After yesterday’s Supreme Court rulings striking down DOMA and bringing marriage equality back to California, my friend h. brown sends along a link to what he calls “the gayest song in the world!” Click on the pic:
Monthly Archives: June 2013
S.F. approves condo conversion deal despite objections
by JOSHUA SABATINI
San Francisco Examiner
Thousands of tenancy-in-common owners will be able to convert their units into condominiums by paying a fee under legislation approved Tuesday that ended a bitter political debate that dragged on for years.
The approval comes after complaints from tenancy-in-common owners about the higher-than-normal mortgage rates they have to pay and the years of having to wait in The City’s annual lottery process. That lottery selects just 200 units for conversion each year. More than 2,000 units were in the recent lottery.
A proposal to address these concerns was introduced a year ago by Supervisor Mark Farrell. But Board of Supervisors President David Chiu then amended it while working with tenant advocates and put in provisions Farrell opposed. On Tuesday, Farrell said his proposal had “become a mess” and that he was no longer supporting it.
Exhibiting the strength tenant advocates maintain in San Francisco politics, the board approved the legislation in an 8-3 vote Tuesday, making it able to withstand a mayoral veto, which takes eight votes to override. Supervisors Farrell, Scott Wiener and Katy Tang opposed it. Read more →
Bike sharing kicks off in SF
(Click to enlarge)
from MATT LASKY
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
The Sustainable Streets Division of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is proposing the placement of 35 bicycle sharing stations in San Francisco as shown on this map. Please review the map, forward it to other interested parties and respond to me if you wish to receive more details about specific station information including the size and location. Stations shown as green on the map will be presented at an SFMTA public hearing on Friday, 6/14/2013, at 10:00 AM, in Room 416 (Hearing Room 4), City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102. Continue reading
Filed under community services, public safety, quality of life
Lawsuits fly as SoMa Grand residents settle into “luxury-serviced” condos
The much maligned SoMa Grand, a 22 story glass tower of expensive condos at 1160 Mission Street, was hit with a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court for numerous construction defects and building standard violations. Owners of the luxury units are seeking damages in excess of $4 million as a result of the construction defects.
SoMa Grand was the first “luxury-serviced” condominium project in the Mid-Market neighborhood, offering “visual excitement, rich textures, and a polished sense of design” in a “transitional neighborhood,” according to a brochure promoting the project which sold out all units despite the economic downturn of the housing market. Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Competing condo conversion measures go to full Board tomorrow
Legislation to ban condo conversions for at least the next decade and to then prohibit conversions of 5+ unit buildings seemed headed for passage by the full Board of Supervisors tomorrow but just days before the vote Supervisor Scott Wiener used a parliamentary maneuver in a last ditch effort to stop it. Continue reading
Sign a petition asking City to maintain new SoMa park
from JAMIE WHITAKER
The poor City of San Francisco refused to accept a speck of green space for the 6,000+ and growing population of residents in high-rise towers in Rincon Hill because Phil Ginsburg claims they can’t come up with the $24,000 per year to cut the lawn and hose down the benches a few times. Continue reading
Filed under community services, open space, quality of life, social justice
soma leadership council 