Skating on Ice at Waller St.

Here is the text of the message from Chris Mack, a planner at the Rec & Park Dept. :

"The Recreation and Park Department is planning to enter into a temporary

permit for an ice skating rink to be located on the Waller Street paved

area. This will be for approximately 2 months beginning this Thanksgiving

week and running through January. It is anticipated that it will be for 2

years with a 1 year option to extend. It is something that the Department

needs to increase the recreational activities in the park, especially the

East end that could use some positive activity."

Please note that ice skating there will be a FEE activity.

Please enter your thoughts on this subject here, by clicking in the Post a Comment box following this post. Let others know what you think, what questions for which you would like answers, or if you or someone in your family would use this facility.

Skateboard Survey Results

Here are the results from the HAIA survey about the proposed skateboard park. There were 52 responses to the survey. Notice that questions 6 and 7 have percentages that do not add to 100%. That is because those questions offered multiple selections to the respondent.

Please address all questions about the survey to HAIA-SF@YAHOO.COM.

To view the survey, click on the link (in the next line of this post):
HAIA Skateboard Park Survey

(Use the BACK button of your browser when you are finished viewing the survey.)

You can add your thoughts by clicking on the COMMENTS to the post.

Thank you for participating in the survey.

Last Friday Upper Haight Monthly Salon

Friday, April 24th, 2009 marked the beginning of the Upper Haight Monthly Salon. Over 20 merchants participated by hosting a special event in their shops between the hours of 5pm -9pm. There were a lot of pedestrians strolling the street enjoying the various offerings along the way. Aqua Surf Shop had art in action. While visitors sipped Mai Tai's and nibbled cheese, they could watch a large canvas being transformed into an abstract painting. A live DJ completed the scene. DJ's were also spinning at other venues including Buffalo Exhange and CoCoLuxe. There were live performances at Soul Patch Tattoo, Mendel's Far Out Fabric and Art, and the Red Vic Peace Center. After playing in the cool wind for a while, the Jugtown Pirates were offered a space at the Peoples Cafe. If you stopped into the PureBeauty shop, you could walk away with a goodie bag of samples. Dollhouse Betty not only gave out wonderful tealights made with coconut essential oils (after the oiled wax melts, you use it to massage someone special,) but they also had a window tableau complete with a beautiful live model. Outside the window, an adorable young lady played accordian (which is the official instrument of San Francisco.) There were many exhibits of artwork by local artists, and OffBeat on Haight had some trunk shows set up. Paul Madonna met the public at the Booksmith politely talking about his style of capturing the city and signing his book "All Over Coffee." A small sampling of his work was on exhibit in the window. Coffee to the People also had some great art and the "photo booth" was a hoot - a fun idea. Other shops offered special discounts for the evening. I am sure that I am leaving a lot out...you just have to attend the next salon on the last Friday of the month to explore for yourself. There was a pleasant party atmosphere on the street and I personally enjoyed running into friends and neighbors as we explored the varied shops that make the Upper Haight corridor so special.

Acknowledgment must go to the good folks at Buffalo Exchange - in particular, Kate Morrow. They had the idea, energy, and organization to pull this event together. Congratulations on a successful endeavor. Let the good times roll.

May 9 Community Clean-Up

Much gratitude should be expressed to all the participants of the community clean-up. What a successful event it was! Most of the poles and garbage cans along Haight Street from Masonic to Stanyan received a face lift. Stickers were removed from signs and the flyers on the poles came down to allow a fresh coat of paint to be applied. This was a wonderful opportunity for folks to get to know one another better. The picnic afterwards was a wonderful way to relax and socialize further.

I personally was riding a high after the event. So many different factions of the community had joined together to beautify the street. An amazing amount of work was accomplished. It was inspiring to see how much can be done when so many come together.

On Sunday morning, the street ,for the most part, had remained sparkling and pristine. What a welcome sight!

The idea was born after a panel presentation at the Booksmith about homeless youth. Karen Growney, a HAIA member, helped coordinate the cleanup with the help from DPW, Vallie Brown in Supervisor Mirkarimi's office, and the homeless youth service providers: HYA, Larkin Street, and Huckleberry House. Three neighborhood organizations, HAIA, CVIA, HANC, gave donations and assistance to the effort as well. A special thanks goes to Escape from NY for the donation of the delicious pizzas. The biggest "thank you" goes to all those who participated and helped.

There was a lot of enthusiasm for another community clean-up...perhaps in August. Stay tuned and involved.

You probably heard that one idea to help close the City's budget deficit is to charge to enter the Arboretum. How much? Rec & Park suggests the admission would be $5 a person! You have an opportunity to speak your mind about this at a meeting next week. The attached flyer has the details. A quick summary of the vital information:

Monday, April 6th
6:30 - 8:00 PM
Hall of Flowers, at 9th Ave. and Lincoln
in Golden Gate Park

Add your comments here, whether you plan to attend the meeting or not.

I have good news this morning. I have been in contact with the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association about initiating a market at the 1800 block of Waller St. (closed area west of Stanyan). I am sending their proposal to Rec & Park, to work through the details of use of the site. You may recall that a couple of years ago, Cheryl Brodie led HAIA's support of legislation from the Board of Supervisors to authorize use of park land for a local farmers' market. Now, with a proposal in hand, we are hopefully not too far away from actually seeing this come together as a real, live market, on Sunday mornings from 9 to 1.

By working with the PCFMA, they provide all of the management and administration of the market, its setup and cleanup. Importantly, they also provide insurance for the weekly event. The content of the market, as proposed, is at least 60% fresh, locally grown produce, and as much as 40% artisanal local products, such as breads, cheese, fish, flowers and such. In this arrangement, HAIA will be the local sponsoring organization. As you will see in the story about a similar market in Seattle, the local traffic to the market also benefits area merchants, as well as promotes healthier eating and other positive impacts.

Here is a link to the story about a Seattle market, discussing their experiences with starting and supporting a local marketplace:
http://www.neighborhoodlife.net/features/index.php?id=56

Please post your entries, your questions, your suggestions. That way, everyone can see what you are thinking, and thus it becomes a great way to develop our dialog and consensus about having a local farmers' market.

Fun on Haight

Please express your thoughts about 1500 Page St.

Members,
Thursday, the Planning Commission will hear the matter of AgeSong's project to put a senior and disabled care facility at the corner of Page and Masonic (next to St. Agnes Church). In order for us to properly represent HAIA's position on the project, I would like to hear from you, if you are either for or against this plan for supervised care housing, and a sentence or two on why. I look forward to your responses.
http://www.1500pagestreet.com/
Ted Loewenberg

In San Francisco, Where Flower Power Still Blooms

For our first official posting on the new site, we wanted to share with you a recent article about our neighborhood in the New York Times travel section. Our very own HAIA member and recent host of the festive Holiday party, David Keller, is featured in the first photo on Waller Street. Also, the article highlights many of our local businesses and merchant members of HAIA.

Click here to view the article:

Enjoy the article and hope to see you soon!