Alemany protected bike lanes OPEN! Pedestrian Improvement in 2022!

COMMUNITY TO CELEBRATE NEW ALEMANY MAZE BIKEWAY 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—On Sunday, February 28, District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, community members, and state and local transportation agency representatives will gather to celebrate the installation of protected bike lanes along Alemany Boulevard and San Bruno Avenue at the US 101/I-280 interchange. The Alemany Interchange Bike Lanes Project includes new crosswalk striping, protected bike lanes, green painted bike left-turn boxes, and a lane reduction on Alemany Boulevard, making it safer and easier for people to bike and walk between the Portola and Bernal neighborhoods. 

These improvements were suggested by area residents from the Portola Neighborhood Association and later planned through the Alemany Interchange Improvements Study, a community-based effort funded by Caltrans and the SFCTA, which led the study.  The Phase 1 project was delivered by the SFMTA in partnership with Caltrans and SF Public Works. Funding for the project was provided by San Francisco’s half-cent sales tax for transportation.  

This celebration will mark the completion of the first phase of the Alemany Interchange Bike Lanes Project. The second phase of improvements, which includes a multi-use path and new signalized crossing of Alemany Boulevard near the Farmers Market, is scheduled for completion later this year.

What: Alemany Maze Bikeway Celebration and Bike Tour

Who: District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Portola Neighborhood Association, SF Bicycle Coalition, SFMTA Director Jeff Tumlin, SFCTA Director Tilly Chang, Caltrans 

When: Sunday, February 28th, 2021 at 11:15 a.m. 

Where: Meet at Alemany Farmers Market Entrance at 11:00 a.m. Brief remarks will begin at 11:15 a.m. This will be followed by a community bike ride to the Lunar New Year Celebration hosted by the Portola Neighborhood Association at 2675 San Bruno Ave. 

COVID Precautions: Please remember your mask and maintain distance with others at this event.

For More Information Contact: Paige Miller paige.miller@sfcta.org or 415-930-3132 

Drag Queen Bingo!!

What do you get when you mix Drag Queen Bingo with some homegrown love for the Portola? You get PORTOLOVE, an all ages fun night of games, performances, food and drinks.

Thursday, February 9 at 6 PM - 10 PM
El Toro Nightclub
2470 San Bruno Avenue, San Francisco

For details, visit the PortoLove Event on Facebook

Hosted by Van Detta, this event benefits the Goettingen Neighbors Group (GNG) to support the Goettingen Cascade project, a grassroots neighborhood public art project at the intersection of Goettingen Street and Dwight Street.

Costumes and gender-bending outfits get you a free Bingo sheet. Come out and play!

Grand Opening of Burrows St Pocket Park

Architectural Digest, The Lincoln Motor Company, Architecture for Humanity, and the Portola Neighborhood Association have collaborated over the past year to design the Burrows Pocket Park off San Bruno Avenue. With the help of the local community members, artists, designers, and fabricators, the space has been re-imagined to reflect both inspiration from each partner and the Portola neighborhood.

We hope the our new community space not only brings the community together, but also encourages visitors to continue making their neighborhood a beautiful and safe place.

Thursday, August 7
4:30pm to 7pm
Burrows St at San Bruno Ave

Come celebrate the grand opening of the park and enjoy some music, refreshments and brief remarks.

Drop by any time to enjoy the reveal of our beautiful new park, fresh from the addition of a mural, benches, and more!

World Cup in the Portola

Our neighbors in the Portola are putting on an afternoon of World Cup fun this Sunday in the Burrows St Pocket Park, just off San Bruno Ave.  

Come out and watch USA vs Portugal on the big screen!

With your Portola Passport, you can enter to win some fabulous raffle prizes:

* A re-built mountain bike - Value $200

* 2 REI Flash 18 Day Packs (valued at $34.50 each)

* 2 x Sports Basement Certificate ($25 each)

* Portola Gift Basket - with Portola Bag, Honey, Arcadia Books, T-shirt, Maps, and bottle of wine

* Metal Wine Bottle Rack with of Garden Wine Glass Stands

* $25 iTune Card

* Basket of 4 wine bottles

* And more!

World Cup Soccer in the Portola

Love soccer? So do we! Come watch World Cup games in the Portola!

On June 22, the Portola Neighborhood Association will host a free live screening of the Team USA v. Portugal game, with seating, crafts, booths, and fun games for kids of all ages. They'll also host a live screening of the championship finals on July 13.

Also, pick up the World Cup in the Portola Passport starting on June 12th, the first day of the World Cup tournament. Visit San Bruno Ave. merchants and collect all the stamps to win a super duper one-of-the-kind prize!

More information to come at portolasf.org/worldcup or follow us on Twitter (@sfportola)!

See you at the Burrows Pocket Park (1 Burrows Street)!

SFBC 2014 Beekeeping Apprenticeship Program

San Francisco Bee-Cause will be starting its 2014 Beekeeping Apprenticeship Program on April 6 and 27, 2014.

Program Overview:

This is a 2-year program, where apprentices learn to how to ethically and responsibly manage a colony of honey bees throughout the seasons, and participate in building a community of charitable and educational beekeepers. The goal is to train new beekeepers who will manage SF Bee-Cause honey bee colonies at one of our San Francisco beekeeping sites. For 2014, we will have a beekeeping site in Potrero Hill, in the Bayview and The Bee Farm (Vis Valley/Portola) which is our largest apiary.

Year 1 (2014): SF Bee-Cause makes a substantial and meaningful investment in the apprentices. We guide you through book, Internet, discussion and hands-on learning. Groups of apprentices (2-3) are teamed up with one of our 2013 apprentices who will mentor the "newbees" through their first year of managing a SF Bee-Cause honey bee colony. 

Year 2 (2015): Apprentices give back to SF Bee-Cause in a substantial and meaningful way. It is our ultimate hope that you will get the "beekeeping bug" and will want to continue beekeeping -- to further your learning and help mentor the next group of apprentices, and with the monthly Program meetings. But if one year of beekeeping makes you decide it is not for you, or changes in your life make the regular time commitment difficult, you can fulfill your 2nd year volunteer commitment by giving back to our organization in other substantial and meaningful ways.

For More Detailed Information, Program Application and Deadlines: www.sfbeecause.com

Greenagers Program Announcement

Since 2012, Greenagers have provided over 2,000 hours of direct service stewarding local southeast parks, local community events, recreation special events, park staff and most importantly, have learned how to be youth park advocates for their local community, parks and open spaces.

 

The Greenagers Program is under the umbrella of the Youth Stewardship Program and is sponsored by the San Francisco Port and Parks Alliance.

It is an 8-month paid internship program for high school freshman and sophomores who either live or go to school in southeast of San Francisco.

Through hands-on experiences, Greenagers are trained to plan, prepare and lead various park projects, volunteers, and learn some invaluable lessons about work etiquette and responsibility. Towards the end of the internship, Greenagers are required to plan and implement a project of their own that addresses an issue or topic of concern, which serves as a culmination of their time in the program and puts their skills to the test.

Greenagers also have opportunities to participate in fun field trips, including sailing on the bay, a visit to Alcatraz, camping at Rob Hill and other various experiences to further develop their independent and teambuilding skill set as a group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04mrfVYQ8DQ

 

We are now accepting applications for the 2014 year. Applications are due by March 28^th.

Please help distribute applications and this email to any interested youth or youth organization. Interviews will begin in April.

 

 For an application and more information about other youth and teen opportunities, click on the link below:

 

http://sfrecpark.org/support-your-parks/volunteer-program/

 

Thank you for supporting youth leadership in our communities.

Portola Community Meeting

February 27th
PNA Community Meeting
@Palega Park

Join us February 27th for a Community Meeting! We will be going over PNA Committees and Project Updates in the neighborhood.

6:30pm to 8:00pm
Palega Park Recreation Center
500 Felton St

We will be talking about updates such as Phase 2 of the Burrows Pocket Park (2 Burrows Street) and the Greenhouses on 770 Woolsey Street. This Community Meeting's "Meet the Merchant" features Queen's Louisiana Po-Boy Cafe. Hope to see everyone there!

Mapping Southeastern Neighborhood Gamechangers

Willie Brown Academy Middle School

Curbed SF has a list of 20 projects that are slated for the Southeast that will change the area significantly over the next decade.  Sadly, they didn't do all their homework, because if they had, they'd have realized that #13, the India Basin Shoreline Plan is obsolete, as it depended on there being a Redevelopment Agency.  As India Basin resident Michael Hamman writes, "Any future development of India Basin will require a new planning process and a very different development plan be created."

San Bruno Avenue Beautification Day!

Saturday, February 15th 9AM-12PM.

Meet at the Burrows Pocket Park (1 Burrows St.) @9AM 

Volunteer with your neighbors and merchants along San Bruno Avenue. We're looking for volunteers to help with the various beautification activities such as tree well replenishing, sprucing up the Burrows Pocket Park and litter removal. We will be giving volunteers raffle tickets to win some prizes! Some of the businesses will be out and about as well, power-washing their storefronts and tidying up sidewalks!

Please stop by, we need all the help we can get!

Silver Avenue Roadwork

UPDATE: According to SFDPW, road work will begin at the Alemany end of Silver Ave and will progress eastward toward Palou.  While sewer mains will be replaced only in parts that are needed, the entire stretch will be repaved.  The road will be striped the same as it is now.

From SFDPW:

Silver Avenue sewer replacement, water main installation, and pavement renovation project (job order 2067J) 

SFDPW has hired Ranger Pipeline to replace both the water and sewer main along several blocks of Silver Avenue and to repave Silver Avenue between Alemany Blvd and Palou Ave.  Construction will begin in late January, 2014 with completion scheduled for May, 2015.   Not all blocks will be done at once, so it may take a while for them to get to yours.
Street parking will not be possible on the block during contruction work hours.

Vehicles parked on the street during the posted work hours will be towed at the vehicle owner's expense.

Once work has begun, please visit SFDPW for project updates.
Contact DPW at 415-437-7009 or Ranger Piplines at 415-822-3700 (800-876-3778 for 24-hr emergency).

Work hours will be 7AM until 6PM 

Now if only we could get them to do Industrial!

Portola WINS Curbed Cup 2014

Booyah!  Way to go Portola!  Read more at Curbed SF.

Bringing design to the Portola

From Lincoln Now,

 

The challenge at hand is Burrows Street Park. This once depleted empty lot will be a plant-filled, seating-friendly “pocket park” in San Francisco’s Portola District. Part of the Lincoln Reimagine Project,™ the construction of the pocket park is a collaboration between The Lincoln Motor Company, Architectural Digest, and Architecture for Humanity. The park is in phase two of its implementation: finalizing the actual design of how the park will be used. To Jacobs, this phase is the hardest, but also a fun challenge.

More at Lincoln Now

Holiday tree decorating in the Portola

San Bruno Avenue is getting our very first Christmas tree. Please join us in decorating the tree this Saturday, Dec. 7th 3-5pm next to Four Barrel Coffee (1 Burrows St.) Feel free to bring some of your own non-breakable decorations. Hope to see everyone there!

For those of you who are connected to the Portola Neighborhood Association on Facebook, here’s an event link that you can use to let us know if you’re coming and for you to share with friends:

https://www.facebook.com/events/184622791728330/

SF Open Studios in Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, and Bayview

From SF Fun Cheap:

SF Open Studios is the oldest and largest open studios program in the country, featuring an annual, month-long, city-wide art event that showcases over 900 emerging and established San Francisco artists in their studios on Saturdays and Sundays, October 13-November 10, 2013. 

Each weekend, art patrons, admirers, and collectors venture out on self-guided tours to see as many SF Open Studios artists and their artworks as possible, in the hopes of finding their next true art love. 

2013 San Francisco Open Studios 

Sat-Sun, October 13-November 10, 2013 | 11 am to 6 pmAll Over San FranciscoFREE 

November 2 & 3 |11 am to 6 pmSOMA, Tenderloin, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Bayview, Portola, & Excelsior 

November 9 & 10 | 11 am to 6 pmHunters Point Shipyard & Islais Creek Studios

First Cup at Four Barrel

Greenhouses for the Garden District

For seventy years, commercial greenhouses characterized the vibrant urban-agricultural heritage of the Portola, once known to all as “San Francisco’s Garden.” Today, the neighborhood still prides itself on being San Francisco’s “Garden District,” yet the University Mound Greenhouses, built in 1922, are the last of its greenhouses. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission currently has plans underway to "daylight" the upper portion of Yosemite Creek (see project description here: http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=699). Inclusion of the greenhouse property in PUC's design for this multi-million dollar investment will help meet four neighborhood priorities: urban agriculture, self-sufficiency, leadership, and blight removal.

Please sign the petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/greenhouses-for-the-garden-district to ask the SFPUC to include the greenhouse property in their overall plan for the Yosemite Creek watershed.

Four Barrel Opens in Portola!!

Saturday, October 26 
1 Burrows St 
10:30AM - 2:30PM 

  The long anticipated opening of Four Barrel this weekend!! We just heard there'll be a mobile petting zoo between 10:30am and 1pm. A local brass band, Brass Magic, will be playing between 1:30-2:30. Hope you can bring your family and friends down to 1 Burrows St for that delicious cup of coffee!

PNA Community Meeting

The Portola Neighborhood Association (PNA)
invites you to our next

COMMUNITY MEETING
Thursday, October 24, 2013

PNA Committees and projects updates
Burrows Pocket Park Project Phase II - Architecture for Humanity Design Update
AT&T electrical cabinets in the Portola
PUC Sewer System Improvement Program & CleanPowerSF
Community Safety Update Bayview Station Captain O’Sullivan
OEWD assessment of opportunities for San Bruno Ave
Find out ‘What’s on’ in the Portola over the coming weeks!!
Food & Refreshment to be generously provided by Astound Broadband

6:30pm to 8:00pm
Saint Elizabeth’s Church (Cantwell Hall)
490 Goettingen Street

Portola Neighborhood Association

For any questions, please contact: Jack Tse Corridor Manager jack@portolasf.org (415) 574-9170 

Saturday Events in the Portola

Portola Art Panels

You've all seen the large snake mural on one of the pillars at the interchange between 101 and 280.  But did you know that this was only Phase I of a much larger Portola Neighborhood Association project?   Phase II of the project will see 48 panels depicting Portola landmarks affixed to the fences near the base of the mural at the north end of San Bruno Ave where it intersects with Alemany Blvd.  Volunteers are needed to help mount the panels to the fence, so if you're available, come on out!

Saturday, October 12, 9:30AM - noon
San Bruno Ave at Alemany Blvd
Refreshments will be served.

McLaren Park Playground

From Chuck Farrugia,

Join us on Saturday October 12th at 12:30 for the official ceremony and ribbon cutting celebration taking place at the new Peru & Burrows Street playground in McLaren Park. 

After 7 years of hard work and perseverance a neighborhood can once again reunite in its park and boast it has a playground for its children to play in that is safe and close to home.  What began as a signature petition over 12 years ago by a mother and our friend Sue Zimmer, eventually became a calling for me and my wife which in turn spurred the Help McLaren Park children's advocacy group.   

After countless letters and meetings all over town the Neighborhood Parks Council, later the SF Parks Alliance, joined our cause and through a competitive application process and we won a Community Challenge Grant for 65K and later a Community Opportunity Fund Grant for 238K but still no playground.... only a head of white hair to show for it ....until now.