Richmond Roundup

Richmond YMCA to Close Preschool
The Richmond District YMCA has announced it will terminate its preschool program at the end of December due to dwindling attendance.

According to Fitness Director Rodney Chin, the number of children utilizing the YMCA's preschool program dropped from about 60 to 20, causing the non-profit group to lose considerable money each month to provide the service.

It is unknown what use there will be at the space occupied by the preschool, but an expansion of child-care service for drop-in customers is a possibility.

Schwab gets OK to expand office space
Charles Schwab & Company increased its presence in the Presidio Heights by getting approval for expanding their offices at 3478 California St. from 3,175 square feet to 7,606 square feet.

In a 4-to-3 vote at its Oct. 11 meeting, the SF Planning Commission approved a plan to expand the financial services company into adjoining space at Schwab's current location, across the street from the Laurel Village Shopping Center at the intersection of Locust Street. The final language for the project was OK'd at the commission's Nov. 8 meeting.

The plan to expand Schwab's office was originally opposed by the SF Planning Department, but approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) was granted with numerous conditions, including a provision that any future expansion come back to the planning commission for approval and a provision that construction begin within two years of the issuance of the CUP.

Schwab intends to reduce the number of open workstations at its California Street site by four and add a total of 11 new client/representative offices. Because the site is the only financial services company serving residents in the Presidio and Laurel heights neighborhoods, the planning commission determined that other businesses would not be hurt by Schwab's expansion.

Housing, retail get OK for site of former gas station
The site of a gasoline service station at the corner of Geary Boulevard and 33rd Avenue has been approved for transformation into residential housing and commercial space.

The building will be four-stories tall, with 15 units of residential housing and 4,452 square feet of ground-floor retail space. There will be 16 parking spaces in the 40-foot-tall project. The commercial space will be divided into four separate units and two of the residential units will be "affordable."

After addressing a couple of design concerns, staff at the SF Planning Department gave the project a "thumb's up" because it increased the City's housing stock and provided at least one vehicle parking space per residential unit.

When the project came before the SF Planning Commission Oct. 4, there was very little opposition to the project - no community groups and only one person called to oppose the plan - so commissioners gave their approval for a Conditional Use Permit.

West Side Businesses Win Awards
Two westside businesses have won "Commercial Recycler of the Year" (CORY) awards for their efforts to keep their costs down via innovative recycling techniques.

Mescolanza, the restaurant located at 2221 Clement St., won the "coveted" Golden Dumpster award in the small restaurant category for its effort to recycle waste. According to Sunset Scavenger, staff at the restaurant divert 86 percent of the business' waste stream that would otherwise end up in a landfill if just thrown away.

Another restaurant, Masala, located at 1220 Ninth Ave., won second prize and an original artwork comprised of recycled glass for its effort to recycle. The owner of the restaurant, Zafar Hafeez, is a former environmental studies student who incorporated intensive recycling techniques as standard operating procedure when he opened the restaurant.

The CORY awards were given to this year's 26 winners Nov. 29 at a luncheon ceremony held at the Sheraton Palace Hotel. The CORY awards are sponsored by the SF Department of the Environment, Building and Owners and Managers Association, Golden Gate Restaurant Association and the Hotel Council of San Francisco.

The CORY awards are part of the effort to increase the city's recycling rate from 45 percent to 50 percent to meet a state mandate. Since two-thirds of all city waste comes from businesses, it is important to increase the rate of recycling in this sector to meet the state mandate and to extend the life of the city's current landfill, which could run out of space as soon as 2012.

49ers walk to support Geary merchants
Three members of the San Francisco 49ers football team toured the Richmond District on Tuesday, Nov. 13 to drum up business for local merchants.

The 49ers players that assisted in SF Mayor Willie Brown's "Open for Business" campaign were Andre Carter, Brian Jennings and Quincy Stewart. They sampled various ethnic foods and chatted with merchants along the Geary Boulevard commercial corridor during a one-and-a-half-hour walk with David Heller, president of the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants Association.

The 49ers, who signed autographs for the public, were well protected, with Richmond Police Station Capt. Edgar Springer and officer Jim Strange joining the walk. The group encountered about 100 merchants and local residents along the way.

Concourse Authority Approves Transportation Spending Plan
As part of its obligation to improve transportation opportunities in Golden Gate Park after the passage of Proposition J in 1998, the Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority has announced its plan to spend $237,000 in private money during its 2001-2002 fiscal year.

The money will be used to improve parking, traffic calming measures, pedestrian safety improvements, bicycle route improvements, road closures, Muni bus service improvements and the continuation of an intra-park shuttle system which had a successful trial run earlier this year.

People who used the shuttle during its initial run said they would ride it again (95 percent) and tell their friends about it (97 percent), according to surveys conducted by the Concourse Authority. With the new funding, shuttle vehicles will be rolling in the park from March through October of 2002.

V.A. Medical Center Saves Big Time
Because of the San Francisco Veteran's Association Medical Center's effort to be energy efficient, the center is saving more than $500,000 annually.

The effort has resulted in the saving of about 3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to power 400 homes for a year, and more than 70,000 therms of natural gas, enough to fuel 100 homes for a year.

The savings at the V.A. site, which consists of 28 buildings with more than 1 million square feet of space, come from installing energy-efficient light bulbs, replacing inefficient motors, air compressors and other machinery, and installing light controls to turn off lights when they are not needed.

The savings are the result of "Energy Savings Performance Contracts" sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program. The program is supposed to be a "budget neutral transaction." Under the terms of a contract with Johnson Controls, energy savings will pay for the cost of improvements over a 19-year time period. After that, any savings incurred due to improvements would go to the medical center.

During an upcoming additional "Phase 2" of the ESPC program, the medical center will attempt to save an additional $173,000 a year by updating the center's water supply system to utilize irrigation control measures and by installing low-flow fixtures.

Help at USF for disadvantaged high schoolers
The University of San Francisco hosts the Upward Bound Visual and Performing Arts Project, which is part of the university's commitment to community service and educational excellence. Through a variety of academic programs and services, the project prepares high school students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds for success in pursuing post-secondary education.

The project offers a tutorial program, summer residency program in which students attend courses at USF for high school credit, and programs that enhance students' academic development through the arts. Mentoring, academic advising and assistance with college admission and financial aid applications are also provided. For more information, call 422-5621.

Subsidized childcare available
The Children's Services Fund of San Francisco assists low- to moderate-income families in paying for licensed childcare for children up to 13 years of age.

The subsidized childcare program is designed to serve struggling parents. Through this program, parents can choose any licensed childcare provider and receive childcare counseling and information.

For more information, conditions or to apply, contact the Wu Yee Children's Services at 391-8993, the Children's Council of San Francisco at 276-2900 or the Whitney Young Child Development Center at 821-7550.