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GLEN PARK NEWSGLEN PARK NEWS
Official Newspaper of the Glen Park Associationwww.glenparkassociation.comPublished Quarterly
Spring 2006
Glen Park Association Meeting Notice
Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 7:30 p.m.
St. John’s School
,
925 Chenery St.Glen Park Merchants Association presentation
The unshrouded Marketplace Photo by Michael Waldstein
Volume 24, No. 1
Richard and Janet Tarlov know what ittakes to build a market from the groundup—but theyʼre not sure the rest of theworld does.The mixed-use project that willproduce a new neighborhood branchlibrary, 15 two-bedroomapartments and a grocerystore in the Glen Parkcommercial village seemsto be on perm-a-hold. But,say those involved, it ismoving forward.The project has been complex, withthree distinct uses, the involvement of public and private money, a change indevelopers mid-stream and many otherchallenges.Many residents, including the Tar-lovs—the husband and wife team thatplans to own and operate the store tobe called Canyon Market—are gettingdownright fed up with the fact that GlenPark is still devoid of a full-service gro-cery store. Adding to this widespreadfrustration are myriad myths, rumorsand questions that have circulated aboutthe planned store for the past few years:Will it be a Trader Joeʼs? An OakvilleGrocery? Whole Foods?The space allotted for the marketportion of the development could neverhouse any of those chain specialty foodstores, says Richard Tarlov, a veteran of 
Market Myth Buster
“Rhonda Gaskew Call Paul.”The hand-written flyers beganappearing on Glen Parkʼs telephonepoles and bulletin boardsin early February. One wasposted on the door of GlenPark Hardware, another inTinaʼs Laundromat, onein the bookstore, anothernear the library.Who was Rhonda, and why wasPaul looking for her?For a good reason, it turns out. PaulKangas is a private investigator. He waslooking for Rhonda, who is presumed tobe homeless, because she just inheritedhalf of a house on Surrey Street.Rhonda Gaskew, he explained, isa 50-year old woman whose motherdied recently. Rhonda was last seen inGlen Park a year or two ago, perhaps onSurrey Street, or in the Higher Groundsrestaurant, or on the bench outside theRed Rock bar waiting for a bus.Her mother, Nevergate Gaskew,lived at 326 Surrey in a mustard-colored,two-story house. (According to BillBerry of Paragon Real Estate Group, thehouse is worth about $750,000.) Half of the house now belongs to RhondaGaskew, and finding the daughter is upto the private investigator.“Thatʼs my bread and butter,” Kan-gas said. “I know how to find peopleliving on the streets.”A relative gave Kangas several pho-tos of Rhonda, and by showing them toGlen Park residents and business owners
Search for Missing HeirFocuses on Glen Park
he was able to collect some information.But not all of it fit together.“Everybody has told me a differentstory about her,” Kangas said. “She oncehad a job at a post office in Minnesota.Her hair is strangely matted, like a birdʼsnest. She may have been last seen walk-ing down Surrey Street. She would standoutside her motherʼs house and look atit, or crouch down behind a car. But Idonʼt think she was in contact with hermother.”Higher Grounds owner ManhalJweinat remembers Rhonda as an occa-sional customer, and said he last saw herabout a year ago. The police sometimestalked with her, he added, and she mayhave been hospitalized at one point.The attorney handling NevergateGaskewʼs estate, Greer M. Smith, saidthat Rhonda had lived in Oakland in2002. It was Smith who hired Kangasto conduct the search.Smith explained that Nevergate
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
byAshleyHathaway
the industry: “There are restrictions withparking and there is simply not enoughspace for such a place.”But there is space for what theTarlovs are dedicated to creating: anurban hybrid market, a grocery for theneighborhood that caters to the wantsand needs of local customers. Itʼs aboutthe convenience of getting fresh foodfor that nightʼs dinner, right near home.“People want to integrate shopping withtheir daily routine,” Tarlov says.Smaller, neighborhood marketsprovide that kind of convenience forurban living, something often taken forgranted by European city-dwellers. Butwhen will Glen Park residents be able totake advantage of such a convenience?
A History Review
The Diamond Super market—the lastoccupant of the space at Diamond andWilder streets—burned down in 1998.Efforts to develop the site have beenunder way ever since.The Tarlovs, who once worked for
byScottKirsner
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Photo courtesy of Paul Kangas
 
Glen Park News Page 2Spring 2006Glen Park News Page 2
The mission of the Glen Park Association is to promote the collectiveinterests of all persons living in Glen Park, to inform and educate aboutneighborhood and citywide issues, to promote sociability and friend-ships and to support beneficial neighborhood projects.
GPA Board of Directors and Officers for 2006
President
Michael Rice 337-9894president@glenparkassociation.org
Vice-President
Jeff Britt 908-6728vicepresident@glenparkassociation.org
Treasurer
Dennis Mullen 239-8337
Recording Secretary
Kim Watts 902-4767
Corresponding Secretary
Tiffany Farr 215-2320
Membership Secretary
Heather Worldmembership@glenparkassociation.org
Health & Environment
 
Volunteer needed 
Neighborhood Improvement
John Walmsley 452-0277
Glen Park News
Elizabeth Weise 908-6728news@glenparkassociation.org
Public Safety
 
Volunteer needed 
Recreation & Park
Richard Craib 648-0862
Traffic, Parking & Transportation
Armando Fox fox@alum.mit.edu
Zoning & Planning
D. Valentinedk_valentine@yahoo.com
Program
Volunteer needed 
Glen Park News
2912 Diamond St. #407San Francisco, CA 94131(415) 908-6728news@glenparkassociation.org
 
Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth WeiseDeputy Editor Rachel GordonPhoto Editor Liz Mangelsdorf Design Editor Mary MottolaCopy Editor Denis WadeAdvertising Nora DowleyReporters Angelina CantadaDorlan EargleCaroline GrannanJeanne HalpernAshley HathawayScott KirsnerMiriam MossJane RadcliffeEmma Bland SmithAmy TraversoDenis WadeBonnee WaldsteinJesse WaltersDon WilliamsColumnists Jean ConnerSharon DezurickBevan DuftyRic LópezCarol MaerzkeMichael RiceMichael WalshPhotographers Margo BorsPhil LimricEllen RosenthalMichael Waldstein
Glen Park News
The
Glen Park News
is pub-lished quarterly by the Glen ParkAssociation. Signed articles arethe opinions of the authors and notnecessarily those of the Glen ParkAssociation. To advertise in the
GlenPark News
call 908-6728 or e-mail advertising@glenparkassociation.org.
Glen Park Association News
The neighborhood felt a collective sighof relief—and pleasure—in Februaryas the tattered whiteplastic came off theMarketplace building.The brick walls andtall windows conveythe permanence andwelcome of our new library. There isa hint of street life to come from themarket. The apartment balconies areready for the new residents to look outover the neighborhood.Another big step in 2006 will beprogress on the “Glen Park Commu-nity Plan.ʼʼ
 
As most of us know, theneighborhood worked closely with thePlanning Department in 2003 to draftthis guide to future development in GlenPark. Literally dozens of Glen Park folkgathered at workshops and identifiedgoals, problems and strategies to guidedevelopment and enhance our commu-nity character.Land-use recommendations forGlen Parkʼs commercial core focus onthe potential redevelopment of propertyon the northwest corner of Diamond andBosworth streets. The plan recommendscareful mixed-use development of upto about 48 housing units, with parkingand ground-floor retail on those sites,divided by the narrow Kern Alley. Theplan also reviewed potential residential
byMichaelRice
development, up to about 48 units, onthe BART parking lot north of Bos-worth Street. The draft plan wouldimprove vehicle circulation and inter-section conditions within Glen Parkand balance short-term and long-termparking supply and controls. It wouldinclude a major reconfiguration of SanJose Avenue; other traffic-calming,pedestrian and bicycle improvements;and changes at the BART station toimprove the interface between Muniand BART services.Clearly, some of the goals are long-term; rebuilding San Jose Avenue as anat-grade boulevard will be expensive butexciting to contemplate. Yet, other citieshave been learning from San Franciscoabout demolishing freeways, the resultsseen clearly along the Embarcadero andOctavia Boulevard. It is not farfetchedto foresee the concrete coming down inour part of town.As a practical matter, to move aheadwith the plan, the City must completethe Environmental Impact Report(EIR) to identify potential effects of the changes, as well as potential mitiga-tion measures to address any problems.The neighborhood will have a chance toparticipate in this very public processin the next few months, to refresh ourknowledge of the planʼs details andcomment about any concerns. Keep inmind that the EIR is a necessary publicinformation step, but “certification” of the EIR is not adoption of the plan itself.Letʼs focus this year on refinement andmerits of the plan.
 Michael Rice is president of the GlenPark Association.
Letter to the Editor
Dear
Glen Park News
,I am writing in regards to the GlenPark Associationʼs news article writ-ten by the associationʼs President, Mr.Michael Rice, and published in the Win-ter 2006 issue of the
Glen Park News
.I am very disappointed that Mr. Ricefailed to mention a single member of thecosmetic arts industry merchants locatedin Glen Park, an industry that is repre-sented by not only myself, my businesspartner, Christina La Moglia, and ourdedicated staff at The Park Salon, butby approximately eight other prominentnail and salon businesses in the GlenPark business community.We are a viable and thriving partof Glen Park, providing many qualitygoods and services to our residents. Weat The Park Salon are proud to servethese outstanding residents of the neigh-borhood, some of which are officers of the GPA board and supporting membersof your paper.We also attract many residents of other communities in San Francisco,and the Bay Area to Glen Park.So, letʼs not forget before, during,or after all your shopping and errands,you also deserve a manicure or pedicurecomplete with hand and foot massageat perhaps Glen Park Nails or maybe afresh new look for the current seasonand a scalp massage from one of GlenParkʼs outstanding hair salons.Sincerely,Timothy Edwards, OwnerThe Park Salon669 Chenery St.Dear Mr. Edwards,I must take full responsibility forhaving inadvertently left Glen Parkʼscosmetic arts industry merchants out of Michael Riceʼs column in the last issueof the
Glen Park News
. After heʼd sentin his column, Michael sent me anothere-mail asking if I could add in the areasalons. But in the rush of getting thepaper out before Christmas I neglectedto go back and add them in. My deepestapologies.Sincerely,Elizabeth WeiseEditor,
Glen Park News
VolunteersNeeded
As you can see from the box to theleft, the Glen Park Association hasthree openings for officers. Getinvolved in your neighborhood!
 
Spring 2006Page 3Glen Park NewsPage 3Glen Park News
Is Glen Park Prepared toCope with a Disaster?
Would you rather:1. Pack a hope chest, or an earthquakekit?2. Agonize over that perfect shade of butternut for your crown molding, orshear-wall your basement?3. Install a granite countertop, or strapdown your water heater?4. Take up Pilates, or inspect your utilityshut-offs?After taking a free course offeredby the San Francisco FireDepartment, I feel equallycommitted to all of theabove activities, and havemade the time to do themall (sort of).The program is called NERT—Neighborhood Emergency ResponseTeam. It teaches city residents to beself-sufficient following a disaster; howto provide emergency assistance to theirfamily and immediate neighbors; andhow to work as a team member in theirneighborhood or as an adjunct to City ser-vices in the event of a major disaster.The NERT training program wasbegun as a response to the Loma Prietaearthquake and its aftermath in 1989.Civilian volunteers assisted the fire
byBonneeWaldstein
notion. The course runs 20 hours oversix weeknights or three Saturdays, andcovers such topics as light search andrescue, disaster medicine, earthquake,fire, hazardous materials, utilities andteam organization. You will also find outhow to easily get a HAM radio license.If you must miss a class, you can makeit up at another time and site.The time flies by as trainers fromthe fire department present the mate-rial and participants break into groupsto practice various skills. The classesare fun and you meet wonderful peoplefrom your neighborhood and the restof the city. You can find out every-thing about NERT on their Web site,www.sfgov.org/sffdnert.department in the labor-intensive activi-ties surrounding the Marina fires; thedepartment realized that civilian trainingis essential in coping with large-scaledisasters. Their goal is to train city resi-dents in a number of basic skills.The devastating hurricanes last yearmade many people realize that fendingfor themselves in a disaster will be areality and a necessity. Moreover, thescenes of human desperation haveconvinced many that they must becapable of helping their neighbors aswell. Recent NERT classes have beenfilled to capacity due to this increasedawareness. Here in San Francisco,our Office of Emergency Services(www.72hours.org) now recommendsthat residents have the resources forself-sufficiency for five days, ratherthan three days.Taking this course has been a greatexperience. I think many people feel thatif faced with an emergency situation,and without much practical knowledge,some instant judgment and lightningreflex would kick in. Thatʼs what Ithought, when I gave it any thought. TheNERT training puts you through hands-on exercises that quickly dispel thatThis yearʼs Glen Park Festival will takeplace in September—a departure fromrecent years, when the festival was heldin April.“Weʼre going back to our roots as afall festival,” said event Treasurer VinceBeaudet, whoʼs been helping organizethe festival for the past 10 years. The
Rescheduled Glen ParkFestival Seeks Volunteers
agenda for this yearʼs event includesarts and crafts, music performances,food and childrenʼs activities.The festival is seeking organizingcommittee members, a festival presidentand other volunteers. To get involved,call 835-2118 or visit the festivalʼs Website at www.glenparkfestival.com.
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