Tigers and Bears on Bengal Alley
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WESTSIDE BSERVER VOLUME 24 • NUMBER 10 December-Janurary 2011 Tigers and Bears on Bengal Alley By Doug Comstock Quentin Kopp ay and her husband Fred Curry have an unobstructed view of Hooey, Hoopla and Bengal Alley from their Mount Davidson balcony on Lansdale. It’s Horse Sense Knot an alley at all, but a three section pathway that begins along the side of the Curry’s home, where its newly restored cobblestone stairs invite a lei- – 3 surely meander, then turns down the 17° slope to the exit at the cement stairs on Miraloma Street. With stunning ocean views, it’s a peaceful public right-of-way Photo: Luke Thomas where squirrels and wild birds compete for nature’s bounty. It is also a practical shortcut for the tread the additional two or three inhabitants of Sherwood Forest to meet block detour along Lansdale, Casi- George Wooding the 43 MUNI that stops at its foot—no tas and Miraloma that the closure mean consideration for riders who must of Bengal Alley precipitated. RPD Behaving Badly? It was closed in 20081 Shock: The Curry’s “Notice to Repair Sidewalk” estimated at half a million George Calls and there is no date cer- Them Out – 3 tain for its completion. crawl—through the mud obstacle course But, essentially, it was closed of the central section, to reach the crum- to all but the most nimble visi- bling cement stairs at Miraloma. Then tor long before Department of there was the washout, common in the Public Works installed the chain area, which nearly covered the remaining Steve Lawrence link fences. Overgrown with steps. Sometimes those brush, clogged with excavated Dave Bisho was one of the neighbors rubble dumped from neighbor- inconvenienced by the closure of the path. popular programs are ing developments and a large, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with just trimmings – 4 discarded tree trunk, travelers this right of way. Bengal Alley between were required to stoop—almost Cont. p. 2 Parkmerced Agreement Illegally Will Durst Excluded Public Turkeys Get Cooked By Hope Johnson, Chair, Sunshine Ordinance Task Force urking in the darkest – 4 corners of San Fran- Lcisco’s Parkmerced Development Agreement is the question of enforceability of the agreement’s rent con- WOTPCC trol provision. The elusive Photo: Kerry Huang courtesy of The Epoch Times answer remains shadowed in November Election Best of the Net odd mystery, and the Board of Rehash– 7 Supervisors has done little to Rose Pak Makes Deals, Gains Influence shed much needed light on the By Matthew Robertson controversial issue. ose Pak had more in mind than a light Thai dinner Can the City require replacement of existing rent con- when she walked into the now-shuttered Bong Su trolled housing scheduled for demolition? Jerry Cadagan restaurant, with David Chiu in tow, on 3rd and Fol- California’s Costa-Hawkins Act prevents local regulations R from requiring rent control on new construction. Rent control som in March 2009. Is the SF PUC Stepping Harlan Kelly, her old friend who is assistant general manager on the new apartments might make the project economically Up to the Plate?– 9 for infrastructure of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commis- impractical. sion, was waiting for the pair. Pak had been Chiu’s date for the But the City Attorney’s Office position is that rent con- first few months of his time as Supervisor of District 3. trol is part of the contract, and there is no reason to believe At Bong Su that night it was a rendition of “Getting to Know the contract will be violated or challenged. Despite that assur- You,” Rose Pak-style. ance, the Board of Supervisors spent several hours discussing the enforceability question during its March 29, 2011 hearing …but how she acquired that power is something of a on appeal of the Planning Commission’s 4-3 vote approval of Around the Town the environmental impact report. If It’s Topical mystery. She is not registered to vote, is not a registered The Board ultimately chose to continue their decision on lobbyist, and is not reported to receive any remuneration the appeal to May 24th to allow time to consider the oddly mys- It’s In Here – 11 terious legal standing of the City to enforce such a condition. from her sole reported place of employment, the Chinese Meanwhile, the Parkmerced Development Agreement Chamber of Commerce.“ itself was assigned to the Board’s Land Use Committee for May She introduced the two of them, highlighting how wonder- 16, 2011. Committee Chair Eric Mar opened the meeting by ful it was that Chiu was a Harvard graduate, and that Kelly was explaining that, because the item had been improperly noticed, no action could be taken—the item would be continued to the Meeting Notices . 5 an old friend. Pak had slipped into a black dress for the occa- sion. Chiu was in his characteristic blue suit. Kelly stuck with committee’s May 24th hearing. Westside is 25 . 5 shirtsleeves. Supervisor Sean Elsbernd introduced “technical amend- Joe O’Donoghue. 5 Nursing her whiskey after the initial chit-chat, Pak dived into ments” to the agreement. Discussion ensued, including enforce- Patrick Monet Shaw. 6 the nitty-gritty of the meeting: Kelly manages billions of dollars ability of the rent control provision and Chair Mar’s concern that energy consumption might need revision. Members of the MUNI Study/Strassner . 8 in contracts; how might those (nudge, Chiu) be made available not just for the international players, but local contractors, too? public were provided copies of the revised agreement and were Money Matters. 8 It was left unsaid that “local contractors” meant businesses told it would be available online later that day. Arts Commission. 9 that could later throw money at Pak’s political projects on call. The newly introduced amendments were then approved by Calendar . .12 The conversation didn’t get that far. Chiu wasn’t ready to commit the committee, notwithstanding Chair Mar’s repeated declara- tion that no action would be taken on the agreement until May At the Movies. .13 to anything and he had another function to attend, so he excused himself after about 45 minutes, according to an individual sitting 24th. On Stage/Theater . .13 at an adjacent table who heard the entire exchange. When asked One week later, on May 24th, two separate meetings were Oak/Fell Bike Paths . .14 about the encounter, Chiu said he couldn’t remember clearly. scheduled that involved approval of the Parkmerced project, Sharon the Health . .15 He said that he might have been with Kelly and Pak at a table one was the Land Use Committee’s continued discussion at 9 together at some time. am and the other was the regularly scheduled meeting of the Remember When . .16 full Board of Supervisors later that same day at 2 pm. The Land Phyllis’ Findings . .16 Rose Pak has been a power broker in San Francisco politics for two decades, but how she acquired that power is something of Use Committee was to make a referral on the agreement to the Open Late . .16 a mystery. She is not registered to vote, is not a registered lobby- Sudaku/Brain Füd . .16 ist, and is not reported to receive any remuneration from her sole The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force concluded that the Jack Kaye . .17 reported place of employment, the Chinese Chamber of Com- merce. Yet friends and foes alike credit her with being someone last minute introduction of fourteen pages of amend- Kocivar on Education . .17 who gets things done. ments did not provide adequate time for members of Gardening. .19 “For the people who have gone down that road, it’s very the public to review and comment on them as required Real Travel . .20 difficult to figure out…what you find is one percent of the ice- under Sunshine…” WWW.WESTSIDEOBSERVER.COM berg, the other 99 percent nobody can see,” says Aaron Peskin, a Cont. p. 6 Cont. p. 5 Page 2 Westside Observer December-January 2011 BENGAL ALLEY (Cont. from p. 1) repair to be made, and all costs shall be a lien on such property.” “Estimates were thrown around,” Curry said, “The suggestion (Supervisor) Elsbernd made that Miraloma and Lansdale is the main link for many Mt. “like half a million dollars.” Davidson and Sherwood Forest residents,” he said. “I’ve For the Currys, who are retired seniors, it was a Bengal Alley has to be ADA compliant is untrue— been going up that way since I was in grammar school.” In shocking prospect. The current improvements cost “only only sites that have ADA areas within them must a letter to the City Attorney he requested that the owners about $30,000.” The completed project should come close clear the property and remove the locked gates to “open to $50,000. One of the neighbors has contributed their be ADA compliant. There are hundreds of public this vital link to the public once again…its closure dis- share for 2009 and 2010, and they hope to get help from pathways and right-of-ways all over the city not courages neighbors above the other two stakeholders ADA compliant, including at least a dozen on Mt. from using public transit.” and the Friends of Bengal At a meeting with Alley; they will also apply Davidson alone.” …DAVE BISHO District 7 Supervisor Els- for other grants. bernd, Bisho was not con- After consulting the storm drains on Miraloma. Pressure-treated redwood vinced that it would cost with other landowners, retaining walls and steps are lined with plastic to assure the adjoining neighbors as “Project Steward” for longer life.