Richmond Roundup

Longtime Local Businesses, Pat O'Shea's, Miz Brown's Close
Pat O'Shea's Mad Hatter, a local institution on Geary Boulevard at Third Avenue, is out of business.

The SF Sheriff's office evicted the business April 28 after the owner of the property failed to get rent payments for use of the property.

Ryan Chamberlain, one of eight partners at O'Shea's, said too many partners, fiscal mismanagement and the hiring of a bad general manager all contributed to the failure of the business.

He also claimed the business was paying twice as much, per square foot, as many other local businesses for rent and that the monthly payments to rent O'Shea's was escalating.

O'Shea's was run by Jim Kelly for many years. He sold his interest in the pub and started Kelly's Mission Rock on the waterfront east of Potrero Hill.

During important sporting events, like the Super Bowl, camera crews were sometimes on-hand to broadcast the large, rowdy crowds that used to watch games at the pub. O'Shea's was also a hangout for University of San Francisco students.

Another business that closed was Miz Brown's Feedbag, a long-time restaurant located at the Laurel Village Shopping Center.

The Meharry family, which started in the restaurant business in 1953, closed the popular eatery. The family once had numerous restaurants in the City, including a Miz Brown's on Clement Street near Eighth Avenue.Cliff House Closing to Finish Renovation

The world-famous Cliff House Restaurant is closing Monday, May 3, for several months to put the final touches on a $17 million renovation project.

According to general manager Ralph Burgin, the Cliff House will reopen in August, with several aspects of the project to be completed within a couple of weeks of reopening.

The construction project, a private/public joint venture, includes restoring the restaurant to its original 1909 design and adding a new structure to the north. The Cliff House is located on the city's western shoreline where Point Lobos Avenue meets the Great Highway.

New Mayoral Liaison Named for District 1
Patrick Seid has been named the liaison to the mayors office for District 1 (Richmond District), District 3 (North Beach/Chinatown) and District 4 (Sunset District). He is also the new liaison to the Chinese American community.

Seid is a life-long Richmond District resident who studied economics at the University of San Francisco.

"I feel very fortunate to have a position that I am able to directly interact with the community," Seid said.

To reach SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's liaison, contact Seid at the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services at (415) 554-7111 or Patrick.seid@sfgov.org.

Baker Beach to Undergo Restoration
As part of its ongoing environmental cleanup program, the Presidio Trust will remove a three-acre landfill on the Baker Beach Bluffs and restore the area's natural beauty.

The site, located on the west side of Lincoln Boulevard near Battery Crosby and Battery Chamberlin, contains 15,000 to 20,000 cubic yards of soil and building debris and was used by the U.S. Army between the '30s and '60s.

Preliminary work that began in mid-February to remove one acre of brush and one acre of trees covering the landfill site is now completed.

Removal of the landfill debris and soil is scheduled to take place later this year, once necessary regulatory approvals are in place.

To minimize impacts of the project on park residents and visitors, the Presidio Trust has developed a routing plan that will divert trucks away from main thoroughfares. Noise, dust and traffic disruptions will also be monitored.

Battery Crosby Road and nearby trails leading to Baker Beach across the landfill area will be closed for the duration of the project.

Traffic Closures in Golden Gate Park
Construction began in April on an underground parking garage near the M.H. de Young Museum and the soon-to-be-rebuilt California Academy of Sciences, located in Golden Gate Park.

To facilitate construction of the garage, several streets in the park are closed, including Academy and Tea Garden drives and the 10th Avenue entrance to the park. All access to the Music Concourse area will be prohibited during construction and the Muni 44 bus line is being rerouted to Stanyan Street.

The underground garage is slated to open in the fall of 2005. For more information about the project, call (415) 831-2728 or go to the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority's website at www.goldengateparkconcourse.org.

Speeding Fines to Double
Assemblyman Leland Yee and SF Supervisor Tony Hall teamed up at Bridgepoint, located at the old Shriner's Hospital at 19th Avenue and Lawton Street, April 23 to announce a crackdown on speeders and red-light runners on 19th Avenue and Park Presidio Boulevard.

One day earlier, Yee's legislation sailed through the Assembly. It calls for doubling the fines for speeding along the busy thoroughfare, which is part of the federal highway program (Highway 1) and sending that money back to San Francisco.

Hall is going to introduce a resolution at the SF Board of Supervisors that would dedicate the money from the double-fines for safety and traffic improvements along Highway 1. If the board does not approve the action, the money would go into the city's general fund.

The actions are in response to a number of pedestrian fatalities along the busy corridor. San Francisco has one of the highest rates of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in the state. In 2003 there were 22 deaths in the City.

Yee's legislation will go to the state Senate and then to the governor's desk for his signature. The bill would become law 30 days after the governor signs it, Yee said, because he attached an "urgency clause" to it. If the legislation clears its legislative hurdles, enforcement would begin in late July or August.

Studies are currently ongoing to determine options for making Highway 1 safer. The studies should be completed about the time the double-fine legislation takes effect. Options for traffic calming and pedestrian safety on Highway 1 include slowing the speed limit from 35 mph to 25 mph, retiming lights and installing traffic medians and transit bulb outs.

Due to a separate action, traffic cameras will soon start capturing red-light runners at several intersections along Park Presidio Boulevard.

Volunteers Renovate Community Center
The Richmond District Neighborhood Center got a lot of help in April when hundreds of skilled workers contributed their labor to fix windows, install new doors and floors, paint and give the non-profit groups that reside at the center a general makeover.

The neighborhood center, which has been serving the community for 24 years, is comprised of several buildings, located at 741 30th Ave., including the Community Music Center, Cross Cultural Family Center and Self Help for the Elderly.

The center also provides various programs, including the Richmond District After School Collaborative and the Richmond Village Beacon, which has adult programs at three local schools.

Contributing to the neighborhood center's makeover were numerous volunteers from Rebuilding Together, Webcor Builders and the local community.

Geary Traffic Lights Activated
City representatives and SF Supervisor Jake McGoldrick were on-hand April 23 to activate a recently-installed traffic light on Geary Boulevard at Seventh Avenue.

In the week prior to the press conference, another new traffic signal, on Geary at Fourth Avenue, and 14 traffic signal upgrades along Geary Boulevard, between Masonic and 10th avenues, were activated. The upgraded intersections have pedestrian "countdown" timers.

Jean Lynch, a neighborhood activist and member of the Senior Action Network, praised the SF Department of Parking and Traffic and city representatives who worked for years to make the Geary improvements possible.

The two new traffic lights cover some of gaps at dangerous intersections along the busy boulevard, areas where there have been pedestrian accidents.

Quail Sightings Wanted
About this time a year ago, two quail traveled from the Presidio to Golden Gate Park - on foot - and the ground-dwelling birds may be traveling again.

Presidio Quail have color-bands on their legs to help identify their movement and survival over time.

The state bird once roamed the former dunescape of the Richmond District in large coveys, but are now on the brink on disappearing altogether from the City.

The Presidio Trust would like news of any quail on the move. Report any suspected sightings to www.presidiotrust.gov/quail or call the Presidio Trust Natural Resources Program at (415) 561-4449.

Correction
In last month's issue of the Richmond Review, police officer Michael Regalia's name was misspelled. The Park Presidio Lions Club named Regalia the Police Officer of the Year. The Richmond District officer was honored March 20 at the Patio Español restaurant. The Richmond Review regrets the error.