This Week In Noe Valley: Town Square Grant, Foodies Love Our Hood, And Views From The SFMTA Time Machine

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Amazingly, Noe Valley isn’t even in the top 10 for priciest SF neighborhoods for single family homes [Property Shark]
• Cool photo of track curve construction at 30th and Chenery in 1909 [SFMTA]
• More good news and a $559,000 grant for the Noe Valley Town Square [NVTS]
• Your water might be brown and water pressure may suck [SFWater]
• Firefly owner Brad Levy adds more gluten-free options (his daughters have celiac disease) [Inside Scoop]
• Caleb Zigas, discerning foodie and executive director of La Cocina, heaps some love on the uni pasta and baby octopus at La Ciccia [SF Gate]
• Michael Bauer hearts Porcellino's lard-fried potatoes [MB]

[Photo: "Step up your game." @jeremyengels]

This Week In Noe Valley: Pedestrian Mishaps, A Bank Robbery, A Dilapidated “Shack” And Other Local Color

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• 77-year-old man struck and badly injured by a truck in a crosswalk on Dolores at 30th [CBS Local]
• Umpqua bank on 24th St robbed by man in his 40s - he fled on foot and has not been caught  [KRON]
• A dilapidated shack on the border of Glen Park and Noe Valley sells for $1.705 million, $510,000 over asking [Curbed]
• Found SF volunteers will archive two decades' worth of content from local papers – including the Noe Valley Voice [SF Bay Guardian]
• The organist at Holy Innocents Church in Noe Valley is also in Beach Blanket Babylon [Chronicle]
• Now you can order your to-go porky goodness (and salads) online [@PorcellinoSF]
• Decor Galore garage store going out of business on June 28 [@NoeValleySF] 
• The final resting place of some of the original land barons of Noe Valley [SF Weekly]
• Firefly revisited (and re-appreciated) [Inside Scoop]
• A San Francisco sunrise [contegobay]

[Photo: Perfect Friday morning via thatcliffguy]

Summer Fun: Stern Grove Coming to Noe Valley Town Square

The first big event at the new Noe Valley Town Square is coming next weekend and it promises to be pretty great: Stern Grove Festival is celebrating it's 77^th year and hosting a Grove on the Road event at the Noe Valley Town Square on Sunday, June 1^st from 11 am - 3 pm.

There's a full lineup of performers and activities that are free to the public including performances by:

• We Became Owls - 12:00 pm
• Tumbledown House - 12:45 pm
• Meklit - 2:00 pm

There will also be an instrument petting zoo with Magik*Magik Orchestra, an art workshop, and more.

If you want to enjoy some of  Stern Grove's 2014 lineup without venturing into the fog Sunset, this is your chance. For more details you can check out the full Stern Grove schedule here.

This Week At The Planning Commission: New Construction On 27th St

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

May 22, 2014

456 27TH STREET – on the north side of 27th Street between Noe and Sanchez streets; Lot 018 in Assessor’s Block 6580 - Mandatory Discretionary Review, pursuant to Planning Code Section 317(d), of Demolition Permit Application No. 2013.03.11.1908, proposing to demolish a one-story, single-family dwelling in a RH-2 (Residential, House, Two-Family) Zoning District and 40-X Height and Bulk District. This action constitutes the Approval Action for the project for the purposes of CEQA, pursuant to Section 31.04(h) of the San Francisco Administrative Code.

And:

...to construct a three-story, two-family dwelling in a RH-2 (Residential, House, Two-Family) Zoning District and 40-X Height and Bulk District.

Staff Analysis: Full Discretionary Review
Preliminary Recommendation: Do Not Take Discretionary Review and Approve

Purchased in 2012 and occupied by the Project Sponsor since, 456 27th St is a 958sf one bedroom single family home without parking. Appraised at $1.31M in February, the building qualifies for demolition in part because it is not considered affordable housing. The proposed project will include two units - a ground floor 923sf 2BD/1BA and two-car tandem garage, and a 2623sf 3BD/2.5BA unit above.

The Project Sponsor met many times with neighbors and made changes to gain their support.

Primary opposition to the project is from Lorna Murdock, who also represents fellow tenants and owner of the 6 unit apartment building next door. She writes:

I live in 462 27th Street, Apartment 6, San Francisco, 94131. The new building as currently drawn would obstruct my only source of natural light in my living room, which is the southeastern exposure I get from sunrise to sunset through the window off of my building’s courtyard/garage. All other units in 462 27" Street would suffer similarly from the lack of natural light.

Planning Staff have concluded that the existing units will still receive sufficient light. They will lose their views, however.

Update (5/27): The project was approved 6-0 by the Planning Commission as "sensible and sensitive" infill and "well within the Residential Design Guidlines. Video of the hearing here.

[SF Planning: 456 27th St (PDF)]
[Photo: SF Planning]

This Week In Noe Valley: Do-Gooders Walk Among Us, Porky Goodness Reviewed, And The Fairy Doors Return

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• A brush with death on a bike inspires a Noe Valley man to give back to the team that saved his life at SF General [SF Examiner]
• Noe Valley entrepreneur also inspired to give back to health caregivers [HuffPo]
• What $5500 in rent gets you Noe Valley right now (hint: views) [Curbed]
• Porcellino's porchetta is Italian street food at its porkiest [SF Weekly]
• Inside the charming 1950s home of a local art designer [SF Gate]
• Google Maps adds elevations – handy for cross-city bike rides [The Register]
• Muni testing trains with more standing room (they won't come more often but at least you can get on) [SF Streetsblog]
• We live in magical times: The fairy doors are back on 24th St [CBS Local]
• The bowling Fiat spotted at Whole Foods [falkon240]

[Photo: via juliahengel]

This Week in Noe Valley: De-Victorianizing SF, Local Foodie Faves, And Signs of Summer Coming

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Hipsters and techies don't like Victorians [Left Coast Cowboys]
• Inside a stylish house on 25th St. [HomeDSGN]
• A love letter to children’s clothing popup TugTug [SF Girl by Bay]
• A local author's stroll through Noe Valley [corey m.p.]
• Noe Valley stereotype: We wear a a lot of clogs [The Tinja]
• Contigo’s chef Brett Emerson shares some spring recipes [Wall Street Journal]
• David Lebovitz AND 15 years at Noe Valley Pet Co  + 15 years ago awesome [@omnivorebooks and NV Bakery]
• La Ciccia once again on the bay’s Top 100 restaurants list [SF Chronicle]
• Endless summer dreaming [wbsurflessons]

[Photo: via daryldorko]

Joshua Simon To Close Sooner Than Later

As was first reported in the April Noe Valley Voice Rumors section, Joshua Simon is closing after 35 years on 24th St. The owners decided to retire and listed the business for sale, and the expected closing date was the end of June. But with all inventory now 25% off and rapidly dwindling, the (teary) staff said they will likely close in the next few weeks if not sooner.

Joshua Simon was featured briefly in Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City (along with other local merchants) and first broadcast 21 years ago. The Joshua Simon awning looked almost exactly then as it does today ... end of an era.

Here's the Tales of the City clip - skip to 2:48 for the setup and scene featuring Christmas on 24th St:

NVV May 2014: We Read It So You Don't Have To

The Noe Valley Voice is published ten times a year and has been a neighborhood fixture since 1977. Here are notable highlights from the latest issue. Links are to stories we've covered here on NVSF or other resources. Follow the NVV link at the bottom for full articles and all the ads.

May 2014

Front Page: Helpful neighbors come together to rescue a Philz patron's keys from the sewer; City Planners propose a combined tennis/basketball court with room for a dog-friendly quadrant for Douglass at 24th St [Ed.--imagine lots of fences]; Global Exchange closes in Noe and looks for a new location, while the Berkeley shop is still open; Sally Brunn Branch Library is now open 7 days per week.

Letters: St. Paul's corner store (and the former owner, Alex) at 29th and Sanchez will be missed; Sadness at the departure at the of Mike's shoe repair - oh and also for the Goodwill dropoff in the new Town Square; Praise for Supervisor David Chiu for supporting local B&Bs - from Richard Kreibich of Bed and Breakfast San Francisco; RIP Susie, the canine mayor of 29th St.

Cost of Living in Noe: A mystery buyer purchased the record $7 million home at 625 Duncan, and competition among home buyers in general is fierce. Average rent for a 2 bedroom? $4542.

Store Trek: TugTug (396 24th St at Sanchez)

Rumors: A retail space with 2 residences above is being built at 3820 24th St (near Shoe Biz) and the owners have received inquiries from a stationery company, men's and women's apparel company, a fitness center, yoga studio and pilates studio [available next year]; Mike's Shoe Repair is becoming Rare Device [Ed.--: the old shoe sign has been purloined by a neighbor for safekeeping]; Noe Valley Pack & Ship has a new owner, the building will be undergoing a seismic and ADA upgrade, and some of the mailboxes will be moved to create a new retail space which has already been claimed by another 24th St merchant who wishes to remain anonymous; Incanto has been reimagined as Porcellino; Women's clothing boutique Lola has moved into Clipper Corner as a pop-up and is hoping to negotiate an ongoing lease; Kitami Ropa on Church St has closed and will be replaced by TMI Colonics ("We really know our shit"), a certified colon hydrologist [Ed.--that explains all the new walls inside and the red velvet curtains]; On May 17th, Noe Valley merchants will host a giant sidewalk sale from Douglass to to Dolores; Noe Valley Pet Co is celebrating 15 years with champagne and cake on May 10, 2-5 pm.



[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: Where The Bubble Could Burst First, WF Maggots Redux, And A Google Bus Lawsuit

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Places where the Silicon Valley bubble could burst first (yep, we're on the list) [xconomy]
• SF neighborhood stereotype guide [Curbed]
• Tenant activists and labor leaders are suing over the tech buses using bus stops [SF Chronicle]
• A Noe Valley resident documents the 17,000 libraries of the US [Mercury News]
• Whole Foods Maggotgate continues [KRON]
• Foodie Chap interviews chef Rami of Subs Inc. [KCBS]
• Little Chihuahua on Check Please!: "It's a neighborhood restaurant, not a destination" [KQED]

[Photo: via crankybrowngirl]

Opening in June: Rare Device

If you're wondering what will be replacing Mikes Shoe Repair on 24th St, that mystery is now solved. We received this friendly note today:

Hello editors,

This is Giselle from Rare Device. We want to let you know that we are opening up a second storefront in Noe Valley, taking over 4071 24th Street from Mike the shoe repair man. We hope to open up sometime in June. In the meantime, we are hiring and we'd love it if you can help us spread the word and maybe we can get some locals to apply.

A little bit about us:
We are husband and wife, Phurba and Giselle Gyalzen. We have 2 kids and we've lived in Bernal Heights since 2007. We currently have a store of the same name on Divisadero and Hayes. We moved to that location in 2012, from Market and Guerrero. We frequent 24th Street as a family and we are very happy to officially be a part of this neighborhood. We hope the neighborhood feels the same way.

A little bit about Rare Device:
Rare Device is a design gift store. I hand pick all the products that we carry and they are chosen for being beautiful, well designed, approachable and useful. Many of our wares are locally produced, handmade creations. There are also a wide variety of internationally created items. We also plan to host a variety of events at our Noe Valley location such as book signings, workshops, kids' events, and trunk shows.

A popular shop in the Alamo Square area, the current Rare Device shop has lots of favorable reviews for "all things quirky with a sense of humor."

No word on what's happening to the shoe sign that was on Mike's but as of this writing it's gone.

[Photo: Rare Device on Divisadero via Yelp]