Answers to one of last week's questions, submitted by actual readers, below. If you've got a better answer, another question, or a sweet, sweet digital photograph, send us a line at sf@curbed.com.
The Mission: We (or you, really) asked about what's going on in the vacant lot on 18th and Shotwell plus the no-longer Vietnamese grocery structure ("specifically the strange half-built condo-ish building on the corner of Mission and 18th? They dug the foundation and poured the concrete base... then promptly built out the wood skeleton on floors two and three, before tearing the third floor off and stopping work all together." ), and we got some more info:
An emailer told us that only recently has the site gotten better fencing that
ended the homeless tent/cardboard city that had been building up. Now it's just a lot full of disgusting trash... A series of fencing pieces, which are frequently hit and bent over by cars, have been set in the road in lieu of an actual sidewalk and parking... the property belongs to a union, and is/was the proposed site of a union hall, although the sign describing the proposed construction has either been taken down or stolen. I've also seen campaign propaganda on the site. Perhaps this is how they get multiple DPW and DPT permits renewed over and over despite the lack of action on-site... So far, calling the city hasn't gotten anything fixed. Complaining about expired permits results in fresh permits being put up. Asking for a real sidewalk instead of the "temporary" one is ignored. So, we still have no idea what the hell is going on there and the saga continues...