In a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Mar made mention of the Richmond District YMCA’s 90th anniversary.

He told his fellow Supes that he enjoys the jacuzzi, sauna and working out at the facility, located on 18th Avenue near Geary.

But the mention of hot-tubbing didn’t stop there. Mar went onto invite his fellow politicos to dive in with him.

“Please support a great Y. Also, and please join me in the Jacuzzi and sauna when you can, or the weight room one of these evenings… I’m serious about joining me in the Jacuzzi sometimes, you guys.”

The next time you need to meet with Mar or have something on your mind, check the hot tub at the YMCA. Perhaps he’ll move his bi-monthly coffee hours to this venue? Let’s just hope it’s not bathing suit optional.

Sarah B.

[via The Examiner]

Two evils in one place! RichmondSFBlog reader Erik H. tweeted this photo out of the Hustler Club’s mobile stripper truck parked in the McDonald’s lot over on Haight.

Perhaps the driver stopped in for a Happy Meal on his way back to Las Vegas. We all know how alluring those free toys can be…

Sarah B.

RichmondSFBlog reader Gideon alerted us to this story that ran on CBS News recently about an unwelcome parker in the outer Richmond District.

It seems that Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, located downtown on Kearny Street, utilizes a special mobile stripper truck to entice visitors to their club. Women dance inside the back of the truck on Friday and Saturday nights, trying to lure customers to pay a visit to the adult club.

But when the truck is not working, it’s being parked in our neighborhood. It first showed up at 37th and Balboa but after many complaints for “indecency” to Supervisor Eric Mar’s office, was towed for having expired tags.

It showed up later at 42nd and Geary, and continues to park in the neighborhood. Supervisor Mar tells CBS that he’s gotten a lot of calls about the truck, which during its first stint at 37th and Balboa, was close by the Anza branch library and Lafayette Elementary School.

Mar has had trouble getting the owners or managers of the Hustler Club to move their titillating truck to another location. So he’s working on introducing new legislation to ensure that these kinds of vehicles can be towed.

What do you think? Are you bothered by this vehicle parking in the neighborhood? Leave a comment to let us know.

UPDATE (Apr 17, 2012 @ 3:45pm): Supervisor Mar called today to let us know that he is not planning to pursue any additional legislation to resolve this issue. There is a city law that has been on the books for about 12 years which prohibits a commercial (advertising) vehicle from parking in the city. Mar worked with the SFPD to initially tow the truck for expired tags, and then when it returned, notify it that it was subject to a $250 – $500 citation if it remained parked due to the city law.

Mar said he spoke with the manager of the Hustler Club who indicated the truck has returned to Las Vegas and won’t be parking on SF streets anymore. “If I had to do legislation, I would have,” Mar said. “But working with the police and residents has successfully resolved this issue.”

Sarah B.

At the Lincoln Park playground re-opening in April 2010

This year, the SF Recreation & Parks Department is developing another parks bond proposal for voter consideration on the November 2012 ballot. The last one passed in 2008, and has resulted in $185 million in redesigns and upgrades to many city parks, including ones in the Richmond District like Fulton and Cabrillo playgrounds.

On Wednesday, April 18, a public meeting will be held to get feedback from residents on what they’d like to see included in the projects and improvements that the bond would fund. Organizers are looking for feedback to these questions:

• Which of these parks or programs are the most important to you?
• Are there new open space improvement priorities or new program needs in your neighborhood?
• What’s missing –what other parks or programs should we consider?

View the SFRPD presentation for District 1

In addition to city-wide projects, the 2012 bond measure proposes improvements to two Richmond District parks: the Richmond Playground on 18th Avenue between Lake and California, and Angelo J. Rossi Pool and Park on Arguello near Anza.

According to Rec & Park, “a new parks bond will not increase the City’s debt. The City plans to issue these bonds as old bonds are paid back, keeping tax rates approximately the same over time.”

The April 18 public meeting will also cover Districts 4 and 7, and will be hosted by Supervisor Eric Mar, Supervisor Carmen Chu, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, and the San Francisco Parks Alliance.

The meeting will take place at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park, located at 1199 9th Avenue near Lincoln, from 6:30pm until 8pm.

If you can’t attend the meeting, you can also email your feedback to rpd.bondfeedback@sfgov.org or click the “Feedback” tab on the Bonds project page and fill out a short form.

Sarah B.

Photo by sf eyes

Some local links to perk up your Wednesday afternoon:

• We got word this week from a reader that the longtime owners of Joe’s Ice Cream on Geary, Mutsuhiko and Aki Murashige, have sold the business to another family. Their last day with scoops in hand will be this Friday. They’ve owned it for 33 years. With a calculation of them working 360 days a year and scooping 25 cones a day (conservative!), between the two of them they’re probably dished out at least half a million scoops. Thank you Murashige family!
• On Thursday night from 6:30pm to 8:30pm, the Richmond District Library will screen the documentary “In Search of Good Food”, featuring Antonio Roman-Alcalá, an urban farming activist from San Francisco, on his search for the “sustainable” food system in California. Supervisor Eric Mar will be there for the post-film discussion panel.
• Welcome Ingenious Salon to the neighborhood. Located at 389 Arguello near Clement, they specialize in precision haircuts and are certified organic color specialists. Video
• This Saturday, St. James Preschool (4620 California) is having a children’s used clothing sale from 8am until 12noon, gently used clothes for kids age up to 5 years old.
• This Saturday in Golden Gate Park there is a “March to End Capitalism” leaving from the County Fair Building. “Go around back to drop acid with John Zerzan and talk about robot sex,” they include in their description. No idea WHEN the march takes place because they didn’t specify, but if you’re into that type of thing, keep an eye on the 8 Days of Anarchy website for details.
• Also on Saturday in GGP: Join Park and La Puerta de Oro from 1pm until 3pm for a celebration event at the Pioneer Log Cabin Picnic Area, just north of Stow Lake, in a joint project to renew and revive Golden Gate Park’s historic “Arch of Colonial Trees.” Planted by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1896, the “Arch of Colonial Trees” is a graceful allée of trees, each representing one of the original thirteen American Colonies. Golden Gate Park staff will gradually replace the original trees as needed. The first new trees to be dedicated will be a magnolia for South Carolina and a hemlock for Pennsylvania.
• Kookle Toys (6 Clement) will soon become “Sparky’s Toys”. That’s because Sparky’s Balloons, located right next door, has decided to expand their business.

Sarah B.

Photo by Elijah Ellis

• Free adult classes start at the Richmond Village Beacon on January 30th. Ballroom dance, yoga, tai chi, knitting, computers and English (ESL) instruction – all free! View class schedule
• Kisha Studio (210 Clement) has a spring sale event this Saturday. Free champagne, and hair mini makeover sessions from 1-5pm (call 422-0468 for an appt). Plus 10% off any purchase when you mention the Richmond Blog.
• Supervisor Mar’s latest resolution to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday was about the Grammy Awards and their limited selection of musical genres. No word yet on the Board’s reaction.
• SFCitizen reports that there will be a public meeting on January 26 about the remodel of the Stow Lake Boathouse. Hall of Flowers, 7pm.
• SF Rec & Park is planning a free tribute concert to Warren Hellman on February 19 from 11am until 5pm. Location will be either Hellman Hollow or Ocean Beach parking lots, depending on the weather. Organizers also hope to stream it live online.
• Feeling lucky? Enter to win a Green Apple $20 gift card from FunCheapSF.

Residents met with police and city officials on January 20th about the Jack in the Box
after hours permit request. Photo by David H.

Last Friday afternoon, the Richmond District police station hosted a community meeting about the Jack in the Box restaurant on Geary at 11th Avenue. At tomorrow’s Entertainment Commission meeting, the restaurant will be asking for their after-hours permit to be renewed, allowing them to remain open between the hours of 2am and 6am.

About ten neighbors attended the meeting, along with owners of two local bars – The Hearth and Would You Believe? – that are located just across the street from the restaurant. Others in attendance included new Richmond District station Captain Eric Vintero, two members of the Entertainment Commission, a representative from Jack in the Box, and Supervisor Eric Mar, who led the meeting.

Up for discussion was whether or not Jack in the Box should be permitted to stay open 24 hours. A fight began early on Thanksgiving morning in the restaurant, which then led to a brutal hit-n-run crime a couple of blocks away. After the incident, the city took a closer look at the restaurant and realized it no longer had the proper permits to operate after hours. So since early December, the Jack in the Box has been closed between 2am and 6am.

Neighbors who live nearby say it’s been a great improvement since the restaurant reduced its hours. There’s been less noise and a general sense of feeling safer.

“People have said for years it’s been like an alarm clock at 2 a.m.,” Lee said. “Now we can sleep through the night, and we feel safer to be shopping and walking around. It has transformed our neighborhood immediately around Jack in the Box, and we are here to fight to keep it this way,” resident David Lee told The Examiner.

The Examiner reports that police calls are down. The SFPD has received only 3 calls in the 7 weeks since Jack in the Box reduced their hours. In the months prior, when the restaurant was open 24/7, they were averaging 7 calls a month; a total of 270 calls in 2010. The majority of those occurred between 9pm and 4am.

While many residents are opposed to Jack in the Box being granted an after-hours permit, the SFPD are not. At the meeting, the police said they supported Jack in the Box being open 24 hours a day, with the stipulation that they increase their security.

Last year, the manager at the Jack in the Box worked with the Richmond Police Advisory Board and SAFE to make security improvements to the property, including improved lighting, adding security guards on Thursday through Saturday nights, and trimming overgrown landscaping.

Things seemed to be improving after the security changes, but the Thanksgiving day incident brought a high-powered microscope over the restaurant, one of only two businesses in the Richmond District that is open 24 hours a day.

The other is the Subway sandwich shop (5650 Geary at 21st Avenue) which, as it turns out, also does not have the proper permits to stay open after hours. The city is working to get them in to compliance. At last Friday’s meeting, Clement Street’s Rockit Room was mentioned several times as another source of neighborhood problems, resulting in police calls. Residents claim that so far, the club’s owners have not responded to the offer of a free security survey offer from SAFE, like the one that was provided for Jack in the Box last year.

The real fireworks will come at tomorrow’s meeting of the Entertainment Commission (6:30pm at City Hall, Room 400), when arguments will be heard from both sides about whether or not Jack in the Box should be allowed to operate after hours.

David Lee, a Richmond District resident and business owner, will no doubt present his petition for which he has gathered nearly 1,500 signatures from neighbors, all opposing Jack in the Box extending its hours.

But with the SFPD supporting a 24 hour operation and there being so few in the neighborhood, it’s possible that Jack in the Box could get its permit back.

Which way would you vote? To let Jack in the Box stay open 24 hours, or stay with their reduced hours?

Special thanks to cub reporter David H. for the details and photo from last Friday’s meeting.

Sarah B.

On Tuesday evening, the City’s Entertainment Commission met. On their agenda was to decide whether or not the Jack in the Box on Geary at 11th Avenue should get their after-hours permit approved, which would enable them to once again stay open from 2am until 6am every night.

During the meeting, the Commission voted instead to delay action on Jack In The Box’s application until their meeting on January 24 (6:30pm at City Hall). The reason given was to allow time for Supervisor Eric Mar to convene a neighborhood meeting that includes residents and the owners of the Jack in the Box restaurant.

Prior to the meeting, a petition was circulated that opposes Jack in the Box’s request to stay open after hours.

The petition has received 714 digital signatures so far. In the CBS news video above, organizer David Lee claims that he has gathered over 1,500 signatures from residents opposed to the Jack in the Box returning to 24 hour operations.

Jack in the Box’s status in the neighborhood came into question after a tragic incident. In the early hours of Thanksgiving morning, a fight inside the Jack in the Box later led to a brutal hit and run accident on the corner of 9th and Geary.

The victim, 29 year old Albert Bartal, remains hospitalized with serious brain trauma. Bartal’s family started a Facebook page and a website to raise funds for his recovery. According to a post from his mother, Albert remains in a coma.

Police eventually arrested Eduardo Shaparo Esquivel, a 22-year old South San Francisco man who was identified from security footage from inside the Jack in the Box during the initial fight.

Since the incident, it was revealed that the Jack in the Box was staying open 24 hours a day, despite not having the required city permits to do so. As a result, they were forced to cut their hours and close at 2am every night.

The Entertainment Commission will address the issue again on their January 24 agenda. In the meantime, expect a neighborhood meeting to be scheduled by Supervisor Mar.

On a humorous note, the Examiner pointed out today that while testifying at the Commission meeting, Supervisor Mar admitted a penchant for Jack in the Box’s tacos.

“I eat late night tacos at Jack in the Box,” he said. “I just admitted I eat fast food.” It’s a tad ironic given his McDonald’s Happy Meal legislation that went into effect last month (which even earned him an interview on the Daily Show).

Sarah B.

In late October, after a prolonged dogfight with City Hall and neighborhood pet store owners, PETCO officially withdrew their application for the space.

We asked how readers felt about PETCO being shown the doggie door in a survey in late July. The results? 61% disagreed with the Board of Supervisor’s approval of the uber-specific legislation that banned formula pet retailers from Geary between 14th and 28th Avenues.

You all had plenty to say about it in the comments too. ”

It seems that keeping chain pet stores out of the Richmond District isn’t enough for Supervisor Mar, who tells the Examiner he is concerned about the upcoming Target store openings, including one at Masonic and Geary.

“I am concerned about the many ways corporate chain stores threaten the well-being and quality of life of our community,” Mar said.

In typical City Hall style, there will be a hearing on the topic, spearheaded by Mar.

So, what do you think? Are you in favor of continuing to keep any chain store out of the Richmond District? Or should we allow them in to help fill the many vacant retail spaces in the neighborhood? Leave a comment to let us know.

Sarah B.

On Saturday, hundreds laid down in the sand at Ocean Beach to spell out “TAX THE 1%” to support the current wave of “We are the 99%” protests taking place across the country.

The event was organized by Bay Area taxi driver Brad Newsham. “I work hard every day,” said Newsham. “It isn’t right that I pay higher taxes than billionaires like Warren Buffet. And actually, Mr. Buffet agrees with me on this.”

Newsham hired a helicopter and photographer to fly overhead and take pictures. He also organized the “Slash Oil” protest at Ocean Beach in June of last year.

RichmondSFBlog reader Jean B. was on the scene, where she spotted Richmond District Supervisor Eric Mar and Supervisor (and mayoral candidate) John Avalos.

Sarah B.

Supervisors Eric Mar (L) and John Avalos | Photo by Steve Rhodes

Photo by Steve Rhodes