July 2007 - The Potrero View

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THE POTRERO VIEW JULY 2007 A Grand Opening Photo by Paula Eve Aspin. Jay’s Deli, which offers organic food and beverages, including coffee, tea, wine, and chocolate, as well as heartier fare, opened last month in the space formerly occupied by Klein’s Deli. Pictured above are owners Allan Ransley and Timberly Hughes; in the middle is the new eatery’s namesake, Jay. The Curbside Ethicist Q) Shortly after our Utah Street neighbor renovated their home, graffiti appeared on the exterior of their freshly painted house. The graffiti isn’t vulgar or violent, it’s actually artfully done. I’m pretty sure I know the graffitist: he’s a middle school friend of our son’s, a nice kid, who’s never in trouble, very bright, and who evidently likes to paint--on other people’s houses. Should I tell the neighbors that I know who did this? Should I speak to the boy or to his parents? Do I tell the authorities? A) You have an obligation to talk to your son’s friend. He’s placed himself in an adult situation where, in the eyes of the law, he’s trespassed and vandalized private property. You should let him know that his actions have legal and moral consequences. Help him come up with a solution to the problem. That way he can correct the situation and learn from it rather than being forced to do so by his parents. Q) I live across the street from an elementary school. I also work at home from mid-morning to earlyevening. When the kids arrive at school, I’m usually just waking up, and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the morning atmosphere. At the end of the day, however, it’s a different story. Cars, minivans, and SUVs are stacked two and three cars deep from the sidewalk, often honking to alert or speed up their children. The bus, and the kids at the bus stop, can be quite loud. The pick-up process can last a half-hour or more. During this time period delivery drivers can’t make it to my house, I have difficulty coming and going myself, and the noise disrupts my conference calls, which I need to have at that time of day due the nature of my business. I don’t want to make it difficult for parents to pick-up their children from school but this is a real disruption for me and my work. What should I do? A) This situation is both annoying to you and unsafe for the children. I suggest you contact the school’s principal to discuss the problem. Every school has procedures for student drop-off and pick-up and, most importantly, supervision of students during those times. If the double-parking and noise situation isn’t corrected, you should contact the school’s district office and, ultimately, the police department. The police can monitor the sound pollution you’re experiencing, ensure student safety, and issue warnings or tickets to curb bad behavior. Acting on your concerns may lead to a safer environment for the children. Q) There’s a 40-year-old tree in my Kansas Street backyard that partially blocks the view of my next door neighbor, who’s of more recent vintage. Some of the tree’s branches extend over his yard, but most of it is contained within my yard or the one catty-corner to it, which is vacant. He wants me to trim the tree to improve his view; I’m happy with the way things are. Should I do the trim, and if so, who should pay for it? A) If the tree was already fully grown when the neighbor moved in it would be unreasonable for him to request that you pay to create a view where one didn’t previously exist. If your tree slowly encroached on your neighbor’s view over time, then he’s justified in asking that the tree be trimmed back or feathered to restore the view. In any event you should trim the tree branches that reach over his property line. You could also offer to have a service trim the tree if your neighbor pays for the job as well as the continued upkeep. Q) I’m the upstairs landlord of a very barky dog. The next door neighbor has called the cops several times about the constant yelping. Do I have any responsibility in all this? A)Landlord-tenant relationships can be summed up in one word: contractual. Unless you agreed to take responsibility for the dog in the lease, you have none. What complicates this circumstance is that you live upstairs from your tenant, which makes you neighbors. In this case, I suggest you consider your neighborly obligation towards both your two-footed and four-pawed tenants. A barking dog may be a symptom of an unhappy or anxious dog. Talk to your tenant about ways to alleviate the dog’s barking. You can also direct your tenant to the San Francisco SPCA for no cost advice about how to curb the barking behavior. Q) There’s a slowly decaying vacant house on 19th Street that’s owned by a nearby neighbor. At minimum it would seem to be home to various rodents, and it’s certainly a shame to see wasted space in our tight housing market. What obligation does the owner have to do something with this property? A)If the property is truly rodent infested, then it poses a public health problem and you’d want to notify the San Francisco Department of Public Health/Environmental Services to take action. Otherwise, your neighbor is under no obligation to do anything with the property. However, you can talk to your neighbor about your concerns and find out why the house has fallen under disrepair. If it’s a financial matter where your neighbor can’t afford to make the repairs, you can suggest one of many nonprofit housing agencies that may want to take on a revitalizing project. The Curbside Ethicist is written by a Potrero Hill resident who specializes in solving ethical dilemmas. Readers are encouraged to seek guidance from their own religious or philosophical counselors to solve knotty problems, and are invited to send questions, comments, and disagreements about this column to the View at: editor@potreroview.net.
Late Night Market Keeps San Francisco Fresh Photos by Paula Eve Aspin Built in 1963 and open daily from just after midnight until dawn, the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market provides fresh produce to reataurants and grocers all over the Bay Area, including local favorites Baraka, Chez Maman, Chez Papa, Aperto and The Good Life Grocery. 30 wholesale produce companies, employing 00 employees are situated in the 2 acre facility located at 2101 Jerrold Avenue just south of Caesar Chavez Street. THE POTRERO VIEW JULY 2007 9
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Page 11 and 12: Lia Hillman, Potrero Branch, Acting
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Page 23 and 24: Classified Ads Art and Music PIANO

July 2007 - The Potrero View

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