July 9, 2007
SFist Photo: Mission District Monkeywrenching?
Look what the SFPD just confiscated at a rally in the Mission this afternoon - see it in the lower right corner?
Well there we were this afternoon at another rally in the Mission, this one protesting against gentrification in general, and the current plans for the old Kelly-Moore property on Cesar Chavez in particular. In addition to seeing area stalwarts like Tommi Avicolli Mecca and District 9 Supervisorial candidate David Campos, we also saw what looked to be a pair of 24 inch bolt cutters. What could they have been used for? See you after the jump!
First, the issue itself about this property and Walgreen's is ably described by the Bay Guardian here. Some people are for, some are against. What do you think?
It certainly appears that somebody came to the scene with the idea of breaching the nine foot tall chain link fence surrounding the parcel and maybe inviting a few people into the old parking lot. As far as we know, it's not illegal to walk around San Francisco with bolt cutters and there's nothing to suggest to us that any of the organizers were involved with doing anything improper. What we DO know is that there's a great deal of interest in this issue and that there will be a slew of rallies at this location in the very near future.
[Update. Oh, we have always have such clever and helpful commenters! Here's a link to one possible future for the lot at 3400 Cesar Chavez.]
That'll get 'er done.
And its one, two, three, this is what we're fighting for:
The large crowd spilt onto Mission Street. Will they be back tomorrow?
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It is extremely important for the future of the city and, indeed, humanity itself that we preserve this abandoned paint store and its parking facility for the enjoyment of future generations.
They should block the construction and let the area rot further! Maybe a pot club for the space? Or perhaps a gang traning facility?
If I remember right, it is illegal to be running around with a pair of bolt cutters and not be either in a construction zone or have some sort of construction license, I think? I could be wrong, but it is justifiable for a police officer to stop you on the street if you have a pair out in the open. Some people might think it's wrong for the police to do that, these people don't ride bikes in SF.
Maybe they wanted to use the portapotty?
This is awesome! I can't wait for another porn production company to open up!
Put something there, and make the space is used for retail and residential. Empty lots == blight. Should hand out copies to Death and Life to these people? And for frack's sake, make sure you lose the parking lot, we don't need more stinking cars in the mission.
There is a real plan and funding for the Bernal Height Neighborhood Center to build low income housing and a community center in this location but the developers want to build market rate condos and yet another Walgreen's. This is a case where these activist have a plan to stop the gentrification of the Mission but the developers want to thwart the city plan the requires more low income housing development and make a quick buck.
What's Whitey McDreadlock protesting about now?
Oh, and why do you keep blurring people's faces? They are out in public, tough if they get there mugs on the Web when they should be in a birthing studies class or something.
BHNC DOESN'T have a plan OR funding, and their idea is for 100%low-income housing and a day labor hiring hall.
The neighbors and owner wants moderate-income homeownership, an afterschool education center and a Walgreen's.
This ain't gentrification.
Here is the url:
http://3400cesarchavez.net/
Guest #6, indeed, they've worked out everything except the part where the developer would get the financial incentive to actually build and manage the property. Golly, for the life of me I can't figure out why the developer wouldn't want to buy in to that kind of scheme!
Guest: does the "real plan" involve the unilateral seizure of the property from its owners? If not, how do they intend to acquire the property?
Oh goodie. The trustafarian hipsters are playing activist again. Nothing reinvigorates a neighborhood like a vacant lot surrounded by a chain-link fence on a high-profile street corner. Let's keep that corner poor so those fat cat developers don't get any richer. That will show em!
the bhnc is a pay-for-play scheme for ammiano. mecca is one of his shock troops. bhnc is to provide volunteers for ammiano's assembly run. in return, ammiano uses city money to fund the new site. the fbi comes down on jew but not this. the bhnc plan came up way after the housing proposal.
the saddest part about this is that nearly all of the neighbors want something clean and safe there. there's a hospital, church, and school right next to it. none of the fauxsters and angry queers care about the latinos and blacks who want safety for their kids.
this is disgusting. bernal hill is the most racist neighborhood in san francisco, led by ammiano the biggest closet racist of them all. in leauge with sellouts like quesada, saucedo, and marquez. pull up the ladder behind you, kids.
or maybe i'm wrong and latinos like living in sqaulor.
#9, how in the hell is this NOT gentrification?
#13 have any more unsubtantiated, unfounded slander for us?
How can it be "gentrification" if nobody lives there now? Gentrification is where you tear down housing where poor people live and put up more expensive housing. There's no housing at this site yet!
Nothing lends legitimacy to your protest like bolt cutters.
#14, you're the one disputing the term so why don't you explain to all of us how it IS gentrification.
#14,
Is any improvement of a property gentrification? What are the non-gentrification options? Raze the building and give the property to a non-profit and allow the homeless to put tents up?
I'm no expert, but I did major in Urban Planning not that long ago. According to my shaky memory, gentrification is about low-income residents having to move out of traditionally low-income neighborhoods because of rising property values, rents and overall cost of living.
So unless the new development makes it prohibitively expensive for the people living nearby to continue lving nearby, it ain't gentrification. I could be wrong though.
gentrification has nothing to do with buildings - it's a term used by people that are scared of change.
#14: A Coach store and one of Gav's crappy nightspots would count as gentrification. How low is your bar exactly? (If you'll excuse the pun.)
Two friends are vocally opposed to the gentrification represented by this project, and in the Mission, in general.
They pay $3,500 a month for a Mission flat that rented for $750/mo as little as ten years ago.
Heh.
i do believe #6 14 15 are the same bhnc troll. or sweet little tommi who makes it his business to speak for all the afflicted of the world. never had the ambition to actually get a job and build a life so no one else should have one either. oh, sorry, he's in theater. does one show every five years count?
you want proof about the bhnc scheme? go to the cal sec of state website and look to see who the donors are for ammiano's assembly run.
the city needs to make a stand and say yes to safety and future for the mission. not filth and crime and drugs. if there is a hell ammiano and campos will rot there one day for the lives they helped ruin.
@slosh415:
I think that's a big part of what's going on - that building market rate condos, or "affordable" units that aren't really affordable to people that currently rent in the area, will end up making it more expensive and eventually force people out. People can be displaced directly or through the impact on the neighborhood.
The theme of the current action is "another project is possible" but the proposed project first has to be stopped for alternatives to really be considered.
Uniformed snark and anonymous spinmeistering...how unexpected. I'm latino, I have a family, and I'm against the Seven Hills condo project. I was at the rally today, most of the faces that were there were brown and yeah, poster #13, there were some angry queers there in solidarity with us, and seniors and representatives from labor too. Do queers not have a right to protest against yet another market rate condo project in the Mission. The facts are, most folks in the Mission can't afford to pay $500,000 to $700,000 for a condo. The average latino household in the Mission makes less than $45,000 per year. Is it wrong for people to demand that the City stop approving housing projects that are way beyond the means of the vast majority of the people that live in the neighborhood? BHNC put in a bid for $5.9 mil for this site, an amount that the Mayor's office of Housing vetted as being reasonable for that site. BHNC has a great track record of developing housing for working class folks, what the hell is racist about that?!? Maybe the folks that are attacking BHNC know something I don't, but when you back a luxury housing development while attacking a non-profit developer as racist you seriously undermine your arguments.
Save the Mission: make sure it is full of empty weed covered lots and porn studios. Make sure we do NOT under any circumstances build housing of any level for anyone! Sounds like a great plan for people to have places to live....and sorry kids, developers are just trying to run a business. They can't build on that lot and hand out condos for free like you'd like them to do.
Unfortunately 5 years from now this corner will still be a weed covered lot while the same people are complaining there's not enough housing in SF.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary: "gentrification" is "The restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people."
Unclear to me how you can displace people who aren't there yet.
Ok, you don't like Coach stores and Gav's nightclubs. Either do I (although I do think it would be funny to see the Marina crowd mixing with the crowd that goes to that nightclub on Mission right around the corner from Kelly-Moore). But, really, housing and a drugstore are gentrification? How high is your bar?
I know San Francisco is expensive. I live here too. But you stomping your feet because property owners aren't giving their property away for free to poor people isn't helping. You NIMBYs are the main reason San Francisco can't increase it's housing stock. This project seems very reasonable and if you guys are bringing bolt cutters to protest this then you really are crazy and there is no reasoning with you.
that project looks really great for the hood
how sad are these people
BTW - Not saying one way or the other whether the protest was a good idea, only that a different theme might have been considered.
Screw this, I'm moving to Monaco. Maybe I can protest and have them build me a house I can afford.
missionman you're as anon as i am. no reason to believe a word you say. while you can go see the ammiano funders. go see the bhnc plans. 5.9 million is nothing and would provide zero incentive for a developer. but you know that.
bhnc has no record of anything except for white priveledged dog owners and fighting for their property values and color purity. seems someone has been coopted into the club.
But more importantly: why the Coach hate, friends? They make amazing bags that I can never, ever afford.
For those morons who say BHNC's plan has no incentives for the developer, you're just not getting it. Let's put it into grade school language for you: BHNC pays $5.9M to the owner of the land. BHNC then develops the affordable housing project. BHNC would be the developer. The "incentive" for the owner is they get $5.9M for their land.
Man, I'm surprised some people even know how to cross the street.
As for the boltcutters thing, its possible to arrest someone on the basis of tools they are carrying - for example, its long been a crime to be caught in possession of lockpicks, unless you are a licensed locksmith. The presumption being, that unless you ARE a licensed locksmith, the only reason you'd be carrying lockpicks is if you intended to burglar someone's house. Likewise, the only reason anyone would have a pair of boltcutters at a protest like this would be to illegal cut the fence and trespass onto the property.
those of you protesting today, how much homework did you do on the folks that convinced you to rally in the first place? i recall reading about this last week and if memory serves, the other side of this project is actually a rival developer. how sad is that! you were all just pawns today being used by the man. go home.
question for the anti "gentrification" crowd:
part of the problem with housing prices is due to the limited supply of housing. so, if we can use available parcels and unused land to construct high density housing, won't that help everyone with their rent and mortgages?
even if the newly constructed housing is martket rate, as long as it is high density it should decrease rents. particularly if those people buying into a project like this are first time home buyers moving out of rentals.
but i didn't know squat about this project until 10 minutes ago, so i can't speak with much authority about the pros and cons.
here's the link to the story i read last week that tells you who'se really behind the protest:
http://leftinsf.com/blog/index.php/archives/2037
#35: So the incentive to the developer is to walk away from the site with far less than he'd make if he built and developed the housing himself... and you're calling us the morons?
If y'all have had your fill of snark for the day, check out the comments on the Left in SF post. They're mostly informed and passionate but respectful.
I live a block away from Mission and Cesar Chavez and there's one thing I'm certain about: this neighborhood does not need another Walgreens! There's already four Walgreens within walking distance including one four blocks away at 23rd. I assume Walgreens would be considered a "formula retail store," which means that it will need a Special Use Permit (thanks to last year's Measure G), and I'll be sure to make time to testify against it if it comes to that.
I don't accept that are only choices are the current Seven Hills proposal and an empty lot. There has to be a better option than market rate condos, the bare minimum of affordable housing, a Walgreens, and a parking lot.
BHNC did a great job on the Bernal Gateway Apartments across the street. It's a 100% affordable development, and the residents there have been model neighbors. I never see the cops over there, as opposed to the sketchy public housing down at Harrison and Cesar Chavez.
How the f**k has BHNC got hold of $5.9 mil?
To #39 - I didn't claim that the profit to do the BHNC deal might be less than the profit to made on a market-rate deal. Rather, I was effectively rebutting the moronic ranting that the BHNC provided NO incentive.
There is a difference between choosing between Option A which included profit X but protest hassles and Option B which which includes somewhat lower profit X but no hassles than the choice the anon ranters ranted of one between profit and no profit.
so yes, morons stands.
and could you people just register - the whole guest thing just makes me think its all one sockpuppet for the developer
Captain Disco - problem is, in a market like SF, the marginal addition of a scant 60 luxury units to the overall housing supply is a drop in the bucket and will have zero impact on increasing overall supply enough to lower area rents. Rather, with vacanies so low, those units will get snatched up and have a potential spillover effect in the surrounding area as abutting parcels of land now become ripe for redevelopment as additional luxury housing, driving up rents/housing prices in the area as the area becomes less working class and more upper-middle income professionals.
You folks need to get past the first chapter in Intro to Economics one of these days.
Brock: I dunno, there's something about Coach that just screams Walnut Creek.
Woa! ChinaNob, what you're describing sounds a lot like extortion.
Isn't Tommi Machaevelli that blond model who sued The Price is Right for sexual harassment?
Why is she walking around the Mission with a bolt cutter? Wasn't the settlement enough money for her?
mariconsoy: Heh.