Washington Square Park New Restrooms At $1.2 Million-Updates Or As Time Passes...

June 16, 2015-Tuesday-The City of San Francisco function in a mysterious fashion or more likely the City's civil servants does...

On June 5, 2015:
I mentioned on how a $1.2 million newly renovated restroom was using a bike chain to lock the park employees break room door.

On last Friday, June 12, 2015:

A key lock was installed, below the lock were several drilled out holes and another unfinished locking mechanism installed, plus the bike chain lock was still hanging between the doors. 

It was the same arrangement during the weekend of June 13th and 14th; the big North Beach Festival, which had the large crowd using the Washington Square Park as a nice gathering place.

On Monday, June 15, 2015:

Nothing new to report.

Then this morning, June 16, 2015:

The door handle was installed plus a vertical plate to prevent someone from jimmying the door.

The bigger question is not why the lock and handle were not completed when the restrooms first originally opened to the public over a month ago, but why it took more than a day to install a locking unit.

The answers:

A. One crew does the cutting of the holes

B. One crew does the installing of the lock

C. One crew does the installing of the handle

D. The locksmith department do not work on weekend

E. Somebody ordered the wrong part

and finally F. Cha-ching...the kids needs new shoes!

Washington Square Park New Restrooms At $1.2 Million

June 5, 2015-I recalled an article I read in the San Francisco Chronicle dated May 27, 2015 written by John King titled "Washington Square's refined restroom." The article was stating how the City's was going about replacing old decrepit structures with new water-saving & wheelchairs accessible facilities. I wanted to give some of his quotes:

The refined rest stop sits near Filbert Street and Columbus Avenue, next to the young children's playground in the 2-acre space that's an official city landmark. That status triggered extra scrutiny. So did Washington Square's prominence within North Beach, a part of town with plenty of residents who act as though they deserve the final word in any change of any size.

"This neighborhood can be pretty conservative, so you never know what the response will be," said Paulett Taggart, the architect for the 760-square-foot, 13-foot-high structure. "But people seem to like it."...

Another domestic touch: On the backside, where a small wing of the diminutive box is a maintenance room for park employees, there's also a tiny fenced-in storage area that eventually will be hidden behind clematis vines.

"We started with wanting to work with durable industrial materials, but ones appropriate to a historic park," said Taggart, whose office is two blocks away. "It shouldn't look as if something landed here."

No chance of that happening, with the design being vetted by planners and preservation staff as well as the city's Civic Design Commission and the residential group Friends of Washington Square. The back-and-forth took more that a year, twice the length anticipated when the conceptual design was approved in the summer of 2012 by the Recreation and Park Commission...

One reason for making customized infrastructure the exception, not the rule, might be the cost. The Washington Square restrooms came in nearly 20 percent over budget at $1.2 million. And that's without the lawsuits and single-issue obstructionism that all too often is par the bay area course...

Sadly the North Beach neighborhood is changing rapidly with many new transplanted "NIMBY"-Not In My Backyard voices. My over 70 years residents membership club are losing member each day. I can still recall the Washington Square Park area was surrounded with three corner of drugstores, furniture store, ice cream parlor, hardware store, paint store, movie theater. Today only Liguria Bakery, USPS Post Office, Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Cafe-namesake only, San Francisco Italian Athletic Club and of course St. Peter & Paul Church remained from my childhood days.

John King have written many fine articles of the City's wonderful old or new architectures finds, but I think something was amiss with this so called $1.2 million restrooms. The new front entrance...

The so-called..."On the backside, where a small wing of the diminutive box is a maintenance room for park employees,..."

This is the park employees break room, inside are several long dining bench table with a microwave  oven on another small table against the wall. Now look closely on the entranceway...

I think the door is locked with a chain?

Look more like a padded bicycle chain with a Master lock!

$1.2 million and all the years of planning...did someone forgot to design a proper door lock?

Oh No...It Is Post Office Flag Etiquette Again...

June 5, 2015-Friday-This would be my fifth ranting on the subject of proper "Post Office Flag Etiquette," since my first rant was posted in July 28, 2012. My fellow Veteran buddy, whom is a retired postal worker gave me ten reasons why it is normal occurrence in the postal world. Therefore for the last year and a half, I stop checking my local post office on any National Holidays that required the flag to be flown half-staff.

This morning on my daily walk, I happened to glance at the North Beach Carrier Annex at 2200 Powell Street and noticed...

The flag is tattered! First I thought maybe I had bad eyesight, therefore I return back home and email my Veteran buddy. He gave my reason #11:

What do you expect, if flag flown 24 hours/365 days among sunny, rainy & windy conditions!

My Veteran buddy claims that station have no permanent Manager in charge, currently staffed by Supervisor. He said the San Francisco Postmaster & District Manager are "Patronage Appointees," meaning not selected on qualifications but 'whom you knows.' 

I concur with my reason #12:

The blind leading the blind.

North Beach...Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

January 1, 2015-Thursday-815 am-I cannot understand the present generation fixation of celebrating or protesting with a need to burn something. The San Francisco Giants won the 2014 World Series, the reveliers were setting bonfires in the middle of the streets down by the Mission District. One local resident told me that on his street-Chestnut Street, a group of young men celebrating so hard that they carry out a sofa from their apartment and set it on fire in the middle of the block. A fire truck was called in to put out the burning sofa. Then all those latest protests of "police brutality" in the Bay Areas and the nation, there would always be either a burning car, a burning building or the norm of a burning trash can. What happened to those days of celebrating with confetti or protesting with a sign.

This morning on my walk toward Chinatown, on the corner of Powell and Chestnut...

 

Last night in celebration of the New Year, someone or something decided it was cool to light up a few Christmas trees. The day before, New Year Eve on my morning walk I noticed two Christmas trees on the corner, awaiting for "Recology Golden Gate Christmas Tree Collection" program starting January 2, 2015.

I walked up to the next corner of Powell and Lombard...

These Christmas trees were untouched, therefore it must be a random act of too much joy and drinking.

Unfortunately I spoke too soon, as I came upon the corner of Powell and Filbert...

Christmas trees were intentionally torched last night here too. Was this an random act or was this done by the same person/persons as the burnt trees at the corner of Chestnut St. One of the local resident that lived nearby saw me taking pictures of the burnt Christmas trees told me that it was a frighten scene here last night as a fire truck was called and she pointed to a standing puddle of water on the street corner.

On the weekend after Christmas, I noticed several Christmas trees on its side along Filbert Street. As the days passed I noticed more trees were being piled up there and someone moved the trees to the corner of Powell St.

December 29, 2014 on my morning walk...

Someone stood up all the trees that could stand up in one row. I took a picture because it remind me of a "After Christmas Trees Sale."

In my old generation, this a reminiscing of a 1967 'The Doors' song..."Light My Fire."