Temescal News & Views

ThE vOIcE Of nOrTh OaklanDs TEMEscal nEIghBOrhOOD July/augusT 2012

Published bimonthly by Temescal Neighbors Together (TNT)
Our MIssIOn

TNT seeks to enhance the quality of life in our diverse community through revitalization of our homes, business, schools, and public services by providing an ongoing forum for community education, interaction, and empowerment.
EDITOrIal POlIcy

TN&V publishes submissions from community members. We do not fact-check, although we correct inaccuracies when we find them. We strive to achieve an unbiased tone and may edit articles accordingly, but ultimately TN&V reflects the point of view of the authors and not that of the editors. Please email submissions to: temescalnewsandviews@gmail.com. Editor: Dana Hull Layout: Lasell Whipple Copy Editor: Phoebe Weiss Distribution: Tomi Kobara Advisors: Viki Maxwell, Jeff Norman Printing: Piedmont Copy

40th Street Parklet. Photo courtesy of Manifesto

Plans underway for the 40th street Parklet

Thank You!
This issue of Temescal News & Views has been generously funded by
The Temescal Telegraph Business Improvement District
(BID) www.temescaldistrict.org

he corner of 40th Street and Webster in North Oakland has been evolving over the past three years. The area, previously characterized by empty storefronts, is home to five new small businesses, all of which opened since 2008. The now thriving neighborhood, known by locals as The Corridor, continues to attract more and more pedestrian and bike traffic. The new businesses have created a sense of community where neighbors gather, friends meet up for bike rides and locals grab a bite to eat.

A parklet is a publicly accessible space for the enjoyment and use of all Oakland citizens.
In October of 2011, Manifesto Bicycles and Subrosa Coffee, both located on 40th Street at Webster, applied for the City of Oaklands Parklet Pilot Program. Our site was selected for one of seven initial parklets to be built in the City. A parklet is a publicly accessible space for the enjoyment and use of all Oakland citizens. Parklets are often created by replacing parallel parking spots with a patio,

planters, trees, seating and tables, or bicycle parking. Manifesto Bicycles and Subrosa Coffee will convert two parking spaces into the 40th Street Parklet. The design brings nature into the urban environment with nearly 40 feet of native plants, reclaimed wood benches, custom bike racks, a driftwood log and a natural boulder. The 40th Street Parklet is a great location because of the high volume of foot and bike traffic through the neighborhood. The corner of 40th Street and Webster sits on two heavily traveled bike routes and is located between the Piedmont, Temescal and Mosswood neighborhoods. 40th Street is also a major thoroughfare for people traveling to and from Emeryville and is just three blocks from the MacArthur BART stop and the scheduled MacArthur Transit Village. Manifesto and Subrosa hope to enhance our neighborhood by building the parklet in an area where customers, employees, business owners, neighbors and passersby alike will benefit. The 40th Street Parklet recently raised $10,000 for materials via a Kickstarter project featuring rewards by J. Otto Seibold, an Oakland artist
continued on next page

July/augusT 2012

40th street Parklet

continued from front page

and childrens book illustrator. We are so thankful for all of the support weve received from the community, as well as the efforts of our designers, Andrea Gaffney and Justin Viglianti, who have contributed many pro bono hours to the project. The 40th Street Parklet site plans are currently being reviewed by a local architect, Patrick Perez of Designpad Architecture, for final submission to the City. We hope to begin construction in July. For up to date information on the 40th Street Parklet please visit our Facebook page! facebook.com/40th-Street-Parklet MacKay Gibbs, Manifesto Bicycles

Oakland International High School bulletin board. Photo: Dana Hull

Oakland International high school to Expand: an Open letter from Principal carmelita reyes
n the spring of 2007, six teachers and one principal had a dream to open a public school in Oakland to serve the unique linguistic and socio-emotional needs of immigrant and refugee children. Historically, newly arrived high school immigrants did not succeed in Oakland they didnt graduate and couldnt access higher education. Our goal was to change this statistic and provide immigrants with a quality education that met their needs. We opened Oakland International High School (OIHS) on the old Carter Middle school campus on Webster Street in August 2007 with only 56 students. Today much has changed: we serve 330 students from 32 countries who speak more than 28 languages. Roughly a third of our students are refugees from conflict areas such as Burma, Nepal, Liberia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Whereas we once rattled around in an empty building, the campus is now bursting with activity and students. I am pleased to announce that OIHS will be expanding again and will occupy

COYOTE COUNTER COLLECTIVE

UTILITY POLE COMPACT SPACE

REFLECTIVE POST DRAINAGE CHANNEL MANIFESTO BICYCLES 1

CITY RACK

BICYCLE 10' PARKING 20' 6"

PLANTER + LATTICE

the entire campus in the 2012-2013 school year. The OUSD Board of Education voted in April to move BayTech, the charter school that was co-located on our campus, to another location in order to facilitate our continued growth. Jody London, the school board representative for North Oakland (District One), was key in making this happen. Thank you, Jody!

SUBROSA COFFEE

PLANTER SEATING

DONOR PLAQUE ADDITIONAL SEATING SEATING

UTILITY ACCESS

PLANTER

MORAN SUPPLY

RELOCATED CITY RACK

PLANTER + LATTICE BICYCLE PARKING 10' 1

We serve 330 students from 32 countries who speak more than 28 languages. Roughly a third of our students are refugees from conflict areas such as Burma, Nepal, Liberia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The expansion will allow us to both educate more students and actualize the districts 5 year vision to create full service communicontinued on last page

41' 0"

19'

10' 0"

6' 0"

RUBBER BUMPER

40th Street Parklet site plan.

courtesy of Manifesto

TEMEscal nEws & vIEws

Temescal street fair July 8th

new york Transplants seek Temescal housing
Kelly Bagley Rubin and her husband Peter recently moved to San Francisco from New York. But they want to move againto Temescal. Temescal News & Views asked Rubin what attracted her to Temescal. Here is her response: Coming from Park Slope in Brooklyn, we've been searching for a place that has a similar feelor at least the feel it used to have before it became (in my opinion) overly gentrified. We're currently looking to rent, but would probably like to buy in the next 2-3 years. The first thing that attracted us to Temescal was the Telegraph business strip. It's vibrant, varied, and a great mix of old and new. The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse is one of those concepts that in the past I've wished existed. The fact that it does indicates that Temescal is a place where odd dreams can flourish (and I have many). Walking around the neighborhood, we've always encountered friendly people, and from what we've seen of the Bay Area, Temescal's diversity is unmatched. I'm a feng shui consultant, and I like the contained nature of the neighborhoodit has a feeling of safety without feeling isolated. It's walkable, bikeable, and the scale of the residences are conducive to sustainable growth. I could probably go on. In short though, Temescal feels like one of the few places in the area that we could call our long-term home. Wed love to find a house or apartment with some outdoor space. We have two well-behaved and boring cats. Ideally 2+ bedrooms, no carpet, parking, washer/dryer and dishwasher. Know of a place for rent? Any leads will be appreciated! Contact Kelli Bagley Rubin at kelli.bagley@ gmail.com. u

Temescal Street Fair.

Photo by Carolina Abolio

ts nine years old and has become the event of the season where you can meet your neighbors and make new friends. The Temescal Street Fair brings its hipness to Telegraph Ave. on Sunday July 8th from noon to 6 pm between 42nd and 51st Street. The fair is sponsored by the Temescal Telegraph Business Improvement District, Kaiser Permanente and Childrens Hospital. Last year, inclement weather forced us to move the event from June to July and we drew the biggest crowd ever. So why mess with success? We scheduled the festival for July again this year and are expanding the footprint further down Telegraph Avenue. Four stages showcase an eclectic mix of local talent including the Main Stage, Kids Stage, Cosmos Stage and 57th Street Gallery Jazz Stage. Enjoy delicious food and drink from local restaurants including Lanesplitter Pizza and Pub, La Calaca Loca Taqueria, The Avenue, Barlata, and Whole Foods. Youll enjoy our new food courts anchored by Aunt Marys, Casserole, and Oaklands favorite food trucks. You can boogie down to the dance music all day at the Main Stage at 51st featuring

Los Cenzontles, Chelle and Friends, East Bay Church of Religious Science Choir, New Style Motherlodes Platinum and Rumbach. The kids will enjoy both music and magic at the Kids Stage at 47th Street with Circus Bella Clowns, Dana Smith, Dan Chan the Magic Man, Touch, and Abby and the Pipsqueaks. Activities include carousel rides, Kinetic Arts Center, a Climbing Wall, slack line, aerial classes with Flying Yoga and art making with the East Bay Depot. Fine artists, craft and community booths will feature their treasures. Visit Temescal Alley and Alley 49, a mix of artisan owned studios and shops. Three candidates for City Council District 1 will be at the event along with other elected officials. The Green Zone showcases car shares and sustainable resources. Please cycle or take public transportation: Valet bike parking will be provided by the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. For more information or to volunteer, call 510-830-7327 or go to www.temescaldistrict.org. See you there! u Karen Hester Temescal Street Fair Co-coordinator

July/augusT 2012

OIhs Expands
continued from page 2

TEMEscal cOMMunITy calEnDar

Got AN itEm for thE CAlENdAr? E-mail: temescalnewsandviews@gmail.com

Sincerely, Carmelita W. Reyes. Principal Oakland International High School Oakland Unified School District Carmelita.Reyes@ousd.k12.ca.us

Volunteers are doing the work of putting out this newsletterbut we still need to pay the printer! If you value this community publication, please consider making a donation. Any amount will help. Make your check payable to TNT, and send it with this form to: TNT, c/o 4826 Webster St., Oakland, CA 94609. Thank You!

Help Support this Newsletter.

Yes, I want to help.

Enclosed is my contribution in the amount of:
$10 $25 $50 Other $

Name Address City Phone Email

ty schools. Free ESL and technology classes will be offered in a dedicated adult classroom to parents and community members. A social worker will help families access public services, and a variety of local non-profit organizations will provide direct services on campus for students and families. We are also making physical improvements to the new space. Neighbors may have noticed trucks moving dirt, mulch, boards and fruit trees on campus. With support from grants and community volunteers, our students will be working hard over the summer and in the fall to expand our school gardens. By the end of June, a new 60 foot mural painted by our art class will adorn the back side of the building. So much of what we have become is a result of support from the Temescal community. Each year volunteers work in our classroom, tutor students with enormous gaps in their formal education, fundraise, provide internships to our students, and collaborate with our staff. We have enjoyed being your neighbor for the past 5 years and hope to further build on these relationships. If you have any questions about our school, problems with our kids, want to come visit our classrooms or have a desire to volunteer please call us! We can always use an extra set of hands. You can learn more and check out ways to volunteer by going to our website: www. oaklandinternational.org. u

Every sunday, 9 am 1 pm. Temescal

Farmers Market, 5300 Claremont Ave., DMV parking lot. Please bring your own bags. The farmers market also accepts WIC coupons.

sundays, 1 to 3 pm. Summer Youth and Family Days at Dover Park. Join the Phat Beets crew for food, games, gardening and good times. The park is located on Dover St. between 57th and 58th St., between Shattuck and MLK. Every Mon - fri, 9 am - 3 pm. The North

Thursday July 5, dusk. Temescal Street Cinema, with films shown on the side of the Bank of the West Building at Telegraph Ave. and 49th St. Seating is limited, so come early and bring a chair. Free popcorn and live music. Repeats July 12 & July 19. saturday July 7, 11 am - 1 pm. First Saturday

Oakland Senior Center is open for members of the community. The annual $12 membership entitles seniors 55 and older to qualify for discounts on activities and trips. Come enjoy arts and crafts, health insurance counseling, exercise and dance, trips and tours and computer classes at 5714 MLK Jr. Way, 597-5085. based Community Hatha Yoga Class at Heartwalker Studio, 4920 Telegraph Ave. (upstairs). Suggested donation, $10-15; no one turned away for lack of funds.

playdates at Emerson Elementary. Come to the kindergarten playground on Shafter to meet neighborhood families, play together and learn about all thats happening at Emerson School. Repeats August 4. Temescal Street Fair. Come celebrate our neighborhood with four stages and three additional blocks of vendors.

sunday July 8, noon - 6 pm. 9th Annual

Every Monday, 5:30 - 6:45 pm. Donation-

friday July 13, 7:30 pm. Poetry Saloon meets at 472 44th Street. Potluck dinner at 6 pm, reading at 7:30 pm. Bring poems by you and others to share, or come just to enjoy. Repeats August 10 and second Friday of every month. Call 654-6495 with questions. saturday July 28, noon - 2 pm. Party at the

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3 6 pm. The East

Bay Childrens Book Project, which gives books free of charge to professionals who work with children in need, is open in its new location at the Mosswood Recreation Center, 3612 Webster St. Info: 408-READ or www.ebcbp.org.

wednesdays, 10:30 am. Preschool story time. Temescal Library, 5205 Telegraph Ave., 597-5049. fridays, 5:30 - 8:30 pm. Bites Off Broadway.

Tool Lending Library. Always wanted a set of wrenches or a nail gun of your very own? There will be hand tools for sale, and a silent auction for the larger tools. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Oakland Tool Lending Library. Temescal Library, 5205 Telegraph Ave. Night Out Block Parties. National Night Out is the nations night out against crime. Contact Brenda Ivey with the Oakland Police Department at 238-3091 or register your party online at http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/nno.

Tuesday august 7, 7 pm - 9 pm. National

Meet your neighbors and and enjoy delicious food from local food trucks in the front of Studio One, 365 45th St. between Lawton and Broadway. More info at www.bitesoffbroadway.com.

7-12