NVV February 2019: We Read It So You Don't Have

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.

February 2019

Front Page: A roundup of how to eat vegan in Noe Valley; a profile of local resident Steven Pressman who shines a light on untold Holocaust stories in film.

Letters: Memories from a neighbor reminiscing about 24th St in the 1970s.

Cost of Living in Noe Valley: The market appears to be cooling slightly - the 10 homes that sold in December averaged just $2.2 million. And yet: The most expensive house sold last year was a $6.6 million home on Duncan between Castro and Diamond.

Store Trek: Sultan's Kebab, 3915 24th St. at Sanchez

Features: Sadness: Local resident John Knox on Cesar Chavez found a barn owl that died when it ingested rat poison - he urges neighbors to please not use the toxic stuff. City okays permit for The Agency on 24th St. to operate a real estate business in a former retail space. Friends of Noe Valley Garden Tour will be on May 4 this year.

Rumors and Tidbits: The members-only boutique Doggy Style plans to open February 2019 and has garnered lots of press. The Real Food spot downtown is turning into 3 retail spaces rumored to be renting for $10,000 a month each. Lots of vacancies along 24th St for retail stores and not many takers (although lots of cannabis dispensaries have expressed interest according to realtors and building owners up and down the commercial corridor). Vive La Tarte is open in the old Bliss Bar space and serving jewel-like dishes and artisan coffee. The old La Panotiq space is slated to get a locally-owned Mediterranean restaurant soon. Noe's Cantina is open and serving Mexican food from 5-10 pm. Azalina is moving into the former Contigo space. The Noe Valley library is looking for space to house back issues of the print edition of the Noe Valley Voice.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

This Week in Noe Valley: Pocket Monsters Everywhere, Fire Fallout and Renting in the 94114

The latest news from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• Interview with Cole Hardware’s founder including details about rebuilding after the recent Mission Cole fire [Hoodline]
• ICYMI: Noe Valley is a Pokemon Go sanctuary [heronramos]
• A luxe Noe Valley remodel gets the Dwell treatment [Dwell]
• Another $4.4 million home hits the market [Curbed]
• An attic fire breaks out at 25th and Grandview and is quickly contained (no injuries)[@abc7newsbayarea]
• Now open: New trail connecting Billy Goat Hill to Walter Haas Park [@Scott_Wiener]
• Bistro SF Grill is open for dinner [@NoeValleySF]
• Crows Ravens in Noe Valley [@Siliconlaw]
• Omnivore’s summer book events look amazing (as always) [Omnivore Books]
• 94114 is the city’s most competitive rental zip code [SFGate]
• A Noe Valley woman is leading the fight to get tech companies like Uber and Airbnb to pay for what they’ve done to SF’s housing market [Good]
• Artifact from the past on 24th Street [ranivision]

[Photo: Summer color via maria.bruno.sf]

This Week in Noe Valley: Car Break-ins, Berkeley Comparisons, And Mini Local Celebrity Sightings

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

• The local Noe Valley branch library cards are cute [camillertime]
• Brewer’s blackbird spotted in Noe Valley [@AudubonCA]
• Spotted in the window at Drewes Meats [94th Day]
• Nice neighbor PSA: Don’t leave anything visible in your car – the streets have been lined with glass [@sfstern]
• Whole Foods supports Students Rising Above through your bag donations [SRA]
• Food drive coming to Noe Valley on Nov 23 [@SevenSquaredSF]
• A woodcut artist in LA carved an original piece of Phil Jaber of Philz Coffee – and tells his story [Woodcuting Fool]
• In elections, Berkeley is like “one big Noe Valley” [SF Gate]
• …in real estate however, not so much [Berkleyside]
• 13-year old music phenom Henry Plotnik plays the NV Farmer’s Market [KQED]
• Actor Liam Vincent lives in the neighborhood [7x7]
• So does Fat Mike of punk rock band NoFX [SF Weekly]
• There are 70 craft chocolate makers in the US today – and Chocolate Covered carries 25 of them [SF Chronicle]
• What $6,000 a month rents you in Noe Valley [Curbed]

[Photo: Colorful house via maria.bruno.sf]

NVV Oct 2013: 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 outside sources as the Voice doesn't post stories online until the middle of the month.

October 2013

Front Page: Noe's bar is hosting an Animal Care and Control fundraiser on Oct. 19; Harvest Fest is coming on Oct. 26; Real Foods is still closed (this is year 10).

Letters: Shannon on Duncan Street is not a fan of the many pigeons (aka flying rats) in the neighborhood; RIP Kathleen Dwyer, the "Bird Lady of Noe Valley."

Features and Short Takes: The Noe Valley Association is meeting for input on how to make 24th St safer for pedestrians on Oct 30 at 7pm in the Sally Brunn Library community room; several blocks in Noe will be under road construction to upgrade the water main - get details at sfwater.org/construction.

Cost of Living in Noe: Thirteen homes sold in Noe Valley this August and all for more than $1.35 million. The most expensive home that sold cost $5 million - and the average price of a home here is now $2.5 million. The average rent for a 1 bedroom? $2,761.

Store Trek: Griddle Fresh (4007 24th St)

Rumors: Todd David reports that The Noe Valley Town Square improvements should happen after the first of the year - in the meantime, the Square still needs to raise $300,000 more to reach the final improvement goal; Google and Genentech workers have pledged the most to the Square so far, but other companies have also kicked in with matching programs including Survey Monkey, Chevron, Apple, Disney, Salesforce, the Gap, Tibco, VMWare and nVidia; over 500 residents have pitched in. Millionaire NIMBYs are protesting their neighbors plans to improve or expand their houses. Noe Valley's red-hot real estate market makes news after the Twitter IPO was announced. A CardioTone pop-up opens in the old Bay Cleaners spot; the former Lola spot on Castro at 24th St. will soon be occupied by Nail Chic which is moving in from next door - the old Nail Chic space will become Tone of Music Audio, a high-end home entertainment components store that currently operates out of a living room on Jersey St.; Elisa's Health Spa has been taken over by the Huynh family which operates Crystal Island Massage in Oakland's Chinatown; When Modern Was owners Dona Taylor and Alison Porter are converting When Modern Was II into Buttons, an old-fashioned candy store. Douglass St resident Janet Kessler has created a YouTube video to raise awareness about coyotes in the city.

[The Noe Valley Voice]

What's Up With Noe Valley's Angry Little Birds?

Lots of angry birds in Noe Valley these days. We first heard from Lenny over the weekend:

Ok, what's the story with these dive bombing birds in Upper Noe Valley?! They're tiny little black sparrows that sneak up behind people, fly into their head and then flee. It's nuts. I was attacked and then watched, one after one, they kept going like clockwork. We saw them in two places: 24th between Castro and Diamond and then on 23rd and Diamond.

Then on Twitter yesterday: "Birds attacking peeps just past Barney's on 24th btw Diamond n Castro. Happening since May. Prob springtime babies."

And then today Curbed pointed out this post on Boing Boing: "I spotted this somewhat disconcerting sign at a playground yesterday." The sign from the Upper Noe Rec Center shown in the above photo reads "Beware of attack birds! Incidents of small black birds pecking at public."

We don't have a photo of the offending birds, but we're guessing it's the European (or Common) Starling. First introduced to the US in the 1890s they are now the "most hated bird in North America." Yes it hurts when they peck at your head while defending their nest, but consider this: they've been known to take down airplanes.

We'd still like a photo if anyone has one.

[Update 7/7: @oddnoc believes he knows what they are: "They're not sparrows, but Brewer's blackbirds. They're not being "bizarre," but are defending their nests."]