September 2011 Newsletter

Office Phone: 415-554-6968

Email:  scott.wiener@sfgov.org 

Website:  www.scottwiener.com 

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Community Updates

Fire in Noe Valley and October 6 Benefit for Displaced Tenants

On Saturday September 10, a fire on 24th Street burned out several apartments and displaced the tenants living there. Fortunately, there were no injuries. My office is working to help the tenants find temporary housing. Earlier this year in the wake of the Castro arson spree, I sponsored legislation - the "Good Samaritan" Ordinance - to help displaced tenants get temporary housing while their units are fixed. The legislation passed unanimously and is now in place. I am hopeful that it will make it easier for the tenants to obtain temporary housing.  Click here to read an open letter to the Noe Valley community from one of the tenants displaced by the fire.  

In addition, there will be a benefit for the displaced tenants: 

Thursday, October 6th, 6:00-9:00pm

Valley Tavern, 4054 24th Street

HOW YOU CAN HELP: You can help by contributing to a special benefit account for the victims (Wells Fargo #3191560626). For more information, contact Catherine Bergstrom, noevalleybenefit@gmail.com or call 415-894-2284.

Glen Park Community Plan: Update & Hearings

The Glen Park Community Plan is moving forward.  Since 2002, the Planning Department has worked with residents, merchants and public agencies to develop a community vision for Glen Park.  We're now entering the public hearing phase of the project.  Over the next few months the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors will be considering approval of the Plan. For meeting information, please click here or call 415-575-9069.  Click here for more information 

Update: Church & Duboce Track and Street Improvement Project

As you have likely noticed,the Church & Duboce Track and Street Improvement Project continues. Construction crews will start to reconstruct the curb ramps south of the Church and Market street intersection on Thursday, Sept.15, 2011. The work, including replacing a section of concrete street base directly in front of the new curb ramps, will take approximately six weeks. Work hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. During construction, pedestrian access will be maintained on the sidewalk, street parking close to the job sites will be unavailable, and traffic may be slow since the work will take part of the traffic lane by the curb.

As of Tuesday, Sept. 6, sewer replacement work started on Church Street between Duboce Avenue and Hermann Street. The work is being done by the Department of Public Works (DPW) in conjunction with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Once the sewer work is completed in about four weeks the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will resume water main replacement work on the west side of Church Street between 14th Street and Duboce Avenue. Track replacement work will take place in late October and November, resulting in Muni service re-routes. 

Duboce Park Landmark District Designation

Click here for more information  

Policy Work 

Pedestrian Safety

Having a safe walking environment is one of the most important policy goals for me and for many in the district. There are various problem intersections in the district - for example, 24th and Church, Bosworth and Diamond, the main entrance to the Diamond Heights Safeway, and 16th/Noe/Market - and that list is by no means complete.

Over the past month, two pedestrians have been killed by vehicles in the Castro/Duboce Triangle neighborhood - on August 18, Emily Dunn was struck by a Muni bus at 18th and Hartford, and on September 6, William Cox was struck by a private vehicle at 14th and Noe. On September 13, at my request, the Board of Supervisors adjourned in their memory. Muni's investigation into Ms. Dunn's death is ongoing, and I am looking forward to finding out exactly what happened and how it will be prevented in the future. I have also requested that MTA conduct an assessment of 14th Street from Castro to Church to determine what changes may be needed to enhance pedestrian safety. For some time now, I have been working with neighbors on how to improve the 16th/Noe/Market intersection and how to put together the significant funding to make those changes.

On a positive note, pedestrian safety improvements are underway on Duboce and Church Streets, and improvements to the Bosworth/Diamond intersection should move forward in the near future. I will continue to work with the community and City agencies to make our district and our city better for pedestrians. If you are interested in pedestrian safety issues in Duboce Triangle, please plan on attending the October 17 meeting of the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at CPMC Davies Medical Center. 

Moderate/Middle Income Housing

Housing affordable to moderate and middle income people is critical to the success of our city. Without this housing, the city will become less diverse, will become more stratified as a city of rich and poor, and will suffer economically since lack of affordable workforce housing is a drag on job creation. I recently called for a hearing on what our city government is doing - and what it should be doing - to create more moderate/middle income housing. The hearing has not yet been scheduled, but I anticipate it will occur in October or November. I'll let you know once we have a date and time so that you can participate if you're interested.

Fall Ballot Measures: Propositions B, E, and F

I'm sponsoring three ballot measures this year:

Prop B (streets bond): Prop B is a critical infrastructure bond that will allow for capital work on our roads, bridges, overpasses, and public staircases, as well as pedestrian safety and Muni signal upgrade work. Our roads and other infrastructure have been deteriorating for decades, and Prop B gives us a chance to help remedy that. Click here for more information.

Prop E (ballot measure reform): Our ballot measure system is broken. We have too many ballot measures. Too much is placed on the ballot that could be resolved at City Hall. And, once the voters pass a ballot measure, it is effectively frozen in time, since the Board and Mayor cannot so much as move a comma, no matter how much time has gone by or how circumstances have changed, without going back to the voters with yet another ballot measure. California is the only state in the country that permanently prohibits legislators from amending ballot measures. Prop E is a modest reform that allows, after a certain number of years, changes to be made to ballot ordinances that are placed on the ballot by the Board or Mayor. It doesn't affect voter signature initiatives. Prop E has been endorsed by the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, the Noe Valley Democratic Club, Plan C San Francisco, and San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association (SPUR). Click here and here for the Chronicle and Huffington Post articles about Prop E.

 Click here for more information 

Prop F (political consultant disclosures): Prop F contains amendments to the Policy Consultant Ordinance to increase consultant disclosures. Prop F will increase transparency and improve the ordinance. Prop F is on the ballot because the original ordinance was passed by the voters in the 1990s and the Board thus cannot amend it without going back to the voters.

Scott presents Janie Hendrix a proclamation honoring Jimi Hendrix

Ah, Nudity!!!

You never quite know when a minor piece of legislation is going to go viral. After spending so much of my time working on key issues like Muni, housing, emergency preparedness, taxis, etc., the media decided to obsess on a very minor piece of legislation that I offered - providing some sanitary standards for naked people. In San Francisco, public nudity is more or less legal. An officer can arrest or cite someone only if the person is aroused or if a citizen signs a citizen's arrest. Juries are not keen on convicting people of nudity offenses. There are a lot of views about public nudity and whether it should be banned - and believe me, I've heard each and every one of those diverse opinions in the past few weeks. This legislation does not take on that war, but rather proposes some very common-sense sanitary standards, specifically: (1) if you are naked and sit down on public seating, you have to cover the seating with a towel or similar covering, and (2) you cannot be naked in a restaurant. While the San Francisco press has chosen to sensationalize the issue - one that is a real issue in the Castro - other press, fortunately, have seen the sense in the legislation and have reported it for what it is: common sense, sanitary legislation. Click here for those accounts.

Clipper Card Rollout

The Clipper Card, which I and many of you use daily, is an important regional program to allow people to have one card on all regional transit systems. As a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which administers Clipper, I've been able to learn a lot about the program and to see both its benefits and its challenges. Once fully implemented, Clipper will provide a seamless experience for Bay Area residents. As with any endeavor of this magnitude, there have been glitches, and the rollout has been gradual. But, we're headed in the right direction. Click here for recent coverage in the New York Times.

Dolores Park Renovation

The Dolores Park renovation process is moving forward positively. The playground, which is an independent project, is currently being rebuilt as a more modern, safe, and accessible area. Once completed, it will be a great asset to families in the neighborhood. The renovation of the rest of the park is currently going through a community process. Hundreds of users of the park have worked with Rec & Park staff to come up with a vision for a post-renovation park. I've been an active participant in this process and will continue to work closely with Rec & Park and the community to ensure that this park continues to be a great asset to the city. The next community workshop will be on September 29, 6:30 p.m., at Mission High School. 

Positive changes for Duboce Park, Noe Courts, and Douglass Dog Park

I'm happy to report that these District 8 parks were recently recommended for grants from the Community Opportunity Fund - a fund created by the 2008 parks bond - which allows neighborhood groups to obtain funding for park projects. Noe Courts and Douglass Dog Park are in significant need of upgrading, and neighbors and users of the parks have formed stewardship organizations to ensure that those upgrades happen. Duboce Park, which has already been upgraded, will now be able to move forward with creation of an innovative Youth Play Area for older kids. While young kids have playgrounds and teens have athletic facilities, kids in between often have limited options for play in our parks. The Youth Play Area will provide these older kids with an option.  

Click here for more information  

Street and Park Tree Maintenance

I've made improvement of our City's tree maintenance a top priority. As I discussed in the last newsletter, I was able to get half of the proposed street tree maintenance budget cut restored. But, that's not nearly enough. Click here to take a look at my piece on the subject in the Huffington Post 

Mission Alcohol Special Use District

I'm continuing to advocate for repeal or significant modification of the Mission Alcohol Special Use District. This special zoning, which was adopted almost 20 years ago to stop alcohol blight, has outlived its usefulness and is now threatening the economic vibrancy of the Mission. I wrote an op ed for Beyond Chron on the issue, which you can read by clicking here.

Increase in Taxi Service

Earlier this year, I introduced several resolutions supporting increases to taxi service, which is unacceptably low and unreliable. The resolutions received either unanimous or majority support at the Board. I'm pleased to report that the Municipal Transportation Agency, which now governs taxis, is taking an initial step forward by issuing 85 new taxi permits. We need many more - in the hundreds - and MTA is moving forward with a study to determine how many we actually need. That study will provide the support for expanding our inadequate fleet. I will continue to work with MTA and to hold it accountable to improve taxi service.

AT&T Utility Boxes

In July, I cast a vote on probably the most controversial issue since I've been in office - whether to require a full environmental impact report for AT&T's internet service expansion. Following the vote, I distributed an email explaining my vote in detail. Click here to read it.

Hepatitis C Awareness

Hepatitis C is a growing health problem for our community, so on July 28, I helped the San Francisco Hepatitis C Task Force promote World Hepatitis Day at Castro Station. Click here for more information.

Emalie Huriaux, Scott, and Nina Grossman raise awareness   on World Hepatitis Day

BART Protests and Glen Park BART Station

The BART protests have disrupted many of our lives. The protests have gone too far in various respects, but most recently during the protests, there was significant vandalism at Glen Park BART Station. The vandalism also extended to the neighboring flower stand in the station plaza, owned by Joanne. If you're in the area, consider buying flowers from Joanne to help her out after this terrible incident.

Click here for more information 

Ames Alley Greening Project

Last Friday, I attended a block part on Ames Alley, between Guerrero, Valencia, 22nd, and 23rd Streets. The Alley is being greened by neighbors, with the ultimate goal of having permeable pavement. It's a great project and has helped bring the neighborhood together for a shared goal.

Community Spotlight

Noe Courts  

Monthly Highlight

Noe Courts offers a tennis court and basketball court that are in constant use, a small kids playground and a clean sand pit that parents love.  There is also a grass area for picnics and other activities.  Dog owners may bring their canines here for some fetch and quality time too!  A group of neighbors have come together to improve the park, and my office will continue to support them in that effort. 

Aerial view of the Noe Valley Courts

Upcoming Events to Remember

NERT Training - Eureka Valley/Duboce Triangle

Thursdays, 6:30-9:30pm 

CPMC Davies Campus

North Tower, Auditorium

45 Castro Street

NERT is a free training program for individuals, neighborhood groups and community-based organizations in San Francisco.  Through this program, individuals will learn the basics of personal preparedness and prevention.  The training also includes hands-on disaster skills that will help individuals respond to a personal emergency as well as act as members of a neighborhood response team. 

Class Session 1  September 15

Class Session 2  September 22

Class Session 3  October 6

Class Session 4  October 13

Class Session 5  October 20

Class Session 6  October 27

Neighborhood Drills - five locations citywide

Saturday, October 15 08:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon)

Click here for more information 

14th Annual Friends of Duboce Park Tag Sale

Saturday, September 17th

9:00am-2:00pm

White rental truck, parked close to MUNI stop 

Duboce Avenue & Noe Street

The 14th Annual Friends of Duboce Park Tag Sale is this Saturday, September 17, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. We will begin accepting donations tonightTuesday, and every night this week through Friday from 5:30-7 p.m. at the white rental truck that will be parked in the park near the MUNI stop. You may also bring your donations on Saturday morning, 7:30-9 a.m. All proceeds are used for improvements to Duboce Park. 

Here's a list of items that can be donated: cameras; jewelry; books; videos; CDs; DVDs; clothing; shoes; small appliances (irons, clocks, radios, lamps, etc.); sporting goods; toys; bikes; linens; bedding; drapes; rugs; nice furniture; suitcases; purses; belts; baskets; pictures; decorative items; holiday items; pet supplies; musical instruments; tools; and, kitchen wares. 

Volunteers are still needed on the day of the Tag Sale: to help with set up at 7 a.m.; salespeople for either the 9-11:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. shifts; and, a recycle and breakdown crew from 1-2:30 p.m. Please contact Rozie at  rosegillen@sbcglobal.net or 255-8370 to volunteer. An hour or two of your help makes a big difference and is a great chance to meet your neighbors.  

National Public Lands Day

Saturday, September 24th

9:00am-1:00pm

Joe Lee Recreation Center

1395 Mendell Street

On September 24th, an estimated 180,000 volunteers around the nation will build trails and bridges, pull invasive weeds, plant trees, remove trash and have fun getting back to nature as part of the 18th National Public Lands Day. At the same time, they'll get quite a workout on America's public lands, the gym with a view. Join us for several local projects in the Bayview neighborhood and help do your part for San Francisco's open lands and parks. Projects include: Park beautification, trash pick up, weeding, mulching, playground sand sifting, edging and clearing. Participants will work at Casey Jones Playground, Hilltop Park, Adam Rogers Community Garden,Young Blood Coleman, and Gilman Plaground. Breakfast and Lunch provided. Bring your own bucket, glove and reusable water bottle. Help us cut down our waste the day of. Please contact kimberly.kiefer@sfgov.org to register.

Click here for more information 

Glen Park Elementary School Opening

Saturday, September 24th

11:00am-3:00pm

Glen Park School, Brompton Street Yard 

151 Lippard Avenue 

See Glen Park Elementary's beautifully renewed building, meet the amazing teachers and staff, talk to current parents, and hear about the exciting plans for the schoolyard. There will be children's activities like face painting, crafts, and a hula-hoop contest, live music, food and bake sale, and a raffle with some exciting prizes. 

Abbey Street Block Party 

Saturday, September 24th

1:00-9:00pm

Abbey Street between 17th Street and Chula Lane

Come out to enjoy DJ's and dancing in the streets at the block party that gets bigger every year!  Come have some fun with neighbors and the rest of the block!

Diamond Heights and Glen Park Community Meeting

Saturday, September 24th

4:00-7:00pm

St. Aidan's Church

101 Gold Mine Drive, San Francisco, CA

Join me at the Diamond Heights/Glen Park Quarterly meeting to discuss updates and issues in both Glen Park and Diamond Heights.  Agenda TBD, please contact our office for more information.  Hosted by the Diamond Heights Community Association.  

International Walk to School Day

Wednesday, October 5th

Time TBD 

Fairmount Elementary School

65 Chenery Street, San Francisco

Supervisor Wiener will be joining children and parents for Walk to School Day to walk to Fairmount Elementary.  Walk to School Day celebrates the joy of walking and brings attention to the need to make our communities more safe to walk. This year, San Francisco school assignment has changed, enabling more children to go to schools that are close enough to walk and bike. Also new this year:  15-mile-per-hour zones will be going up around all city schools to help calm traffic. Supervisor Wiener supported these new zones, which Mayor Ed Lee and Walk San Francisco announced last month. Police will be alerting drivers and enforcing the new limits. Drive carefully, and enjoy better walking conditions in your neighborhood!

Scott with Alice B. Toklas Co-Chair Bentrish Satarzadeh at the GLBT History Museum

Community Meeting: Twin Peaks Trail Renovation Project 

Wednesday, October 5th

6:30-8:00pm

Midtown Terrace Clubhouse

Clarendon Street & Olympia Way

The Recreation and Parks Dept will be hosting series of community meetings to discuss future trail restoration improvements to the Twin Peaks Trail.  The trail improvements are funded by the 2008 Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond.  Your opinion is important to us and will help improve the Twin Peaks Trail in a way that is most beneficial to the community. The second meeting will take place on Nov. 5th, same time and location.

A Benefit for the Victims of the Radio Shack Apartment Fire

Thursday, October 6th

6:00-9:00pm

The Valley Tavern

4054 24th Street

As you may know, there was a devastating fire on the 4000 Block of 24th Street on

Saturday, September 10, 2011. Seven residents who lived in the building have been

displaced, most of them having lost everything that they own. They have many needs and perhaps you can donate time, have an apartment to rent to them or can contribute a few household items that they could use. Let's rally together to help them regain their lives. Come meet more of your neighbors. Please show your care for your fellow Noe Valley and San Franciscan neighbors.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: You can help by contributing to a special benefit account for the victims (Wells Fargo #3191560626); and/or by attending a benefit for these fire victims to be held on Thursday, October 6th (6-9pm) at The Valley Tavern (4054 24th Street).

RAFFLE: The raffle will be held during this fundraiser. Raffle Tickets will be sold at The Valley Tavern beginning Saturday, September 17th. There are some fantastic prizes!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Catherine Bergstrom noevalleybenefit@gmail.com or call 415-894-2284 for more information on how to help.

Friends of Duboce Park Volunteer Day

Saturday, October 8th

10:00am-12:00pm

Duboce Park 

Our next volunteer day is Saturday, October 8th, 10 a.m.-noon.  We meet near the bulletin board next to the playground and are supervised by a Rec and Park gardener.  All supplies, tools, and gloves are provided.  30 minutes or an hour of your time makes a big difference in the appearance of our playground and park.  A special thanks to all the neighbors who helped at our August volunteer day.

Contact Rose at rosegillen@sbcglobal.net or 255-8370.

Great Night in Buena Vista Park

Sunday, October 9th

4:00-7:00pm

Buena Vista Park 

This will be fun, fulfilling, and refreshing for all, and a great chance to get out, meet & mingle with your neighbors, and to enjoy Buena Vista Park with others.  You won't want to miss it, so start planning your guest list (this will be fun for all ages) and contents of your picnic basket!

Compassion is Universal - Shanti's 37th Annual Benefit  

Wednesday, October 12th  

5:30-8:30pm

Hotel Nikko

222 Mason Street 

Shanti's community of volunteers and staff provides emotional and practical support to San Francisco's most vulnerable individuals living with life-threatening illness.  Join Shanti for a silent auction and dinner, where net proceeds will be used to support some of the most vulnerable in our community living with breast cancer or HIV/AIDS. These services include education, practical and emotional support. Your help through this event allows Shanti to continue to provide these services to people that would otherwise have no where to turn.   

Click here for more information

7th Annual Noe Valley Harvest Festival

Saturday, October 15th

10:00am-5:00pm

24th Street between Church and Sanchez Streets

Live music & entertainment, pumpkin patch, merchants' hayride, farmers market, kids' and pet's costume contests, face painter, arts and crafts, jumpy tents, raffle.  To volunteer, please email nvhfvolunteers@gmail.com.

Click here for more information  

Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association General Meeting

Monday, October 17th

7:00-9:00pm

CPMC/Davies Hospital, Auditorium (Level B)

Castro Street & Duboce Avenue

The Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association (DTNA) represents residents, businesses and property owners in San Francisco's Duboce Triangle neighborhood, bordered by Market St., Castro St., Divisidero St., Waller St., Webster St. and Duboce Avenue.  Our goal is to protect, maintain and improve our neighborhood quality of life, and ensure that the Duboce Triangle continues to be San Francisco's very best neighborhood in which to live, work and play.

Click here for more information 

Dolores Park Renovation Community Meeting

Date TBD (rescheduled from September 29th)  

6:30pm-8:30pm 

Mission High School, Cafeteria

3750 18th Street 

At the last meeting, over 100 Dolores Park community members gathered to review and revise the first draft of the Mission Dolores Park Rehabilitation Plan.  The draft plan was the first attempt to bring together all the collective planning the community has done at three workshops and over 20 meetings held since May.  Please join the process by attending the upcoming meeting (date TBD).  Please check the link below for updates.

 Click here for more information 

Guests enjoy our open house at City Hall

Fall Classes at the Harvey Milk Center for the Arts 

Harvey Milk Center for the Arts

50 Scott Street

Overlooking beautiful Duboce Park, the Harvey Milk Center for the Recreational Arts is as unique as the Civil Rights leader it was named for. Originally dedicated to the Performing Arts, the builiding, commonly called "Drama, Dance & Music", was headquarters for the Performing Arts Division of the Recreation and Park Department since its construction in 1954. Duboce Park itself, has been a location for arts programming since the early 1920's when the women volunteers of the San Francisco Urban Story League performed puppet shows and storytelling in the park for children.  Click here for a complete list of classes including Hip Hop, Tango, Belly Dancing and Yoga offered at HMCA.

Battle for the Bay: Are you up for the challenge?

Save The Bay has launched a new interactive quiz called Battle for the Bay, where players will be tested on their insider Bay Area trivia knowledge while they work to save San Francisco Bay during the past  50 years. Individual game-players are taken on a historical tour of the Bay Area and asked to fight specific Bay threats and villains, decade by decade, starting when Save The Bay began in the 1960's. Threats and villains include the Santa Fe Railroad and the Rockefellers, as well as raw sewage and garbage dumps.  

For every player, Save The Bay members George Miller and Janet McKinley will donate $1 to Save The Bay, up to $10,000 to provide incentive for players to share the game with their networks, and giving players the opportunity to make a real, meaningful contribution to the Bay. Further, any player who correctly answers the trivia questions in each of the six levels to complete the game will be entered to win an iPad 2. And to promote regional competition, the city with the most game-players will win a Save The Bay-hosted Happy Hour - so players are encouraged to register their city when they play.

Click here to play the game

Join a focus group for the San Francisco Transportation Plan

Upcoming Office Hours

My upcoming office hours are listed below:

Friday, October 7th 

10:00am-12:00pm

San Francisco City Hall, Room 274

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

San Francisco, CA 94102

Saturday, October 8th 

10:00am-12:00pm

 Creighton's Bakery

Diamond Heights Shopping Center

5214E Diamond Heights Boulevard 

San Francisco, CA 94131

*Please check with my office before attending office hours,  

since they occasionally need to be rescheduled.

A big thank-you to our summer interns!