Details: Upper Noe Valley Rec Center

Judging by the amount of people who find us because they're searching for information on the Upper Noe Rec Center, people are having a hard time getting it. Some squatter is sitting on noevalleyreccenter.com and there's no info there. [see update below] And following any other link from Google doesn't help either - information about the Rec Center is buried. Friends of the Noe Valley Rec Center's site hasn't been updated in months.

Apparently the City wants you to enjoy your parks. They just don't want to make it easy to find out how. So we did some researching, and here's what we found out.

The current Open Gym schedule:

Monday: 7-9pm
Tue, Wed, Fri: 1-4:30pm
Thursday: 1-3pm

Kid's Open Gym is Monday-Friday from 10-11:30am.

For all other activities and facilities, families are required to sign up through the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (here's a searchable activities schedule). The park gates and bathrooms are open during daylight hours - as are the field and playground.

Of course, the schedule "will vary and [is] subject to change." For that reason, it's a good idea to call (415) 970-8061 for up-to-date information.

And yes - the sandbox has re-opened.

Upper Noe Valley Rec Center
295 Day St
Between Church & Sanchez, Day & 30th Streets
(415) 970-8061
Online Activities Schedule

Update (12/15/08): An official website has launched, but there's not much there yet. "Additionally, we are revamping our web site to be a better conduit for information to and from you and Rec and Park. So, again, check back soon for more updates."

[Official Site: Noe Valley Rec Center]
[NVSF: Upper Noe Valley Rec Center ... Finally!]
[NVSF: Reader Inquiry: Upper Noe Rec Sandbox is Closed?]

SF GreaseCycle

Either the publicity was bad or we were oblivious, but this weekend was a "Used Cooking Oil Drop-Off" event in San Francisco. Missed it, but learned about a cool program. (Maybe next time.) Turns out that putting used cooking oil down the drain is worse than we thought (check out the pic). No matter how much hot water you send after it it'll harden eventually. San Francisco spends $3.5M every year to clean out clogged sewers.

SF GreaseCycle is a program sponsored by the SFPUC to "create a waste vegetable oil (WVO) recovery program that diverts Fats, Oils & Grease (FOG) out of the trash, away from the sewer and eventually...into fuel." Sounds cool - we've been wondering how to get rid of all that fried-chicken oil.

Here's how it works: residents can put waste oil in the trash or green bin, or save it in jars for drop-off events. Restaurants can arrange for FREE pickup of waste oil. The oil is then filtered and sold to a biofuel plant. The City saves money on sewer cleaning and gains money from the sale. Businesses save money due to plumbing repairs and waste disposal (and avoid being shutdown by the Health Department). Everyone wins when we decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.

Here's a list of Noe Valley restaurants that participate: AmberJack Sushi, Basso's, Casa Mexicana, Noe Valley Deli & Cafe, and Regent Thai. We think there are a few more fryer-intensive places that should be on the list: Firefly, Fresca, Eric's, Alice's, Tung Sing, Mi Lindo Yucatan, Bell Market's deli, and many more we can't think of offhand. Let them know about GreaseCycle when you visit them next.

[SF GreaseCycle]
[NVSF: Tung Sing: Shut Down by Health Department]

Noe Valley Loves It Some Pie!

Twitter user noaml: "Noe Valley bakery made 1200 pumpkin pies. 550 were preordered."

Happy Thanksgiving, Noe Valley!

[Photo: chavakn]
[Twitter: Noe Valley]

Noe Valley Bakery Owners to Spend More Time in Noe

Mary Gassen was looking forward to the holiday season for several reasons, one of which was to load up her Mill Valley store with colorful Christmas candies. Instead, Gassen is packing up the ice cream, cookies, candies and cupcakes she sold at Lollipops. On Nov. 18, Gassen closed the sweets shop at 417 Miller Ave. she opened with her husband, Michael, in July.

"It just wasn't busy enough. We gave it a good try," says the Mill Valley resident. "It was a big risk we took. We never even got to where we wanted to, to have toys and books and comic books, a fun explosion of things."

Gassen's not sure why the store didn't take off, but doesn't discount what's happening with the economy in general. "We've never owned a business in Marin before, so I have nothing to compare it to," she says.

The couple also owns the 14-year-old Noe Valley Bakery in San Francisco, which, she says, is doing great.

Sorry to hear it, NVB Family, but glad to have you back in Noe.

[Marin IJ: Tidbits (via Eater SF)]

How Well Do You Know Your Dog Walker, Noe Valley?

Sanchez St. / Clipper St.

Dog Walker

You walk 6 big dogs at a time. But you only do half your job. Obviously that is too many dogs for you to manage. I've seen dogs pooping as you keep on walking. So you leave a trail of dog sh*t turds behind you. Why don't you keep your dog walking to 24th Street? 24th Street is power-washed once a week.

Next step: the poster should take these flyers and follow the dogs to their homes. Leave them in the mailbox.

Noe Valley Library Wins Preservation Award

Historic Noe Valley Library Receives Preservation Award

The San Francisco Public Library, the Department of Public Works and the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library received the 2008 Governor's Historic Preservation Award on Friday for their efforts to restore the Noe Valley Branch Library.

The 1916 Carnegie landmark library, which reopened to the public in March, underwent an extensive renovation that included repair of an ornamental ceiling, cleaning of a brick and terra cotta facade, new lighting, and refinishing of tables, chairs and shelving.

"The city is proud to be recognized for the diligent and careful restoration work that went into this beautiful and significant branch," city librarian Luis Herrera said.

The Noe Valley Library is located at 451 Jersey St.

[Noe Valley / Sally Brunn Branch Library]
[CBS5: Local Wire]

For Sale: Noe Valley Liquor Store

From the listing:

Newly Remodeled Liquor Store with Low Rent. Looks nice and in great residential neighborhood with well established customer base. Sells Beer, Wine, Liquor, Grocery, and some Produce items. Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment included but not the inventory.

Since: 1900
Current Ownership: Early 2008
Gross: $35,000(Approximate Average Monthly)
Lease: 4 years left+5 years may be possible.
Rent: $1,500.
Employees: 1
Open: 7 days each week.

So... Recent remodel, recent change of owner. "4 years left" means it couldn't be Vetran's Liquor, and "1" employee knocks out most stores we can think of. Any guesses?

[BizQuest: Official Listing]
[NVSF: Update: Outer Church Street]

Doorstep Menus: Bombay Indian Restaurant

San Francisco restaurants are required to post inspection scores where patrons can see them. But not all restaurants cater to eat-in customers - they do most of their business as take-out or delivery. Here we report inspection scores for restaurants leaving menus on Noe Valley doorsteps. We'll update the post for each eatery as new information becomes available.

Name: Bombay Indian Restaurant
Address: 2217 Market Street

Current Score: 94/100 (April 2009)

High Risk: none
Moderate Risk: Foods not separated or protected
Low Risk:VERMIN - Rodents/Roaches/Flies

Previous Inspections:

July, 2008: 100/100
January, 2008: 90/100
July, 2007: 90/100
December, 2006: 91/100

Getting a doorstep menu that we're not? Send us a picture of the menu and we'll post about it.

[Health Code: SB 180]
[SFDPH Scores: Environmental Health]
[Clean Scores: Bombay Indian Restaurant]
[NVSF: All Doorstep Menu Posts]

PSA: Public Hearing - Tree Removal

Those trees (not) coming down on 24th St? Noe Valley is not happy:

TREE REMOVAL HEARING NOTICE

The Director of Public Works will hold a public hearing on Monday, November 24, 2008 commencing at 5:30pm in Room 416 of City Hall, located at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francsico to Consider the following:

Removal and replacement of three (3) privately maintained Eucalyptus trees at 4055 24th St.

Staff has denied the removal of one tree, the applicant has protested.
Staff has approved the removal of the two remaining trees, the public has protested.

Interested parties are encouraged to attend. Persons unable to attend the public hearing may submit written comments regarding the subject matter to the Bureau of Urban Forestry, 2323 Cesar Chavez Street, San Francisco, CA 94124. These comments will be brought to the attention of the hearing officer and made a part of the official public record.

Further information, if desired, on this matter may be obtained prior to the hearing by phoning the Bureau of Urban Forestry at (415)641-2676.

[NVSF: Noe Valley Trees: Two Get the Axe]
[NVSF: More Noe Valley Trees Get The Axe]

Opening: The Jewelry Box

After 22 years in Noe Valley, Yvette Chamberland closed Rose Quartz jewelry in September and moved to Oakland. Reason? "The landlord wouldn't renew my lease, so I was forced to relocate." Presumably the landlord was raising the rent because they don't seem to object to jewelry stores.

Enter The Jewelry Box. 3904 24th St (between Noe St & Sanchez St). Open now, and (natch) having a sale.

Can't confirm what the deal was with the landlord, but we're very happy it's a jewelry store and not yet another storefront with a "Nails/Waxing" neon sign.

[NVV: Rumors, September 2008]

Opening: Cary Lane

Cary LaScala has let us know that Cary Lane will open the day after Thanksgiving in the old Noe Valley Natural Foods space. You'll recall that Cary Lane will stock "both Men's and Women's designer clothes, shoes, and accessories at a discount."

What: Cary Lane
Where: 3813 24th St (@ Church St)
When: Friday November 28, 2008
Hours: TBD, but likely 12-8pm

[NVSF: NV Natural Foods --> Cary Lane SF]
[Official Site: Cary Lane]

Crime Beat: Grifters

Information is from Mission and Ingleside District San Francisco Police Station newsletters.

Every now and then we see things on the police newsletters that leave us speechless:

November 18

A 69 year old Sunnyside woman was approached outside a church by another woman who showed her a lottery ticket and explained that she could not cash it because of her citizenship. A man joined the women and made a phone call to another person who explained to the first woman that anyone could redeem the prize ($265,000) if they produced the ticket with $50,000 because the lottery was overseas. The pair accompanied the Sunnyside woman to her bank where she took $50,000 from her account. The pair then distracted the woman and absconded with her money.

Contrast that to the only Noe Valley report in this edition:

200 block of Duncan St. Theft: residential parking permit taken from car (occurred in October)

Not So Integrated

Integral Counseling Center

Let's face it: decent office space is hard to find in Noe Valley.

Food Labeling: Not Just for Packaged Food Anymore

Back in May, the SF Supervisors approved a measure "that requires chain restaurants to post nutrition information on their menus." The idea is that if people actually know what's in their food they won't eat it. And they'll be skinny. So look for that (probably scary) info soon at In & Out, McDonald's, Pinkberry, etc.

But what does that info do if you have nothing to compare it to? Does anyone really understand recommended daily allowances (or even what that means)? This week, Church Produce (Church/30th St.) labeled it's bulk produce, ostensibly to show us how healthy their food is.

So just for kicks, let's compare a couple basic carb foods:

McDonald' French Fries (Medium, 4.1 ounces)

Carbs: 380g
Protein: 4g
Fat: 19g
Sodium: 270mg
Other good stuff: Vit A (0% Daily Value), Vit C (15%), Calcium (2%), Iron (6%)

Butternut Squash (1/2 cup, 4 ounces):

Carbs: 14g
Protein: 1g
Fat: 0g
Sodium: 0mg
Other good stuff: Vit A (260% Daily Value), Vit C (40%), Calcium (6%), Iron (1%), Potassium (420mg)

Duh. We all know squash is healthier than french fries. But it is nice to have the info posted for all foods at the grocery store. Good job, Church Produce! Let's just hope we don't see it in every restaurant on every menu. That would be annoying.

Speaking of... the ordinance requires that all chains with more than 20 stores post info. Best we can tell, that means that Pomodoro and Starbucks are the only chains in Noe Valley that will have nutrition info posted. Do we have that right? Any guesses how many restaurants in the Castro or on Chestnut St. will have to comply...?

[SFGate: S.F. Supes Require Posting of Nutrition Info]
[McDonald's: Nutrition Facts]

Forget Whole Foods - Noe Needs a Parking Lot

At least that's what some commenters over at The Front Steps would have you believe. They seem to think that the only way to keep Noe Valley vibrant and a "charming little neighborhood" is to tear down Bell Market and pave it over so that more people can drive here and shop. Given that the Noe Valley Merchants Association has long fought for more parking, we're going to go ahead and postulate that they are behind the campaign to keep Whole Foods far away from here. They're not against Whole Foods - they just don't want it in our back yard. A parking lot would be better.

Also claimed: Whole Foods is evil because they are a large chain store. Good thing we don't have any of those here.

So what do you think? Should Noe Valley lobby for a parking lot in the middle of the strip? (We could be just like Burlingame.) How 'bout we make 24th St. a pedestrian and bike mall?

Update: An NVPMA board member let us know that they are not organizing this campaign at this time: "While I don't believe that we've taken an official position on Whole Foods, the general consensus among the NVMPA board and members seems to be that Whole Foods' arrival is, to borrow Martha's line, a Good Thing."

[The Front Steps: Battle Royale: Cole Valley Vs. Noe Valley]

This Week at the Planning Commission

A weekly look at Noe Valley projects in front of the Planning Commission. Information is provided by the Planning Commission, and taken from its published agenda. All hearings begin at 1:30pm, Room 400 in City Hall.


November 20, 2008

440 29TH STREET - north side between Sanchez and Noe Streets, Lot 014 in Assessor's Block 6620 - Mandatory Discretionary Review under the Planning Commission's policy requiring review of residential demolition, of Demolition Permit Application No. 2006.0915.2416 proposing to demolish a two-story, single-family dwelling located in an RH-2 (Residential, House, Two-Family) District and a 40-X Height and Bulk District.

Preliminary Recommendation: Do not take Discretionary Review and approve the demolition.

440 29TH STREET - north side between Sanchez and Noe Streets, Lot 014 in Assessor's Block 6620 - Mandatory Discretionary Review under the Planning Commission's policy requiring review of the construction of new residential buildings in association with residential demolition, of Building Permit Application No. 2006.0915.2421, proposing to construct a new two-family dwelling on the subject lot, located in an RH-2 (Residential, House, Two-Family) District and a 40-X Height and Bulk District.

Preliminary Recommendation: Take Discretionary Review and recommend revisions to the proposed new construction.

Blight: Real Foods

A group we're going to call Evil Vitamins (since they don't self-identify, and regardless of the familiar artwork) has posted this flyer all over Noe Valley calling for action regarding the old Real Foods location at 3939 24th St:

5 Years Later - Real Foods is Still Empty!

After 5 years, it's time for the nighborhood to take back the Real Foods space!

Nutraceutical, the owner of Real Foods is not a good neighbor. Here's why:

• Lost 2 lawsuits for illegal labor practices
• Refused to meet with neighborhood groups
  
• Loss of large store hurts entire neighborhood

Here's how you can help:

1. Sign up for our mailing list (send email to evilvitamins@gmail.com)
   
2. Volunteer to help (1-2 hours max)
   
3. Boycott Nutraceutical Vitamins (Solaray, Veglife)

We agree - Nutraceutical has not been a good neighbor. That space has been empty for too long. They should give up their lease, and then Whole Foods should open a Wine, Cheese and Specialty Foods Annex to complement the store opening next fall across the street in the Bell Market space.

Have at it Noe Valley - make your voice heard. How do you think this space should be used?

[NVSF: NVV: We Read It So You Don't Have To]

Update: Noe Valley Voted

We were surprised to report on November 5th, that only 55% of Noe Valley residents voted this year. As the Vote by Mail ballots are counted, though, the picture becomes more clear:

Registered: 16,582
Ballots Cast: 14,223
Turnout: 85.8% (Citywide: 78.5%)
Election Day Reporting: 7,735
Vote by Mail / Absentee Reporting: 6,488 (45.6%) (Citywide: 46.4%)

The Castro is the only neighborhood that turned out in higher numbers (86.3%).

We'll post analysis of how Noe Valley voted after the results are certified in early December.

[SF Dept of Elections: Neighborhood Statistics]
[NVSF: Noe Valley Voted]

Street Art: Crosswalks

Of course pedestrian safety is paramount, and the Noe Valley Association was right to spend money improving the crosswalks at Castro & 24th St. But instead of a seizure-inducing brick pattern, imagine what kind of attention-getting crosswalk we could have had.

[WebUrbanist: The (Literal) ‘Street Art’ of Pedestrian Crosswalks (via Curbed)]

Henry's Hunan: Opening November 22

According to the hand-lettered sign in the window, Jeff & Eddie's Henry's Hunan (quite the mouthful) will open on November 22. Just in time for Thanksgiving.


[NVSF: Update: Outer Church Street]
[NVSF: Jeff and Eddie's Hunan?]

Hot Properties: The $5M Club

In October 2005, the most expensive single-family residence ever sold in Noe Valley went for $5.3M to a former Google employee. The house at 526 Duncan St. was even referred to as The House That Google Built by The Noe Valley Voice. Google's share price at the time? About $300 and climbing.

Well that record price has been broken. With an asking price of $6,250,000, 625 Duncan St. recently closed for just a bit under $6M after only...ahem...zero days on the MLS. [EDIT: other sites have disclosed that this house closed for $5.818M] That's way over $1000/sf! No word on who bought it, but with all the speculation on real estate sites that Google is driving Noe's home prices it's worth noting that GOOG is currently $312/share after topping out over $700. (If you'd like to know the exact selling price of this and other properties, sign up for updates on San Francisco Schtuff.)

If Google is driving the high-end of the real estate market, and the stock keeps recovering, then perhaps 3816 22nd St. still has a chance of setting an even higher record. Will it break that $6M barrier...?

But seriously... is Google driving Noe Valley home prices? We don't think so, but would love to hear your opinions.

[MLS: 625 Duncan St]
[MLS: 3816 22nd St]
[NVSF: Hot Properties: Reduced]

Noe Valley, SF: Who Are We?

We've received some emails asking us who we are, and when this comment popped up today we decided to address it directly in a post of it's own:

Are you editors here anonymous? I don't see your names or contact information, but maybe I'm missing it? I'm hoping there's no anonymity, especially given the mission statement here about knowing your neighbors. And can you please explain the stream of advertisements on the right hand column of the blog? Why are they there? Are you editors being paid to have those there?

Simply put: yes, we are anonymous. We are not journalists, but rather residents of Noe Valley who care about keeping the neighborhood informed. At this time we feel that we can write about news in the neighborhood better if we blend in.

Yes, those are ads. Please click on them if you like what you see here (we don't receive any revenue unless readers click the ads).

We hope that reading this blog helps you learn more about your neighborhood and neighbors even if you don't know the names of the writers. And we welcome your suggestions for future content. If you'd like to contact us directly our email address is on the left side of the screen.

Editors
Noe Valley, SF

[NVSF: Mission Statement]

Contigo: Upside Down, Backwards & Hopeful

Brett Emerson reports that there have been a few snags since he last updated In Praise of Sardines last month. Fridge units, plumbing and HVAC were installed/configured incorrectly and Contigo needs surgery to fix them.

Can he fix it? Yes he can. But it looks like Noe Valley will have to wait a couple more months for Contigo. If you'd like to share in Brett's day-to-day trials check out his Twitter feed.

Update 11/13: Contigo passed all inspections today. Wow! Stay tuned.

[IPOS: Behind the paper: upside down and backwards]
[NVSF: Contigo: "Coming Soon"]

Noe Valley Real Estate: Still Rising?

There's been a lot of chatter on the blogs today about yesterday's Chronicle article on Bay Area home prices (as well as in the comments on SFGate). The article claims that while home prices around the Bay are declining, Noe Valley is still rising:

One of the few standouts was the 94114 ZIP in San Francisco, home of Noe Valley, where houses go for well over a million dollars, designer strollers clog the sidewalks, posh shops peddle handmade ethnic tchotchkes, and the Google bus regularly cruises the streets.

But even that ZIP didn't enjoy the double-digit appreciation that became de rigueur during the real estate boom. Instead Noe Valley prices were up 6.8 percent year over year, from $893 a square foot to $954.

Socketsite (rightly) turned this into an argument about what constitutes appreciation. But the commenters on Curbed SF get to what we think is the major flaw of the argument about whether Noe is hot or not: 94114 does not make up Noe Valley and only Noe Valley. We'd like to see better analysis using real estate districs - Noe Valley is District 5C and includes 94114, 94131 and even a little bit of 94110. Because without that data, this article tells us nothing about where we live.

Lacking that information, let's take a snapshot of the current market. As we've done in the past, here's what's happened to pricing of existing listings in the last week. Please note that the original price is just that - prices may have changed many times since originally listed (up and down).

Address	Original	Now	Difference
76 Homestead	$2,150,000	$1,950,000	-$200,000
931 Elizabeth	$2,595,000	$1,939,000	-$656,000
619 28th St	$899,000	$829,000	-$70,000
4338 Cesar Chavez	$2,195,000	$1,995,000	-$200,000
579 28th St	$1,049,000	$979,000	-$70,000
363 Jersey St	$1,350,000	$1,249,000	-$101,000

Again, these are listing prices - not actual selling prices. But if nothing else, the data suggest that realtors haven't figured out where this market is going. Either the buyers aren't out there, or they're waiting for prices to come down.

Unless, of course, there's more data from the MLS showing actual selling prices on the rise. Can anyone out there add recent selling data to the mix?

[NVSF: Where is Noe Valley?]
[NVSF: Changes in the Noe Valley Housing Market (10/9/08)]
[SFGate: Home prices down in 90% of Bay Area ZIP codes]
[SocketSite: Don’t Confuse Average Prices And Appreciation]
[Curbed SF: Morning Mortgage Meltdown: Noe Wins]

NVV: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year, and while we love the idea -- it's pretty lightweight. Here's everything you want to know from the latest issue.

November 2008

• Economy: Doom & gloom; everyone is tucking in. Merchants asking for your support.
• Planned: Whole Foods is taking over Bell Market in February and will be closed for about 6 months to remodel existing space; Nutraceutical Corp. is lying about making any progress on the Real Foods space; Noe Bagel building will be restored to original facade plus one floor.
• Opening: Omnivore Books, Contigo, Noe Soup, Joe & Eddie's Henry's Hunan.
• Closing: Streetlight Records (January 31), Noe Valley Video, Kookez (no one is talking about what's to come of the space), Vetran's Liquors (lost lease).
• Events: Noel Valley Stroll - Dec 13 (more here later); Harvest Fest: 8,000 people, cost $28k, raised $4k for next year, will expand westward next year.
• Cost of living in Noe: Coming down - October was the first month in two years that a single-family home didn't sell for more than $2M; rents are still up.
• Rumors: 22nd St Residents are complaining about tickets for parking in their driveways; the trees coming down on 24th St have a hearing at City Hall on November 19 due to protest.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

Update: Outer Church Street

Here's an update from Upper Noe Valley:

1767 Church St: Formerly the Church St Apothecary, they have reopened as 1767 Church St, and carry women's & children's clothing, cards, kids books, soaps, candles, housewares and art. Open 11-7 M-Sat, Sun 11-5.



Jeff & Eddie's Hunan: The interior looks ready, the sign is up. The liquor license? Pending.






Vetran's Liquors: In September they were selling their neon signs and now they're closed. No idea what's going on, but they had a change of ownership this summer. Anyone know what's going into 1710 Church St?



Drewes Bros: They're taking thanksgiving turkey orders online.

Upper Noe Rec Center: The sandbox is open.


[NVSF: The Church St Apothecary to Reopen]
[NVSF: Signs of the Times]
[NVSF: Jeff and Eddies Hunan?]
[NVSF: Upper Noe Rec Sandbox is Closed?]
[Official Site: 1767 Church St / Doe]

Crime Beat

Information is from Mission and Ingleside District San Francisco Police Station newsletters.

Most of the information we receive that pertains to Noe Valley comes from the Ingleside Station. This report from the Mission Station is unusual in that there is a lot in here about Noe. It's also worth noting just how busy they have been:

Over the past couple of months, the Mission District has hosted several large events involving thousands of attendees. The last two weeks of October were very busy planning and organizing the Red Bull Soapbox Derby which drew approximately 100,000 persons, the “Milk” movie premier at the Castro Theater, Halloween, Dia de las Muertes Parade, and Election Day events.

Here are the recent reports from the Mission Station:

October 30

Burglary, Apartment, Forcible Entry - 500 block of Elizabeth Street. 0809hrs. The victim returned to her house and discovered that there was an open side door to her home. She called police who searched for a suspect to no avail. The suspect took jewelry and checks. No arrests made at this time.

Theft from locked vehicle >$400 - 4000 block of 25th Street. 1830hrs. The victim parked and locked the vehicle. When the victim returned to the vehicle, the window had been smashed and her laptop and notebook had been taken by the suspect. No arrest made at this time.

Malicious Mischief, Vandalism to Property - 900 block of Noe Street. 2345hrs. The suspect struck a front door handle with an unknown object, causing visible dents and scratching to it. The door security was not jeopardized and therefore the suspect did not gain entry to the apartment building.

Burglary Apartment, Forcible Entry - 1000 block of Noe Street. 2345hrs. Resident of an apartment building walked outside and noticed that the front gate had been pryed and was broken. The side door to the apartment also had a bent door handle. No suspect was seen by the resident. No arrest made at this time.

Finally, it's worth relating this from the 'edge' of Noe Valley:

In the early evening of November 2, 2008, two armed street robberies occurred in the Mission District. The first took place at 19th & Lexington Streets and shortly thereafter the second occurred at 26th and Valencia Streets. The violent robbers, armed with a handgun and wearing masks forced the victims to the ground and forcibly removed their valuables. The robbers fled in a vehicle before the crime could be reported to police. Alert victims contacted 911 and police officers responded and quickly obtained valuable information about the suspects and their vehicle. Moments later, Officers Austria and Ramos observed a vehicle matching the suspect’s and with the assistance of other Mission and Ingleside Station officers, placed five dangerous suspects into custody.

Doorstep Menus: Wild Pepper

San Francisco restaurants are required to post inspection scores where patrons can see them. But not all restaurants cater to eat-in customers - they do most of their business as take-out or delivery. Here we report inspection scores for restaurants leaving menus on Noe Valley doorsteps. We'll update the post for each eatery as new information becomes available.

Name: Wild Pepper
Address: 3601 26th Street

Current Score: 78/100 (October 30)


High Risk: Rodents/Roaches/Flies/Other Animals
Moderate Risk: Food in poor condition/unsafe/adulterated
Low Risk: Improper Food Storage/Improper Container ID; Floors, Walls, Ceilings Improperly constructed, in disrepair, not clean; Thermometers Required

Previous Inspections:

December, 2007: 62/100
August 2006: 51/100
February 2006: 88/100
June, 2005: 87/100

Getting a doorstep menu that we're not? Send us a picture of the menu and we'll post about it.

[Health Code: SB 180]
[SFDPH Scores: Environmental Health]
[Clean Scores: Wild Pepper]
[NVSF: All Doorstep Menu Posts]

More Noe Valley Trees Get The Axe

We noted last month that two large trees on 24th St are coming down. Now we read that many trees in Noe Valley are scheduled for removal:

Within the past several weeks, notices from the City have been taped up all along 24th and some nearby streets alerting residents that mature trees are being chopped down. The three old eucalypts [sic] between the Radio Shack and Le Zinc for instance. And the towering trees outside Bacco and Pasta Gina. And at the corner near Pomodoro.

What's left? Lots of little trees planted last year.

Want to know more? Got something to say? Call the Bureau of Urban Forestry at (415)641-2674.

[Queeristan: Trees-y-come, trees-y-go in Noe?]
[NVSF: Noe Valley Trees: Two Get the Axe]
[NVV: Tree Cheers]

Crime Beat

Information is from Mission and Ingleside District San Francisco Police Station newsletters.

November 3

Home Invasion Robbery - 300 block of 27th St. 3:30pm. A 64 year old man arranged over the Internet to meet another man in order to perform chores. The second man arrived with an accomplice and the two overpowered the victim and stole a safe from the home. The pair fled on foot. The first robber was described as a black male, 30 to 40 years old, 6' tall, 200 pounds, wearing dark clothing. The second robber was described as a white male with the same physical description.

Armed Robbery: Gun - 200 block of 30th St. Midnight. A 33 year old Mission Terrace man left work and was approached by four men. One man produced a handgun and the other three men rifled the victim's pockets, taking his belongings. The perpetrators fled in a grey four door Japanese car. The gunman was described as a Latin male, 18 to 20 years old, 5'8" tall, 160 pounds, short black hair, wearing a black jacket, white t-shirt, and blue jeans. He was carrying a silver handgun.

Omnivore Books Opens This Weekend

From the Press Release:

Please join us to celebrate the opening of Omnivore Books on Food, San Francisco's first culinary bookshop: Saturday, Nov. 8, 11am - 6pm. An extravagant spread of Boccalone charcuterie will be served, with red wine to wash it down. We would be honored to have you there!

What: Grand Opening
Where: Omnivore Books, 3885A Cesar Chavez St.
When: Saturday November 8, 11am - 6pm
Bonus: Free wine and Boccalone charcuterie

[Official Site: Omnivore Books]
[NVSF: Opening: Omnivore Books]

Noe Valley Voted

We will report on full election results when they're finalized in early December, but for now here's a look at how many people in Noe Valley voted.


Registered: 16,582
Ballots Cast: 9,096
Turnout: 54.85% (Citywide: 49.79%)
Election Day Reporting: 7,479
Vote by Mail / Absentee Reporting: 1,617 (21%) (Citywide: 24%)

Celebrate: Election 2008

Voting in Noe Valley

This was the scene at a polling station on Duncan this morning at 7:15am. We can't remember ever seeing a line at this location.

Contrast that with the polling place at Bethany on Clipper - still not open at 7:30am and people walking away. Just like every election. Why are the people who run this location permitted to mess with people's schedule on every voting day? They're an excellent reason to vote by mail...

Oops. See comments.

Vote Today

When Modern Was / Church St

1266 Dolores St.

Most development in Noe Valley seems to begin and finish very quickly. But for almost a year, construction at 1266 Dolores St (actually two buildings) has been halted. We're trying to figure out what's going on. Here's what we've found at the DBI's website:

Permit #200508261391 issued on 3/3/06 to "ERECT ONE 4-STORY, TYPE 5, 3 FAMILY DWELLING UNITS, RESIDENTIAL BUILDING. Cost: $825,000.00"

Various complaints since then:

May 23, 2006: "Filthy job site, dust and dirt everywhere. 2 inch thick, over 40ft long. Needs to be cleaned." Status: abated.

May 24, 2006: "Deep excavation less than 5 ft. going on and the excavation company doing the work has no license. There is a ccident happen plywood blew out into sidewalk and the old lady was seriously injured. Please check ASAP." Status: abated.

August 2, 2006: "Demolition not remodeling, and a bar can hit someone if it'll be to windy." Status: abated.

November 22, 2006: "Work w/out a permit; unsafe bldg." Status: First Notice of Violation Sent (NOV) 11/22.

March 9, 2007: "THE WORK AT 1266-B DOLORES STREET HAS EXCEEDED THE SCOPE OF DEMOLITION AT REAR 25' FT." Status: open.

March 27, 2007: "NEW CONSTRUCTION HAS CAUSED DAMAGE TO NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY AT 1272 DOLORES ST." Status: open.

April 24, 2007: "TWO BUILDINGS ARE POSSIBLY TRANSGRESSING THE HEIGHT LIMITS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD - PA #200508261391." Status: Referred to Senior Building Inspector.

October 3, 2007: "Additional complaint from Larry Badiner (City Planning) and Mr. Fallman neighbor - Mr. Mather [Ed - Inspector] is preforming complaint investigate re-additional work to rear building." Status: NOV issued.

October 16, 2007: "Additional complaint from Larry Badiner, City Planning and Mr. Fallman neighbor - Mr. Mather is prefoming complaint investigate re-additional work to rear building." Status: followed up, no work performed, abated.

All that to say that the project has been stopped for 13 months. The back of the light-colored building on the right has been open to the elements the whole time, no work has been performed. Oh - and the market may have crashed. The developer can't be happy about any of this.

Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of this project? Is there other information we can't find? Is this a case of an angry neighbor, a "rogue" developer, a planning snafu or a combination of any of these factors?

PSA: Storm Readiness

This from the San Francisco DPW:

Public Works Encourages the Public to Get Storm Ready
Sand Bags Made Available to City Residents

San Francisco, Ca -The Department of Public Works is advising the public to be storm ready this winter. Residents should call 3-1-1 or go to www.sfgov.org/dpw to find storm preparedness information, report downed trees, tree limbs or clogged catch basins; and to get free sandbag information.

DPW offers free sandbags to the public during the winter rainy season to protect property in San Francisco. Sandbag pick up is available at 2323 Cesar Chavez Street, entrance at Kansas and Marin streets. The schedule is Monday through Friday between 7:00 am - 4:00 pm. For after hours and weekends, the public may call 3-1-1 to coordinate a pick up with DPW. Both filled and unfilled sandbags are available at no cost with a limit of 10 sandbags per address. Residents must show a valid ID with a San Francisco residence.

Sanchez / 25th St

Contigo: "Coming Soon"

Eater SF picked up on a new sign in the window of the long-anticipated Contigo restaurant on Castro St. Besides saying "coming soon" the only other new info is an official website. Brett Emerson must be really busy because he hasn't even updated his blog with new info.

Looking forward to an official opening.

[Official Site: Contigo]
[Brett Emerson: In Praise of Sardines]
[Eater SF: Plywood Report]
[NVSF: Contigo: Oh So Close]

And Then ... Winter

Photos: Halloween on 24th St

This wouldn't be a true blog about Noe Valley if we didn't post pictures of kids and dogs in costume. We think it best to stick with G-rated photos, so you'll have to look elsewhere for Slutoween photos. Enjoy.