NVV Sept 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.

September 2014

Front Page: Photo of the new Amos Goldbaum mural on outer Church; a preview of Noe homes in the AIA House Tour; stoplight proposed for Cesar Chavez at Church St.; 2 parking spots in Noe Valley are reserved for carshsare vehicles; remembering local artist Jack Freeman who died in July.

Letters: A Google Glass wearing resident decries being banned from local coffee shops; A vote against the Cesar Chavez/Church stoplight and a plea to move it to 24th and Church instead; A middle-aged white man is snapping branches on small trees on the 800 block of Alvarado St.; a pedestrian rails against making SF more bike friendly; A love letter to Holy Kitchen Indian food on 24th urging locals to visit; Wink SF wants to set the record straight that they are not closing - just renting out space in the store to emerging artists.

Short Takes: Construction will begin this month on the wider bus stops and more prominent crosswalks on 24th at Castro, Noe and Church; Real Foods space gets a new roof but the rest of the space is still in limbo.

Cost of Living in Noe: $2.2 million is still the average price for a single family home. Renters can expect to pay $2195 to $4200 for a 1 bedroom apartment.

Store Trek: Rare Device opens (4071 24th Street)

Rumors: L'Atelier is moving in next to UPS store at 4104 24th and will showcase independent local upcycling artists (taking discarded items and using it to create new things like art, jewelry, clothing, furniture and home items); Sightglass Coffee, Steeped Tea and Tout Sweet Patisserie are all sharing space in Noe Valley Bakery with occasional pop-up tastings of Sugar Foot Grits - plus breadsticks will soon be back on the menu; the former Global Exchange storefront has been rented to a local French cafe bakery chain called La PanotiQ which plans to open early next year and serve Bicycle coffee, salads, sandwiches, as well as baked items made on premises; Abeck Graphics has moved from SOMA into the space at 4235 24th St that used to house Sherri King Tax Service; The space vacated by Kangaroos preschool at Diamond and 24th will be a chiropractor's office; Blu Ova fertility services has moved into the old Fima Photography space; Tacolicious has opened its corporate offices into the old Sirena Botanica space on Church St; Remembrances of Robin Williams visiting Noe Valley.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week In Noe Valley: No More Historic F Trains On Church St, Real Estate Agents Gone Wild, #uluvmusicday

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

• Noe Valley's next teardown flip thwarted [Socketsite]
• SFMTA is moving the historic F line Muni cars off J Church tracks [SFMTA]
• Noe Valley realtor Lamisse Droubi sells her local home for $7.5 million (a record $3386 per square foot) [Curbed]
• Avg. $ per sq. foot of houses in Noe Valley, SF = $1188 Avg. $ per sq. foot of brand new 16GB iPad Air = $1160 [@bcrypt]
• Thanks to Yo, Noe Valley house prices will go up another notch [@nszombie]
• Cyclist who hit jaywalker on 24th St aquitted [KTVU]
• Richard May won the Noe Valley Garden Tour raffle [Stephanie Johnson SF]
• … and the Garden Tour raised money for the 22nd St Jungle Stairs [Jungle Stairs]
• Real estate agents in SF have lost their minds – and other wisdom from a seller [Left Coast Cowboys]
• The NV Library was part of a Carnegie gift to the city (and it was built for just $37,499) [Loud Latin Laughing]
• Kif Bender, the local 13-year old singer-songwriter and guitarist will be at the SF Free Folk Festival [SF Gate]
• Lola is the textile queen of Noe Valley [Racked]
• Scott Wiener's latest newsletter [Scott Wiener]
• Few challenging Scott Wiener for the District 8 Supes seat [Bay Area Reporter]
• Noeteca is Bernal Heights' best brunch spot? [Thrillist]
• Philz: Put away your phone before ordering your coffee [willolovesyou]
• Spotted: Noe Valley’s Banksy [cms100]
• We need one of these at the top of Sanchez [Bold Italic]
• Nailed it! [@TheRealWWBTC]

[Photo: #uluvmusicday dedward007]

This Week In Noe Valley: Bike Thefts Down, Urban Gardening Up, Occupy Noe Doubles Down

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

• All those bicycles thefts from garages? "Drastically" decline since arrest of teenager [SFGate]
• Urban farming in SF just got a lot easier - forget the wait list for existing community gardens [Grist]
• An end to that (apparently wild) rumor that West Portal could be the next Noe Valley [Curbed]
• Noe Valley Town Square now on Facebook [Facebook]
• Occupy Noe Valley doubles down to save mortgages that should have been paid off 10 years ago or more [The Snitch; also: SFGate]
  

[Photo: Pedestrian hit at 24th Castro, @shaketini, also: NVSF]

This Week In Noe Valley: Unreal Estate, Firefly Revisited, Ladies Behaving Badly

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

• Scott Wiener prompts Mayor Ed Lee to get tough on playground vandalism [SFGate]
• Firefly revisited: Michael Bauer gives it 2.5 stars despite need for a makeover [SFGate]
• District 5c modern studio finally sells for $845/sf (yes this is Noe Valley) [Socketsite]
• Realtors weigh in on the best things about living in Noe Valley [Trulia]
• Noe Valley condo prices climb for 5th month in a row (hello $1M apts) [Downing Co]
• More recovered stolen bicycles [SFPD Mission]
• Attention ladies taking high tea at Lovejoy's: you don't have to steal the curds [SF Weekly]
• Matt Cain supposedly still lives in the "Noe Valley suburb of San Francisco" [Shelby County Reporter]
• Gallery of Jewels and Elizabeth Street Cosmetics both have shopping events this weekend [Refinery 29]

[Photo: Infinite City, Rebecca Solnit via San Francisco Magazine]

Meeting: Upper Noe Neighbors June 2012

Vicki Rosen sent the agenda to this month's meeting, and also a call to arms. Emphasis ours:

We have a good meeting planned for June and hope many of you can attend. Here's the agenda:

• J-Church effectiveness study and proposals--MTA's Transit Effectiveness Program will present options for improving service on our favorite streetcar line including suggestions they've gotten from people in our neighborhood so far. Also, MUNI reps will be there to discuss other issues we've been having on our line like the continued shuttling of non-J streetcars and excessive use of air horns.
• Police report focusing on the break-ins we've been having recently that aim mostly for expensive bicycles. Bad people are getting into garages that folks think are secure.
• Friends of Upper Noe Rec Center have applied for a grant to put an outdoor classroom on the Sanchez St. side...see the draft plans!

Wednesday, June 13, 7:30 pm
Upper Noe Rec Center (Day & Sanchez)

ONE MORE THING: We need volunteers to help Upper Noe Neighbors by being on the Board. It's very little work. We need ideas and a little bit of commitment. If we don't get people to step up to the plate, we'll have to reevaluate how UNN will operate in the future. Please help YOUR neighborhood group!

Crime Beat: Bike Thefts

The Ingleside Station newsletter has included an increasing number of bicycle thefts in the Upper Noe Valley area over the last month or so. We were all set to post the most recent reports when we received the above flier.

April 17

Burglary -- 7:30am, 600 Blk Duncan St. Officers Wong and Pai were dispatched to a report of a well-being check regarding an open garage door. When the officers arrived, they found the garage door of the residence wide open, and an audible burglar alarm was activated. The officers located pry marks on the door frame and damage to the dead bolt. The officers contacted a neighbor to get the contact number for the owner of the residence. The officers contacted the victim, who was out of town. The victim was able to confirm that two bicycles were stolen from the garage.

April 18

Burglary -- 5:30pm, 600 Blk 28th St. Sgt. Miller responded to a burglary. The victim advised that he locked and secured his bicycles in the garage area with a cable and padlock. He was advised in the morning by some workers that his garage door was open. The victim noticed the bicycles missing. He located some rebar on the floor which Sgt. Miller believed was used to pry open the door. He took pictures of the scene and booked them into evidence. He did not believe contacting SFPD Crime Scene Investigations Unit was warranted. He provided the victim with follow up information.

Burglary -- 11:00pm, 600 Blk Duncan. Officer Goldsborough was dispatched to a burglary. The victim advised that he left his new bicycle in the garage of his home in the original shipping box. He woke up in the morning and noticed the box and bicycle were missing. A male knocked at his front door and had the empty box with him and asked the victim not to leave his garbage on the street. The victim advised he had been the victim of a burglary. He was unable to provide any further information and was provided with follow up information. SFPD’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit was not contacted due to the lack of physical evidence.

You can download the flier from the Ingleside Station and distribute to your neighbors. Mission Station has not reported any bike thefts on its blog, but considering it recently held a workshop on preventing bicycle theft this problem is not limited to Upper Noe Valley.

Source: Mission and Ingleside District San Francisco Police Station newsletters.

Moving: Bespoke

Via comments and Twitter we learn that Bespoke is packing up for richer pastures in Pacific Heights. From their blog:

After well over a year, we've found our new home. We realized very early on that we were going to outgrow our small shop over here in Noe Valley. We've needed more room for our mechanical services and for our fitting services and VO2 testing not to mention storage and a real office. This new space fits the bill in every category. The new address is 2843 Clay St. We will continue to update the blog as our time-line develops.

Those of you in Noe Valley have been very supportive of us and we appreciate it very much. The local merchants, our clients and neighbors have played an integral part in helping us build a business we're very proud of. We hope to see you all visit us in our new home even if we are a little further away.

Witnesses Wanted: Taxi-Bicycle Collision

Aaron Weis either hit or was hit by a taxi on either Aug 18th or 19th and needs your help:

ATTENTION
LOOKING FOR WITNESSES OF A TAXI-BICYCLE COLLISION THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE EVENING ON WEDNESDAY, AUG 18TH ON 24TH ST BETWEEN CASTRO AND DIAMOND

I was riding my bicycle down 24th St and was hit by a taxi around 8:15pm this past Wednesday, Aug 19th. There were numerous witnesses and at least one woman who was gathering contact information from witnesses. The taxi passenger also lived nearby. I was loaded into an ambulance and was unable to obtain this information. If you were a witness or the passenger and would be willing to provide your contact information and observation, it would be hugely appreciated.

See image for contact info.