Fourth Street Lofts Web Log

There were three residents from Fourth Street Lofts - Tres Fontaine and Jack Allen from the first floor, and Wendy Tinsley from the fourth floor. Tower Lofts had six members, the most of any of the buildings. Those who participated included neighbors from Allegro, Brickhouse Lofts, Egghouse Building, Greeno, New Market Lofts, Pocket Lofts, Prime Smoked Meats, Pro Arts, Sierra Condos, Tower Lofts There was no one from Phoenix Lofts or Portico.

Check out www.jacklondondistrict.org for photos and details, as well as a complete list of all who participated in and/or sponsored the event. Thanks to SIMON WADDINGTON who maintains the Jack London District website. He lives in Tower Lofts.

NEIGHBORS

Kelley Cole, who lived on the second floor, recently moved to the Sierra Condos, when her owner put the loft up for sale. MIKE FACKOVEC, who lived on the third floor, recently bought a house in San Leandro, and his loft is now up for sale also.

OAKLAND MUSEUM

Just down the street from us at 1000 Oak Street is the Oakland Museum, which features California Art, History and Natural History. Many may not know that Rosie the Riveter was born right here in the Bay Area, in the Richmond shipyards. The Oakland Museum currently has an exhibition "Henry J. Kaiser: Think Big," which lasts through 29 August 2004.

There also is the special exhibit, "Kaiser-Frazer Automobiles; A Car for Everyone" showing three of the cars which made American history in the 1940s and 1950s. I remember one of the cars had doors which opened backwards instead of forwards.

For further details, 510/238-2200 or www.oaklandmuseum.org.

PEERLESS MUSEUM

Peerless Coffee, down the street at 260 Oak Street at Second Street, has a Museum open to the public the Second Saturday of each month, between 12 noon and 3pm, as well as every other Friday by appointment, between 1-3pm. It has a collection of unique coffee, tea, spice and peanut memorabilia collected over the 38 years Peerless has been in business. The Museum is right next to the retail store.

Peerless is open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm, and on Saturdays from 9-5pm. Phone 800/310-KONA.

OAKLANDISH

A new shop in the Jack London District recently opened, with the goal of promoting Oakland's hidden gems. It is located at 411-2nd Street, in the Produce District, between Broadway and Franklin. It is open Tuesday-Saturday noon-6pm. The website is www.oaklandish.org. It has hats, T-shirts, posters, magazines and "more original Oakland charm." All proceeds support the art and action of nonchalance.

Among those on exhibit there are the aforementioned Rosie, as well as other locals of disparate backgrounds including SONNY BARGER of the Hells Angels, BOBBY HUTTON of the Black Panther Party, BRUCE LEE of Kung Fu fame, and JULIA MORGAN, who designed Hearst Castle and the Mills College Campanile.

PARAMOUNT MOVIE CLASSICS

There are two shows left in the current round of Movie Classics at the Paramount Theater - The Graduate on Friday 11 June 2004, and The Bad and the Beautiful on Friday 18 June 2004. Check out the details at www.paramounttheater.com.

PERMIT PARKING PLAN IS ALMOST DEAD

SoNIC President GARY KNECHT of the Egg Crate Building puts out the SoNIC newsletter and has spearheaded the Parking Permit fight in our neighborhood. Knecht says it much better than I, so I will quote him verbatim. SoNIC is South of Nimitz Improvement Council.

If you've ever tried to park on the street in our neighborhood or had guests or clients trying to visit you, the problem is readily apparent. We are woefully undersupplied in the parking place department. This is could be our last chance for the time being to make one last pitch for relief in the form of a Parking Permit Program. I attended the Parking Permit meetings and a whole lot of work went into a carefully thought out plan to alleviate the problem of commuters using our neighborhood using our neighborhood as their own personal private free parking lot. Commuters use our streets to park all day while they take public transportation such as AC Transit, Amtrak, BART or the Ferry off to their jobs or errands. While I applaud their use of public transportation, it shouldn't be at our expense. We live and work here. It's our neighborhood and we are the disadvantaged. And it's only going to get worse. The city continues to approve developments which don't include or provide adequate parking.

Which leads me up to the second plug I'm giving, on the upcoming Oakland City Council meeting on Tuesday 15 June 2004, which will consider the nine-building, one million square foot Jack London Square Redevelopment Project. There are two pending appeals, one filed by Gary Knecht. This is our last chance to voice our opinion on the mega project. Watch this space for further details on the time and place of the meeting.

Knecht says "On Tuesday, May 25, the City Council's Public Works Committee recommended creating 4-hour parking zones throughout the Jack London District, but failed to approve a mixed-use permit parking district (proposal #6). If approved at City Council next Tuesday (6/1), this means the permit parking program we have worked on for more than a year and a half is dead; however, staff will be directed to prepare a resolution to install signs limiting on-street parking to no more than 4-hours between the hours of 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. Nancy Nadel and Jean Quan supported the permit parking program while Henry Chang and Desley Brooks opposed it.

For the permit parking program to have any chance, you need to change the City Manager's mind (she wants more money for permits) and/or get 3 additional votes on City Council. Ignatio de la Fuente, Jane Brunner, Larry Reid, and Danny Wan are the other 4 Council members; we need 3 of their votes by next Tuesday to keep the permit parking program idea alive. It's a long shot, but if you want a permit parking district in the Jack London District, you should tell the 4 other members of the City Council how you feel:

TIME TO PUT OUR MOUTH WHERE THEIR MONEY IS.

Lynne