This Week In Noe Valley: A Bank Robbery, Bagel Fights, And Other Mischief You May Have Missed

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

• A writer’s favorite dish at Bacco [Inside Scoop SF]
• Suspect sought in Sterling Bank robbery earlier this week [SFist]
• Best bagel in SF? In the comments, a native New Yorker vouches for Holy Bagel [Eater]
• Noe Valley: there’s an app for that [neighbrhds.com]
• Coming in Oct: L'Atelier - a collective of Bay Area designers and artists [Racked]
• Not everyone is excited to have Tacolicious HQ in the hood [@aepiv]
• Another stuck commuter bus [@karlsf]
• The helicopters you heard? Massive 5 alarm fire on Mission at 22nd [SF Gate]
• A photo of the fire from Noe Valley [@ksherwood]
• Armistead Maupin popped into Omnivore Books for some munchies [@omnivorebooks]

[Photo: Fence of old doors on 22nd St steps via hellokeltie]

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: Napa Valley Quake Aftermath, Street Style, And Labor Day In The Hood

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

• Not all Noe Valley residents felt the 6.0 Napa quake last Sunday morning [anthroslug] 
• But most of us did [Engadget]
• A water main broke this week – possibly triggered by the Napa quake [KTVU]
• Some residents lost water for 7 hours – and we all lost 20,000 gallons [SF Weekly]
• 2,000 pounds of Tacolicious cookbooks arrive at their global HQ in Noe Valley [@tacolicious]
• And people are stoked! Too bad it's just an office [katej130]
• Martin Mattox store opening in the former Garage on Sanchez at 24th + behind the scenes [Martin Mattox]
• Labor Day weekend in Noe Valley – Real Foods edition [@F6x]
• A local character [joshkobrin]

[Photo: Embracing Noe Valley style via meeshyp]

This Week In Noe Valley: Sutro Love, Burners Bug Out, And The Power Outage Explained

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

• Sutro Tower: From Eyesore to Icon – awesome historic video [Exploratorium]
• Spotted at Whole Foods Noe Valley: Camel’s milk for $24.99 per bottle [brettb]
• If you’re wondering why you can park this weekend and brunch spots are empty: Burning Man is on [@cowperthewait]
• Want a job at Google? You might want to consider going to Burning Man too [SFGate]
• The commute from Noe Valley to the new Levi’s Stadium? Under an hour… [@JoeArellano]
• Has your neighborhood become upscale? A gentrification quiz and article reprint from 1985 (croissant shops! fern bars!) [Inside Scoop]
• Op ed: Are children parasites on cities’ finances? [StreetsblogSF]
• Monday’s mass power outage was due to “underground equipment failure” [SFAppeal]
• Noe Valley tech entrepreneur Jim Greer is putting his money into fixing dark politics [SFGate]
• The least expensive home in Noe Valley [SFGate]
• From $1.4M four years ago to $2.3M today [SocketSite]
• And a listing touting the “outskirts of Noe Valley” [SocketSite]
• Visitors are loving our little village on Instagram [thx nopalzin, oysterearth, suziefoo, frishchmilch]

[Photo: #streetsofsf by yo_avery]

This Week In Noe Valley: Uber At The Door, Upcycling And Upcoming Events

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

• Noe Valley Wine Walk coming (again) this Thursday Aug 21 [@FolioSF; Official]
• More pickup on the Noe Valley is the new Pac Heights meme [SF Gate]
• Yet Noe Valley is nowhere near the most expensive place to rent in the city [Priceonomics]
• The Peak2Peak walk turns 10 - begins in Upper Noe Valley [SF Gate]
• "Upcycling artists" wanted for new boutique opening at 24th & Castro in Oct [Craigslist]
• Uber is courting Noe Valley (sort of like a housecleaner) [@cjc]
• All about SF cemeteries: SF Historical Assoc. lecture Aug. 26 (7pm) @ St. Philip’s [@SFHistoryBuffs]

[Photo: Good to be home by jakebrereton]

This Week In Noe Valley: Concerts In The Living Room, AirBnB Crackdown Crying, And Rental Angst

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

• You’re not the only one who heard the Beyonce Jay-Z concert in your living room [SFGate]
• Just as you’re probably hearing Outside Lands too [SFGate]
• If you’re at Outside Lands and want an Uber to Noe Valley, get ready to pay $400 [@Tuce_Chainz]
• Owner of private shuttle to be charged after bus blocks J-Church [CBSLocal]
• 'Airbnb' legislation is attracting a wide variety of opponents; still likely to pass [KQED]
• Meanwhile BJ Droubi is doing her part to keep rents high and available only to non-locals in Noe Valley [48 Hills]
• More $2M+ homes now sell in Noe Valley and Cole Valley than in more "prestigious" northern neighborhoods like Pac Heights [Curbed]
• So expensive apparently no one knows what to "ask" for a property [Curbed]
• Worst place for renters in the U.S.? San Francisco, if cost is your only benchmark [Mother Jones]
• A portrait of Dorian of Dorian's Clock Repair on Sanchez [Marc Oliver LeBlanc]
• Noe Valley Democrats summer party and fundraiser is at Savor this Tues Aug 12 6:30-8:30pm [NV Dems]
• Supervisor Scott Weiner’s July/August newsletter is out [Scott Weiner]

[Photo: "Sitting on our front steps mowing some peasant pies" by hackerjackla]

This Week In Noe Valley: Mansion & Shacks, Murals & Alleys, Rants & Rumors

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

• The children’s area of the Farmer’s Market gets political [@F6x]
• A story of a landlord buying out a renter: NPR reporter and former Noe Valleyeon Stephanie Martin Taylor [KQED]
• “A favorite coat for cold Noe Valley mornings” from local preppy princess blogger Caroline Curran [SFGate]
• Need a wax? Stript wax salon opens on Church St. [Racked]
• Mansion or shack? Either way, $1 million in Noe Valley won’t buy you much [MarinIJ and CTPost]
• Yep, Noe Valley homes cross the $1,000 per square foot mark [The Front Steps]
• You're not imagining things: Average Noe Valley home exceeds $2M for the 5th month in a row [Downing & Co]
• $1.7M in Noe Valley = $899,000 in Hunter’s Point [CBS Local]
• An interview with Rare Device shop owner Giselle Gyalzen [SFGate]
• Rumor: Pasta Pomodoro closing? [@shaketini]
• Cardio-tone’s 24th St. location is for rent [Storefront]
• Day 8 of the new mural at Day and Church [Amos Goldbaum]
• Fun photos from the Ames & Quane Green Alleys Project [Greenalleys.org]

[Photo: IKnowWhereYourCatLives]

Proposed: Traffic Signal For Intersection Of Church And Cesar Chavez Streets

There's a small sign posted on a pole at Cesar Chavez and Church Streets announcing a hearing about a proposed traffic signal for that intersection. Pretty big news, right? There have been calls for a stoplight at 24th/Church, but this is the first we've heard of one at this busy intersection. Our initial reaction is that it's not necessary unless it can smooth the interaction of pedestrian traffic on Church and all the cars trying to get to 101. Otherwise, this intersection flows pretty smoothly. So where did this proposal come from? Follow us down the rabbit hole (and watch out for PDFs).

Remember the SFMTA's Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP)? When we covered it in 2008 the main issue was bus routes - there was a strong push to alter routes and eliminate stops to speed up the service. Then in 2012 the J Church line was included in Muni Forward's Travel Time Reduction Proposal (TTRP). Basically, the proposal aims to speed the J Church along its route by reducing stops, relocating boarding areas, creating transit-only lanes and (this is the key part) including "traffic calming" at certain intersections (more on that below). The SFMTA study says changes will "reduce the travel time of the J Church within the study area by about 6.5 minutes total in both directions."

Projects like this are never easy in San Francisco, and of course there was an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The huge public response sent everyone back to the drawing board, and many changes were made (for fellow planning dorks here are the three huge PDFs documenting response to public feedback: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The end result is that the amended EIR was approved with changes on May 22, 2014.

Approval of said EIR is what grants the SFMTA authority to add a traffic signal to Cesar Chavez and Church Streets. But what isn't clear is why the SFMTA is pursing a stoplight at this intersection only. The TTRP stipulates changes along the Church St route at 25th, 26th, and Day Streets -- the "expanded alternative" asks for unspecified "traffic calming" measures for those intersections, but offers a "moderate alternative" that will instead install traffic signals. (The TTRP makes clear that 24th and Church will get a light, but other changes there make for a bigger project that will likely happen later.) The August 1 hearing is asking the public to approve one of those traffic signals without addressing the rest of the J Church route.

If you have an opinion on this traffic light want your voice heard please attend the August 1 hearing at City Hall: 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 416 at 10:00am.

Can't make the hearing? Per SFMTA hearing guidelines (emphasis ours):

Opinions on these proposed changes may be filed in writing prior to the hearing by email (link to sustainable.streets@sfmta.com) with the subject line “Public Hearing.” Written opinions may also be transmitted to the Sustainable Streets Division via fax at 415.701.4737 or by mail: Engineering Public Hearing, Sustainable Streets Division, One South Van Ness Avenue, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5417. Submitted opinions will become part of the official public record and will be brought to the attention of the person(s) conducting the hearing.