Suspect Arrested in Connection With Bernal Hill Hit and Run
April 16, 2018 April 16, 2018 / Todd_Lappin	/ 22 Comments
SFPD booking photo of Aliitasi Alapati, who was arrested as the suspected driver of the vehicle that struck a pedestrian on Bernal Hill on March 22.
The San Francisco Police announced the arrest of a woman who is believed to have been the driver of the vehicle involved in a hit and run accident last month that left a victim with life-threatening injuries on the north-east side of Bernal Hill.
San Francisco resident Aliitasi Alapati, 41, was arrested last Thursday in connection with the March 28 hit and run on Bernal Heights Boulevard.
Video footage of the incident obtained by Bernalwood showed that at 8:22 am, a Jeep Liberty swerved across a lane of traffic and struck a woman who was walking along the footpath on the other side of the road. The video also showed that the Jeep did not stop and left the scene immediately after running the victim down.
Last Thursday, the SFPD moved in to make an arrest.
The Examiner reports that police executed search warrants at three San Francisco homes last Thursday, including one on the 200 block of Raymond Avenue, one on the 300 block of Chenery Street and one on the 300 block of Font Blvd. The suspect vehicle was located at the Raymond Avenue address, and Alaptati was arrested on Font.
The Examiner adds that security camera video footage and evidence provided by witnesses yielded information that helped identify Alaptati as the suspect.
The incident left the victim, an unidentified woman, with life-threatening injuries. While there have been no official statements about the victim's status, Bernalwood has received information from credible sources that she is recovering from her injuries.
Woman Injured After Hit and Run on Bernal Heights Blvd.
March 28, 2018 March 28, 2018 / Todd_Lappin	/ 51 Comments
Video footage shows a Jeep Liberty veering off the road and striking a woman on Bernal Heights Boulevard.
A pedestrian was injured on the northeast side of Bernal Hill at 8:20 this morning, after she was hit by a car traveling east on Bernal Heights Boulevard. The driver of the car left the scene without stopping.
A Bernal neighbor tells Bernalwood:
There was a hit & run on Bernal Heights Blvd this morning.
I hope that another Bernal neighbor may recognize the vehicle? If someone does, they should contact the Ingleside Police station: 415-404-4000. (That's the front desk so they should ask to speak with an investigator and say it's about a hit & run in Bernal Heights this morning.)
Here is video footage of the hit and run. The incident occurs at the 27 second mark:
Another neighbor who was also at the scene provides an update on the victim:
She was conscious but mostly non-responsive. What I overheard the medics saying suggests she has back and leg injury, but could still move her legs.
Video footage shows the vehicle that struck the woman was a dark-colored Jeep Liberty Sport from the 2005 to 2007 model years.
The video footage also shows that the vehicle was traveling east before swerving well off the pavement on the opposite side of the road to hit the woman, who was walking along the path on the north side.
Overnight Fire Displaces 4 on Prospect Avenue
December 25, 2017 December 25, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 3 Comments
A late-night residential fire badly damaged a home at 254 Prospect Avenue (near Eugenia), at around 1 am last night.
The blaze also spread to two adjacent homes, prompting the SFFD to issue a second alarm.
There were no injuries, but four Bernal neighbors were reported displaced.
Bernalwood will provide additional information as it becomes available.
Fund Created to Help Bernal Neighbor After Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Bernal neighbors Fran Maffeo and Even Lammers, in a recent photograph
It's been a little more than a week since Bernal neighbor Even Lammers died of carbon monoxide poisoning in his Moutrie Street home. In the meantime, Even's surviving partner, Fran Maffeo, must now carry on without her companion of the last 40 years.
Neighbor Deborah used to live next door to Fran and Even, and she's spreading the word about a crowdfunding campaign underway to help Fran navigate this difficult time. Deborah tells Bernalwood:
There's now a Go Fund Me page for Fran Maffeo, the surviving victim of last week's carbon monoxide poisoning on Moultrie.
Fran is a senior neighbor of ours with limited resources and no surviving family.
Fran and Even's former next-door neighbor Jennifer set up the page "to pay for a simple service for Even and to ensure that Fran has a safe home to live in for her last years."
Additional details are on the GoFundMe page; Bernal neighbors who are so inclined are encouraged to contribute to the effort.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Leaves 1 Dead, 5 Stricken on Moultrie Street
December 7, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 4 Comments
One neighbor died and five others were stricken in the early morning hours today following a carbon monoxide poisoning incident at a Bernal Heights home on the 300 block of Moultrie, near the intersection of Eugenia.
ABC7 reports:
Firefighters were called to the scene at 4:26 a.m. A carbon monoxide alarm was going off in the residence. Four residents on the upper level of the home were able to get out and were treated at the scene. Two residents on the lower level of the home were impacted by the carbon monoxide. An elderly woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition. An elderly male died at the scene after firefighters tried for 45 minutes to save his life using CPR and other life-saving methods.
Carbon monoxide incident on Eugenia and Moultrie in SF. @sffdpio told me 1 person found dead, 6 people exposed altogether @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/4bKaarn5J1
— Pete Suratos (@PeteSuratosTV) December 7, 2017
The last known incident of carbon monoxide poisoning in Bernal Heights happened at a home on Cortland Avenue in 2012.
Crowdfunding Underway to Help Bernal Family Left Homeless After Gas Explosion
December 1, 2017 December 1, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 2 Comments
The Godoy family lost their home after Monday's gas explosion. (Photo: via GoFundMe)
This story was written by Fiona Lee from Hoodline.
A Bernal Heights family is now homeless after a Monday morning gas explosion tore through their home.
The Godoy family—Carlos, 70, Carmen, 72, and their 43-year-old son Carlos, who is deaf—lost all of their belongings.
The explosion also wrecked their only car, which was used for doctor appointments and transportation to work.
The younger Carlos was home when the explosion occurred, but escaped uninjured after it blew out the windows.
"I think what happened in my house, the roof was very bad. Everything is coming down," Carmen told ABC7 when she returned to the wreckage of her home.
Through the American Red Cross, the family is housed in a motel until Monday. The charity also provided the family with money for incidentals.
The family is also raising funds through GoFundMe. As of press time, they have raised $3,300 out of their $6,000 goal.
PG&E is still investigating the cause of the gas leak and the subsequent explosion.
Updated: Gas Leak and Explosion Damages Mission Street Home in Bernal Heights
November 27, 2017 November 27, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 3 Comments
Damage at 3971 Mission Street, as shown by KTVU.
A gas leak triggered an explosion that damaged a home at 3971 Mission Street in Bernal Heights, near the intersection of St. Mary's Ave.
There are no current reports of injuries, but Mission Street is closed in the area and an evacuation order is in effect. PG&E crews are also on the scene.
3971 MISSION ST, GAS LEAK TURNED INTO AN EXPLOSION IFO ADDRESS, EVACUATING NEARBY BUILDINGS #SFFD and @PGE4Me on scene. @sfmta_muni pic.twitter.com/nkZEhZ1Etg
— SF Firefighters 798 (@SFFFLocal798) November 27, 2017
KTVU's helicopter captured aerial footage from the scene:
UPDATE (Nov. 27, 2:15 pm) Fiona Lee from Hoodline shares these details on the incident:
According to Division Chief Rex Hale, who was on scene, the most likely reason for the explosion was gas filling up in the garage of the two-story building and hitting a pilot light.
The "uncommon" explosion occurred as firefighters walked up inside the building at around 10am, accompanied by a "heavy smell of gas," said Hale.
The incident blew out the front windows of the building at 3987 Mission Street. No one was at home at the time, and no injuries have been reported.
Roughly 100 people from 19 addresses on the 3900 block of Mission St., the 100 block of Bosworth and the 100 block of College Terrace were evacuated. There is no timeline yet for when they will be able to return to their homes.
24 Muni Bus Collides With Truck on Cortland
A 24 Muni bus headed west on Cortland Avenue collided with a truck yesterday afternoon. No injuries were reported.
Neighbor Judy was on the scene to share this dispatch:
Your Bernalwood Prentiss Street correspondant is reporting big excitement on Cortland between Nevada/Prentiss/Banks St.
SF Muni #24 had a run-in with a small hauling truck on Cortland.
Ambulance/Fire arrived on the scene between 4:30/4:45. No one injured.
SFPD, SFMuni, and DPT were also on-site.
It was hard to get details, as police really didn't want to be interrupted by my reporter questions. But neighbors indicated that the bus ran into the hauling truck. The front, right-hand side of the bus had significant damage. No injuries.
SF Muni teams were on location to turn around Muni buses headed up the hill from Bayshore. Cortland was impassable while the incident was being cleared.
PHOTOS: Top, courtesy of Neighbor Judy. Below, courtesy of @Mop_Head.
Fire-Gutted Bernal Heights Home Asks $799,000, and America Asks WTF?!
October 24, 2017 October 24, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 12 Comments
121 Gates Street on the day of the fire in July, 2016. Photo via @SFFFLocal798
Remember the sad tale of 121 Gates Street, the small house that was gutted by fire back in July, 2016? The house was never rebuilt after the fire, but the property was recently put up for sale, with the ruined, 1746 sq. ft. structure remaining more or less unchanged since firefighters left the scene — and an asking price of $799,000.
At a time when the median price of a California home stands at $550,000, the idea of asking almost $800K for a fire-gutted house in Bernal Heights has attracted a predictable flurry of attention since the listing surfaced on Reddit over the weekend. The photos included in the listing capture the devastation of the fire:
Unsurprisingly, the media latched on to the listing for 121 Gates as a bellwether indication of San Francisco's utterly bonkers, scarcity-fueled housing market.
Curbed SF, a housing news site, looked at the listing for 121 Gates and concluded:
It doesn't appear to matter what condition a San Francisco house is in these days. So long as the property rests squarely within the city boundaries, the potential value of the mere dirt under the foundations will drive buyer interest.
Indeed, despite the fire, the dirt under that foundation is very well situated.
To start, 121 Gates is located in Bernal Heights, which has a very fixed and highly coveted supply of single-family homes, which currently sell for a median price of about $1.5 million. Also, 121 Gates is a block from Cortland Ave., and the property has a swell view of the waterfront to the east. On top of all that, 121 Gates comes with RH-1 zoning and an existing residential structure, which means the renovation rebuild of the house will allow the new owners to bypass the expensive morass of San Francisco's permitting process for new construction.
For all those reasons, the realtor for the property told Business Insider, a national news site, that the teardown, fire-gutted house at 121 Gates may actually be under-priced:
The home was "completely gutted" in a fire in 2016, and the new owners will need to demolish what's left, according to realtor Jim Laufenberg.
"I suspect it will sell for more than what I'm asking," Laufenberg told Business Insider, adding that the seller listed the property below market value to incite interest in the first few weeks.
Video Captures Bad Bike Accident on Steeps of Cortland
August 8, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 90 Comments
Neighbors who live along the eastern end of Cortland Avenue are puzzling over a security camera video that captured a frightening bicycle accident at the southeast corner of Cortland and Bronte.
The accident, which occurred last Thursday morning, August 3, may have also involved a Cadillac SUV. While the exact sequence of events is unclear, the cyclist may have lost control after the Cadillac turned left onto Bronte while traveling west on Cortland.
The cyclist has not been identified, and there is no further information about the cyclist's condition. Neighbors say the Cadillac left the scene after the accident, and the driver has also not been identified.
Thursday: Dispensary to Host Fundraiser for Rocket Dog Rescue
July 19, 2017 July 19, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 4 Comments
This Thursday, July 20, the Harvest Dispensary on 29th Street in La Lengua will host a fundraiser for Rocket Dog Rescue.
As you may recall, Rocket Dog suffered a financial blow last month when the canine-rescue group's founder was mugged near her Bernal Heights home. Harvest founder Marty Higgins tells Bernalwood:
Cannabis dispensary Harvest off Mission teamed up with The Front Porch to host a special fundraiser this Thursday July 20th from 6-10pm to raise money for Rocket Dog Rescue.
As reported on Bernalwood, the owner of Rocket Dog was forcibly robbed of their funded dollars last month. 100% of ticket sales and all proceeds will go to Rocket Dog Rescue.
The $50 ticket includes an eighth of Alegria Organic cannabis, a dab bar by Brite labs, home style fried chicken from SF's Front Porch, exotic infused cannabis cocktails from award winning mixologist Alex Riddle, DJ Duserock, along with raffle prizes and a silent auction.
Harvest off Mission felt it imperative to support Rocket Dog Rescue after the appalling crime. One of the best ways to improve our community is to stand by our community organizations, especially in times like this. The robbery of Pali [Rocket Dog Rescue cofounder] was not only horrific but extremely untimely as the money stolen came from a fundraiser.
Tickets for the event can be purchased here.
Only individuals with legally recognized Medical Cannabis Identification Cards or a verifiable, written recommendation from a physician for medical cannabis may attend this event.
Thu, July 20, 2017
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM PDT
Harvest Off Mission
Chainlink Fence Art Installation Unites Neighbors Working to Rebuild
Completed installation on Mission Street last week. Photo: The artist via CurbedSF
Last week, a new art installation appeared on the chain-link fence that spans the vacant Mission Street lot near 29th Street where Cole Hardware stood before the 2016 fire.
Brock Keeling at CurbedSF got the scoop:
Almost one year after his "Home Street Home" piece appeared along beleaguered Division Street, a local artist, who has requested anonymity, has completed another work. Once again he uses a chainlink fence for a canvas, but this time the message is different. In fact, it's incomplete, which is exactly how he wants it.
"Given the history of the neighborhood, the fire, loss, and the displacement of so many residents, it felt appropriate to use the quote, but to not finish it," says the artist. "This leaves the meaning open to interpretation. Each person will fill in the blank on their own."
Members from Galería de la Raza and Secession Art and Design helped tie the final product together.
Neighbor Eden Stein from Secession Art and Design was part of the team that helped install the piece, and when Bernalwood spoke to her last week, her face was still sunburned from a day spent attaching little flags to the fence.
Neighbor Eden said working on the project had been a powerful and uplifting experience, so we asked her to tell us about it. Here's Neighbor Eden's story about the making of the chain-link art installation:
My passion is running Secession Art & Design and also being President of the Mission Bernal Merchants Association. This is my home and community.
One year ago, I did not know all of the merchants of the 3300 Block where the fire occurred, and now we are family. Something happens when you go through a hardship together, like a fire, and all you want to do is help. For this past year I have fundraised, listened, supported, done advocacy to connect merchants with city agencies, and been someone that the merchants can depend on when they can't get an answer.
This past year I have gotten to know the owners of Playa Azul, Cole Hardware, El Grand Taco Loco, and the 3300 Club. My co-corridor coordinator, Ani Rivera, joined the MBMA team this year and we were so excited to get a small grant to do a temporary beautification project on the Playa Azul and Cole Hardware fence. Ani is the director of Galleria De la Raza and lives in Mission Bernal.
Playa Azul is going through the planning process to rebuild, and they wanted a facade to let people know they are coming back. Urban quilt artist, Amy Ahlstrom met with the Sanchez family to create a coming soon sign. She photographed the mother and daughter, and the family gave us a photo of their grandmother; three strong women that are determined to rebuild the restaurant. The sign is based on their exterior sign that was one of the only things left after the fire.
Unfortunately, not even 24 hours after installing the Playa Azul sign, somebody painted over it with house paint, along with graffiti on the 3300 building.
But this artwork is not graffiti. This is an approved project by the city and property owners of Playa Azul. This is public art. A new panel has been ordered and will replace the damaged panel.
A local artist came up with the design for The Cole Hardware fence: 2000 plastic pieces make up the lettering that reads from across the street, or passing by on the bus, THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE…. You get to fill in the blank. Home? Cole Hardware? Whatever is special to you?
So many merchants and residents lost their businesses and homes. Where did they go? This really changed our community, and we hope they can come back. During the install, everyone who walked by had a story to tell about what they needed from Cole.
I could barely sleep on Tuesday night in anticipation of these art installations going up on Wednesday. I woke up early to help install. A beautiful crew from Galleria De Raza Gallery on 24th Street volunteered and we had a great time talking and installing. We even had a few people passing by that took time from their day to stop and help.
All day long the community came out and talked about how much they missed this block and all the merchants. Three people were brought to tears knowing that Playa Azul was actually coming back. A women slammed on her breaks, double parked, and gave me a hug. This project is about bringing people together, and a message that the people and merchants that make this neighborhood are on our mind and we are right by their side as they rebuild.
El Paisa is the first business closed by the fire to reopen on the block. At one point in the day the owner, Jose told all of us installing it was time to take a break and eat. We sat in his restaurant that is filled with so much love and persistence and had an incredible lunch that meant much more than food.
Thank you to everyone who made this day happen!
XO Eden
PHOTOS: Top, courtesy of the artist. Below, process photos courtesy of Eden Stein.
Wayward Truck Gets Really Stuck on Northeast Bernal Streets
July 12, 2017 / Todd_Lappin	/ 8 Comments
Stuck trucks are a Bernal Heights tradition.
This is because to look at Bernal Heights on a map is to see a tempting variety of shortcuts which give no indication that our hilly topography and narrow, winding streets are way too tight for many big vehicles to traverse. Indeed, the advent of digital navigation tools like Google Maps and Waze may have actually helped reduce the frequency of the problem, by actively routing drivers away from Bernal streets where calamity and shame are likely to ensue.
Last night a FedEx tractor-trailer driver learned the hard way that the streets of northeast Bernal Heights are best avoided in a big-rig. Neighbor Ryan was on the scene:
Fedex truck jammed into the sharp corner at Peralta and Florida, been stuck for well over an hour, blocking the street.
… where the truck remained for a few more hours into the night, when a recovery crew arrived to extract the hapless truck and its humiliated driver from the unfortunate intersection.
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Neighbor Ryan