Issue It’S Being Dealt With
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NO. 134 PUBLISHED BY THE CENTRAL CITY SAN FRANCISCO Citizens STUDY CENTER JUNE committee 2 013 THE EXTRA for CBAs TAKES HOME in limbo 8 AWARDS Wins 2nd san francisco Panel purged by place: overall LAFAYETTE COFFEE SHOP city administrator excellence PAGE 2 rendered helpless on a technicality BY M ARK HEDIN OW THAT SIX deep-pocket new- comers to the mid-Market are N more than three months into the process of “giving back” as part of the community benefit agreements they signed to qualify for the Twitter tax break, the committee that was the community’s sole voice in the process has been side- lined on a technicality. For how long is unclear. “June’s probably a wash,” Ivy Lee, an aide to District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, said in mid-May while discussing efforts WHO to reconstitute the Citizen’s Advisory Committee, “but hopefully July.” IS ON The panel’s next order of business was to review the first quarterly reports THE CAC? Lafayette Coffee Shop on Hyde Street, a relic from the Tenderloin’s past, is 60 years old, submitted by the $1 outliving others in the central city, though it has middle-class counterparts in other districts. million-plus payroll companies required to The incumbents “It was never execute a CBA: Twitter, Yammer, One Kings and applicants clear what Lane, 21Tech, Zoosk we were and Zendesk. PAGE 6 Four members of LAST OF ITS KIND supposed to the unpaid CAC were informed the day be- mentioning at the bottom, of course, prime do.’’ fore the May meeting Eatery’s faithful rib — is the first hint of a time warp. You that they had been enter, passing on the right the cash regis- Mara Blitzer ‘SHORTY’ ter and its CASH ONLY sign. Just beyond, in CAC SEAT 9 “deemed to have re- signed” due to unex- LEGASCA have been dining front of the grill, is the Formica counter and cused absences from its eight stools. Behind them, filling out the meetings of the committee, which was DIES AT 69 restaurant, are 10 comfortably worn, deep formed in 2011 to advise the city admin- here for decades red Naugahyde booths, the signature of the istrator on the framework of benefits, re- place. view the draft agreements and take public They called him STORY AND PHOTOS BY TOM CARTER This is 1950s straight up, though the input on them. The committee has no au- imaginative regular customers suggest their ‘Mayor of 6th haven has legs into the ’40s or ’30s. Who re- thority to accept or reject the agreements HEN MIMi Yee’s way-cheap Manor or order specific changes, only to make ally knows? For sure, it’s such a classic that Street’ House restaurant on Jones Street it’s not hard to imagine Humphrey Bogart, recommendations based on community closed March 1, scores of bereft feedback. W a loose liplock on a dangling Camel, sliding customers drifted away like wind-blown The city’s power play blindsided PAGE 7 onto a stool, asking around for some creep leaves. Some trudged to the west side of the who owes him a C note. many CAC members, most of them un- Tenderloin to Lafayette Coffee Shop, 250 aware of the procedure that has cost the The Lafayette has been used often as a Hyde St., where the owners say their busi- backdrop diner for the old times, the owners committee dearly in lost time as the CBAs ness is up. are starting to be implemented. say, most recently a year ago by local docu- Lafayette’s business card — a stylish con- mentary filmmakers.A nother historic adden- Bill Barnes, the city administrator’s trast to cardless, bare-bones Manor House chief liaison between the tech companies dum: The Lafayette, next door to the Cadillac — pictures a chunk of prime rib, mashed grocery, is across the street from the former and the CAC, on the advice of the city at- potatoes, gravy and a pile of canned corn. It torney’s office wrote the panel May 1 that Wally Heider studios where the Grateful trumpets, “Good Food Friendly Environment Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Van Morrison re- four of its members had to reapply for Since 1925,” the year Kezar Stadium went up. their seats through the Board of Supervi- corded in the late 1960s and ’70s. The city’s population, 96% white then, was sors Rules Committee if they wished to climbing to 600,000. Bread cost 9 cents a loaf. continue serving, explaining that the city Mei’s Reign Confirming the Lafayette’s seminal year On a Monday morning about 11 a.m., Mei attorney had determined the CAC had wasn’t easy. Records in the Main Library’s holds forth in a stentorian voice that can peel not followed procedure in excusing ab- sixth-floor San Francisco room showed the the peach wall paint. The Lafayette is clearly sent members. Four unexcused absences, five-story building that houses the restaurant the waitress’ empire. She’s ruled here for 27 triggered the purge, although the minutes was built in 1907. The restaurant’s space was years. Short, and gruff as a drill sergeant, she show that, by that standard, at least three a retail store in 1913. The city directory that can also at any second rock the place with of the miscreants had been out of compli- goes back to the 1800s first mentions the La- peals of laughter. ance since November. fayette Coffee Shop on Hyde in 1953. Owned “Everybody knows me,” she says abrupt- “I was surprised,” said Brad Paul, one then by Nick Reckis, the coffee shop was ly. “Like Mimi!” With that, eyes dancing, she of the disenfranchised. “It wasn’t ex- next door to Lafayette Cleaners, space that’s throws her head back and laughs like there’s plained to us, how unique it was, the way now part of the Midori Hotel. City restaurant no tomorrow. Four customers, scattered in that we had to vote to excuse an absence.” records show that George Kodros took it over corners, hunker over their food, pay no atten- Paul missed six of 2012’s dozen meetings in 1969. tion until one glances up to bark: and three of the four this year. Lafayette has a palpable feel of even older “I’ll have a root beer, Mei!” ➤ C ONTINUED ON PAGE 3 days. Its round neon sign in front, old-timey “Coming, coming!” she shouts back. white lettering on a brown background — ➤ C ONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Central City Extra honored for its overall excellence S.F. Peninsula Press Club hands paper 8 news awards — 3 are blue ribbons BY M ARJORIE BEGGS the Palo Alto Weekly. Recently retired reporter Tom Car- ENTRAL CITY EXTRA again ter took third prize in the Series cat- took home kudos from the egory for his Tenderloin Stars stories CSan Francisco Peninsula Press — about Frank, 21 Club barman (Feb- Club’s June 1 Greater Bay Area Jour- ruary), artists living in SROs (March), nalism Awards dinner. Winners for the Hospitality House Executive Director 36th annual event were selected from Jackie Jenks (June), and Sumi Monoarfa, PHOTO BY TROY HOLDEN 463 entries from 11 counties, and rep- monthly volunteer chef and resident of resented work done in 2012 in print, the Dalt Hotel (August). Artist Richard “Luckey” Perri has his portrait taken by Troy Holden in Perri’s online and broadcast media. In the Specialty Story category, Oddfellows Building studio at Seventh and Market, where he’s worked for decades. The Extra, submitting stories and Carter also won third prize for his po- graphics in the Newspapers Non-Dai- tent, thorough story “Diabetes Central,” lies category, won eight awards. about the scourge of the disease in the Extra Editor and Publisher Geoff Tenderloin (November). Burnishing Tenderloin’s image Link’s headlines got two prizes: first for Two first prizes went to reporter “No ifs or ands in litter — but plenty of Jonathan Newman, one in the category BY M ARJORIE BEGGS avoided [and] highlight that behind the butts,” which topped a July story about of Feature Story of a Serious Nature for brick facades of the buildings is, in fact, teen volunteers who picked up 2,072 his “Free food for sale,” the other in the HOTOGRAPHER Troy Holden is a rich and vibrant community.” cigarette butts in two hours, and sec- Feature Story of a Light Nature catego- looking for individuals and fami- Holden, who lived in the central ond prize for “Free food for sale,” the ry for “It’s a shoe-in a Shiekh,” his July Plies who live or work in the cen- city for 10 years, starting in 1996, says May story about sidewalk food sellers. tale of the people who waited in line tral city to shoot in their home or place the CBD commission pays for only the The award presenter told the au- for six days to buy Air Yeezy II sneakers. of business. In 10 months, he’s done 32 printing and framing of the portraits. dience that “Free food for sale” does Art Beat contributor Ed Bowers such sittings as part of his Behind Brick “All of my time is donated — it’s a labor exactly what headlines should do: “Ac- won third prize in the Analysis cate- Walls project and is aiming for 50 by of love for a neighborhood I care about. cording to the jury, it tells it all.” gory for “Poet’s Tenderloin Tour” (De- the end of June. My subjects have been traditional fam- The Extra took second place for cember-January), a lyrical, first-person He’ll give each participant a free, ilies, single mothers, same-sex couples, Overall Excellence among non-dailies, look at the neighborhood’s heroes, framed, 8 x10 color portrait.