Pit Stop Toilet Coming to BART's 16th Street Plaza

Before leaving the house recently to catch a BART train to Berkeley to catch a movie at the Pacific Film Archive, I emptied my bladder. Due to a new drug in my cocktail that occasionally requires more than usual peeing, I need to relieve myself when I got to the 16th Street and Mission BART station. Since there are no public toilets at the station and the kiosk restroom was out of order, I had to wait until arriving in the East Bay to pee.

This week, I got in touch with the public information offices of BART and the San Francisco Department of Public Works to request porta-potties at this plaza. Needless to say, when both agencies informed me that the Pit Stop program was in the works.

In January, I blogged about the need for a Pit Stop in the Castro. Pit Stops are not only places to pee and poop but also provide wash-up materials, are locations for dropping off used syringes and dog waste, and provide trash and recycling containers. We need more of them around San Francisco.

Here's the good news today from Alicia Trost of BART:

"[My colleague] asked that I provide you with details regarding Pit Stop bathrooms near 16th BART. The City (Public Works) is leading it with a funding match from BART.

"The Pit Stop will be located on City property near the BART station and will not be on the BART plaza.

"Here are the details I have: Pit Stop · BART and City partnering on pilot for staffed portable restroom facility.

"· $50K for 6 months ($25K from each party).
"· Includes needle disposal, waste receptacles.
"· Aiming for 2015 implementation."

Weekend Woof #99: Pizza Boy, Mohawk Man, Grass Skirt Queen

It's been a good week for capturing colorful dudes on the streets of San Francisco. My latest video in this continuing series is now up for your viewing pleasure.

The young fella at the Oz Pizza Shop on Castro Street really made my week, when he talked about "The Wizard of Oz" movie and practiced a bit of gay religion - Judyism!

I hope you have as much fun watching the videos as I do filming the guys and editing the footage. As always, a note of thanks to the dudes for gracing the lens of my camera. How was your week for male eye-candy?

Write-In Petrelis 4 Mayor Business Cards Are Here

There are more folks preparing runs for San Francisco mayoral election this fall and my philosophy about the race is simple: the more the merrier.

Let's give Mayor Ed Lee a run for his money (which will equal buckets of cash from his developer and tech industry pals), and also use the democratic process to organizer better at the grassroots level.

I've slightly reworked my graphics from last year's campaign for District 8 supervisor. Here's the new business card that arrived this week.

My goal is a write-in campaign for Room 200 at City Hall, the mayor's office, and won't be paying the $5,000 or gathering signatures to get on the ballot.

Check out my Facebook campaign site. Let the campaigning begin!

McCoppin Plaza Closed Over Damage by Homeless & A Stabbing

Opened in late summer of 2014 as part of a package of urban redesigns in the McCoppin, Valencia, Market and Duboce intersections of Western SoMa, the McCoppin Hub Plaza has been an encampment for the homeless and scene of many troubles, day and night.

The nearby residents have documented numerous problems at the plaza located at where McCoppin dead-ends at Valencia Streets, and keep pressuring City officials to deal with the dangerous elements of the area. From defecating and urinating, drinking and drugging and loud music and arguments, barking dogs, blocking the bike lanes with sharp debris or passed out people, to a recent stabbing, complaints have mounted to the point that the Department of Public Works has taken action.

Here's there statement: "San Francisco Public Works has temporarily fenced McCoppin Hub Plaza in order to perform needed short-term construction upgrades, primarily to repair vandalism-damaged concrete and irrigation and electrical systems. During the closure, other maintenance issues also will be addressed and McCoppin Hub will get a deep cleaning. The work is expected to last no more than three weeks. Thank you for your understanding and patience."

These are excerpts from the note Supervisor Jane Kim sent to a constituent this morning. FYI, the hub area falls into both District 6 and District 8:

"I was not invited to today's meeting with Supervisor Wiener but I am glad that our residents are meeting with him as well. I have been hosting meetings with many of our neighborhood associations and residents in West SOMA over the last year and have been working with the McCoppin Valencia Neighborhood Watch. In fact, I lived in the neighborhood when I came into office-- I only moved mid-way through my term because my landlord sold the unit my roommate and I lived in.

"The Southern Station Police Captain and I have been actively engaged with this neighborhood and I believe we had been making great strides up until the Skateboard Park and McCoppin Hub opened.

"I do support hours and rules for the Hub and a gate to close this park at night.I appreciate your feedback and agree that the City has a lot of work to do after we create new parks to ensure they are successful and safe." 

Check out my video shot this afternoon of the now-closed park:

High Above San Francisco in POPOS: What's That?

Our beautiful City is blessed with spectacular views from an elevated location and I've discovered two new sites to enjoy some of the scenery.

The San Francisco Chronicle's urban design critic John King has long called for much-appreciated attention to POPOS, which stands for privately owned public open spaces, and folks visiting the spaces. 

POPOS were created by downtown developers as part of the City's incentives to construct more public spaces in congested areas. Accessing some of the locations is now easier since large signs are now posted outside the buildings with a POPOS inside.

The executives at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research group, SPUR, have a terrific guide to most of the POPOS available as a PDF for printing or an app, to better assist people who want to visit the semi-public spaces. Check out their "Secrets of San Francisco" guide and map here.

While these public spaces with great views are breathtaking and relaxing oases in the urban jungle, and well worth a visit, don't overlook all the street level POPOS sites. Videos of those locations coming soon.

Sup. Campos to Hold Market Rate Housing Moratorium Meeting

[UPDATE: Happy April Fool's! Hope you had a few laffs reading this prank post. Sure was fun to write!]

Thanks to a public records request, I have obtained this important information from the office of Supervisor David Campos and trust it is of interest to you and many others across San Francisco.

-----Original Message-----
From: Campos, David (BOS)
To: Allbee, Nate (BOS) ; Goossen, Carolyn (BOS) ; Ronen, Hillary (BOS) ;
Sent: Wed, Apr 1, 2015 8:01 AM
Subject: Mission Moratorium Meeting

Staff: Post to our social media this afternoon.

STATEMENT & ANNOUNCEMENT

It's with utmost pride that I today am announcing another step on the road toward enacting a market rate housing moratorium in the Mission District.

My office has arranged a town hall meeting to be held on April 15th, Tax Day, in close collaboration with community-based stakeholder nonprofits and grassroots activist groups.

Draft language for new legislation I will introduce at the May 1st Board of Supervisors meeting at City Hall of the Neighborhood Services and Safety Committee, will be presented at the town hall.

The forum will be at the Brava Theater, and the sole topic is our proposal to limit certain high-density housing construction in the Mission for an 18-month period.

Brief remarks will be made by Tom Ammiano, Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Tim Redmond and Tom Temprano about dismantling political echo chambers and engaging folks outside of our base of support, in order to cool off the heated luxury condo construction boom. Steven T. Jones will moderate the forum.

The legacy of my City Hall career will rest on retaining the proud Latino elements and heritage of District 9. I stand on the shoulders of giants - MEDA SF, the sorely-missed Bay Guardian, PODER, Causa Justa, the Harvey Milk LGBT and San Francisco Latino Democratic Clubs, and countless individuals - who invest their trust in me. A market rate housing moratorium is but one ingredient of my legacy.

I have to give the people hope, and remind them that when a handful of people understand the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice for all, then they are ready to climb every mountain, ford every stream, and follow every rainbow till we find our dream.

Come join us on April 15th at the Brava Theater!

My Wish List for the 58th SF International Film Festival

The big announcement press conference tomorrow, March 31, from the leading staff of the San Francisco Film Society at the Fairmont Hotel will unveil the full line-up for the 59th SF International Film Festival.

We know that the opening night film is the doc "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine", closing night is the feature "Experimenter", and iconic actor and human rights advocate Richard Gere will receive the Peter J. Owens Award before his latest film "Time Out of Mind" is screened.

For me, the festival is always a cinematic cornucopia and a highlight of the Bay Area's robust film cultural offerings. I've compiled a list of works on my wish list and hope to be at the presser on Tuesday and hear that these films will unspool during the festival, which runs from April 23 through May 7. More info here.

Here is the list, films listed alphabetically:

1) "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence", by Roy Andersson, Sweden. His earlier work, "You, the Living", was one of the highlights of 2008 festival. His latest is another deadpan look at humanity.

2) "Clouds of Silas Maria", director Olivier Assayas, France. One of France's always intriguing actresses Juliette Binoche stars as an ageing actress facing the challenges of her waning career. Even with a U.S. distributor, the film hasn't played in theaters.

3) "From What is Before", director Lav Diaz, Phillipines. This latest epic of his runs just over five-and-a-half hours, all about a barrio's citizens and troubles before strongman Ferdinand Marcos declare martial law. The only chance to see it will be through the auspices of the Film Society.

4) "Hard to be a God", director Aleksei German, Russia. A master filmmaker shamefully not receiving the attention he deserves from American audiences. This is his final film made before his death and is based on a classic sci-fi story that is sure to dazzle the eye.

5) "Horse Money", director Pedro Costa, Portugal. A followup to Costa's trilogy about poor residents of a public housing complex, his newest film concerns the protagonist Ventura of "Colossal Youth" as a political revolution unfolds.

6) "Pasolini", director Abel Ferrera starring Willem Dafoe, France/Belgium/Italy. I don't care about the plot or early reviews. Any look at the life of Piers Paolo Pasolini, much less one directed by Ferrera and featuring Defoe is a must-see and very unlikely to play outside the festival circuit.

7) "Winter Sleep", director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey. Another look at the divide between rich and poor in Turkish society, it won the 2014 Palm D'Ore at the Cannes Film Festival. There was a short run in New York last year, but the distributor has not booked the film for showings on the art house circuit beyond Manhattan.

Weekend Woof #98: Bonjour, San Francisco

The Little Hollywood laundromat on Market near Laguna is the location where I met two handsome French bears this week. Alain and Christophe have lived together for twelve years, don't want to get married and earn livings as DJs.

They charmed the pants off of me, not literally unfortunately, with their enthusiastic love of San Francisco that was infectious. Wish they were hanging out a few more days before returning to Paris, because I would have live to spend time showing them my San Francisco.

I'm learning the bells and whistles of MovieMaker, so you'll notice a slo-mo effect for some of the street footage. Can't believe we're approaching the 100th edition of this queer photo and video series. Thanks to all the dudes that crossed my camera's lens.

 

Tez Anderson and His SF AIDS Vanity Charity

Many are the approaches to assist ageing men and women living with HIV maintain wellness and even thrive, for the over 50 crowd which I'm proudly a part of and also amazed at the number of brothers in their 70s in this cohort.

With the onset of my latest health challenge of celluilitis and two antibiotics added to my cocktail for the week, I needed camaraderie with other people with AIDS. Btw, the cellulitis is much improved and diminished. Hope to be back at the Embarcadero Y on Monday.

One group that was of no succor whatsoever was Tez Anderson's vanity charity known as Let's Kick ASS (AIDS Survivor Syndrome), either online or in real time off-line. He founded this group about two years ago, with the juvenile name (hardly suitable for a senior constituency), decided all members were suffering ASS and advocated for wounded warriors.

The LKA site is updated only by Tez, with practically every post about Tez, or a link to a story that features Tez, or a report on his travels to an AIDS junket in Palm Springs (how that benefits SF PWAs is unknown), and there's the tear-jerking PSA starring Tez who, of course, is the first face shown.

If that's not enough Tez for you, check out LKA's press room page where he shares a mix of old and new TV and print media of, well, Tez. He averages two posts a month. Not exactly much online engagement there.

Tez runs an office on 18th Street near Castro, and haven't a clue why it's needed, how much the rent is or who pays. LKA has a 501c3 tax exempt status but it's so new they haven't filed an IRS 990 yet. I made public info requests withe Ryan White CARE Council and SF Department of Public Health and neither has funded Tez's operation.

Except for a Saturday morning cafe chat (which I attended one of last year and witnessed The Tez Show live on a small scale but with his big ego dominating) and a weekly stretching class led by someone other than Tez (shocker!).

For May's listing of events, there's a single item. On May 1, Tez is going on a junket to an AIDS and ageing confab in Austin, Texas.

Tez held incredibly well-attended forums in 2013, harvested lots of names and emails, and met the needs of hundreds of gays of a certain age, poz and negative, and he established his bona fides as a superior control queen, with a following. More power to him if he's helping PWAs sharing so much of his ego with the world.

I took care of my camaraderie needs, not to mention also meeting a gay PWA older than I who had worse cellulitis and the bonding btwn us was very healing for me, by attending the 50 Plus group on Wednesday hosted by Vince Crisostomoo of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. (Whoever thought I'd turn to them for assistance, after decades of criticism. lol.)

It was just what the Goddess ordered for me. About fifty guys around small tables, nibbling food and kibbitzing, a few friends among the beautiful faces and new acquaintances met. Lotta excellent ideas suggested for future chat topics or outings. Felt a vibe of "let's take care of our ageing asses" without a jargon-heavy overview or much of an agenda beyond getting enjoyable psycho/social support.

When I left the get-together, I was more educated and empowered and ready to attend again. Yes, I am blessed that services exist to benefit me and want to give a shout out to all among my AIDS support network pals who lessened my burdens to bear in the past ten days.

Proof Progressive Poobah Tim Redmond is a Peabrain?

For many of us San Francisco's political animals who live in the realty-based world, we long ago learned to look upon Tim Redmond for comedic relief and to consider doing the opposite of whatever he was proposing. He's so stuck in a 1970s hippie-think time warp.

Redmond now operates the 48 Hills blog and a few times each week, he serves as the trusted mouthpiece of the lazy and inept David Campos. He actually thinks Campos matters for anything other than a few laughs or as the target to vent frustration over the decimation of Latinos in the Mission and the disfigurement of the district.

Here's some silliness from Redmond dated Dec. 22, 2014:

"Supervisor David Campos has an idea that could revolutionize electoral politics in San Francisco – and it’s so simple that I’m amazed none of us thought of it before. Campos told me last week he wants to explore legislation to direct the Department of Elections to mail an absentee ballot to every registered voter in the city, every election. [...] This one could be fascinating. Watch for it in the new year."

The political landscape is so littered with examples of Campos supposedly exploring or drafting legislation he should be cited for polluting the political environment.

The absentee ballot idea may have merit, but this simple and potentially revolutionary suggestion as Redmond puts it is the 439th such time Campos had an idea pop into his head, yakked it up with someone who uses social media, it goes nowhere and progressives fail repeatedly to hold Campos accountable.

Should we break the news to Redmond that the first quarter of the new year is closing and there's nothing to watch out for from Team Campos?

Changing SFO's name to Harvey Milk Airport. Opening the Tamale Lady cafe in the Mission. A 24-bed queer homeless shelter in District 9 is taking more than 4 years to open. Maybe drafting fire prevention legislation. Perhaps writing a new market rate housing construction moratorium law.

An effective elected official Campos ain't, but he's the bee's knees to Redmond

And the beat goes on . . .