All stories about "Aaron Peskin"

Peskin and The Gang— here, Supervisor Alioto-Pier— have thrown a cog in the wheel of Gavin's Sunday Streets event during which 4.6 miles' worth of pavement through Bayview and along the Embarcadero will be cordoned off in an effort to get everyone off their lazy asses encourage San Franciscans to meet-and-greet while strolling/ biking/ Segway scootering along the promenade. If the Supes have their way, however, Sunday Streets will be subjected to the Board's whims before it even gets off the ground— and we all know how bureaucracy rolls around these parts. Business folk at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf have damage with the plan— in this town, it's not a real event unless someone has beef, after all— even though Gavin's jumping through hoops, having already scaled the 4-hour event back from three to two Sundays in August.
· Supervisors Buckle Up to Drive Over 'Sunday Streets' [Rincon Hill Examiner]
· Gav to Shut Down Embarcadero for Pedestrian Invasion [Curbed SF]

Patron Supe of North Beach, Aaron Peskin, has penned a proposal that, when if passed, will appoint a new commission to oversee the historical preservation of San Francisco's buildings, landmarks, and anything else that's kinda old and/or might "interfere" with new development. Unlike most large cities in the United States, our Planning Commission also handles preservation in addition to regular development and land-use issues (we are in San Francisco, mind you— it's our bubble and we'll do as we please inside of it). Claws out, Marsha and Nancy: Under Peskin's plan, a new Landmarks Preservation Board will supersede the Planning Commission. Some fear (and justifiably so) that said board will have too much authority in instances where new development clashes with the old days. And we're not talking about a commemorative plaque or two— if Peskin gets what Peskin wants, his new puppet regime board could wield power over affordable housing, zoning discrepancies, and even— brace— building heights.
· Powerful new S.F. landmarks board proposed [SF Gate]
· Serious Shitshow: Curbed Presents the Pagoda Theater [Curbed SF]
· Trouble in CAMP Land: "Adverse Effects" Feared [Curbed SF]
· Preservationists Prevail: Supes Zap Bayview Housing [Curbed SF]

“I think we’re bringing something to voters that is not half-baked, but fully baked,” says the ever-eloquent Board of Supes President Aaron Peskin of the proposed $887.4 million bond measure that, if ratified, will provide for the retrofit and renovation of San Francisco General Hospital. (The plans for which, not-so-incidentally, include a new 442,000 square foot building and 284 acute-care and intensive-care beds.) As it stands, the plan shall burden homeowners with an extra $289 in property tax on a $500,000 home; the rate will be adjusted according to the value of one's property, obviously.

Up with building trends! Fong & Chan Architects aspire to build a LEED-certified building with rooftop garden and— thus far, at least— no helipad, lest those suffering cardiac arrest or pesky life-threatening injuries irritate the cochlea of nearby residents. The doctors among you have whined about the building's new design (residents will have to walk to a separate building in order to to snag their 6.2 minutes of sleep). Worry not, docs— the Planning Department has your back. They care not for your well-being, however, but rather the "historical integrity" of the site; more gridlock at the Highway 101 interchange with Potrero Avenue and Cesar Chavez Street is another pressing concern. On July 15th, the Supers will decide whether the measure makes the cut for the November election.
· The City’s hospital bill: $887.4 million [SF General Hospital]
· Gavin Renews His Vows with SF General Hospital [Curbed SF]
· SF General Helipad Hospital Re-Design Revealed [Curbed SF]

C.W. Nevius throws in his two cents' worth on the Pagoda Theater in today's Chron; nothing new here, save a few priceless lines from the inimitably quotable Aaron Peskin who paraphrased Rodney King (1992 L.A. Riots, North Beach NIMBY quibble— total correlation there) while assessing the state of the nabe. In response to developer Joe Campos, whose plans to transform the site into residential condos remains caught in the crossfire, Peskin said: "I told him, 'Hey, dude, I just want to get along ... In no way is this legislation aimed at the Pagoda Theater.'" Peskin claims no ill will toward those who support redevelopment in the area, including the single mother who mortgaged her house in order to open the long-beleaguered (and as of Sunday, now open) Fro-Yo shop, Swirl Culture. The Pagoda's property owner claims that opposition is "coming out of one household" (i.e. Peskin's). The kicker, however, goes another disgruntled North Beacher: "If that legislation passes, Aaron Peskin's legacy will be an aviary." Not to mention a whole lot of shit.
· Serious Shitshow: Curbed Presents the Pagoda Theater [Curbed SF]
· North Beach Says: "Enough With the Plywood" [Curbed SF]
· Theater of Absurdity: North Beach Wars Over Pagoda Development [Curbed SF]
· (Pre) Development Watch: Reincarnation at Columbus and Powell [Curbed SF]
· Ask Curbed SF: Graf Can't Mask North Beach Eyesore [Curbed SF]

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

Shitshow. For once, the situation at hand begs for literal use of this, our most overused cherished of all pejoratives. Behold the Pagoda Theater, in all its bombed-out, faded, pigeon dung-encrusted glory; the theater-cum-bunker is one of a battalion of buildings at the center of North Beach neighbors' ongoing skirmish over building, zoning, and preservation (not to mention Fro-Yo). Following a very special invitation, Curbed SF dispatched an operative over to 1701 Powell Street in order to document a site whose ruins, as you see here, may not inspire the sort of romantic vision wistful preservationists tend to cling to. A couple of phone calls and a few IMversations with our operative garnered the following intel:

· The building has been gutted entirely— no furniture, fixtures, or remnants of any kind, save an obscene coating of pigeon doo. Following an impassioned tirade on the doings of North Beach's infamous nabe groups, our informant insisted "there's nothing here to preserve! No columns, no arches...!" Rant roll call: Supe Aaron Peskin, wife and Telegraph Hill Dwellers prez Nancy Shanahan, and NB Chamber of Commerce prez Marsha Garland, natch. Not-so-incidentally, if all systems remain at a "go," 17-20 residential units, parking, and restaurant space will eventually occupy the site.

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

Precious, often contentious, and much sough-after views from the city's northern nabes prove some of the most prized real estate features in the city. Hell, some supervisors people get so upset over these views, they're driven to drunk dialing and idle threats. You can spare yourself the fifth of gin and the late night calls by dropping $2,395,000 for the view at 1111 Greenwich Street, whose listing describes it as "an observatory to its surroundings." No additions allowed.
· 1111 Greenwich Street [MLS]
· Port Workers, Funding Threatened Over Building Height Limits [Curbed SF]

Under the cover of night (or the North Beach Festival) a fed-up hooligan or two scaled the shuttered building at 1701 Powell Street, on the corner of Powell and Columbus, in order to deliver a pointed message to the notoriously NIMBY-infested nabe below: "Enough with the plywood," says the strategically-placed banner. Built in 1909, the former Pagoda Theater has soldiered through a long series of identity changes including— shocker— a stint as a 24-hour Rite Aid. Next up: Around 17 dwellings, underground parking, and (via per Eater) a rumored second resto for La Corneta on the ground floor. Now don't expect any of this to go down soon— as per our last post on the subject:

Naturally, nabe cronies from rival groups the North Beach Neighbors and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers are going fisticuffs over the plan which, if approved (as if!), could be under construction as soon as August. Everyone has something to say on the subject, of course, least of all Supervisor Aaron Peskin and Marsha Garland, president of the NB Chamber of Commerce. Says Garland of Nancy Shanahan, Telegraph Hill Dwellers president (and Peskin's wife) who Garland claims puts the block on any and every project: "She says, 'It doesn't look like it did back in the '30s,' " ... "Well, neither do you, lady." Harsh.

Thanks to the Chron's C.W. Nevius for helping us with our homework— Nev's picked up the scent on the (hopefully) soon-to-be-new-and-improved Pagoda Theater across from Washington Square Park. Last month, a Curbed SF reader alerted us to the proposed project, which calls for 17 residential units (according to our source; Nevius says 20) underground parking, and ground-floor restaurant space. The latest proposal is one in a long history of "almost" and "could've been" plans for the site, which was built in 1909 and has survived many incarnations since, including a stint as a 24-hour Rite Aid. A Rite Aid pharmacy. In North Beach. Imagine.

Paging Naomi Campbell and her Blackberry: Naturally, nabe cronies from rival groups the North Beach Neighbors and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers are going fisticuffs over the plan which, if approved (as if!), could be under construction as soon as August. Everyone has something to say on the subject, of course, least of all Supervisor Aaron Peskin and Marsha Garland, president of the NB Chamber of Commerce. Says Garland of Nancy Shanahan, Telegraph Hill Dwellers president (and Peskin's wife) who Garland claims puts the block on any and every project: "She says, 'It doesn't look like it did back in the '30s,' " ... "Well, neither do you, lady." Harsh. (Hired!)

Capitalist takeover! The Board of Supervisors have granted ICI Paints permission to take over the former Hollywood Video storefront at the corner of Cesar Chavez and South Van Ness Avenue, thus overturning its initial decision to ban the store's move from Market Street to that location. Peskin was the sole dissenter — which means that yes, Ammiano voted in the affirmative. Caveats: the store must comply with existing noise ordinances in the area, plant trees and shrubs (environmental brownie points: check) and prohibit delivery trucks from idling outside. What a day.
· Chain store allowed to move into vacant Mission District space [SF Gate]

[Image courtesy Katy Raddatz for the San Francisco Chronicle]

The People's Guide is Curbed SF's tour o' the nabes, led by our most loyal readers, favorite bloggers, and other luminaries of our choosing. Jackson West has been on board with us as a guest contributor for the past week— he's been blogging in and about San Francisco for nearly five years, most recently gossiping about the technology industry at Valleywag. Why not go out in a blazing ball of flaming glory? Thus we present Jackson's last post in this series, a hard-hitting piece of journalistic inquiry if there ever was one. Let it rip, Jackson.

I get a lot of weird mailers at my building. Living in North Beach, it's apparently assumed that I agree with the Examiner's Ken Garcia, can't wait to read about Donald Fisher's CAMP in Northside and that I might want to recall my district representative, President of the Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin. Okay, that last one made me chuckle. Isn't he about to get termed out, and hasn't he publicly expressed his unwillingness to run again for public office? (Which hasn't stopped talk of mayoral ambition.) But one of the "issues" the flier brought up was the rumor about Peskin getting a sweetheart deal on his Telegraph Hill home— one that has been around for years.

It was on my rumor radar early in 2006, even though it was quickly discounted by H. Brown, from whom I first heard the anecdote. I did some digging, and I came up with bupkiss. I could confirm some details, but the crux of the allegations— that Peskin was essentially gifted hundreds of thousands of dollars by local Republicans and that the Department of Building Inspection let him get away with un-permitted renovations— I couldn't nail down. And frankly, given that I run into Peskin regularly and I've heard he can be really mean, I didn't want to press the issue.

But if anyone can make sense of it all, I figured Curbed readers might. So quit slaggin' me in the comments and put on your thinkin' caps, as I shall present the facts without judgment as best as I can:

The People's Guide is Curbed SF's tour o' the nabes, led by our most loyal readers, favorite bloggers, and other luminaries of our choosing. This week, we welcome Jackson West on board as a guest contributor; Jackson has been blogging in and about San Francisco for nearly five years, most recently gossiping about the technology industry at Valleywag. Join Jackson every day this week as he says his piece about the NB. Want to say yours, blogger? Holler!

It's getting to be that time of year again— the time of year when everyone has an opinion about the North Beach Festival. Two years ago the event was almost canceled because of concerns over alcohol and whether or not the event was "family friendly." This year, instead of "think of the children!" the anti-festival party line seems to be "think of the grass!" Yes, the fight over the fest has devolved into an actual turf war. And as if to make it perfectly clear what's at stake, fencing has surrounded the park for weeks, installed to protect newly laid sod.

I'm not really sure where the antipathy originated. North Beach puts up with thousands of tourists every day, and every weekend, thousands of drunks at varying levels of belligerence. Local merchants reportedly do quite well, with every bar and eatery packed for blocks. The only thing I can imagine is that it's in keeping with a certain level of NIMBYism that's begun to infest San Francisco city life and politics, from the Haight to the Castro, from Folsom Street to Washington Square Park.

What once was La Torre restaurant (on the Filbert Steps, at Montgomery) is soon to be a single-family home, whose mural-covered facade is the already the nabe's Kvetch du Jour, according to a local's report from the Curbed SF inbox. The nabes is divided, apparently, between those who find it pleasant, and those who believe that painting the outside of one's house is akin to playing music too loudly, or cribbing the neighbor's electricity in order to power your Christmas display— It's just bad business. Let's preempt Peskin's undoubtedly forthcoming legislation with a reader vote:

Curbed polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Click the image above to view the full photogallery.

The "other Seawall Lot", number 351, is back in the hot seat following the Port Commission's recent deliberations over the development of Seawall Lot 337. Allow us to set the scene: The developer who owns purchase rights to the Golden Gate Tennis & Swim Club at 8 Washington Street (between Drumm and the Embarcadero) has plans— has had plans for a long time, actually— to develop the northeast portion of the club by replacing two pools, three tennis courts, and the clubhouse with an 84-foot building and 107 condo units (34 affordable), along with an underground parking garage. (Note that today's Chron article contradicts one published back in March by the Examiner, which claimed that two 84-foot buildings were included in this second proposal; the first was rejected in 2004).

Objections? Need we even ask? View-loving North Beach and Telegraph Hill residents have long opposed the plan since its first inception. The buzz lay dormant, however, until last January's Drunkdialgate, wherein a scotch-soaked Aaron Peskin made some not-so-politically savvy phone calls to local port officials, threatening to kick ass and take names over the proposed development. Locals want none other than parks and public spaces, and the Port is allegedly accepting "community input" before pimping out the project to local developers. Holding ...
· S.F. port faces big battle over seawall lot [SF Gate]
· Development Watch: 8 Washington Street, Take Deux [Curbed SF]
· Port Workers, Funding Threatened Over Building Height Limits [Curbed SF]

In a rather damning indictment issued in today's New York Times, Mayor Gavin Newsom finally cops to what the rest of us accepted as fact long ago: San Francisco's Board of Supervisors needs to put the breaks on, pronto. Though the resto industry appears to have sustained the hardest (with mandates issued that demand health care for all resto workers and that nutritional information be posted by chains, for instance) though stringent rules and regulations have obviously affected nabe goings-on, too. Perhaps most telling— and certainly most priceless— is the article's closing quote, issued by one Mr. District Supervisor Aaron Peskin regarding his proposed ordinance that, if passed, will fine office buildings will force all skyscrapers to extinguish their nonemergency lights after sundown:

“Do I really think there’s going to be some sort of light cop that’s going to go up to the 29th floor and see if someone’s working? Of course not,” ... “But you can kind to try to guilt-trip people with this kind of thing.”

Following last week's reader query, North Beach neighbor Towse schooled us on the history of the building at the corner of Columbus and Powell, built in 1909 as the Washington Square Theater, it has subsequently been reborn as several other theaters, a taqueria, apartments, and even a 24-hour Rite Aid— this was pre-Peskin, of course— before resigning to its current state of dilapidation. Now, we place the eyesore on (Pre) Development Watch: According to the following (anonymous!) reader, however, the building won't be lying dormant for long:

As a neighbor within the right distance, I got a notice from the city a couple months ago about this building saying that the owners are undertaking an environmental impact study based on a new proposed plan to put restaurant space on the ground floor and 17 residential units above. Parking for the 17 units below ground. Most of the units will be 2 bedrooms with a couple of three bedrooms thrown in.

At this year's North Beach Festival, the nabes wants to make the park a sobriety zone. Why? Well, because they see the square as "the neighborhood's backyard." (Aren't backyards traditionally places where people gather, eat, drink, and generally partake in communal merriment?) A couple of years back, Washington Square was divided in a decision that could have been made by Solomon himself: Drinking was made legal on one half of the park, while the other was reserved for those throwing vitriolic stares at drunks on the other side. All the park was pissed off. Brace for this year's plan, up for review this week: It calls for vendors to stop selling beer in the park, which will instead become an "all ages beer garden." Washington Square Park: Zeitgeist for the entire family.
· New rules brewing for festival drinking [Examiner]

[Image via flickr user mukulkundu]

A Socket Site tipster— the developer, actually— has blown the whistle on, who else by Supe Aaron Peskin, who it appears is trying to put the breaks brakes on 55 Laguna, the proposed redevelopment of Hayes Valley's UC Berkeley Extension at the corner of Haight and Laguna Streets. A mixed-use development of housing (428 units' worth), retail, and public green space is planned for the site. According to Socket's report, Peskin is attempting to stop the project by introducing a measure (today, in fact) that appeals to the Landmarks Board and preservation planners at the Planning Department, both of whom have long opposed the project on grounds of— well, because it's going to change the city landscape, that's why, regardless of an Environmental Impact Report that indicates a strong leaning toward keeping things in line on the "keeping things the same" front. According to the developer, however, the project will be absolutely dead in the water should Peskin's plan garner approval.
· Supervisor Peskin Engineers An End-Run (And Ending) For 55 Laguna [Socket Site]
· Berkeley Hayes Valley Extension Redesign Approved [Curbed SF]

If we asked you which district Supervisor might back a mandate that forces all skyscrapers to extinguish their nonemergency lights after sundown, who would you guess might support such a bill? Gotta be Daly or Peskin, right? Score one for the Pesk, whose proposal would fine non-compliant businesses $50 for the first infraction, $100 for the second, and $250 for the third— and require automatic shut-off devices to be installed throughout the buildings. So essentially, the city will be issuing what amounts to parking tickets to those businesses that fail to dim the switches. Those companies that, according to local merchants, are already being fined for their utility expenditures because they pay higher commercial energy bills.

We can't bestow all of the credit on Peskin, however: the Supe was led to water by a retired banker-cum-photog on Telegraph Hill who noticed, while snapping the FiDi at night, that "there were not janitors cleaning the eighth through 24th floors of a building at 3 a.m. on Sunday." (How lazy of them!) After becoming increasingly annoyed by the lights, our photog took his snaps to Peskin and said, quote: "Dammit, can't we do something about this?" And so here we are, waiting for the backlash— nobody F's with our skyline, Peskin. (No one, except everyone, that is.)
· Supervisor proposes lights-out for downtown [SF Gate]

[Image courtesy Flickr photog tejana]

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, who has been wheelchair-bound since she sustained a ski-related injury at 13, has vowed to sue after the city rejected (with a 6-5 vote) a $1.1 million plan to build a handicapped-accessible ramp at city hall. Why $1.1 million? Initial reader speculation centered around the attendant sound system set for reconfiguration as part of the plan. Seems that historical preservation is also of utmost importance here: the proposal includes the preservation of a Manchurian oak platform and podium that dates from 1915; said oak is now extinct, natch. On the gossip end, Alioto-Pier and opponent Chris Daly (who wants to build a homeless shelter instead of the ramp) threw down over the measure during yesterday's debate. Note that the clerk's desk, now accessible by a non-ADA compliant ramp, is actually blocked by Board President Supe Aaron Peskin, who sits in front of it. Nice. [SF Gate]
· Supes Block Wheelchair Riders, Taxpayers Pick Up Slack [Curbed SF]

[Image courtesy SF Gate]

San Franciscans are about to have a lot more to watch out for than uneven pavement while stumbling home at the end of the night. The— drumroll— Board of Supes has approved a resolution that will require the Department of Public Works to install human-shaped bronze plaques along city streets in memory of homeless individuals who died there. The project will be privately funded by record producer Ian Brennan, who has worked extensively with Oakland's mentally ill homeless population. The catch— or rather, the joke: The plaques are slated for installation in Supes Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi's districts only. However, neither Mirkarimi (who is listed on the resolution as a co-sponsor) nor Daly; nor board president one Mr. Aaron Peskin recalled the measure when contacted by the Chron for comment. No further commentary necessary.
· Bronze plaques may mark where homeless died [SF Gate]

Everyone seems to want a greener San Francisco, but as two dueling ordinances show, selecting the proper shade is no easy task. The most clearly defined differences in the ordinances revolve around LEED requirements— a flawed system to be sure— but (for now) the only one we've got. In one corner, weighing in at 175 lbs (hair product included) is Mayor Gavin Newsom and a policy mandating all new construction must qualify for base LEED certification, with a plan to gradually raise the standard to LEED gold certification by 2012. And In the other corner, in the green trunks, is Supervisor Aaron Peskin (surprise) who has his own ordinance requiring that the city immediately call for all new construction to be built according the LEED gold standard. The mayor's Green Building Task Force believes that the time line will help businesses adjust to higher initial costs while opponents of his plan believe that an "if you build it they will come" mentality will prevail and high upfront costs will lessen as demand increases. Gavin's plan will be presented in mid-March, with the likely outcome being some sort of combination of the two plans.
· Building green in SF [SF Bay Guardian]
· Greener Than Thou: Carbon Neutral by 2020? [Curbed SF]

Starting today, Supe Chris Daly will collect signatures— at least 7,168, he hopes— of local residents who, like him, oppose the Newsom-backed Lennar Corp. building plan at Candlestick Point/ Hunters Point Shipyard. Designed to help lure the 49ers back on home, 10,000 new homes, along with a new stadium, retail and the usual all-American glut of parks /clubs/ T.G.I. Friday's will occupy the area, 25% of which will be designated "affordable." Daly, along with his supporters, want 50% of said units to be made available to those whose incomes meet 30-80% of the median. (Newsom's plan doesn't legally require jack shit in the way of requirements, Daly claims.) If Daly can help it, his oppositional bid will join Lennar's on the June 3rd ballot. Lennar's people have called the measure a "poison pill," citing the unlikelihood that a commercial builder could accomplish such a project at 50% below-market rate. Even homies Aaron Peskin and Jake McGoldrick have abandoned their main man on this one. Affordable housing, T.G.I. Friday's . . . WW49D, people? What would the 49ers do?
· Daly starts Candlestick renovation initiative [SF Gate]

The Academy of Art University will purchase Flower Mart over local merchants'— and Aaron Peskin's— dead bodies: Supervisor Peskin used yesterday's supe meeting to launch the legislation that local tenants hope will stave off the Academy of Art University's ability to make changes to the property; the Academy had planned to convert the building into studio space. The Academy has been under the city's watchful eye for some time now due to shady business dealings during its bids for world domination city properties, often ejecting tenants with little notice. Strategic? No, we dare say. Said Peskin, nobly: "To the Academy of Art, if you are listening, it is not too late to abandon this wrongheaded deal and save your reputation in San Francisco." Students, take note: it won't be so long before the Academy turns your young, idealistic asses onto the street, too.
· Peskin pushes for Flower Mart moratorium; Newsom wants fresh lights [SF Gate]
· Academy of Art University to Purchase Flower Mart Over Merchants' Dead Bodies [Curbed SF]
· Building Control: Academy of Art University Under Fire [Curbed SF]