District 4 Open House
Our July Open House took place at Irving Pizza on July 19. Many thanks to those of you who took the time on a busy weekday to bring neighborhood problems to my attention, and a special thank you to Irving Pizza owner Awadalla Awadalla for hosting our monthly district get together.
ABC Bakery & Restaurant, 2500 Noriega St., will host our August Open House on Thursday, Aug. 16, from 2 – 5 p.m.
Quintara Street Reconstruction
Quintara Street is being reconstructed from 27th Avenue to the Great Highway. The work began in July, between 31st and 37th avenues, and is progressing west toward the Great Highway. Crews will return to complete the section between 27th and 31st avenues.
Work is expected to take about four months to complete. Crews will install curb-ramps and concrete gutters at the sidewalk corners from 27th Avenue to 48th Avenue. Sections of the roadway will need to be saw-cut in order to enable crews to replace any broken concrete road foundation. Then, the existing asphalt surface will be stripped away with grinders and resurfaced.
Street parking will be prohibited during construction. Work is permitted for this project every day, including weekends. Questions should be directed to Alex Murillo at the SF Department of Public Works at 437-7009 or via e-mail at alex.m.murillo@sfdpw.org.
Fines for Garbage/Recycling Containers
If you’re not already in the habit, remember to put your garbage and recycling containers away on your collection day, or don’t take them out before 6 p.m. on the day before.
The City is aggressively citing violations of Municipal Public Works Code SEC.170 (a) that mandates these restrictions, and may result in fines ranging from $80 to $300 if you leave containers on the sidewalk, street, or anywhere visible to the public.
Coyotes
I am angry about the recent coyote attack in Golden Gate Park because I believe it could have been avoided.
As reported in the Sunset Beacon some months ago, my office began receiving calls about aggressive coyote behavior associated with a number of sightings as early as last December. I met with the general manager of the SF Recreation and Park Department in February to express my concerns and was told there was no cause for alarm because the coyotes were not a threat to dogs or people. Obviously, that is not the case.
The Health Code prohibits coyotes. No new laws are needed – all we need is the political will and competence to enforce existing laws. I heard from many people the last time around who honestly think coyotes can peacefully co-exist with people in a dense urban environment like ours – I respectfully disagree.
I think we must always err on the side of public safety, and common sense tells us that a large wild carnivore belongs in the wild, not in our city parks. I am very sorry that two coyotes had to be shot and killed, but I am also very sorry that some misguided people were found to have been feeding the coyotes prior to the attack on the on-leash dogs, and probably believe they have the right to continue to do so.
Newspaper accounts tell us that they have been breeding, (as evidenced by the pup being killed by a car in late July), and are therefore looking for new territories. I have called for a hearing on the coyote issue and look forward to it being scheduled before the end of summer. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to report any encounters to Animal Care & Care or the SF Police Department.
District Merchants
The SF Examiner and Urban Solutions is seeking nominations for the 2007 San Francisco Neighborhood Business Awards – deadline for submissions is Monday, Aug. 27.
If you like to shop at a particular neighborhood business and would like to see it recognized, take the time to fill out an application at http://www.urbansolutionssf.org/nominate, or call my office for assistance at 554-7460. In 200 words or less, tell us why you think your favorite business deserves this year’s award. Winners will be recognized at an awards dinner Oct. 17.
City Budget
The largest budget in San Francisco’s history was recently passed by the Board of Supervisors and signed by Mayor Gavin Newsom. While it could have been much worse in terms of spending priorities, I also think that the one missing ingredient in our budget deliberations was the legacy of debt we are leaving for our children to pay.
We have an unfunded city worker retirement benefits liability of $5 billion – more than $6,000 for everyone living in San Francisco. Yet we only managed to set aside $500,000 from a $6 billion budget to start funding this massive debt. Add to this the list of new bond measures being proposed for property owners to compensate for poor fiscal management and long-term capital planning, and the anticipated debt we are handing off to future generations is staggering.
I think we can do better.
Ed Jew is a San Francisco supervisor representing District 4.
Westside San Francisco 