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Is Eli's Mile High Club a magnet for crime?
	At the August 28th permit hearing, Hearing Officer Barbara Killey observed that Eli’s Mile High Club would be held accountable for all crime in the vicinity of the club--regardless of whether or not such crime involved patrons, or if it occurred during hours when the club was closed. The rationale was that a club is a magnet for crime, and criminals would not be attracted to the area if the club was not doing business there.    The club has now been open over three months and statistics from the City's CrimeWatch website indicate the open club has no impact on crime in the immediate area. View the statistics. . . With the cabaret permit in limbo, the club is limping along. Is it time to allow live music once again at this historic venue? Whatever your opinion, your input is important. Contact Hearing Officer Barbara Killey at bkilley@oaklandnet.com, or call 238-2257 to weigh in. For more details on the hearing, click here. The club has a storied history as the "Home of the West Coast Blues." Read the whole story.
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Horizon condos open for viewing
	After many months of construction, the Horizon condos at 39th and MLK opened for viewing on November 16th. Horizon offers 34 units of two bedroom, one bedroom and studio condominiums a short stroll from BART, starting in the low $200,000 range. Some units have private balconies with sliding glass doors, while other upper units share a common patio area. The kitchens feature granite countertops and stainless steel appliances; cabinets and fixtures have a simple, modern look. The opening celebration featured a lavish spread of food, and guided tours of the showplace units. More information can be found at the project's website, horizon-oakland.com.
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New mural provides alternative to graffiti
	The Nameless community center on MLK, long-closed since former owner and community activist Mike Ramstrom's death, was the target of graffiti earlier in 2008, then became a patchwork quilt of colors after a graffiti remediation attempt by Public Works. Recently, a mural appeared on the wall of the building, covering one of the patches of poorly matched paint that had been applied by the Graffiti Hotline. It looks better -- I guess. Too bad they didn't repaint the entire front of the building.
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New church under construction
	A new church, the Oakland Greater New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, is under construction in our neighborhood at 751 47th Street. The location is next to the historic Key System building, currently undergoing renovation, where streetcars on Grove Street (now called Martin Luther King Jr. Way) turned around at the banks of Temescal Creek, up until November 28, 1948.  The creek itself was "undergrounded" in the 1980's. When completed, this church will join the 17 religious institutions currently serving our neighborhood.
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Can BART upgrade overcome graffiti?
	In recent weeks, the dated pebbled columns in the 40th Street BART underpass have been cemented over and painted, the median has been narrowed and a new stoplight has been installed at the intersection of 40th Street and Martin Luther King Jr Way, and new bike storage facilities have been provided at the BART station. A second new stoplight has been installed but is not yet active, at the pedestrian crossing on 40th Street at the BART plaza. These are hopeful signs of lasting improvement. But can these efforts overcome persistent tagging by unknown vandals? At each step of the way, the concrete work has had to be touched up or remediated to remove persistent graffiti. The columns have presented the most attractive target, the fresh cement walls left unguarded each night as scores of schoolchildren travel the corridor. Fresh cement pours on the sidewalk have not been immune from tagging either. Will the City ensure the contractor remediates all the tags? While some have been promptly cleaned up, others have been there for weeks now. Julius Kale, Jr., the construction manager, has placed the graffiti on the sidewalk on a "punch list" for remediation, once the community brought the issue to his attention.
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Grove-Shafter Park's fate uncertain
	Will little-used Grove-Shafter Park remain open? Maintenance of the park has become a hot potato to be tossed back and forth between the City and CalTrans. The largest of JAMMI's few parks, Grove-Shafter is actually three parks that were created when the MacArthur freeway maze was built. One portion, known to many as Marcus Garvey Memorial Park, lies north of Interstate 580 and west of state Highway 24, also bordered by Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Another section of the park extends south of Interstate 580, behind the Greenland Market. And, a third section can be found to the east of Highway 24, on the north side of 34th Street. The park is leased by the City from CalTrans--or was. According to Brooke Levin, Assistant Director of Public Works, the leases on the three parcels have been expired "for some time." As part of his budget proposal, Mayor Dellums suggested that agreements with other agencies be reviewed with an eye toward transferring responsibilities to those partners. He also pledged not to close any parks. Grove-Shafter Park is in a blighted area. Overarched by noisy freeway ramps and close to the BART tracks, it does not present the most attractive location for picnics or family gatherings. Most of the people who currently use the park appear to be either homeless, or drug users, increasing the safety concerns of other users. The few benches are far from the street, and exit paths are circumscribed by the freeways or buildings. The result is that the park has been underutilized for years. Nearby residents have applied for a grant to build a dog run on the northern edge of the park, but that proposal is now emperiled by the uncertainty of the park's future. Public Works is losing 28 or 29 maintenance workers as a result of the budget crisis. Each worker is responsible for some six to ten acres of parkland. Public Works is left with few alternatives for maintaining existing services. Pushing the responsibility for park maintenance at Grove-Shafter over to CalTrans has obvious appeal given the current budget conditions. Ms. Levin states she will negotiate her best with CalTrans to keep Grove-Shafter Park open so that the dog park can become a reality.  Councilmember Nadel is trying to get Parks and Rec to renew the lease.
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Manzanita offers a quality vegan dining experience
	If you are looking for a good vegan restaurant, or simply want a different dining experience, the Manzanita Restaurant at 40th and Linden Streets awaits. The restaurant offers refreshingly different fare in a quiet, relaxed setting. The restaurant is somewhat unique in that each meal is prepared "comida" style; everyone get the same thing. Your only decision is portion size (full meal or moderate), although a "simple meal" is available for those on a tight budget. Service typically starts with a bowl of soup, followed by a plate containing a wheel of five delightful entrees, with a rice dish as the hub. Tea or water comes with the meal. Items can be ordered a la carte. A recent meal began with a hot bowl of yam, squash and miso soup swimming with a few brave slices of green onion. The plate that quickly followed was anchored by a scoop of baked rice with quinoa, surrounded by sauted broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and carrot, soy beans with onion, garlic and ginger, a mixed green salad with dressing of lemon-mustard and almond butter, and steamed greens with an eye-catching pink sauce of beet, apple, onion and shitake mushrooms. During nice weather, the patio on Linden Street offers your choice of sun or shade under the flowering vines. The patio boasts a large wire sculpture of a unicorn by Mardi Storm.  Inside seating is arranged in two rooms to allow quiet conversation without one having to strain to be heard.  Service is prompt but unobtrusive. In the 1990's, the site housed the Macrobiotic Cafe.  That establishment offered meal cards for daily patrons.  Volunteers were encouraged to work at the cafe in return for board.  A small store offered for sale the types of ingredients used in preparing the restaurant's dishes. The current enterprise rests on the shoulders of Julie S. Ong, head chef and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and the Kushi Institute.  On the first Saturday of each month, Ms. Ong hosts a macrobiotic workshop at the Manzanita.  On December 13th from 3:00 to 5:30, the topic will be "Edible Energy."  Pre-paid reservations are mandatory and seating is limited. The Manzanita Restaurant (510-985-8386) is open seven days a week at 4001 Linden Street, with lunch from 11:30 to 2:30 and dinner from 5:30 to 9:00. Daily menus are posted on the www.manzanitarestaurant.com website.  Mastercard and Visa are accepted. While not exactly a restaurant district, JAMMI features other dining opportunities. Cafe Dejena, Las Palmas, and Eli's Mile High Club offer a small variety of dining options. The cuisine varies from burgers and hot dogs to Eritrean specialties and Mexican food. Read more about these restaurants, and share your own opinions!
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3900 Adeline hangs by a thread
	Development of 101 condos and work/live units on the Oakland/Emeryville border is increasingly problematic, given current market conditions and the challenge of working through the processes of two city governments. According to Frank Flores, Director of Development for Madison Park Financial Corporation, the project went to the Design Review Committee of Oakland's Planning Commission in September. The Oakland committee requested changes to the portion of the project that would be built in Emeryville. If a balking commissioner can be satisfied, and sufficient design details provided to the Planning staff, the project will be heard by the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board. Their issue likely will be whether demolition will be allowed, considering the site has mild historical and architectural interest. Meanwhile, the decline of the housing market makes continuing with this project less and less attractive to the developer.  The project goes to the Oakland Planning Commission on December 3rd. The project is the redevelopment of a 1.12-acre site located along Adeline Street between Yerba Buena Avenue and 39th Street, consisting of five parcels. The  western three-quarters of the site are located in the City of Emeryville. The proposed project would result in the demolition of the existing, single-story un-reinforced brick building and replacement with four interconnected three-story buildings. Of the 101 residential rental units (mostly studios and one-bedrooms), some 20 units plus six work/live spaces would be in Oakland (17 of them less than 700 sq ft in size). The project would include 1,000 sq ft of retail on Adeline (a café), an interior courtyard, and 119 below-grade parking spaces. The density of the project is about double what existing Oakland code allows. The planned parking does not meet Emeryville’s requirements. The existing building was originally a bottling plant, from 1917 to 1924. The City of Oakland’s Cultural Heritage Survey rated the property as “C3”, meaning that it is a property of “Secondary Importance” and is a “superior or visually important example.” Read the Environmental Impact Report. . . The Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board will discuss the project on November 17th.  The Planning Commission is scheduled to review the proposal on December 3rd.  Emeryville's Planning Commission will follow suit on December 11th.  Then, the Emeryville City Council will take action on January 20th.

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City plans zoning overhaul
Eric Angstadt, Strategic Planning Manager	The City of Oakland is updating zoning to align with the General Plan adopted in 1998. Some of the current zoning is identical to zoning that existed in 1965. The City wants to plan property uses to meet expected future needs and desires, rather than to reflect needs that may no longer be relevant. The rezoning process has reached the point of examining neighborhood commercial and residential zoning. Much of JAMMI is currently zoned as "R-40 Garden Apartment Residential".  This allows no more than two dwelling units per lot.  See a map. . .  On September 25th and October 4th, the Planning and Zoning Department of the Community Economic Development Agency held community meetings to explain the rezoning initiative. Further community meetings will be held in the winter. Participation is an opportunity to ensure that our neighborhood contains the levels of residential density and types of commercial uses that will enhance our quality of life. Read more. . .
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Neighborhood group honors Walter Miles
	At their annual backyard barbeque, the West Street Watch honored local community organizer Walter Miles for his many years of service to the community. Mr. Miles volunteered for years at Peralta Elementary School, is chair of the Market Street Corridor organization, and has participated with the Citizens Planning Committee for the MacArthur BART Transit Village since its inception in 1992. He is currently, and for years has been, the chair and driving force behind that committee. Mr. Miles drew repeated applause from the gathering of forty-odd local residents for a commitment and tenacity that is finally resulting in a transit village soon to be constructed at the MacArthur BART station. In his remarks, Mr. Miles predicted that the community will be transformed in a positive way by the 400 or so new households the transit village will draw upon its completion. The group presented Mr. Miles with an engraved clock as a token of their esteem.
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Marcus Garvey goes missing
What happened to this sign?	Someone has removed the “Marcus Garvey Memorial Park” sign that has graced Grove-Shafter Park for years. While the City officially refers to the park as Grove-Shafter, it has been alternatively known as Marcus Garvey Memorial Park for decades. A native of Jamaica, Marcus Garvey, founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, publisher of the Negro World, came to the U.S. in 1916. He was a charismatic leader who inspired millions to join his various causes. Eventually J. Edgar Hoover launched an investigation that resulted in a trial whose validity has been questioned by historians. Garvey was convicted of mail fraud and spent several years in jail before his sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge. Garvey was then deported to Jamaica in 1927. He died in 1940. Martin Luther King laid a wreath at his grave in 1965. The flag of Ghana references Garvey in its design. There are parks and schools named after him in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. One of the controversial Garvey’s actions viewed less favorably by history was his meeting with the Ku Klux Klan in 1922, where he declared his support for their opposition to miscegenation. W.E.B. Du Bois called him “either a lunatic or a traitor.” Toni Martinez of Oakland Parks and Rec did not return a call inquiring whether the marker in Grove-Shafter Park was removed by the City, or by an act of vandalism.
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WOPAC picnic attracts a crowd
	The West Oakland Project Area Committee's annual picnic on Saturday, September 13th, attracted a cross-section of the West Oakland community. The picnic, held at Cypress Memorial Park, offered free hot links and cold drinks and the chance to talk to WOPAC representatives and neighbors about planned improvements in our community. Neighborhood leaders such as Walter Miles, Madeline Wells, Edric Kwan, Stefanie Parrott, Sean Sullivan, Marcus Johnson, Steve Lowe and many others chatted with neighbors in the shadow of the sculpture memorializing the rescue attempts in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The nearby firehouse graciously donated tables and chairs for the event, and assisted with barbequeing the hot links. Hot topics among the attendees were proposed Neighborhood Improvement Grants, plans for the Carnation site across the street from the park, the tumult at the recent Community Development Block Grant election, saturation of affordable housing and, of course, crime and safety. In all some fifty people attended the event. The WOPAC's next general meeting is on November 12th at 6:30 pm at the West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline St.
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New homes open for preview
	On August 24th, the nearly completed City Crossing townhome-style development at 1000 Apgar Street was opened for a preview. From the street, one might think these 19 single family homes are just another condo project. But, actually, these are single-family dwellings with no common walls. The gaps between the buildings are covered by a façade so that they appear joined, but are not. The model available to view had three levels, with two bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a small balcony, and a compact but nicely appointed kitchen with a walk-in pantry. The location, near the Oakland border, is a short walk from Pak n’ Save and Emeryville restaurants. Purchase price will be $575,000.
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Graffiti coverup exposes need for new approach
Should our neighborhood look like this?	Public Works has been impressively quick to address documented complaints about graffiti in our neighborhood. But, their response leaves more work for the property owners and the City. The typical response is to paint over graffiti with whatever leftover paint seems remotely similar. The result: a crazy patchwork which is an eyesore itself. For more thoughts, read this!
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NCPC picks up ball dropped by Mayor
	Last fall, city leaders announced a program to clean up Beat 6 by concentrating city resources and services in the area. After a few months of hoopla, little was heard of the plan. But now, neighborhood volunteers have continued what city leaders seemed unable to do. For the full story, click here!
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Where have all the values gone?
	This property on 46th Street recently sold for $285,000, according to the San Francisco Chronicle; it last sold less than three years ago for $640,000. A property on West Grand Ave sold for $120,000, compared to the $540,000 paid for it in 2006. Now is the time to invest in our neighborhood! To view more opportunities, click here!
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Bike lanes on 40th Street
	The West Oakland Project Area Committee discussed funding bicycle lanes on 40th Street at its August 7th Planning Subcommittee meeting and again at its September 15th Trees and Transportation Subcommittee meeting.    Early this year, the City completed a study that recommended narrowing the median on 40th Street to allow bike lanes to be striped in both directions. If funding can be identified, construction may begin in 2010. Jason Patton, a program analyst with the Community Economic Development Agency, described to the WOPAC the need for an east-west bicycle connector that services MacArthur BART, and the reasons that 40th Street works for a bike route as opposed to West MacArthur Blvd. For more info, click here!
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Hoezannah's hosts successful open house
	Hoezannah's House, one of many half-way houses located in our neighborhood, hosted a successful open house and fundraiser on Saturday and Sunday, July 12-13th.    The institution offers "life-enhancing strategies including peer-supported continued recovery and treatment, education, intervention and prevention." Located at 3856 West St. near Apgar, it serves women with chemical dependencies. The organization is celebrating its first anniversary in the neighborhood. Learn more about the fundraiser. Hoezannah's House is seeking volunteers and contributions of store gift certificates and a large vehicle. For further information, contact Veronica Wells or Ophelia Wynn at 510-593-8987 or 510-350-7046.

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Oakland Police propose camera network; no public access
	The Oakland Police Department plans to pilot a new surveillance camera system in West Oakland. But the cameras will be part of a closed network that the community will not be able to access. Read the whole story. . . The proposed camera locations include one on Apgar Street. View a map. A report was given by the City Administrator's office to the Public Safety Committee. Read the official memo.

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Neighborhood Improvement Grants
	On March 4th the City Council adopted the West Oakland Project Area Committee's proposal for a Neighborhood Project Initiative Program. Grants for one-time physical improvements will range from $1,000 to $50,000. Grants will be for crime deterrents, neighborhood beautification, neighborhood identity projects or community facility upgrades, and must be located south of 40th Street, since residents in the area north of 40th Street voted in 2001 not to contribute tax dollars to the redevelopment area. The application period is now closed.  Twelve proposals were received, three of them for projects in our neighborhood.  The WOPAC's Community Outreach and Equitable Development subcommittee will continue to review the proposals at a public meeting on Wednesday, December 3rd at 6:00 pm at the Willie Keyes Recreation Center, 3030 Union Street. Read the WOPAC's vision statement  for the area below 40th Street.
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City Council gives green light to MacArthur BART Transit Village
	On Tuesday, July 1st, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to approve the next step in the creation of the MacArthur BART Transit Village. Earlier the same day, the Oakland Tribune reported that the project had secured state funding of $34MM to assist in the construction of the BART parking garage. Citizens Planning Committee chairperson Walter Miles received a round of applause from the City Council when he spoke about the long history of the project -- initial community discussion began in 1992 -- and the effort invested by all involved to reach this momentum.  Mr. Miles wore a black suit but no tie. He stated that he would add the tie when ground was actually broken for the project. Several other community members, including Lynne Horiuchi of the West MacArthur Neighborhood Council, spoke in favor of the project.  No speaker opposed it. By voice vote, the council approved the development permits and a revision to the zoning to an S-15 Transit Oriented Development characterization.
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WOPAC mulls purchase of 880 West MacArthur
	The Planning subcommittee of the West Oakland Project Area Committee discussed on July 3rd the possibility of purchasing a vacant lot at 880 West MacArthur. The lot in question was once a Chevron gas station. Several years ago, the station closed, the tanks were removed, and a developer planned to construct 39 tiny condominiums above ground-level parking. The Planning Commission approved the development, but no ground was broken once the mortgage meltdown occurred.  In March of 2008, the property was again for sale, with the entitlement to build the condos, but no offers were received. Meanwhile, the lot sits ugly and blighted, used as an open-air rug market. The WOPAC noted that the property lies at the gateway to Oakland from the 580 off-ramp and from Emeryville, and calls for signature architecture and neighborhood-serving commercial use. However, there may be toxic issues remaining, related to its former use. Any purchase by the City would have to follow careful due diligence, and likely would depend upon a successful issuance of redevelopment bonds.

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Local activist honored for community service
	Local activist Madeline Wells was honored on Sunday, June 22nd at Councilmember Jane Brunner's summer picnic. Ms. Wells was presented with a City Council proclamation that recognized her years of service to the North Oakland community, including the areas of JAMMI covered by the West Oakland project area, Beat 06X and the planned MacArthur BART transit village. Ms. Wells is co-chair of the Beat 06X Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council, sits on the West Oakland Project Area Committee and is a long-time member of the MacArthur BART Citizens' Planning Committee. The Chair of that committee, Walter Miles, recommended Ms. Wells for the award. Shown at left is Ms. Madeline Wells with Walter Miles.

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