned the need for the helipad; nowhere in your article did you attempt to determine if there was a need. Another opponent said the noise would make nearby homes “unlivable;” you didn’t investigate how noise levels have impacted neighbors at other urban helipads. By simply giving a soapbox to opponents, you did the issue and our neighborhood a disservice. I’m not associated with this project or SFGH in any way, but issues of public health are important to me and my family. For example, the only pediatric trauma center is in Oakland. If my son were to need such a center, the only possibility of transport is via ambulance over the bridge. Obviously helicopter transport would be better. It’s meaningless to say, as the opponents did in your article, that the helipad should be opposed if it benefits people outside our neighborhood. The Bay Area faces collective dangers, including earthquakes and terrorism, for which SFGH’s trauma center provides regional services. One of the opponents you quote said that the hospital hasn’t given a good reason for the helipad. You should have checked the link that you supply with your article; it provides just such a reason: In a November 2001 Report on the SFGH Trauma Center, the American College of Surgeons stated, “The lack of a helipad and helicopter service is a major deficiency in providing optimal trauma care for San Francisco General Hospital and San Francisco. It is difficult to understand why a city the size Masthead design by Giacomo Patri PUBLISHER EMERITUS: Ruth Passen EDITOR and PUBLISHER: Steven J. Moss JULY STAFF: of San Francisco does not have any medical air transport. The congested roads and bridges with the surrounding water make helicopter service an essential medical support service.” There’s an excellent summary of issues and opinions posted on the Potrero Hill Neighborhood blog. This exchange includes the views of people who have lived near urban helipads, a helicopter pilot, and someone whose life was saved by such a service. It’s far more balanced, substantive, and informative than what you’ve provided. I think any neighbor who’s interested in this issue should check-out this link: http://www.potrerohillsf.com/ forums/viewforum.php?f=6. Megan Adams Potrero Hill Resident Migden Editorial As a 30 year+ Hill resident, I appreciate the changes you’ve made to the View. However, the June edition contained an article -- “Editorial - A Leader Worth Supporting” -- which is a blatant political advertisement. It’s not in your words, it’s pointedly written by Carole Migden herself: “As your State Senator, I have...” If you wish to support her candidacy, then write an actual editorial yourself. If she wishes to advertise, charge her for it and properly label it--don’t be disingenuous. Ron Miguel De Haro Street Both Assemblyman Leno (April issue) and Senator Migden were provided with an opportunity to publish their unsolicited editorials; it seemed like the fair thing to do. The View has not endorsed either candidate. Editor. Angelina Acevedo, Paula Eve Aspin, Virginia Donohue, Debbie Findling, Kerry Fleisher, Lonnie Ford, Melissa Glorieaux, Harry J. Johnson, Abigail Johnston, David Matsuda, Sara Moss, Lisa Tehrani Editorial and policy decisions are made by the staff. All staff positions are voluntary. Published monthly. Address all correspondence to THE POTRERO VIEW 2325 Third Street Suite 344, San Francisco, CA 94107 Telephone: 415.626.8723 E-mail: editor@potreroview.net • office@potreroview.net (advertising) Copyright 2007 by The Potrero View. All rights reserved. Any reproduction without written permission from the publishers is prohibited. The Potrero View is printed at Howard Quinn, a union shop.
Editorial: Let’s Put the Public Back into our Schools By Frank Gilson, D.C. Public education in San Francisco, and in Potrero Hill in particular, needs our help. Without adequate funding, many teachers, earning modest salaries, have to reach into their own pockets to buy essential classroom materials. These same teachers have to juggle numerous roles -- many of which were never in their job descriptions -- to help both students and parents negotiate life, including serving as guidance counselor, therapist and mentor. Many Hill residents are doing their part to make sure our schools have adequate funds with which to educate our children. Some of these dedicated people, like me, don’t even have kids, but know how important quality public education is to our City. Think about it; do you want Letters to the Editor Public Pathway Continued from Page 2 Tacky Houses While I live in one, I’m not an old house snob. A lot of new architecture is interesting and innovative, even on Potrero Hill, an enclave of mostly small, quaint cottages. What alarms me, however, is the construction quality of even the priciest new palaces being built in the neighborhood. After only a few years they look pretty shabby. Wood filler covering nails starts to show through the too thin paint. The inexpensive wood used around the windows begins to indicate dry rot. Plywood siding starts to separate. If they look this bad after only a few years what will our Hill look like in 10? 15? I don’t know if there’s a general decline in materials and workmanship, or if high real estate prices mandate corner-cutting to allow expansion. Regardless, contractors and developers should be held accountable by those that hire them, or our Hill will be a sorry spot before too long. John Bennett Kansas Street to hire someone that can’t add? Educating our youth is everyone’s civic responsibility. Please join with me, the Potrero Hill Association of Merchants and Businesses, Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, Potrero Hill Parents Association and the Potrero Residents Education Fund to raise funds for our local elementary schools: Daniel Webster and Starr King. We need help from everyone on the Hill. Go to www.PotreroChiros. com and click on “fundraiser” for details. On the Hill we take a lot of pride in our community; children are part of it, and they need our help. Thomas Jefferson said “The job of government is to educate the masses.” Now it’s the job of the community to educate our kids. Had Harry J. Johnson (“Public Pathway Maintained by Private Owners,” June issue) done any historical research or talked to Barbara Deutsch, who’s maintained the 19th Street path as an ecological oasis in Potrero Hill, he might have found that Babette Dreske has been complaining about that pathway for no less than 15 years, perhaps much longer. I was in an organization that opposed the Live-Work Condos on the Potrero Commons lot and Dreske, a nice neighborhood woman, used to go to Potrero Booster meetings and City Hall to complain about the exotic pathway. Dreske unfortunately considers cement more important than nature: butterflies, indigenous plants, insects and birds. Deutsch, who was called by friends “the butterfly lady,” planted butterfly-attracting plants, indigenous natives, to enhance the pathway. Let’s support our neighbors who reclaim cement sections near sidewalk curbs and plant butterflyattracting vegetation. By removing sidewalk cement, water is able to enter the soil, creating additional vegetation which lessens the run-off into the sewers. R.G. Davis 38 ½ year Hill Resident The View Needs You We need writers, editors, and gossip-mongers. We’ll also take artists, cartoon writers, and photographers. We’ll even consider poets. Little, if any, pay, no benefits, but plenty of love. Contact Steven Moss at editor@potreroview.net THE POTRERO VIEW JULY 2007
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July 2007 - The Potrero View

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