Permits pose a problem? Just start digging. What could go wrong? https://t.co/YLI0E7tP6l pic.twitter.com/FY0LBHDpZp

— SocketSite (@SocketSite) October 27, 2015

Sick of the never-ending nightmare that is street parking, one Sunnyside homeowner decided the solution was to build a driveway on his recently acquired property located at the corner of Joost Avenue and Gennessee Street. However, after discovering it would be difficult to get the necessary city-approved permits for the construction, the property owner pulled a big YOLO and went for it anyway — permits be damned.

SocketSite picked up the story, apparently tipped off by a neighbor, and according to the Planning Department, the lot in question has a greater-than-20-percent slope. As such, the construction project could have required an Environmental Evaluation Application to be filed under the California Environmental Quality Act before any work could be done.

The Planning Department notes that on September 17, upon hearing that it would be challenging to get the necessary permits for the work, the property owner sought "clarity as to best possible path to take going forward."

Socketsite suggests the owner found said clarity by "simply [engaging] a Marin-based landscaping company to start excavating the home’s yard and reroute it’s sewer line in order to create a coveted, and completely illegal, off-street parking space."

Finding on-street parking in San Francisco is a pain. The fact that we have more miles of publicly available street parking than the California coast is long doesn't seem to provide any comfort when driving in circles for hours on end trying to find a spot to leave that clunking piece of metal and plastic.

This Sunnyside homeowner obviously feels that pain. Unfortunately for him, his plan to alleviate it required moving a sewer line and the loss of one on-street parking spot (where the curb cut for his new driveway would go).

And so what happens next? Apparently shortly after the SocketSite story was published, a building inspector came by and shut the entire thing down with a Notice of Violation. SocketSite reports that the owner now has 15 days to secure the proper permits, or he may have to restore the land.

The last building permit issued for the property was for a reroofing project in June of 1996.

A burglary took place at Monterey Deli (499 Monterey Boulevard), in the Sunnyside neighborhood, on the morning of August 29, and the entire thing was caught on surveillance video, both outside and inside the store. The owner, Almir Zalihic, gave the footage to the SFPD, and made it available on Vimeo, describing what happened, all of which you can see in the 10-minute video. And it's kind of riveting!

At 5:15am August 29th, 2015 there was a very large older RV circling the block several times before parking near 435 Monterey Boulevard. At 5:28 am two guys got out of the RV with all the necessary tools to cut a very heavy duty lock and break into the Monterey Deli. One of the men crawled inside through a very small opening, while the other one stayed outside as the look out. They got away with the whole cash register, entire stock of cigarettes and high-priced bottles of booze.

Most of the video depicts the exterior camera, but at the 7-minute mark you see the footage from behind the counter in which one of the suspects is emptying the entire cigarette shelf into a box.

Neighborhood tipster Eric sent it over saying, "Monterey Deli and the owner, Almir, are the best things about Sunnyside. Hoping this video can get out on the news to help get these guys busted."

Unfortunately, petty crime has been booming in SF, and we're seeing more cases like this of property owners trying to get these cases solved themselves, because the cops aren't necessarily prioritizing burglaries. A gas station owner and the SFPD shared this video of an armed robbery at a Chevron station on Junipero Serra Boulevard last month, because they were stymied in their search for the hooded robber who made off with all the cash in the register.

Crews are working to repair a water main break in San Francisco this afternoon, fire and SFPUC officials said.

According to SF Fire Department spokesperson Mindy Talmadge, fire crews responded to a report of a buckling sidewalk on Joost Avenue near Congo Street at 12:26 PM.

Instead, they discovered an 8-inch water main from 1929 that had burst due to age, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission spokeswoman Alison Kastama said.

While the break did flood the roadway, Kastama said that water didn't reach the interior of any area buildings.

Kastama says that crews are working on excavating the line for repairs, which typically take between four and six hours. Until the repairs are made, residents at the 300 block of Joost are without water, and the block is closed to traffic.

Although initially confirmed by some local journalists as a "murder-suicide," Friday's quintuple murder at 16 Howth Street was allegedly the work of 35-year-old Binh Thai Luc. According to SF Appeal, "Homicide Inspectors arrested 35-year-old Binh Thai Luc...for the five homicides. In addition, they arrested his brother, 33-year-old Brian Luc for narcotics possession, a felon in possession of ammunition and for a probation violation. These brothers reside together in San Francisco."

Police are once again reassuring residents that the slayings were "specific to this residence." If you recall, a man was found near the entrance of the home (pictured here), "while a man and woman were found in the garage, another woman was found upstairs and a third woman was found downstairs."

SFist checked out the scene at 16 Howth on Sunday afternoon. Most of the entire block's residences were blocked off with police tape, while one television crew stood by waiting for something to happen. Cops at the scene weren't particularly helpful when we asked questions, answering our questions with, "We know as much as you do."

An early morning apartment blaze injured one resident who was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. BCN (via SF Appeal), reports,: "At 2:57 a.m., crews responded to reports of a fire at 670 Monterey Blvd., which is between Foerster and Gennessee streets." The cause of the fire in under investigation. [SF Appeal]

Known as San Francisco's "other conservatory," the Sunnyside Conservatory underwent a dramatic renovation in 2009. And come Saturday, December 5, the newly refurbished conservatory will be open for business, complete with a kickoff party featuring conservatory tours, a ribbon cutting ceremonies, and... high tea! Best of all, it's just a few blocks away from the Glen Park BART station, and easily accessible if you take a ride on the Muni #23 Monterey.

Above are a few shots of the new digs that we managed to capture while standing outside the gates.

Oh, and here's a little history on the Sunnyside Conservatory, care of the SF Neighborhood Parks Council.

It's still there. The beautiful, 100-year- old landmark on Monterey Boulevard has survived six owners, the 1906 earthquake and is sometimes known as "the other conservatory." In 1891, H. Taylor bought the seven lots on which the conservatory is located from the Sunnyside Land Development Company and later sold them after erecting the still-standing Victorian. Around the turn of the century, the new owner, W.A. Merralls, constructed Sunnyside Conservatory at a cost of $7,000. He installed concrete walkways, landscaped the grounds, planted trees inside the building to complement those outside, and added an observatory tower to the house. Merralls was killed in a train accident in 1914 and, with his company heavily mortgaged the bank foreclosed on the estate.

As the southwestern neighborhoods of San Francisco continue to gain momentum in the public eye through the Western Neighborhoods Project, violent freeway proximity crime, fairly "reasonable" home prices, and stellar coverage from SFist, it's no surprise that neighborhood blogs are starting to emerge from places most San Franciscans never thought existed (or believed were in Daly City).

One such blog has recently launched, called the Sunnyside Herald, authored by Sunnyside resident Steve Robles who has lived on Monterey Blvd. (that's hardcore Sunnyside) since 2002. Robles' blog not only provides relevant information for Sunnysiders about things like the always dramatic, never dull Sunnyside Neighborhood Association meetings, changing bus lines, and what will hopefully be a better, less ghetto Safeway on Monterey post-renovation, but also tidbits about the neighborhood that may be of interest to those of you who reside north of the Glen Park BART Station. That is, unless you couldn't care less about Sunnyside's beautiful Conservatory, which is currently undergoing restoration and is looking quite smart these days.

In the past month, "Greg" has broken into, slashed the tires of, and stolen the gas out of neighbors' cars. In mid-June, Greg assaulted one neighbor who confronted him about a vehicular break-in.

Although neighbors really put the pressure on the powers that be since the June assault, Greg's shenanigans have been thoroughly documented by the community for years. Today, it seems, justice was finally served.

Now if only the police would do something effective about the violent muggings that have been plaguing Glen Park for months. At least tonight, the southern part of the city is a little bit safer.

Exploring San Francisco through the lens of city blocks, Blocker is a regular series by Charles Hodgkins. Look for it on SFist every other Wednesday, before the lunching hour.

View the map of all published Blocker episodes.

Blocker, No. 40: Monterey Blvd. in Sunnyside

Monterey Blvd. isn’t quite the time warp we’ve seen elsewhere around town—we’re thinking of Mission in the Excelsior; we’re also thinking of Amethyst in Diamond Heights. But just the same, it’s clear that few things have changed in recent years (decades?) on this Sunnyside thoroughfare between Edna and Foerster.

Something else is apparent as well: Several businesses here go out of their way to not let us forget what street we’re on. Monterey Cleaners operates its own plant. Monterey Auto Service is an official brake and lamp adjusting station. Immediate neighbors Monterey Pizza and Monterey Salon ought to join forces and offer some sort of meat lovers’ pedicure special. Monterey Blvd. proudly wears its status as Official Business District of Sunnyside like a big blue #1 ribbon at the county fair.

It's amazing how "wired" we've become. It makes moments like the one pictured above seem much more precious. Watching our neighbors chip in to remove this fallen tree from the street reminds us of simpler times. Not really. But, we sure do appreciative our neighbors who are so neighborly, even when they had power all day and we did not.

(Before we begin, we should point out that all of this rain is very good for us. That said, it is our God-given right as Californians to go clinically insane over the slightest change in weather patterns. So: %@#%^W$&^&!)

SFist Deborah snapped up the picture above this morning from high atop San Francisco's Glen Park/Sunnyside neighborhood. She sent it to SFist HQ with a message along the lines of, "Hey, look at this dead Xmas tree. Ha Ha." Cute, huh?

the jump, check out the "after" shot to see what the storm did only a few minutes later.

As taken from our home in the Sunnyside.