Abstract
(Document Summary)
Brother Kelly Cullen, executive director of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development
Corp., said he would like to continue restoring neon lights in the neighborhood.
Under the program, which operates under a small grant from the mayor's office,
the nonprofit group reimburses businesses for half the cost of restoring a
neon sign or faade, up to $10,000.
The Rev. Norman Fong, program director at Chinatown Community Development Center, said the new International Hotel, a 104-unit building for low-income seniors expected to open this summer, has set aside space for a museum honoring Filipino immigrants. He hopes that the nonprofit group, along with the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, will be able to raise the more than $500,000 needed to turn the allocated space into a museum.
The elderly occupants of the original "I-Hotel," mostly
Filipino men, were evicted in 1977 so the building could be razed -- a decision
that drew widespread protests. The hotel was the last reminder of a bustling
Filipino community that thrived in the city from the 1910s to the 1970s.
Full Text (1544 words)
Copyright Hearst Communications Inc., Hearst Newspapers Division Dec 31,
2004
E-mail comments to sffriday@sfchronicle.com.
People always talk about how they can make things better for themselves in a new year, but what if they were being a bit less selfish? What are some civic improvements that could make San Francisco a better place to live in 2005?
The Chronicle asked a variety of San Franciscans for ideas, requesting more specifics than simply their wishes for peace or goodwill. Here are their comments:
Judy Junghans, president of Russian Hill Neighbors, would like the city to embark on an anti-litter campaign, one that would reach the adults she has seen littering -- sometimes dropping trash right next to a trash can -- as well as children.
"If you learn really young not to litter, it becomes ingrained, and you feel guilty when you drop something on the sidewalk and you won't intentionally throw it somewhere," she said.
-- -- --
Ralph House, a member of the Bayview Neighborhood Association, would like to be able to stay in his own neighborhood in the southeast corner of the city to shop.
"We don't have any major grocery stores out here, no major clothing stores, no major furniture stores," he said. "For all of our amenities, we need to get in our cars and drive out of the area."
-- -- --
Andrew Sullivan, chairman of Rescue Muni, said that he would like to see the transit agency "reach an 85 percent on-time reliability rate.
"More people taking public transit so we can spare the air and reduce traffic and improve the quality of life here; and expansion of rapid bus service, particularly on Geary."
-- -- --
Ron Miguel, president of the Planning Association for the Richmond, would like the city to appoint permanent directors to two important city agencies: the San Francisco Planning Department and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. "There's nothing wrong with acting directors per se," he said. "But as you can imagine, that leaves things in a bit of a limbo. It doesn't allow for those departments -- both of which need a lot of internal work in organization and finance -- to really get themselves off the ground and on track."
-- -- --
Bill Drypolcher, founder, Zephyr real estate, also said he would like to see a new director of planning in San Francisco appointed soon. That way, he said, "all of the issues surrounding zoning and buildability are taken care of so everyone's on a level playing field."
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Minnie Ward, a member of OMI Neighbors In Action, which represents people living in three small neighborhoods -- Ocean View, Merced Heights and Ingleside -- in the southwest part of the city, said jobs for college students are at the top of her wish list for 2005.
"I'm looking at helping the young men and women in our neighborhood who are struggling to pay their tuition," she said. "I don't want to see them get discouraged and stop going to school. We can't have that."
-- -- --
Leah Shahum, executive director, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, said that the coalition expects "to see a significant increase in the number of people bicycling for transportation as they realize the health benefits and as the city stripes more bike lanes and makes biking safer and more comfortable.
"Specifically, we'd like to see bike improvements on Upper Market, Potrero Avenue, Townsend Street and the Panhandle pathway. We're also working to get more and better bike parking."
-- -- --
Woody LaBounty, director of the Western Neighborhoods Project, which is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the neighborhoods in the western part of the city, is hoping to hear an appreciative word or two for present-day San Francisco, a city that is in a constant state of flux.
He'd like to see the "old-timers" embrace the changes in their neighborhood, rather than lament them. In the western neighborhoods, he noted, the Asian and Asian American community is growing.
"It's easy to say, 'There used to be a hardware store on that corner and it was great, and now it's a Chinese bakery.' But if you look inside that bakery, you'll see 45 people in there, reading the newspaper and having conversations. Change is happening. New memories are being made."
-- -- --
Richard Magary, a member of the steering committee of the Buena Vista Neighborhood Association, said the group hopes to find creative ways to fund the renovation and improvement of the southeast hillside in Buena Vista Park, which accounts for about 20 percent of land in the 36-acre park.
The renovation project was put on hold earlier this year, after the city's Recreation and Park Department said it had run out of money to pay for many promised projects. "Its trails can't be properly maintained, and the hillside has no irrigation," he said. "The access is difficult in some places. The trails that are there have fallen apart. They're not really safe to walk on."
-- -- --
Sandra Halladey, associate director, Parents for Public Schools, said, "I'd like to see more enrichment and love of learning in the schools. I'd like to see punitive programs like No Child Left Behind be dismantled, and see San Francisco work harder to keep families with children. I'd also like to see parents involved with every aspect of school reform. And for me personally, I want to smile more."
-- -- --
Brother Kelly Cullen, executive director of the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp., said he would like to continue restoring neon lights in the neighborhood. Under the program, which operates under a small grant from the mayor's office, the nonprofit group reimburses businesses for half the cost of restoring a neon sign or faade, up to $10,000.
By "lighting up" the neighborhood with bright signs and spiffy faades, Cullen said, the Tenderloin will attract visitors who will patronize its small restaurants, theaters and shops, and it will become a safer place for the people who live there.
-- -- --
Richard Marquez, program director at Mission Agenda, said he would like the city to take steps to help poor and working-class Latino families living in the Mission District keep and find affordable housing in the neighborhood. "The city is pushing out the salt of the city," he said. "You see it block by block, as families, small businesses and nonprofit groups are being displaced."
Marquez said the neighborhood, which produced musician Carlos Santana and a vibrant arts movement, is being taken over by single, young white people interested in pop culture. "That's demoralizing, given that the Mission has been a cultural mecca for the Latino community for 50 years," he said.
-- -- --
Susan Eslick, president of the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association, said residents have been working for four years with the San Francisco Planning Department on the Central Waterfront Neighborhood Plan. A public review draft of the plan was released nearly two years ago. But the process has been stalled, Eslick said, because the city has not funded the required environmental impact review.
"Dogpatch does really want to see development, but we want it to be sound and effective, not de facto -- lot by lot," Eslick said. "We feel that with the Third Street Light Rail nearing completion this seems like the right time to take this seriously."
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Michael Dellar, co-founder of the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, which includes One Market, said, "I'd like to see business and government pulling in the same direction. The city needs to realize that business supports a lot of people, and we should be better appreciated for supporting people in need. I'd like to see San Francisco continue to be a warm haven for tourists, where we can keep the streets clean and safe. As a business, I'd like to see us continue to grow, so we can employ more people and see them rise up the ranks and do well for themselves."
-- -- --
Ruth Asawa, artist, said, "I want the long-awaited School of the Arts to break ground at its new location, 135 Van Ness. It's been shifted around so much, I'd like to see it have a permanent home."
-- -- --
The Rev. Norman Fong, program director at Chinatown Community Development Center, said the new International Hotel, a 104-unit building for low-income seniors expected to open this summer, has set aside space for a museum honoring Filipino immigrants. He hopes that the nonprofit group, along with the Manilatown Heritage Foundation, will be able to raise the more than $500,000 needed to turn the allocated space into a museum.
The elderly occupants of the original "I-Hotel," mostly Filipino men, were evicted in 1977 so the building could be razed -- a decision that drew widespread protests. The hotel was the last reminder of a bustling Filipino community that thrived in the city from the 1910s to the 1970s.
-- -- --
Paul Boden, director, Coalition on Homelessness, said, "I'd love to see everybody have equal access to housing, health care, living wage, education. This is going to be a rough year, and I'd love to see the community and the city working together as equals and partners, with mutual respect."
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Credit: Chronicle Staff Writers