• Grand Avenue has a new restaurant, Neecha Thai at 3236 Grand--where Cafe Pirawan was located. Neecha is a new location for a restaurant that has long been popular in San Francisco. If you're not already aware of it, big news is the opening late this year of another Grand Avenue restaurant called Camino. This is the first independent venture for Russell Moore and Allison Hopelain. The former has been a chef and produce buyer for Chez Panisse for the past twenty years. For more information, please read the article in the Grand Lake Guardian.

  • There were two volunteer workdays at Splash Pad Park over the past two weeks. Volunteers included Robert Dutra, Mary Ellen Navas, Bob Archibald, Judith, Billal Sidiq (from East/West Foods) and Joan Bricker. Also welcome back to Roger Helm, our Splash Pad Park gardener. Park is looking much better cared for and the fountain is working again just in time for (hopefully) warmer and dryer weather. Thanks also to Daily Delectables, 3249 Grand Avenue for donating a large box of delectable donuts.

  • The American Society of Landscape Architects will be meeting in San Francisco in October and one of their tours is to include a stop at Splash Pad Park--as well as the Cleveland Cascade and Lake Merritt.

  • A big welcome to the neighborhood's newest merchant--the 3437 Lakeshore Avenue branch of the hugely successful L'AMYX Tea Bar on Piedmont Avenue. Check it out. They did a fabulous job re-decorating the interior and also please note that they are open until late in the evening--joining "Easy", the highly successful new bar down the street as a draw to the evening crowd.

  • The March issue of Sunset Magazine has a very nice article about our Grand Lake Neighborhood including favorable mention of some of our favorite haunts: the Grand Lake Theatre, Arizmendi, Spettro, Juniper Tree, Di Bartolo's and, of course, the Grand Lake Farmers' Market.

  • The City of Oakland will be re-dedicating the Lake Merritt Pergola on Saturday, March 2 at 11:00 AM. The Pergola's restoration marks the first in a long list of Lake Merritt improvements that will be funded by Measure DD. For more information, please see the article posted on the Grand Lake Guardian.

  • The Hahn family, owners of the Kwik Way and Serenader properties across the street from the Splash Pad, are negotiating a long-term lease with a Southern California based restaurant chain called "Fatburger". In depth commentary regarding this issue is posted on the Grand Lake Guardian.

    In addition, Councilmember Pat Kernighan arranged for neighborhood residents to vote online indicating whether they do or do not favor this proposed use. The results of that poll are available at the KitchenDemocracy.org website.

    SPNF Chairman, Ken Katz explained his vote in favor of holding out for options more pedestrian-friendly with the following comments:

    Although not many people are aware of it, there is a Phase II of the Splash Pad Project that was never funded. Walter Hood, the Landscape Architect who designed the park, envisioned significant improvements to the north side of Lake Park Avenue to make it far more pedestrian friendly. His plans called for widened sidewalks, street furniture and additional landscaping.

    The mixed-use development that Paramount Development proposed drew rave reviews from Grand Lake neighbors--in part due to pedestrian-friendly improvements including a reduction in the width of the two driveways (which will be preserved as is by Fatburger); a reduction in the number of parking spaces available to the public reducing the risk and inconvenience experienced by pedestrians; and widening of the existing sidewalks by 4 feet from the corner of Rand to the Bank of America. Part of the sidewalk widening and other improvements may very well have been funded by a grant from AC Transit. From what I've been told quite recently, AC Transit will not improve the bus stop in front of the Neighborhood Center unless the mixed-use development proceeds.

    Let me conclude with what I see as an obvious parallel. Eight years ago, a small, but vocal minority of neighbors advocated converting the little, ill-maintained park across the street into the site for a Trader Joe's. The majority prevailed and we now have a wonderful park and a fabulous Farmers Market and although we've had to wait for quite a while, we will soon get Trader Joe's. If we opt to give the nod to Fatburger, we will be writing off for fifteen to twenty years, the prospect of making a viable pedestrian connection between Grand and Lakeshore. Let's say "No" to the continued use of this site as a fast food restaurant and say instead to the Hahn's that it is their responsibility to maintain their property in a safe and attractive fashion and, if not, to sell it to another party with a greater commitment to the welfare of our community.

  • Laura Trent from Tip Top Farms, who was one the Grand Lake Farmers Market's earliest and most treasured vendors, tragically took her own life in late September. Thanks to David Gans for the moving tribute published in the Grand Lake Guardian.

  • Our "Nacho Libre" volunteer workday on Sunday, August 13, was quite productive. Several planting beds were thoroughly weeded and the Dogwood behind the fountain wall was pruned as well. Kudos to That Man Fantastic for helping solicit volunteers and to Annalee Allen for her very nice column in the Oakland Tribune. Volunteers were very well fed thanks to the generosity of Noahs' Bagels and the following Farmers' Market vendors: Eddie Chavez from EGB Farms, Panorama Bakery, Tip-Top Farms, Live Oak Farms and J & J Farms. Special thanks to all the volunteers: Joan Bricker, Orr Kahey, Larry Johnson (visiting from Thousand Oaks), David Bolanos, John and Romer Stevenson, Gordon Shell and Charles Hahn.

  • The defeat of the new LLAD in the recent primary election raises serious questions about the City's future ability to maintain our parks. Over the past several years, maintenance at Splash Pad Park has sometimes been iffy--although most recently, we've seen some definite improvements. Unfortunately, if the City doesn't find the wherewithal to make up a multi-million dollar deficit in LLAD funding, it is likely all our parks will suffer greatly.

  • In late July, the City Council approved an Encroachment Permit for the Grand Lake Farmers' Market. Prior to that vote, The Splash Pad Forum received a couple of emails questioning the terms of the permit. One message condemning the Market had "Unfair Competition" listed as its subject. The reply from Ken Katz, the SPNF Chairman, focused on the many benefits associated with the market while the response from Brigitte Moran focused on the benefits of produce grown locally.

  • There's a marvelous profile of Walter Hood, the landscape architect who designed Splash Pad Park, in the July issue of California, Berkeley's Alumni magazine. It is posted online at this link. Kudos to Daska Slater, a Glenview resident, for a fine piece of reporting. In June there was also a very nice, two-page article in Oakland Magazine about Billal Sidiq, the proprietor of East & West Gourmet Foods--one of our favorite Farmers' Market vendors. We're told that Sunset Magazine is also working on a story about the Grand Lake Market. Overall, the amount of publicity generated by the Park and Farmers' Market is rather mind-boggling. Previous articles have appeared in Oakland Magazine, Metropolis, Dwell and the May issue of Landscape Architecture. A brief excerpt from the latter is posted on their website . The author, George Hazelrigg who is on the staff of the Virginia Tech Landscape Architecture program, visited Oakland last year and interviewed Walter Hood and many of the other parties who were involved in planning and implementation of the Splash Pad improvements. The result is a well-researched, very positive, in depth account of the making of the park.

  • Shelly Fuller, a City employee, replaced the pump in early June after many months during which the fountain was not operating and is also working to make sure the chlorination system is functioning properly. Hopefully, this repair will last for at least several years.

  • The second edition of Project Homeless Connect was held on April 21 at what was previously the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop on the corner of Grand and San Pablo Avenues. Some 300 to 500 people were provided with a variety of services including haircuts, massages, job referrals and medical care. More than sixty people signed up for Food Stamps. A very nice article appeared in the Chronicle The Montclarion column written by SPNF Chairman, Ken Katz, is available on this link. Watch for the next Oakland event in mid November. Once again, volunteers will be very much in demand.

  • The Splash Pad workday on Sunday, March 19 boasted thirteen volunteers plus two city employees who came to weed, pick up litter and prune the dogwood beds. They included Aria, Lee, Gordon, Joan, Susan, Dave, David, Natalie, Jimmy, Kevin, Marisha, Orr, Noel,Pamela and Ken. Volunteers were well fed thanks to donations from Starbucks, Grand Avenue Donut, Panorama Bakery, EGB and Ramos Farms. Another work day will be scheduled shortly to prune the last of the dogwood and do some additional weeding.

  • About 150 neighbors attended the meeting organized by Pat Kernighan to discuss the future of the Albertsons site with executives from Sansome Pacific -- a real estate investment company that has purchased the remaining 20 some years on the existing lease. The lease holders talked about their efforts to purchase the property from the current owners and talked in general terms about prospective tenants. While they said their first preference was to respect the wishes of the community, they also indicated that they were obligated to seek a reasonable return on a substantial investment and could make no promises.

    Ms. Kernighan discussed the input she had received over the past several weeks and said, almost without exception, that people wanted a quality grocery store. Nearly 80% cited Trader Joe's as their first choice. Rainbow Grocery, Molly Stones, Berkeley Bowl and Andronico's were also mentioned. The sentiment expressed by those attending the meeting was very much along the same lines with a sizable minority indicating a preference for Rainbow over Trader Joe's based on labor and purchasing policies.

    Jim Ratliff and a number of other speakers asked the Sansome Pacific representatives to think about the bigger picture and consider the option of tearing down the existing store replacing it with one that was architecturally superior and better suited the site. Jim also argued they could make Lakeshore Avenue much more pedestrian friendly by eliminating the Lakeshore Avenue parking lot entrance. The resulting space between Long's and the Burrito shop could then be filled with new retail. There was also discussion about the developers working in cooperation with the City to improve and/or enlarge the existing city-owned parking structure. The Sansome Pacific folks seemed less than enthusiastic about any of these prospects--particularly when Oakland's Planning Director, Claudia Cappio, talked about a 1 and a half to two year time-frame for the planning and approval process.

  • Alex Hahn, the owner of the Kwik Way, Bank of America and Serenader properties has walked away from the development proposal that he was negotiating with the Paramount Group in consultation with members of this community. Councilmember Pat Kernighan has assured us that any new developer will be held to the parameters discussed in the original proposal. For more information, please see Pat's March E-News which also addresses the fate of the Albertsons' property: http://www.patkernighan.com/News/March06.htm#9

  • The consensus that emerged at the meeting about the Christmas Tree Lot was that it would no longer occupy the parking lot and would, instead, share park space with the Farmers' Market during the month of December only. The recommendation that Councilmember Kernighan has made to the City's Property Management Division would do just that. The Splash Pad group remains concerned about the relocation of a great many Farmers' Market vendors and also over the closure of walkways that will force Farmers' Market customers onto a 3-foot wide sidewalk, but the proposed lease is for one year only subject to review.

  • Quite a bit of damage was done to the Plaza when the stumps of two date palms were removed. City staff did an admirable job repairing the damage and planting new Queen Palms which were supplied through a donation from the Splash Pad Neighborhood Forum.

  • There is a major article entitled "The Peace Maker" about Walter Hood in the August/September 2005 issue of Metropolis Magazine. Much of the article is about the landscaping Walter designed for the new de Young Museum, but there are several photos of our own Splash Pad Park and a respectable amount of text including the following excerpt: