StoryCorps @ Excelsior Library - Record your San Francisco story on Tuesday, November 19, 6-8:30pm

Take part in our annual One City One Book: San Francisco Reads celebration by recording your own truly San Francisco story. We are recording stories around the themes of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, such as growing up in San Francisco, your neighborhood, your high school, your family, or social justice efforts you participated in. Bring a partner, friend or loved on to tell your story to, or just come by yourself. At the end of your session, you'll receive a free broadcast-quality CD to share with family and friends, and a second copy will be archived in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Schedule an appointment to record your San Francisco story by calling 415-557-4277 or email at publicaffairs@sfpl.org

For more information and program dates at other branches, please click here: Link to StoryCorps page of sfpl website

Branch beautification in progress

Changes have been coming to the Excelsior Branch exterior with flowers, benches and artwork installed over the past 2 weeks. Check out some photos of the beautification on our branch Facebook page and don't forget to join us for the reception and celebration on September 7, 1-3pm.

Click here for more photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.699485020065578.1073741827.143077229039696&type=3

The Excelsior: Where Natural Beauty and History Come Alive, Reception and Performance, Saturday, September 7, 1-3pm

Over a two year period, the Excelsior Action group has worked with the community, city, and the library to realize the goal of “Greening the Excelsior through Art” via the Excelsior Branch Library. With the help of Architecture for Humanity and the Community Challenge Grant Program this goal was reached this year and we are ready to honor the work done by so many in this district to beautify our neighborhood. Along with this large art project, we are honoring the Excelsior District's historic city street names, which were changed early in the 20th century. 

Featured events will include performances by groups representing China, Japan, and India which were once street names in the neighborhood. Please join us for this reception and celebration of the Excelsior. 

See a preview of the branch beautification on the Excelsior Action Group website: http://www.eagsf.org/excelsior-library-beautification-project.html

District 11 Clean-Up this Saturday

Graffiti and trash in the neighborhood getting you down? Don't know what to do with unwanted household items? Be part of District 11 clean-up this Saturday:

CLEANING UP DISTRICT 11

*Community Clean Day in District 11*

Join me and other district volunteers to tackle projects all around District 11, from cleaning and greening projects to graffiti and trash clean-up!  Lunch will be provided for participants.  Please bring appropriate clothing for working outside.  Bringing a reusable water bottle is highly recommended. You can still sign up to volunteer or to get your group on the list by contacting Jerad.Weiner@sfdpw.org.

When: Saturday, July 20^th; 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Where: Kickoff event at Balboa High School, 1000 Cayuga Avenue near Onondaga; work sites throughout the district

 

 

*Gigantic 3 Recycling Program*

The Gigantic 3 program is a free Bulky Item Drop Off Service that allows district residents to get rid of unwanted household items as volunteers clean up the district during Community Clean Team Day. Items that can be dropped off include: Green Waste and Other Compostables; Large or Bulky Items, including recyclables, electronics, appliances, mattresses and box springs, and scrap metal; non-recyclable/non-compostable waste such as plastic bays, Styrofoam, lighbulbs, used motor oil and filters, and household batteries.  There will also be free shredding and document destruction on site.  For more information, call (415) 552-9201.  FREE COMPOST will also be offered to district residents at this site.

 

When: Saturday, July 20^th 8:00 am – 12:00 noon
Where: June Jordan School, 325 La Grand Avenue and Brazil

Thank you to Supervisor Avalos' office for alerting us about this event!

 

Do You See Cats? SF SPCA Community Cats Education Program, Monday, January 23, 6:30-8pm

Do you see or feed cats in your neighborhood? Cats with no particular home or owner? These are some of San Francisco’s community cats.

To learn more about San Francisco's Community Cats, and how Trap Neuter Return (TNR) Programs can be successful in your neighborhood, view a trapping demonstration and get involved.

Spanish translation will be available.

Congress on Your Corner

If you are having problems with a federal agency or obtaining your Social Security, Medicare, veterans or other federal benefits, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s office may be able to help. Congresswoman Pelosi’s office will hold Community Office Hours on Wednesday June 8th from 4pm to 7pm at the Excelsior Branch, Wednesday June 22nd from 4pm to 7pm at the Main Library – Stong Meeting Room (1st Floor) and Friday July 8th from 2pm to 5pm at the Glen Park Branch.

Staff will be available to answer questions about federal agencies, programs and benefits, and to offer any possible assistance. For more information about Congresswoman Pelosi’s constituent services, please visit www.house.gov/pelosi.

Wednesday June 8, 4:00-7:00 pm

In the Neighborhood - Library Intern Cristina Mitra

Cristina Mitra is a library school student at San Jose State. Earlier this year she did an internship at Excelsior Branch. She employed her Spanish language skills and interest in Filipino materials in doing assessments of our Spanish and Filipino collections. Cristina also developed and taught a computer class on searching the internet in Spanish. When she completes her master's degree in Library Science next year, she would like to work in a public library as a teen or Spanish outreach librarian.

Cristina was born and raised in the Excelsior District. She left San Francisco to attend college on the East Coast. When she told people she grew up in the Excelsior, she heard over and over again "where's that?" It made her start thinking about what being from this neighborhood meant to her.

After graduation, Cristina returned to SF. She was selected to participate in a film production class offered to queer women of color to teach them how to make their own films. Cristina took the opportunity to go out into the neighborhood and find out how other people felt about the Excelsior. Her film, Off the Map, is the result.

Good luck Cristina wherever your journey takes you!

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - Excelsior District Improvement Association (EDIA)

The Excelsior District Improvement Association (EDIA) is a community organization that has been dedicated to improving the quality of everyday life in the Excelsior District since 1942.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with EDIA President Jackie Cash, Secretary May Wong, and Board Member Robert Katz. They told me a little about their personal histories in the neighborhood – May Wong was born and raised here – her family had a laundry in the same block as the Library. They also explained EDIA’s goals and how they accomplish them.

EDIA’s current involvement in neighborhood concerns can be traced back to their response to a threat in 1959 to demolish 88 Excelsior district homes to provide off street parking. Former EDIA President John Consiglieri spearheaded the fight against this plan of mayoral candidate George Christopher. Consiglieri met with friends and neighbors to organize the opposition to the removal of homes. A petition to stop the demolition with more than 8000 signatures was taken to City Hall by EDIA and neighborhood organizations from West Portal, Sunset and Richmond (rumored to be "next" if Christopher's plan worked in the Excelsior District). The plan was defeated, and the Excelsior District Neighborhood Association was revitalized. John Consiglieri, at age 93, is the Sergeant at Arms, still leading the Pledge of Allegiance at EDIA's monthly meetings.

EDIA tries to be the voice for those with no voice, including victims of crimes. Sometimes EDIA is made aware of concerns when community members come to them. Sometimes they work on issues with other organizations, like EAG.

In 2008 there was a triple homicide in the neighborhood. EDIA members were dismayed by the inadequacy of the official response. They put together a forum with police and community leaders to discuss what was being done. EDIA printed up leaflets and distributed them throughout the neighborhood and more than 400 people came to Monroe School to share their concerns.

More recently, EDIA has been working on a program they call “Light Up the Night.” The beautiful trees which line Persia Street also make it very dark and susceptible to criminal activity. EDIA asked the police what they would do to address the problem, and they suggested improving the lighting.

EDIA identified a simple, short term solution while they worked toward something more permanent. They knocked on every door on Persia Street and asked the inhabitants to turn on their porch lights at night. They took Chinese and Spanish translators with them. PG&E donated lightbulbs which EDIA members gave to the homeowners. PG&E has agreed to ramp up the wattage on the streetlights and add cobra lights to the poles without lights. In the most recent monthly report from the Ingleside police captain, there was NO crime on Persia Street.

Next up – Russia Street!

In addition to crime, EDIA has worked on economic development issues, parking and pedestrian safety. Due to their efforts, a light was finally installed in the dangerous crosswalk on Santa Rosa Avenue near Central Drug.

EDIA welcomes new members. I can vouch for the fact that they are a fun group. They meet on the fourth Tuesday every month at 45 Santa Rosa Avenue at 7 p.m. There are volunteer opportunities for adults and teens, and teens with an interest in journalism, art or writing are especially encouraged to get in touch. Contact EDIA at:

Excelsior District Improvement Association (EDIA)
P.O. Box 12005
San Francisco, CA 94112-0005
(415) 294-0503
ediasf-info@yahoo.com

Check out this great Excelsior community organization!

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - Greg Pabst and the Excelsior Stroll

Greg Pabst has been conducting the Excelsior Stroll for 16 years. The Stroll is a walking tour of the Excelsior District that is offered twice a year in May and October through the San Francisco City Guides program. Greg is a specialist in Land Grant law, and the idea for offering tours of the Excelsior District came about over a dinner with Dennis Roselli, whose father owned Dino’s Pharmacy on Mission and Brazil. Greg’s expertise in early San Francisco history was complemented by Dennis’ extensive knowledge of the neighborhood from being born and raised here in the mid-twentieth century.

The Excelsior Stroll provides participants with a wealth of information, beginning with the history of the Bernal Family Land Grant from Mexico that delineated the boundaries of the district, to the murals of the present day which show the vibrant, multicultural Excelsior District we love.

On the Excelsior Stroll you can learn about the Italian farmers who inhabited the area and worshipped at Corpus Christi – which was an offshoot of Sts. Peter & Paul Church in North Beach. You’ll see the house on Harrington Street where Jerry Garcia was raised. And did you ever wonder (as I have) about the street names here? The Excelsior Development Company of the 1860s was made up of men involved in international trade so they named the streets after countries and capital cities - Persia, Italy, Russia, etc. Anti-Asian feelings that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 created pressure to change some street names. India, China and Japan Streets were changed to Peru, Avalon and Excelsior Streets.

Greg Pabst uses the Library’s SF History Center, including the Italian-American archives, to research the Excelsior District. You can read Greg’s history of the San Francisco Bernal Family on his website. Often people who take the tour contribute their own knowledge of neighborhood history which then becomes part of the tour. An old timer from the neighborhood told Greg that in times of drought in the past, well water was dispensed from the basement of Ferrera Hardware (where Kragen Auto is now). It was one of the last freshwater wells in San Francisco.

If you have knowledge about, interest in, and/or enthusiasm for the Excelsior District and would like to be trained to conduct tours of the neighborhood, please contact Greg at pabst@usfca.edu. Or see him at the next Excelsior Stroll this October.

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - UPDATE - Excelsior Senior Center

In an earlier post, we talked about the great services offered by the Excelsior Teen Center. As we mentioned at that time, the Center recently began to include seniors in the communities it serves.

We revisited the Center and learned about the programs and services they have for seniors. A nutritious lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. Activities include fitness classes, bingo, memory games, and arts & crafts. The Center also shows movies every Thursday at 10 a.m. Upcoming movies in June are Sleepless in Seattle on June 17th and Titanic on June 24th. Stop by the Center to pick up a schedule of activities as well as the monthly lunch menu in English, Chinese or Spanish.

There are many volunteer opportunities available at the Excelsior Senior Center, such as setting up and helping with the lunch program. In addition, there are opportunities to help with the many workshops offered, including teaching courses. Adult and teen volunteers assist with the food pantry, which occurs every Wednesday from 2-6 p.m. and serves over 350 individuals per week. If you are interested in volunteering, please call Jorge Rosales at (415) 206-2140 x 130.

Why do I keep calling it the Center? The name is currently the Excelsior Teen Center/Excelsior Senior Center, however they are in the process of changing the name to something a little shorter that will encompass all the communities they serve.

For more information about these great new services in the neighborhood for seniors, contact:

Hamaseh Kianfar
Director of Senior Services
Excelsior Senior Center
4468 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94112
(415) 334-9919

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - The Jewish Home

If you’ve spent any time at all in the Excelsior neighborhood, you’re probably curious about the Jewish Home of San Francisco, whose 9 acre campus occupies the corner of Silver and Mission Streets. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit with William Foster, Community Liaison Director for the Jewish Home, to find out a little more about the organization.

From its modest beginning in 1871 as a residential center for 12 seniors, the Jewish Home has grown to a comprehensive senior care center, serving more than 375 residents. Although many are long term care residents, the Jewish Home is a resource for the entire geriatric community, with its short term and rehabilitation services unit (STARS) and an acute geriatric psychiatry hospital - the only one in the Bay Area that caters specifically to seniors. Admission to the Jewish Home is not limited by religious or cultural affiliation.

The Jewish Home offers a variety of programs and services that are usually not found in skilled nursing facilities. These include creative arts programming, fitness and wellness, and healing touch/acupuncture. An on-site medical clinic allows residents to receive medical care including dentistry, ophthalmology, cardiology, podiatry and dermatology without leaving the facility. LCSW and MFT social workers serve the psychosocial needs of residents and their families.

As William Foster pointed out, the Jewish Home still has the culture of caring that used to be more common before the corporatization of elder care. Many staff members have worked there for more than 30 years, and the board and resident council are committed to making the Jewish Home a place that Bay Area elderly can call home.

If you'd like more information about this Excelsior neighborhood institution (almost 140 years!), contact William Foster at:

Jewish Home of San Francisco
302 Silver Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
(415) 406-1584
wfoster@jhsf.org

There are volunteer opportunities for students and adults at the Jewish Home, ranging from visiting with the residents to fundraising. If you would like to volunteer, the Director of Volunteer Services would love to talk with you. Her name is Jennifer Vellutini and she can be reached at (415) 469-2229, or jvellutini@jhsf.org.

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - Vincent Ng, Library Volunteer

Vincent Ng presides over the Chess Club for kids at the Excelsior Branch on Saturday afternoons. He started the Chess Club in June 2003 and it's been a weekly program at Excelsior ever since. When the library was closed for renovation, he moved the club to the Boys & Girls Club. I got a chance to talk with Vincent on a recent Saturday to find out a little more about him.

Vincent started the chess club because he learned how to play chess at a public library in New York. He wanted to give other kids the opportunity to learn a game he loves. The Excelsior Library was his neighborhood branch until a recent move to Daly City. He headed the Balboa High School chess club before starting the Library club.

According to Vincent, the Bay Area has some of the most competitive kid chess players, but very few of them are from San Francisco. Nonetheless, at the California State tournament in Santa Clara in April 2010, the Excelsior Library Chess Club won two trophies. More than 1200 kids competed in 15 divisions.

Sometimes Vincent's old teammates help out with the Chess Club, and recently the 8th Grade National Master approached him at an event in Chinatown and now he also volunteers at Excelsior. Vincent knows that there may be more demands on him as time goes by, and his goal is to find others to carry on with the club when that happens.

Kids who want to learn and/or play chess should come to the Excelsior Branch Saturdays from 1-3. On top of his chess skills, Vincent speaks three languages. He spent his first 12 years in the Dominican Republic, and Spanish is his first language. He speaks Cantonese at home.

We want to thank Library Volunteer Vincent Ng for his generosity to the kids at Excelsior Branch.

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - Excelsior Action Group

Have you noticed the beautiful banners in the neighborhood that say "The Excelsior Welcomes the World?" Take a look up when you're walking or driving along Mission Street. This is just one of many projects created by the Excelsior Action Group (EAG) to promote our neighborhood's identity as a multifaceted and vibrant community.

The Excelsior Action Group is a community driven organization that aims to strengthen the Mission Street commercial corridor in the Excelsior District. EAG includes residents, merchants and community organizations of the Excelsior neighborhood.

EAG organizes and presents the annual Excelsior Festival that brings residents together and helps merchants connect with the community. EAG promotes monthly community volunteer projects, which include sweeping and weeding on Mission Street and the side streets, abating graffiti with art, planting sidewalk gardens and other fun projects in conjunction with many volunteer groups, including local schools and colleges.

On Saturday, April 24th, EAG is sponsoring a volunteer work weekend in partnership with Rebuilding Together, to rehab several homes and institutions in the Excelsior. As part of this project, they will also be painting a mural along the 280 overpass between Trumbull and Bosworth, and installing a garden in front of the Dragon House martial arts studio at Persia and Mission.

You can be part of this great organization. The Excelsior Action Group meets the first Thursday of every month from 7-8 p.m. at their office at 4702 Mission Street. They welcome community members to attend meetings and help identify issues relating to the Excelsior District that we can resolve together, strengthening the local economy and supporting our small businesses for the benefit of the entire community.

Check out this great neighborhood resource! Find out how you can make a difference in the Excelsior neighborhood. Contact EAG for more information.

Excelsior Action Group (EAG)

4702 Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94112
(415) 585-0110

http://eagsf.org/

Cristy Johnston, Executive Director

cristy@eagsf.org

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - Excelsior Teen Center

We stopped by the Excelsior Teen Center (ETC) the other day and had a chance to chat with Suzanne Collins and Donald Armstrong. ETC has a living room atmosphere, and teens were chatting and using the computers. The Center is open from 3-7 p.m. M-F for youth ages 13-24 who live, hang out or go to school in the Excelsior District.

ETC gives youth a chance to participate in leadership development, violence prevention, employment training and placement, and afterschool and summer programs. The Center also offers case management services and GED/CAHSEE programs.

Volunteers at the Excelsior Teen Center staff the Food Pantry every Wednesday from 1-6 p.m. and they serve over 350 people every week. ETC volunteers serve seniors by providing friendly visitors, escorts for medical appointments and help with delivering groceries. If you are a youth interested in volunteering, stop by the Excelsior Teen Center to pick up an application. Or call Janine Hudak, Client Services Coordinator @ (415) 206-2140, ext 130.

What we just learned is that the Excelsior Teen Center is expanding its programming to include a Senior Center beginning mid-March. Senior programming will be available from 9:30-1 p.m. M-F. Seniors and teens are working together to come up with a new name for the Center that encompasses all the communities it serves! The Excelsior Teen Center promotes community action to build a just and equitable community for all.

Check out this great neighborhood resource!

Excelsior Teen Center
4468 Mission Street @ Excelsior
SF, CA 94112
(415) 334-9919

In the Neighborhood features information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you. Watch this space!

In the Neighborhood - New Blog Feature!

The Excelsior Branch Library serves a diverse, ever-changing community. There are many great organizations, businesses and individuals in our neighborhood, and the Excelsior Library wants to celebrate them. Starting this month, we'll be posting a new feature to our blog, called In the Neighborhood. Watch this space for information about people and places in the Excelsior neighborhood that you may already know and love, or that might be new to you.