Older voices, new media - Neighbors in the news

Five of our community's elders were featured in the Sunday Chronicle Insight section, in an article by Brenda Payton with photographs by Liz Hafalia, that touches on shifting services for the senior population, and on racial tensions between African American and Asian American residents.

Maggie Lloyd-Agnew "...wonders why African Americans can't seem to hold on to their communities." More

John Wilcher "...decries the rise of violence in the neighborhood...." More

Fenghui Zhou says "seniors in the United States have a better life than seniors in China." More

Jacqueline Quach says "I believe in Buddhism and karma, the cause and effects in everything." More

Vincent Barb says that, in the 1960's, "...there were more black businesses." More

The coverage of Bayview Hunters Point seniors is multifaceted, and includes video by Vivian Po, Angelina Wong, and Corwin Cooley.

Chinese language video pieces about these seniors are airing on KTSF this week. English language videos are online at New America Media.

More information: An Op Ed by La Shon Walker appeared in the Chronicle on Monday, focusing on business revitalization, vacant storefronts, and the 3rd Street Corridor.

Is it safe to eat Bayview's homegrown food?

Bayview resident and SJSU student, Jennifer Gorospe, has announced that her research into soil toxicity in the neighborhood is available online.

She has created a website that includes basic information on heavy metals and gardens, as well as overall findings of her project. Special features include maps that show the levels of metals that were found in each garden alongside income and race/ethnicity data.

Jennifer's work also provides detail about the relationship between the concentrations of the metals in our soil and gardening models and demographic factors that might alter the chances of toxicity.

Jennifer is cited in the recent report: "Urban Agriculture in Bayview Hunters Point - Status 2011."

Bayview now has more food choices

Mo Betta Food in Bayview

By Kenneth Hill and Jasmine Vassar, SEFA Food Guardians

When it’s time to eat, most San Francisco residents look for food choices nearby that offer the taste they desire at the prices they can afford. In Bayview, most prepared food choices are located on Third Street, crowning it the Mecca of meal time for this Southeastern part of town. For some folks, restaurants are the staple of their diet. Others choose to cook and prepare meals at home. The neighborhood has a strong family element, which can prove challenging at dinner time, as the resources and time to cook meals in family households is at an all-time low in the nation.

When it comes to eating out, there are a variety of meal options ranging from BBQ at JJ’s , Chinese at Peking Wok , pizza and sandwiches at Torino’s, soul food at Auntie April’s and Frank’s , and Mexican at El Azteca Taqueria, just to name a few. Of course there are the fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC as possible sources of cheap meals. However, many locally-owned options exist.

Frank, of Frank’s BBQ, prides himself on having fresh-made seafood, BBQ, and soul food. The menu consists mostly of BBQ meat, fried fish and chicken, and sides like greens, mac and cheese, red beans and rice, yams and corn bread. Frank says he has tried to offer healthier options, such as a vegetarian plate made of just his sides, yet is doesn’t sell. “I have to sell what people want to eat, and people want the meat,” says Frank.

What else is it that the people of Bayview want? “Price range is important, but so is location,” says Michael, a longtime BVHP resident. “If I can go to Torino’s and get a slice of pizza for three bucks, why get on a bus or two to buy groceries and cook? That takes way too long.” However, the price of cheap fast food may costs its frequent consumers more in the long run, as diet-related health diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure rapidly increase.

Not all Bayview restaurants serve cheap food. Z, the manger of JJ’s Fish & Chicken admits.

“The price is high, but the food is excellent.” He prides himself on running a healthy business- “We cook with trans-fat free oil and use turkey wings for flavor instead of pork, and we also fry healthy.” JJ’s secret to the “healthier” fried poultry and fish is attributed to their 100% whole-wheat breading and high temperature cooking. “With our chicken, you’re getting two to three hundred less calories [than other fried chicken], and a lot people will substitute a vegetable side for fries,” says Z.

For some residents, these restaurants are the only options for affordable hot foods, as access to greater quality foods aren’t as easy to come by, like in other neighborhoods like Nob Hill or the Sunset. Furthermore, the patrons of Bayview restaurants usually come from the surrounding blocks, more than most other neighborhoods in the City. When the T metro line opened in 2007, it was supposed to open up access to other parts of the city, though not everyone agrees this is true. Access to other parts of the city can still be difficult for Bayview residents. Safe and accessible transportation can be a huge issue for determining where the next meal will come from.

Another factor to consider is the nutritional value of the food options in the Bayview. With a predominantly Black population, many of the restaurants serve traditionally Black foods, such as soul food cooked with saturated fats, high in cholesterol, salt and sugar. While soul food gives the taste many people desire, it has never been noted for lowering obesity or diabetes. Traditional versions of soul food featured fresh, nutrient-dense vegetables such as collard greens, kale, corn, and yams. Now many of these vegetables have fallen out of favor and been replaced by other fried foods.

New Fresh Alternatives in Bayview

Today, many children and adults have limited options for fresh vegetables and fruits, and don’t have the palette to accept the taste of healthy foods made with these ingredients. Numerous studies have shown that neighborhoods with access to fresh vegetables have healthier children and adults. Not having access to fresh alternatives in Bayview may be a thing of the past as the date of the highly anticipated Fresh and Easy grocery approaches. With the large number of families and a growing family population, the neighborhood has really needed a new grocery store.

Currently, Bayview residents have limited choices for groceries, with Foods Co on Williams Street and Super Save on Third Street. After being known as a troublesome liquor store in the past, Super Save has made many improvements over the last few years, and now offers a better selection of food. While the Foods Co is much larger, it has been known to provide mostly low-priced, non-nutritious.

But recently, with the work of Southeast Food Access (SEFA) Food Guardians and Foods Co. manager, Roberto Aguilar, customers are now offered a cleaner shopping environment and healthier options to choose from. In the past, residents complained of the dirty shelving, aging refrigeration units, long lines, rotten meats and vegetables. As Foods Co. has been the main source of groceries for an entire community, these quality issues were unacceptable. The store has acknowledged the complaints, and has been working to improve its reputation. Now upon entering Foods Co. customers are welcomed by some fresh produce, which contrasts with the vast array of sugary cakes and pies. Also, customers now have the choice of choosing alternative food items, such as milk, canned fruits, vegetables, and sauces, which are lower in fat, sodium or sugar.

In a recent meeting between the SEFA Food Guardians and the Foods Co store manger, Mr. Aguliar stated "After trying them out, we’ve ordered additional pallets of the low-sodium tomato sauce and vegetables because they flew off the shelves."

Ordering low-sodium tomato sauce and vegetables was something no prior store manager had done before. This simple adjustment allows Bayview residents to eat better, and gives hope to the success of new grocery stores with healthier food options, such as Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

Fresh & Easy will open for business on Third and Carroll Streets on August 24th. Fresh & Easy made a commitment to opening a store in the Bayview after many dead-end results from other national grocery chains that declined to open in the neighborhood, due to an alleged fear of not profiting. At Fresh & Easy, customers can expect an array of quality seasonal fruits and vegetables, a variety of low sodium and low-sugar options, as well as organic and all natural options. Fresh & Easy has committed to providing a high standard of cleanliness and a new technologically-advanced green building with bike racks, new refrigeration units, shelves and flooring, as well as wide aisles and a well-lit facility. Fresh & Easy has committed to hiring locally and encourage anyone in the community to apply for employment at freshandeasy.com.　

The Fresh & Easy store is what Bayview needs, according to life-long Bayview resident and former Foods Co. employee, Sheena Hughes.

Ms. Hughes says, “The opening of a Fresh & Easy store would be a beautiful thing for the community. It would give those whom live at the upper end of Third Street the convenience of a grocery store and provide more fruits and vegetables throughout the community.”

Bayview residents welcome the addition of new restaurant and grocery options, located right in our community, that provide the variety of choices that neighborhood residents want, such as convenience, great taste, healthfulness, and a fair price. The option to choose fresh and healthier foods will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Pieces of Overhoff sculpture preserved

When Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood residents were asked whether they wanted a new library in place of the older one, few said anything but "Yes!"

Fans of the old building, which held good memories for many, had mixed feelings from the start, but prioritized the new library. Now that the old building is rubble, along with the building next door to it, some neighbors, artists and policymakers are reflecting on the process.

A piece of art designed by internationally respected artist Jacques Overhoff, whose work can also be seen at Hilltop Park and Charles Drew Elementary School, was created in 1968 when the old library building was constructed. It was created in partnership with St. Paul of the Shipwreck Church, and with the involvement of many children in the community. The piece was a fixture of the old building ... literally ... as it was a sculptural part of the entryway wall.

The sculpture and the wall came down last Thursday as part of the overall demolition, emotionally tinging the excitement about the new, larger library. Though gone, the artwork may illuminate the community's relationship with pieces of public art, and the City's management of them.

In October of 2009, the San Francisco Arts Commission gave a thumbs-up to the San Francisco Public Library's request that the art piece be "de-accessioned," or removed from the City's list of protected artwork, so that the new building could go up on schedule. The recommendation enjoyed the support of the San Francisco Department of Public Works, the architects of the new building, and vocal Bayview Hunters Point residents. (See more.)

Recently, when the announcement came that the old library building would be demolished soon, Quesada Gardens Initiative organizers offered to incorporate the pieces of the Overhoff sculpture into something new, such as landscaping at a public gathering space that would include historical markers about the artwork and the old library building. The first Quesada Garden is just a block away from the library, and seemed an ideal place to preserve these pieces of the community's past.

Jacques Overhoff, speaking from Germany where he and his wife now live, was pleased that interest was being shown. Such interest had seemed to him sorely absent up until the latest proposal had been made. He felt that the cost of preserving a piece of public art should not be pushed back onto the artist when development puts that piece at risk, and that it was possible to design the new library in such a way as to preserve the sculpture.

Mr. Overhoff hoped something could be accomplished so that the dedication of the piece to Medgar Evers, which had been part of his original intent, could still take place. He supported the idea of using pieces from his sculpture in a new community space, and shared an idea of his own: that a contractor he knows come to cut the sculpture from the building, intact, and move it to one of the Quesada Gardens Initiative's gardens and gathering spaces.

With permission from Mr. Overhoff, representatives from SF Department of Public Works and the SF Arts Commission worked with QGI to save as much of the sculpture as possible, short of postponing demolition. Sadly, the schedules of the contractor and the City did not allow for saving the piece in its entirety.

Ultimately, several medium- to small-sized chunks of the sculpture were set aside. Quesada Gardens volunteers quickly moved them to a new location so that all concerned would be able to participate in some process defining the future use of the pieces.

Whatever use is made of the pieces, serious questions about a community's willingness to protect its public art have emerged. It is fitting, perhaps, that those questions will be lasting because of new work that incorporates elements of something that did not survive development. Those elements will always be a reminder that a community's progress can carry a heavy cost to its history.

See much more about the Bayview branch library, the old building and the new one, and the people who care about them.

Aztec ritual, ceremonial dance hosted in Bayview

Danza Xitlalli de San Francisco and dancers from as far away as Mexico celebrated Xilonen (Tender Corn), a coming-of-age ceremony for young women, at Raza Park (also known as Potrero del Sol) on June 18th.

Xilonen (tender corn) is an Aztec ceremony that is held near summer Solstice and celebrates the rite-of-passage of girls into womanhood, a transition represented by the ripening of the corn. Twelve to fifteen young women or girls are chosen from within the community to be honored, given advice and counsel by elders. The ceremony consists of a nighttime vigil that lasts several hours followed, the next day, by ceremonial Aztec dancing.

Text and photos by Elizabeth Skow

On June 17th and 18th, a community based Aztec ceremonial dance group, Danza Xitlalli de San Francisco, celebrated the festival of Xilonen at Walden House in Bayview. Many Aztec dance groups traveled to the Bay Area from as far away as Mexico and Texas, joining groups from San Francisco, Santa Rosa and San Jose. About two hundred people attended the vigil Friday night and the dancing on Saturday.

The ancient Aztec ceremonies and dances are part of the Danza movement, which has been growing throughout the United States for the last twenty years. Joanna Uribe, longtime member of Xitlalli, who also serves as the group’s secretary, thinks the movement is gaining popularity because people are looking for ways to connect to their cultural traditions and community.

“Mexican and Chicano communities are looking for ways to raise cultural pride and find traditional spiritual roots,” Uribe said.

At the vigil, the Xilonen, or corn maidens, are prepared for the transition by receiving offers of flowers, candles and food. Traditionally, community members come from far and wide to support the girls who are honored. The June 17th vigil at Walden house was open to the community. There was a large altar decorated in corn and yellow flowers, with pictures of Aztec figures alongside some Catholic imagery.

All participants at the ceremony sang along with elders, accompanied by wooden stringed instruments, Mandolinas, which are Mexican mandolins. The smell of sage and chopal, which must be lit the entire night of the vigil according to tradition, wafted through the air, and the sound of rattles made from Chachayote punctuated the songs. There was plenty of food for everyone at the potluck table.

Many of the songs, all sung in Spanish, told stories from the Bible. The reason for this is that the Spanish forbade the Aztecs from drumming and also from speaking their own language. The people disguised their rituals — dressing them up in Catholic garb — to protect traditions and pass them down to their children.

“When people were caught playing the drums or owning a drum, the Spanish would cut off their hands,” said Xitlalli member Roberto Ariel Vargas.

Vargas said that the singing in Spanish and the mixing up of the images is an example of syncretism, when two oppositional ideologies are mixed together. There are examples of this phenomenon in most religions, but it is striking in this case.

The singing and storytelling went on until 1am, on June 18th, when the participants went to Raza Park (Potrero del Sol) to prepare the altars for the center of the dance. The dancing went from 10am to 2pm as families watched, participated and picnicked on the grass.

Some aspects of the Xilonen ceremony might be difficult for the uninitiated to understand in today’s modern society. Others serve a familiar and universal purpose.

“It is important to recognize our children as they are growing up, and to provide them with a venue to receive advice and cautions as they move into adolescence,” Uribe said.

During the year that the girls are Xilonen, Uribe explained, they have responsibilities. People in the community are watching them to see how they are doing. At a time when most teens are pushing their parents away, this is an opportunity for community members to step in and help.

Cindy Dominguez, 30, was a Xilonen when she was 16 years old. She and her sister both took on the role. Dominguez wasn’t a dancer, but was nominated because of her work as a youth advocate.

To prepare for being a Xilonen, some girls participate in sweat lodges with their community groups, or in small honoring ceremonies within their own group.

“Back then, what I got out of it was to learn about my indigenous roots and Mexica culture,” Dominguez said. “It made me realize how alive the traditionshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif are, and how it is carried on to the next group. Now it grounds me spiritually. I became a dancer and joined a dance group.”

Dominguez has been honored to act as a Xilonen guide the past two years. As a guide, she stays with the Xilonen during the ceremony to guide them through it spiritually.

Danza Azteca Xitlalli is the oldest Aztec Dance group in San Francisco, established in 1981 by Maestra Macuilxóchitl and Maestro Francisco Camplis. The group celebrates five major ceremonies per year, in addition to smaller ceremonies that have recently been added. The group always welcomes donations for food for the celebrations and for operating costs of the dance group.

Local history note: The Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood was once home to Muwekma Ohlone native peoples.

Art bench at Bridgeview complete

Mark Baugh-Sasaki is seen sitting on the bench he designed and built (with help from Alisha, Diego and other residents who donated wood to the project).

The bench is the newest addition to the public gathering space and new entryway to the Bridgeview Teaching and Learning Garden located at the intersection of Bridgeview and Newhall.

The project is one of the resident-led and -defined projects the Quesada Gardens Initiative has been working on. It has received funding from Michael Lee Environmental Foundation, SF Department of the Environment, SF Community Challenge Grant program, and individual donations from residents and their allies.

Vintage sign in Bayview exposed!

A painted sign on the side of a Third Street building saw the light of day this morning after nearly a century.

Demolition of buildings on the 5000 block of Third Street in San Francisco's Bayview neighborhood has begun, making way for a new public library branch. As of noon today, the old branch library still stood after a wooden structure next door to it was knocked down in short order.

The wooden structure at 5025 Third had contained a Chinese restaurant during recent years. It was acquired by the SF Public Library system so that a larger library building could occupy two lots instead of the one the old building sits on.

The sign, hidden since the building at 5025 Third went up, promotes garments for the working person. It reads:

N.B. PRODUCTS
BOSS OF THE ROAD
UNION MADE
OVERALLS & WORK SHIRTS
Your Money's Worth You know It!

According to public records, the building had been owned by the Wong family since 2005, and by the Hallett family prior to that.

Bay View School 1951

Mary Grandin, an elementary school teacher in Bayview in the early 1950's, has sent pictures of herself and her students. This picture comes from Grandin's collection, and was particularly moving to Quesada Gardens Initiative members old enough to recall life at the time it was taken.

The QGI members recalled that the picture shows something rarely seen in other parts of the country 60 years ago: children holding hands across the racial divide while an adult takes a picture instead of telling them they should not be doing that. They reminisced that Bayview Hunters Point has always been ahead of the times when it comes to people who are different than one another getting along.

The Bay View School dates back to 1904, Grandin believes. The single-room building served younger and older students alike.

"Bay View was a wonderful old building," Grandin said. "High ceilings, double hung windows overlooking the bay and wide hallways."

Quesada Gardens members would love to know more. Anyone with more information about Bay View School is encouraged to call 415.822.0800 or email us.

Young volunteers at Bridgeview Garden

The next generation of community-minded residents is finding the gardens and art projects in the heart of Bayview, and contributing youthful energy to the work. These images by Rika Kruze show work happening at the Bridgeview Teaching and Learning Garden, including finishing touches on a unique bench, crafted from wood donated by neighbors, that artist Mark Baugh-Sasaki (pictured, bottom) has created.

Rika notes that 7 year old Serenity (pictured, middle) loves the garden across the street from her home. ("I taught her that Snapdragons snap open when you squeeze them.") She also observes that Hean He (pictured top), a frequent volunteer at the Quesada Gardens Initiative, and a Balboa High School student, "is an awesome worker."

Stop by the Bridgeview Garden soon, see all the new work, and share some love with the volunteers you are likely to see there.