are we losing the hole in the wall?
check out this bay times article about the battle to save the SOMA bars....i've gnashed my teeth for years watching all the yuppie condos go up in SOMA. the battle between the partiers and the yuppies was inevitable. but even if we could somehow grandfather all the existing bars with 'immunity' from yuppie neighbor complaints, it still means that you can't ever open anything new.
many of my best memories in 10 years of living here take place at folsom and dore fests, the eagle, the lone star, and the powerhouse. being an engineer i keep thinking "it's 2007 isn't there technology to soundproof things?!" but it's more than that. SOMA neighbors actually tried to block the opening of an organic wine shop(!) because they didn't want another liquor establishment in their neighborhood. once people move in (especially square state transplants), they want to put up their "picket fence". oftentimes that sense of ownership is a good thing; it's why straight people in crummy neighborhoods often want the gay folk to move in -- "they'll clean the place up".
the castro is now a mix of empty storefronts (thanks land speculators!), title companies, pharmacies, and a couple chain stores. i live 6 blocks away and i almost never go there because... well, why would i? when i think about detour, pendulum, the original badlands, and all the other places i miss, it makes me even more grateful for the institutions we still have.
: b
If you would like to voice your opinion or concern on this matter letters can be sent to: President Dwight Alexander, San Francisco Planning Department, 1600 Mission St. Fifth Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103
Letters should be short and to the point, and I urge you to send them soon. The hearing on this matter is on May 10, beginning at 1:30 pm in Room 400 at City Hall.
update
apparently Mr. Meko has responded:
"I can't believe the Bay Times would allow someone to publish something so full of lies. Two of my neighbors, one of whom is a regular customer of the bar in question, have filed protests against the Hole in the Wall because they intend to create a brand new bar adjacent to their homes. I'm not sure how many of your readers would want a bar relocated next door to where they live. The assertions he made in this article are pure fantasy. I've never spoken to the author but this note that I wrote to someone who bothered to contact me sums up my feelings:
" I think both the Hole and the Eagle are great bars and I hope they go on forever. One of the things that makes them so much fun is the outlaw factor. Joe Banks and John Gardiner operate right at the edge of what's legal and acceptable but they've been established in this community for so long that I'd fight to defend their right to continue that tradition. My complaint is that they didn't give any thought to this new neighborhood they decided to move into. Huge difference. Nearly a hundred neighbors in close proximity. 98 units of affordable housing at Folsom/Dore. 140 units of SRO supportive housing with drug rehab programs going in directly across the street. Joe and John got bad advice about that location. I wrote a letter to their real estate agent last July outlining the challenges they would face but they decided to bully their way through all of this. It's turned into a nasty and divisive fight and I deeply regret it "
Jim Meko
