Want to join the GGTA board and make a difference?… And, membership discount through the end of the year… And more in the December newsletter. Neighborhood Update

—————

Happy Holidays to all our GGTA members and their families!

We wish you all a Prosperous, Happy & Healthy 2019

If you’d like to guide the Tenants Association’s Activities during 2019 and beyond, please throw your hat in the ring for President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary or Member-At-Large Please contact us at myggta@gmail.com to nominate a friend, a neighbor or yourself!

It’s nearly time to renew your GGTA membership.

If you pay before December 31st, 2018, the annual fee is only $20.00 (instead of $30.00) AND if you enroll a new member – just $15 for each of you.

Come on now – you can’t beat that.

Send your check to: GGTA, Post Office Box 2134, San Francisco, CA 94126. You can include your new enlistee in the same envelope. Remember to include both of your names, building and apartment numbers, email addresses and phone numbers.

Thank you!

The Gateway

Tom Gilligan

The GGTA is mourning the loss of Vista East tenant and longtime GGTA board member Tom Gilligan (1939-2018). After spending much of his life in Washington D.C., Tom moved to San Francisco to watch his grandson Liam grow up. He took a lively interest in all those around him and was happily engaged in neighborhood activities. We lost a kind & generous man, who always found the humor in all things. He will be missed!

Neighborhood Projects

Seawall Project

Over the past year, the Port’s Seawall team has been hard at work understanding the existing conditions and analyzing earthquake and flood vulnerabilities. The effort continues for projects to strengthen the Seawall and adapt to sea level rise. If you are interested please consider joining the next Seawall Community Meeting #3 to learn more about the Embarcadero Seawall and the City’s approach to sea level rise and seismic risks in the short, near, and long-term. Thursday, January 31 at 5:30 PM @ SPUR at 635 Mission Street

Building Project at 447 Battery Street

Here is a rendering of the updated design for 447 Battery, which will have no condos. The planning and approval process is continuing. We will update you with more information in 2019.

Sale of Office Building at 600 Battery Street

“The Registry” announced that Atlanta- based Invesco Real Estate has been selected as the buyer of the 117,939 square foot 600 Battery Street office building in San Francisco for approximately $120 million, or just over $1,017 per square foot. Invesco also has the opportunity to expand the size of the property. The office building is zoned C-2 with a height limit of 84 feet. This gives the new owner the potential to vertically add up to 93,000 square feet to the property in the future and expand the value of the asset further.

The sale has not yet closed and there are no known immediate plans to expand the building, but neighborhood groups like the GGTA and the BCNA will certainly watch the project and update you accordingly.

Remembering long-time Gateway resident and GGTA Board Member Tom Gilligan.

Developer John Stewart Company is proceeding with design, financing and City approvals of two affordable housing buildings on the block bounded by Broadway, Front, Vallejo and Davis Streets, on two parcels now used as parking lots, one owned by the Port and the other by the SF Department of Public Works. 

The larger building at 88 Broadway will have 130 units of family housing, and will occupy the entire western half of the block.  The smaller building at 735 Davis will have 54 senior housing units, will occupy part of the eastern half of the block, and will be flanked by existing buildings.  A north/south walkway through the entire block will separate the two new buildings, and an east/west walkway through the entire block will pass through the 88 Broadway building, and will separate 735 Davis from the existing building to its south. One or possibly two restaurants or cafes are proposed at street level.  The buildings will fit within existing 65-foot and 40-foot height limits.

The two buildings will be managed by Bridge Housing.  Rental units will be available to a mix of low income, very low income, and moderate or middle income tenants. Construction is expected to begin in 2019, and to take 19 months for 88 Broadway, and 16 months for 735 Davis.

We will update you on the progress when construction begins!

Teatro ZinZanni’s project to build a 285-seat dinner theater and 4-story 192-room hotel on Port property at Broadway and the Embarcadero is moving through the City’s approval process.  The site is now a 250-space triangular parking lot.

The building will fit within the existing 40-foot height limit.  Arriving patrons will use a recessed 80-foot long passenger loading zone on Broadway.  No new parking spaces will be provided, and 35 street parking spaces will disappear.  TZ will lease 50 parking spaces at 847 Front Street. The Vallejo Street right-of-way will be vacated. There will be a small privately maintained park at the north end.

Demolition of the parking lot and construction of the project are expected to begin in 2019, and construction time is estimated to be 22 months.  Construction hours will be 7AM to 5PM Mondays through Fridays, with “occasional” work on Saturdays. There will be no pile driving.

We will update you when construction begins!

The meeting today was well attended by tenants affected by the fire and those who are eager to help.

Gateway Managers Dan Valdez, Clay Tominaga and Lidiya Alexander,

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, his Chief of Staff Sunny Angulo, as well as

Aaron Armstrong, Project Director at Restoration Management Company, were there to explain the process.

If you are affected you should contact Dan or Lidiya ASAP to set up a meeting. Aaron Armstrong will join the meeting, you can also bring your insurance rep and, if you so desire, your own restoration contractor.

Dan Valdez assured us that they are working hard on restoring the apartments with little damage first so you can move back in soon. If there is no debris on your apartment floor, no fire or water damage they might release your apartment in the next couple of days.

The Gateway will provide interim housing for you, – please contact the office for more details.

Dan Valdez, dvaldez@thegateway.com, 415.203-5732

Lidiya Alexander, lalexander@thegateway.com, 415.4334-5709

NEED HELP?

A lot of residents have also asked us how they can help. Can they provide a meal for you? Can they run errands with/for you? Can they help you make calls?

Sunny Angulo (415.554-7451) said Aaron Peskin’s office is able to help with necessary items from hygiene kits to blankets to clothes.

The community cares about you! Please don’t hesitate to contact Ms. Angulo or the GGTA.

There are still a lot of tenants who cannot go back to their apartments.

We were told by management that THEY ARE NOT LETTING ANYBOD RETURN TO THEIR APARTMENTS IF ASBESTOS WAS EXPOSED.

It is very dangerous to breathe in those particles, and even a little time in the affected apartments can cause longterm damage.

A restoration company is working since the early morning hours and apartments will be accessible once they have finished their work.

They are hoping to make all apartments on 17th floor and up available today.

The apartments 01 and 02 on the floors 8 to 16 will not be accessible for a while because of either fire or water damage (and asbestos).

To my knowledge the tenants of floors 3 to 8 have all returned to their apartments. Many on floors 9-11 have too.

The Gateway management is working on finding hotels for all those displaced for the night and permanent housing for the future.

Please know that even if you have found accommodation for tonight or for the next few days you can still contact Red Cross at 415-427-8010. They will provide immediate emergency needs and more!!

If you have any question please let GGTA know!

ggta@goldengatewaytenants.org

On behalf of the Golden Gateway Tenants Association and all residents of the Gateway, the GGTA went to the Fire Station 13 today to thank them and all forces involved for their response to the fire in the Vista South building on Monday, October 22, 2018. 

The firefighters ran up many flights of stairs to extinguish a blaze that had flames shooting out of balconies. Their quick response and effective action saved us from what could have been a major disaster in a 25-story building.  The facts that no tenants were injured, and that an elderly couple was carried safely out of the building reflect great credit on the training, professionalism and courage of the San Francisco Fire Department.

We know that our own Station 13 firefighters were the first responders (like Jay & Joe pictured below), and that additional members of the SFFD joined them.  We are thankful for their tremendous work.

We also sent a letter to Chief Joanne Hayes-White and a few members of the board will go to the upcoming commission meeting to thank them publicly.

Decorate your fridge with our printable PDF of Who to Call in City Government. (Text also included below)

---

Now posted, an online version of the GGTA October Newsletter that was also hand delivered to your doors.

Lee Radner, a community activist and longtime Gateway resident, died on May 7 at age 92. 

Born in 1925 in Chicago, and he and his wife, Rogene, lived in San Francisco, Guam, and Hawaii before settling in The Gateway in 1996. He quickly became well-known and respected throughout the northeast waterfront for his community involvement.

Last Friday Gateway residents and friends shared a toast with Lee Radner’s the family members at the Fuzio to honor his memory. (see photos below)

For more about Lee Radner, please read: https://hoodline.com/2018/05/lee-radner-activist-who-fought-8-washington-dies-at-92

Dear Members of the Golden Gateway Tenants Association,

On April 17th, 2018, board members of the Golden Gate Tenants Association had a meeting with Clarisse Tan and John Morel. 

Clarisse Tan is the property manager of The Gateway. Many of you are familiar with her and have met her either at the office or at the Vista North, were she lives. 

John Morel is the new operations manager of The Gateway, who just started his job at the beginning of March. He lives in Vista West; he is a member on Nextdoor!

We had an extensive conversation about concerns that were identified at our member’s meeting on March 15th, 2018. Clarisse and John kindly listened to our long list and were able to provide us with a lot of answers regarding rodent infestation, maintenance, security, communication, and the beautification project of the Washington Street side of the building/garage. 

Here are some of the results:

Rodents Infestation: The Crane company will continue to monitor the property, especially Vista West from the garage level to the roof top. Look for the black boxes that have been put out in the last 3 weeks.

The mice issue on the middle floors in Vista West has been taken care of and seems contained at this point of time. In the process they checked many apartments on 3 of the floors and identified a few hoarders, who were given a two week notice to clean up before a second inspection. Both, Clarisse and John, are asking tenants to call immediately when you see a rodent.

Maintenance: John seems to have adjusted to his new job quickly and promised to follow up on maintenance issues immediately. 

• Call box Vista West & Vista South: will be taken care of within the next few days. The call boxes will have one name per apartment, which might change at a later time. Please report to the office if your name is not in the call box or you have trouble opening the door with your telephone. 
• Cleaning of hallways/trash rooms/laundry room: there is a schedule for cleaning. All hallways are vacuumed on Mondays. The trash rooms are checked on Mondays, on some floors 2 or 3 times a week. The water in the laundry room of Vista South has been addressed, John Morel will follow up on the water in front of a couple of machines in Vista West.
• Washers/Dryers: The contract has to be renewed and they are waiting for the company to sign the papers and set a date for maintenance of all washers and dryers. (GGTA will follow up on this in due time if this continues to be an issue.)
• Renovation of Hallways in Vista South: Floors 11 through 24 are done, new benches will be installed within the next 2 weeks; floor 10 is almost done; work on floors 3 through 9 will start shortly. (GGTA will monitor progress)

Security:

• The lightbulbs in most of the nonworking lights on the plaza and the bridge have been replaced during the last week. Both Clarisse and John agree that sufficient lighting is important and ask tenants to please call the office if you notice a faulty light.
• Our security staff has not been reduced. There are still 2 security guards 24/7 patrolling the grounds and buildings. The Gateway hires extra security on standby when there are events close by, – St. Patrick’s Day et.al. Please call the office immediately if you see people lingering or setting up camp.

Communication: Many of you liked the leaflet sent with the rent statement. This leaflet is still available. You can also find it at the front desk of your building.

Older newsletters are online, – on the website of The Gateway click the right tab “more info” and that “newsletter” (http://www.thegateway.com/newsletters.aspx). We will ask Clarisse to update more frequently and post the current newsletter.

Beautification Idea: Bill Hannan introduced the idea of using the existing cutouts and planter boxes along Washington Street for new plants. Clarisse and John will follow up and investigate why those haven’t been used in the past and what could be planted in the future. 

We left a list of all your concerns with management, and will follow up in the next weeks and keep you updated. Meanwhile please don’t hesitate to call the office with any security or other concerns, maintenance or repair requests: (415) 434-2000. 

Best Regards, 

Tatjana Eggert-Reich 

GGTA – President

Tom Gilligan 

GGTA – First Vice President

Bill Hannan

GGTA – Second Vice President

Annual Membership Meeting Minutes, Feb 18 2018

This is the month of love and friendship, let’s all meet up and celebrate together!

We would like to see and share a drink with the whole Gateway community.
We know of a couple birthdays that we will be lifting a glass to and if it is your birthday this month the GGTA will buy you a birthday drink.

Hope to see you all there.

When: February 6 from 5pm – 7pm
Where: Fuzio
San Francisco Financial District
1 Embarcadero Center
Promenade Level
San Francisco, CA 94111