Greater West Portal Neighborhood Association

By: Rae Doyle
On May 24, in a 6-5 vote, the SF Board of Supervisors agreed with the SF Planning Commission’s decision to allow AT&T to install 726 new utility boxes on public right-of-ways in San Francisco without an Environmental Impact Report. The new boxes would approximately double the number of AT&T boxes now in San Francisco. At present, the existing AT&T boxes provide phone service to individual homes through copper wires. 

In order for AT&T to upgrade their service to provide telecommunication technology offering high speed internet access, advanced television and entertainment services, they need to feed signals through fiber optic cables into the existing boxes. In order to do this, they need to install a new box within 300 feet of the existing box. 

Fiber optic cable will be brought underground into the new box which will house electronic equipment to convert the signal from the fiber optic cable to the copper wiring of the existing boxes and onto individual homes. 

Last month, Alex Saleh, homeowner of 301 Kensington Way, was notified that AT&T proposed to place a new box on an easement on his property within a few feet of an existing box. Saleh had a few issues with this installation. He was concerned that the box would provide cover for criminals and present a safety risk for his family. He was also concerned about the aesthetics, since the existing box was poorly maintained by AT&T. Furthermore, he also felt that hosting one box on his property was enough and suggested that the new box be placed across the street on the Kensington Triangle property owned by SF Public Utility Commission.

Matt Chamberlain, president of the Greater West Portal Neighborhood Association heard of his dilemma and arranged a community meeting on Nov. 1 with Marc Blakeman, AT&T Regional Vice President of External Affairs, to discuss the neighborhood’s concerns. Blakeman agreed to investigate the possibility of placing the box on the Kensington Triangle.

Chamberlain acknowledged that a number people oppose the box installations, but there are many who support the installations because it will result in better internet service and, perhaps most importantly, keep AT&T as a viable competitor to Comcast. 

In 2008, AT&T attempted to deploy their new U-Verse service to San Francisco because of the population density in the City – but, because of public opposition, withdrew from San Francisco and rolled out their service to approximately 3,000 other United State cities, with little opposition. Utility boxes similar to those proposed by AT&T are ubiquitous throughout San Francisco and are used to control traffic signals and for other utility purposes.

Blakeman explained that AT&T selects sites for their boxes, then posts a notice on a utility pole that is within 300 feet of the proposed site and notifies neighbors in that area by mail. People have 20 days to submit complaints or comments. If there are concerns expressed, AT&T will arrange for a meeting with neighbors at the site to discuss alternatives.

One very vigorous complaint about the boxes is that they are “graffiti magnets.” Blakeman said that AT&T is required by the city to clean the graffiti on the boxes within 72 hours of a telephone complaint. “However,” he said, “people just don’t call to complain often.” Taggers usually don’t repeat graffiti at a site where it is cleaned up or painted over promptly, so the more aggressively it is controlled, the less graffiti an area generally gets.

The number to call for graffiti removal is posted on each utility box. For AT&T, the number is (866) 243-6122. 

There are currently six AT&T boxes in the West Portal area – with six more proposed. 

The existing boxes are located at 460 Laguna Honda Blvd., 301 Kensington Way, 199 Merced Ave., 125 Taraval St., 701 Vicente St., and 299 Wawona St. The proposed boxes would be located at 500, 1501, and 1253 Portola Dr., 120 Juanita Way, 410 Laguna Honda Blvd., and 2 Miraloma Dr.

Chamberlain said that he recognizes the value of GWPNA as a liaison between the community and AT&T and as a liaison between the factions supporting and opposing the AT&T box installations.

By: Rae Doyle

The Grinch may have stolen Christmas, but this year the dastardly villain threatening the Harry Potter themed Halloween Party on Wawona Street is Father Time.

How it all began

A month and a half after the tragic events of 9/11, the neighbors on Wawona Street, between 14th and 15th Avenues, led by Wawona resident, Bridget Wylie, decided to lift neighborhood children’s spirits by closing off their street and turning it into a magical Harry Potter world for Halloween.

Ten years in the making

This past Halloween was the tenth and final year in which eight garages on Wawona, two houses on 14th Avenue and one on 15th Avenue were decorated with Harry Potter themes.  The event has become so popular that more than 2,000 kids and adults attend each year, with a ratio of about two kids to one adult.  Most of them are in costume.  This year Mayor Ed Lee even joined the fun.

Passports are provided that point out the sites and the Harry Potter themes of those sites.  The street is closed off so that children and adults can safely amble from one side of the street to another side. Neighbors from all over the West Side attend year after year, and use the event to catch up with each other, as the children enjoy a safe, fun trick-or-treating experience.

The end of an Era

Now, Harry’s voice has changed and he shaves regularly, and  there are no more Harry Potter books or movies planned for the future.  The Wawona Street neighbors have decided it is time to end the yearly event.  Father Time had brought an end to the Wawona Street Harry Potter Halloween.

There were other factors also. One of the original organizers, Bridget Wylie moved to Redwood City three years ago and another neighbor, Thea Gray, will soon be moving to the Oakland Rockridge neighborhood.  However, even though Bridget Wylie no longer lives on Wawona, she still returns every year to serve as Horton. 

Historically, the event was organized and paid for entirely by a small group of neighbors on Wawona St. They’d pay for the permits to block the street, rent lighted safety barriers and print passports for the children. However, when the Greater West Portal Neighborhood Association (GWPNA) president Matt Chamberlain heard that this was going to be the last Harry Potter Halloween event, he acted quickly to provide financial support to the neighbors. He called an emergency meeting of the GWPNA Steering Committee to meet in front of the West Portal Library to approve a $300 grant to help the Wawona neighbors fund the event. The freezing Steering Committee members passed the motion for the grant unanimously.

What the future holds

Marina Hardeman of 329 Wawona is doubtful that any future theme can be as compelling as Harry Potter.  This year on Wawona there were eleven garages with the following themes:  Hagrid’s Hut, Dragon at Grigott’s Bank, Hogwarts and its Great Hall with the Sorting Hat; Nagini at the Home of Professor Bathilda Bagshot; Lestrange Vault, Grigett’s; Broom Repair Service; St Munge’s Hospital; Entry to Ministry of Magic; Hog’s Head Tunnel Leading to the Room of Requirement; The Weasley’s Burrow, Divination Classroom.

Even without a theme picked yet, there is still a lot of motivation to continue the Wawona Halloween event.  Marina Hardeman said it’s a lot of work – but it’s fun.  And so many people say “Thank You” to the Wawona neighbors who host the event, that she’d love to see the event return next year with a new theme.