Fox Uptown Parking Garage: Terrible car onslaught or necessary amenity?

Sunfield Sustainable Development (“Sunfield”, “SSD”) plans to build a massive parking garage for the corner of San Pablo Avenue and 18th Street. Figure A. (click for large view)

Note that the currently green-fenced “empty uptown lot” between FOX Theater and the Uptown Apartments is empty, unlike in the illustration.

Uptown Weekend: Koreatown and Loud Music

I missed today’s “northgate/koreatown” street festival with blocked off telegraph with booths. Instead I observed Lafayette and diablo valleyans having a good time at their beer/wine festa. It was not so interesting, hot, and I wasn’t impressed with any of the drinks or food served.

Back in Otown, a band called “further” is playing at FOX Oakland all three nights Frri-Sat-Sun and the fans are making a fuckload of noise until 3am last night, and as I write at midnight tonight, probably doing the same tonight.

I ought to stab the drummer. But maybe it’s our fault for moving into an apartment complex across from multiple music venues. I saw some dirty hippies running out behind our car from the garage too, they are living out of a truck on 20th next to the Uptown Apts and part of this hairy hippy fest.

I wonder what the big deal is, and what these hippies do for a living. It seems like their Christmas/New Year or something.

Speaking of which, happy new year to all the jews in Oakland. Cheers.

Today’s RDA/CCEDC Meeting (2pm) re Uptown empty lot

Make sure to review these papers before calling the committee members to give your views on a parking lot vs alternatives in the empty Uptown lot.

Agenda

Click to access 5689_A__Concurrent_Meeting_of_the_Redevelopment_Agency_and_Council_Community___Economic_09-04-28_Meeting_Agenda.pdf

Legislative Background (context: present/future claims on the space)

Click to access 21585.pdf

CEDA Recommendation (pro parking lot)

Click to access 21702.pdf

And as much as I’d love to see one there, unless people are willing and able to pay for it, we should not be promoting more park space. Even as much sense as it makes to us. Context is important: the city can’t afford to maintain its current parks, not to mention build/maintain a new one.

Bring your good ideas and push for alternative uses! Thanks.

FFAM: Sweet Jesus!

At art murmur tonight, i enjoyed seeing artwork. Some of the art really bent the conception of “art” – shadow puppet fighting air with projected sound effect graphics and sounds that worked half the time. (It was funny, don’t get me wrong.) I enjoyed seeing people I know, admire and have fun being around. I enjoyed seeing people I didn’t yet know.

The most fun I had? Launching my new tips only bike taxi. It was a blast! Met just about a “ton” of interesting people. All kinds of feedback and inquisitivity. I also saw AG J. Brown leaving the FOX Oakland before the end of show rush and thanked him for his service. I didn’t think to ask him to run for mayor again… damn!

It was a pretty productive night out. And in. Zachary’s at home tastes great! It’s almost 3am now. I’m only awake now because I fell all but asleep earlier amongst a conversation about jihadists and sharia law in the UK, fuses, 22-380-38-9-10-40-45-357 vs canvas, or something else.

Best gallery tonight that I hit? The Uptown! Big new loftish space with freshly poured concrete (by Oaktown standards), free and free flowing champagne (thanks Alessandro) and great works of art in oil, photography and welded media. Shout out to the uptown staff and artists for holding it down.

The bar “Ave” is re-opened. Didn’t have time to imbibe but it looked packed. So did Ozumo and Luka’s. I’ve met so many people who’ve just moved to Oakland in the past week, we must be the new Portland!

Note to new Oakland residents: welcome, do not leave your bikes locked out overnight on Jefferson or any other street if you enjoy having two wheels and a seat, do check out Art Murmer on first fridays, the lake and every neighborhood if you can afford to.

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p.s. I hear (and notice) that any city worth its salt these days has a one-day-of-the month or week community art event. Portland and Sac have thursday night art gallery type events. Obviously global cities do too.  Don’t know if SF does… but SF has many many many events. A bicycle cupcake scavenger hunt race in which yours truly didn’t scarf down a single cupcake comes to mind (I was with a newbie bike rider). SJ?