This Week In Noe Valley: Remembering Judy Rodgers, Real Estate Anxiety Hits A Fever Pitch, And Love For Noe Valley

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

• "Why I love living in Noe Valley" [The Bold Italic]
• Guest Chefs at Incanto [Eater SF]
• Soaring rents and the Ellis Act have Art Agnos fighting to keep the middle class in SF [NPR]
• What sold in San Francisco in 2013 [DPaul Brown]
• Judy Rodgers was the heart and soul of San Francisco's restaurant and food movements [NY Times]
• Another reason it's pricey to live here: Bitcoin! [@jason]
• SF Conservatory brass band spreads some cheer on 24th St [@jak]
• Watch this carefully Noe residents: New York City cracking down on Air BnB [Mercury News] 
• A Noe Valley Victorian for less than $1M (at least that's asking) [Curbed SF]
• Sellers pitch the perfect SFH knowing the house will likely be gutted and built bigger [Climb SF]
• The "other" corner bar in Noe wants you to know they're already here - and hosting a toy drive on Dec 15 [Dolores Corner]

[Photo: @LiveDoppler7HD]

Noe Valley 2011: Year in Review

It was a big year, even in Noe Valley. While nobody occupied the Real Foods space, the Great Blizzard passed us by, and the economy in Noe defied gravity, plenty happened in our little village. Here's a look back at some of the top stories and themes from 2011:

The Town Square Lives
The year kicked off with proposed design concepts for a Town Square in the parking lot that is currently home to the Farmer's Market – and owned by the Noe Valley Ministry. The proposal is still alive but seems to have stalled until funding can be sorted out. Doesn't someone working at Twitter, Facebook or Zynga want a park with their name on it?

Parklets Are Here To Stay
While the town square is in limbo, parklets boomed in 2011. The one in front of Just for Fun was home to concerts, playdates and lots and lots of lights. It's been over a year since the parklets were installed and all signs point to them sticking around. 44 parklets are currently in the application process following the success of extant trials, and the City is moving ahead with other street greening projects such as the nearby Cesar Chavez project.

Noe Is A Foodie Haven
It was a banner year for Noe in food news. Our little hamlet is home to the best fried chicken, the best glazed donut, an amazing (and romantic) foodie bookstore and the best regional Italian food. We also had not one but two wine walks this year. There were a lot of restaurant changes afoot – Joe's is for sale, Fattoush was listed for sale (but the owner decided to stay), Amberjack Sushi turned into Kama Sushi, and the oldest sushi bar in San Francisco closed and is slated to open as Akai Saru soon. There's also a mystery restaurant for sale. For a brief moment this summer we even had an artisan beer mirage and a gluten-free bakery (oops!). Noe is desirable enough that a cookie truck is willing to battle for space in the Farmer's Market.

Fires Bring People Together
In September there was the devastating fire on 24^th Street. Fortunately no one was hurt, but plenty of people were displaced and the community rallied to help. This touching and heartfelt letter from a survivor reminds us all how lucky we are to live here.

Crime Hits Noe Too
From plant thefts and curb painting scams, to the attempted carjacking, armed robberies, and horrifying rape – sadly we had them all. Keep your eyes open folks and watch out for your neighbors – we're all in this together.

Change Happens ...
There were plenty of retail changes all around Noe this year. Among the closures: Vivon, Joseph Andrade Floral, San Francisco Mystery Book Store, Cosmic Wizard, Cover to Cover, Bespoke (moved to Pac Heights) and Hot Headz. Openings included Two Birds, K9 Scrub Club, Cliché Noe, First American Title and Walkershaw among others. Coming soon in 2012 are Philz Coffee, Noe Valley Wine Merchants and a new sushi restaurant called Akai Saru. The Lux Condos on outer Church also came to life with the retail spots on the ground floor available soon. On balance it feels like as many places opened as closed in 2011.

... And So Do Lively Debates
The other things that got Noe talking in 2011 were the sidewalk parking crackdowns, the controversial (and not very attractive) AT&T UVerse boxes, shifting school lines, yummy mummies and the signs of the times.

Here's to a safe and prosperous 2012. Happy New Year, Noe Valley!

Noe Valley 2010: Year in Review

2010 was a busy year in our quiet village. Lots of community meetings, retail change-ups, civic improvements and local activism. Here's a look at some highlights and themes from 2010.

More Restaurants

In January the planning commission lifted the restaurant ban in 24th St commercial district. Although we didn’t see that ruling turn into new permits in 2010, it did send a message that Noe is restaurant-friendly again. New additions food-wise this year included Patxi's and Little Chihuahua. Tataki South also opened for sushi on outer Church. Not a restaurant but happy news for foodies, Blue Bottle Coffee also debuted at Spin City.

More Green

Pocket Parks, Parklets and Plazas were big items this year. Not everyone liked the plaza idea, but the tea party fillibuster and ensuing kerfuffle did pave the way for 2 parklets and discussion of a possible town square.

Quieter Trains

The J-Church rail at 30th got an upgrade and neighbors rejoiced: “Just as I was thinking it, a neighbor nearby noted with happiness, 'Hey, it doesn’t make noise anymore.'”

Orange Wins

Noe resident Matt Cain helped take the Giants to a World Series victory. And Scott Weiner – whose campaign color was orange – replaced Bevan Dufty as disctrict 8 Supervisor. Noe Valley was also voted # 1 for Halloween trick-or-treating, and the orange-themed Harvest Fest was a hit.

Crime Files

Sadly, it was also a busy year for crime in Noe including vehicle thefts, stolen iPhones, a homicide, identity scavengers, and a Wells Fargo bank robbery (which may explain the armed guard in front of BofA these days).

Storefront Changes

We lost some retail stores this year on and near 24th St. including Cooks Boulevard, Lisa Violetto, Urban Cellars, and Apple Blossom (and the genie went back into the bottle). We also lost useful retail space to Circle Bank, Alain Pinel and the soon-to-open Noe Valley Smiles. New shops in the area include: When Modern Was (via Church), Sway in the old Streetlight Records space, Heliotrope, Design Quarter, Re:Construction Salon, and Joseph Andrade Floral in the old Artsake space.

Lively Debates

Finally, it was a year of lively debates. We all got exercised about lots of things besides plazas. Favorite topics were passive aggressive parking, shuttle buses, dogs, pedestrians, strollers, a new mayor, and local color.

Here's to more fun in 2011. Happy New Year, Noe Valley!