Update: 24th St Assault Survivors Receive Donations

This from the Fair Oaks Street Group:

On Friday, each of the survivors of last year's 24th Street corridor assaults received greeting cards with notes and messages of support, along with a $4,000 check from a fund established for their benefit by the Fair Oaks Community Coalition. Cards and checks were delivered by the District Attorney's office of Victim Assistance. One of the women, who has been aided since the attack by close friends in Noe Valley, asked those friends to share this message with the community:

Dear Fair Oaks Street Group and Other Generous Donors:

I was so moved by your most heartfelt card, good wishes and generous donations. Indeed, I am feeling better every day. I was both surprised and very happy to receive your many wishes for my recovery and huge amount of financial help. This has been especially important since I have been unable to return to work so far. I hope it will not be long before I am able to go back to work.

I am also very grateful to the paramedics, San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Recovery Center, Kaiser Permanente and to the San Francisco Police detectives who all have helped me to recover and feel safer and less anxious about going out when it gets dark. Thank you so much for everything you have done for me.

Best regards,
Your friend and neighbor from Noe Valley

The Fair Oaks Community Coalition is heartened by the public's generous gifts and good wishes for the survivors. Donations are still being accepted, and will be disbursed to all 3 survivors. Contributions (cash or check) can be made here:

24th Street Survivors Fund
c/o Sterling Bank and Trust
3800 - 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

Crime Beat: Mission Station’s Newsletter Goes Real-Time(ish)

SFPD announced this month that Captain Greg Corrales is retiring and Captain Bob Moser would take over at Mission Station. In addition to congratulations, we suggested that they update the format of the newsletter to include more useful information about crime in the neighborhood. We obviously can’t take all the credit, but we’re pleased to see that the Mission station now has a daily crime blog. Check it out:

Mission Station is moving in a new direction regarding the format of how we deliver the Captain's Newsletter. You can find this week's newsletter by clicking on the link below. The blog format will allow the reader to follow along notable incidents that occur in the district on a daily basis. Please check back as often as you like. This notification will arrive in your in box every two weeks. We thank you in advance for your patience as we transition into this new format and as always your input and feedback is valued and appreciated.

[SFPD: Captain's News]
[Twitter: SFPD_Mission]

Discuss: Electric Car Charging Station Causes Traffic Problems

Parking is once again a top issue in Noe Valley, at least for one reader. The City installed an electric car charging station in Walgreens’ parking lot and not everyone is convinced it’s a good idea.

Curious about your thoughts about the electric vehicle charging station at Walgreens. I exchanged some email with the store manager, but am not sure where things stand. Here are my thoughts:

• Kudos to Walgreens for supporting the environment!
• According to store management, the space is open to all vehicles, electric or not. However, they ask that non-electric vehicles limit their time to 20 minutes (vs. the 60 minutes for other spots).
• There are two problems, however: (1) There is no signage indicating that; and (2) the parking attendants do not seem to direct vehicles to use the spot even when there is a line into the street.
• I suspect some believe it's illegal to park in the space if they don't drive an electric vehicle.
• I asked Walgreens management to add signage to clarify appropriate usage for the space and to instruct the attendants to proactively guide cars to the spot when not otherwise in use. Given the limited parking in Noe Valley an under-utilized space is a bad thing, especially with the traffic and safety issues created by the periodic line onto Castro St.

Thoughts?

The City is installing more than 80 such stations around the City, free for use if you need a top-off. The goal? “Reducing greenhouse emissions.” If the above letter is any indication, that may be tough.

Good luck with taking away car access of any kind in Noe Valley. Close a street to traffic? We know what happened there. Parklets? Negotiated with a net gain in parking spots. Whole Foods? Always a line of stopped traffic on 24th.

Ultimately, the trouble seems to be the number or cars coming into our little village, not the number of spaces available to them.

By the way, Noe Valley’s Walk Score? 86 out of 100 “Very Walkable.”

Photos: Inside The Luxe

Eileen Bermingham toured the new condos at 28th and Church this morning and posted preview photos on her blog. She states a professional photographer was setting up when she left, and that theluxesf.com should have photos soon.

What's not explained is why the developer changed the building's marquis by adding an "e" since the name was chosen for historical significance:

The name "The Lux" for those of you who do not know, was one of the several names of the building when it operated as a movie theater back in the early 1900's.

Whatever. Still classier than "blue church."

[ISSFRE: First Look: The Luxe Condos in Noe Valley]
[NVSF: The Lux Condos Come To Life]
[NVSF: Announced: The Lux Condos On Outer Church]

Closing: Urban Nest

The French country inspired boutique at 3927 24th Street is closing up shop and moving. (Even if you don't shop there, you'll remember it as the store with the twittering birds sounds as you walk by.) A woman behind the register confirmed the store is "probably" moving to Palo Alto - and the retailer needs to be out of the building by the end of the month. Much of the inventory is already gone, and what's left (lots of Christmas stuff) is selling at a 20-40% discount. Unclear what precipitated the move but it feels sudden - and the store's Web site theurbannestsf.com is currently offline.

[Image: Urban Nest on Yelp]

24th St Rape Suspect In Custody

Update (1/9): SFPD has released the booking photo and corrected spelling of the suspect's name: Frederick Dozier.

Update (1/7): Police have identified the alleged rapist as 32 year old San Francisco resident Frederick Dosier. No mugshot yet.

Original Post: 
A news conference this evening by the SFPD confirmed earlier news from Scott Wiener that a suspect in the 24th St / Fair Oaks rape case has been arrested. The suspect is a 32 year-old San Francisco man. Mission Local reports that the police "arrested the suspect at 4:30 pm Friday at the Bernal Dwellings after receiving a tip from a resident. It’s unclear at this time whether the suspect lived there... Police worked with the FBI and Daly City police and followed dozens of leads before making an arrest. They were able to identify the suspect as a person of interest because of DNA evidence." The SFPD is not releasing the suspect's name "due to pending ID issues," but rumors are already circulating on Twitter.

Thanks, everyone, for sending updates.

SFPD Press Release:

San Francisco Police Make Arrest in Sexual Assault Investigations in the Mission District

Posted Date: 1/6/2012

On January 6, 2012, San Francisco Police arrested a 32 year-old male San Francisco resident in connection with two sexual assaults which occurred in San Francisco’s Mission District.

During the first incident, which occurred on June 17, 2011, the female victim had been walking on South Van Ness between 24th and 25th Street when she was approached from behind by the suspect and bear hugged prior to being thrown to the ground. The victim was then dragged approximately 60 feet to an area between a vehicle and a residence where she was sexually assaulted and robbed of her property.

In the second incident which occurred on November 18, 2011, the female victim was also violently attacked from behind along the Mission District 24th Street corridor where she was sexually assaulted and robbed.

With the assistance of a tip from a citizen on the anonymous tip line, investigators from the Special Victims Unit were able to identify a person of interest. This person of interest was later connected to physical evidence located at the scene of these two incidents.

The suspect was charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of robbery related to the two incidents.

The suspect’s name will be released at a later time due to pending ID issues