B2B Efforts Help NOPNA Snag Meeting with the Mayor, New District 5 Alliance Forming

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was so impressed with neighborhood organizers who helped deliver a less rowdy but festive Bay to Breakers footrace this year that his office invited the North Panhandle Neighborhood Association to host his first district-wide meeting on July 21. The mayor requested the meeting to discuss two measures due on the November ballot: pension reform and the $248 million streets repair bond.

Jarie Bolander, President of NOPNA, said the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services asked him to organize the meeting along with leaders of nine other neighbors and merchants associations. "It seemed like a natural follow-up," Bolander said, referring to the successful collaboration among the many groups who worked for months to improve the Bay to Breakers after widespread complaints followed the 2010 race.

Bolander also described the formation of a new District 5 organization, tentatively named the District 5 Merchants & Neighborhood Alliance. The new group will include representatives of ten existing neighbor and merchant groups and would serve as a link between them on district-wide issues. Bolander said they would likely seek non-profit status in the months ahead and function with shared leadership on a rotating basis.

For the July 21 meeting with the mayor, Bolander will offer a brief introduction and serve as moderator. The mayor will discuss the two ballot measures and solicit feedback from participants. Representatives from several city departments will also be present at the meeting.

Pension reform has, of course, become an issue nationally. In San Francisco, much of the "city family" of elected officials and business and community leaders have agreed on one strategy to go before the voters, but there remains the possibility that Public Defender Jeff Adachi will advance an alternative proposal. No one disagrees with the need for extensive reconstruction and repair of city streets, but the prospect of paying for the work through a bond measure continues to trouble some observers.

NOPNA/District 5 Meeting

Thursday, July 21

7pm - 9:00 pm

SF Day School

350 Masonic @ Golden Gate (enter on Golden Gate)

Secure bike parking available

SF Day School is on Muni line #43 Masonic and is one block from #31 Balboa and the #5 McAllister

Pies for Parklets -- You're All Invited to Celebrate and Bring Some More Green to our City

Envision a greener Lyon Street at Turk along exterior of St. Cyprian's Church

Images: James Munden, Marta Fry Landscape Architects

Creating community with a greener, more sustainable space

Dear BIKE NOPA Friends, Neighbors, Colleagues,

Which do you like best when it comes to pies? Sweet or savory? Peach blueberry or green chile apple? Or perhaps an organic pinot noir, a chocolate stout, or ecco organic coffee? Take your pick at this upcoming event and help green the corner of Turk and Lyon.

On May 25, NOPNA, Sunday Streets, St. Cyprian’s Church and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition will co-host a community celebration of an honor that has come my way, and, more importantly, to kick-off a plan to make our neighborhood greener and more sustainable.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has named me the District 5 Person of the Month for June. In his words:

Michael has contributed to so many organizations in the district and citywide, including the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association, Fix Masonic, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Sunday Streets, NOPA VELO, and, most recently, the community development work of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church. The district and the city are fortunate to reap the benefits of his efforts. Michael wants to celebrate this honor with a community fundraiser to benefit a new streetscape project for Turk and Lyon streets. I encourage everyone to join in.

A huge thanks to Supervisor Mirkarimi. I want to share it with all of you who do so much to make this a great district.

Let’s meet up and make something very cool happen at the same time: Raise some bucks to remove concrete slabs of sidewalk and replace them with trees and shrubs, benches and bike racks. Let's transform the SE corner of Turk and Lyon and create community at the same time. Neighbors have been meeting at Turk and Lyon since last year about how to make the corner greener and more sustainable. Now they're ready to share the vision and engage the community even more in a design that benefit everyone.

Putting it all together:

Wednesday, May 25, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Chile Pies (& ice cream), 601 Baker @ Fulton
Free treat with each $15-$20 donation (slice of pie, drinks and more)

Live music in the works
All proceeds will fund the Green Turk and Lyon project
Questions? please contact greenturkandlyon@gmail.com
Can’t attend but want to donate? Checks payable to St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, Green Turk and Lyon account, 2097 Turk, SF 94115.

Please save the date. Stop by for good cheer, check out the other renderings, and help make D5 even greener. The fundraiser will be followed in the weeks ahead with neighborhood meetings and then the good stuff: replacing concrete with soil, stones and native plants, benches and bike racks.

Check out the concerts and events at Cyprian's, the new venue in town, at Turk and Lyon where St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church has been an active in the community since 1960.

Thank you, Chile Pies!