Based in Ohio Leaf house has found a workplace for its marketing team on the 15th floor Marx Realty'S 10 Grand Central.

The home improvement manufacturer, which has developed a form of gutter protection technology, signed a five-and-a-half-year lease for 10,000 square feet in what the Post described as the office tower 155 East 44th Streetsaid the landlord. The asking rent was $92 per square foot.

SEE ALSO: NWF renovates space in DC's Metro Center

The space, which is Leaf Home's first office in New York City, is a prefabricated office suite and features additional tenant services such as the building's in-house car, an electric Porsche Taycan known as Marx Mobile.

“The leasing pace around 10 Grand Central has remained stable throughout the current office cycle due to the highly differentiated product offering here and across our portfolio.” Craig Deitelzweig, CEO of Marx Realty, said in a statement. “Now more than ever, it is critically important to provide tenants with an inspiring workplace experience, and the outstanding top-to-bottom sensory journey at 10 Grand Central is unrivaled in today’s market.”

Maxwell Tarter from CBRE (CBRE) represented Leaf Home in the transaction Mitchell Konsker, Kyle Young, Carlee Palmer, Simon Landman And Thomas Swartz from JLL (JLL) negotiated on behalf of Marx Realty.

CBRE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“10 Grand Central continues to be one of the most active and sought-after buildings on the market,” Konsker said in a statement. “Tenants are really attracted to the spaces with lots of hospitality and unique service elements that the Marx team has created. The Marx Mobile is particularly attractive as a real differentiator in today’s market.”

The 35-story building's other tenants include a telemedicine company Teladoc Health (which signed a contract for 7,000 square meters in April), Law firm Lewis Bach Merchant Middlemiss and manufacturer of glass partitions MetroWall, Both signed leases in March.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.

The post Dwelling Companies Firm Leaf Dwelling Takes 10K SF at 10 Grand Central – Industrial Observer appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

What takes four years to make and costs more than $20,000? A trash can in San Francisco.

That costly, boxy bin is among six trash cans hitting San Francisco’s streets this summer in the city’s long saga in search of the perfect can. Overflowing trash cans are a common sight in the Northern California city, along with piles of used clothes, shoes, furniture, and other items strewn about on sometimes-impassable sidewalks.

City officials hired a Bay Area industrial firm to custom-design the pricey trash can along with two other prototypes that cost taxpayers $19,000 and $11,000 each. This summer, residents have the opportunity to evaluate them along with three off-the-shelf options added to the pilot program after officials faced criticism.

Last month, the city deployed 15 custom-made trash cans and 11 off-the-shelf trash cans — each of those costing from $630 to $2,800 — with QR codes affixed to them asking residents to fill out a survey. City officials said they intend to pay no more than $3,000 per can.

San Francisco began its search for the perfect trash can in 2018 when officials decided it was time to replace the more than 3,000 public bins that have been on the streets for almost 20 years.

Officials say the current bins have too big a hole that allows for easy rummaging. The bins also have hinges that need constant repair and locks that are easy to breach. Some people also topple them over, cover them in graffiti, or set them on fire.

The city is so serious about the endeavor it has created interactive maps so residents can track and test the different designs, which include the Soft Square, the priciest prototype at $20,900. The boxy stainless steel receptacle has openings for trash and for can and bottle recycling and includes a foot pedal. The Slim Silhouette, at $18,800 per prototype, is made of stainless steel bars that would give graffiti artists less space to tag.

If one of the custom-designed bins is chosen, the cost to mass produce it will be $2,000 to $3,000 per piece, said Beth Rubenstein, a spokeswoman for San Francisco’s Department of Public Works.

“We live in a beautiful city, and we want (the trash can) to be functional and cost-effective, but it needs to be beautiful,” she said.

But the good looks of the shiny new trash cans have not protected them from vandalism and disrespect. Three weeks after being unveiled, several have already been tagged with orange and white graffiti. Others already show the drip stains of inconsiderate coffee drinkers or have attracted dumping, with people leaving dilapidated bathroom cabinets and plastic bags full of empty wine bottles next to them.

Trash on San Francisco city streets has been an issue for decades. In 2007, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom eliminated about 1,500 of the city’s 4,500 trash cans because he said they were not helping keep streets clean and were becoming magnets for more trash. Officials couldn’t say how many receptacles are currently on the curb, but the city plans to replace at least 3,000.

“A trash can is one of the most basic functions of city governance and if the city can’t do something as simple as this, how can they solve the bigger issues of homelessness and safety and poverty?” asked Matt Haney, a former supervisor who lives in the Tenderloin neighborhood and now represents the area in the California Assembly.

New trash cans will be the latest addition to the city’s arsenal against its dirty streets. In 2014, San Francisco launched its “Pit Stop” program in the Tenderloin neighborhood, the epicenter of drug dealing and homelessness in the city, setting up portable public toilets. In 2018, the city created a six-person “poop patrol” team amid demand to power wash sidewalks.

Haney said that as a supervisor he reluctantly agreed last year to approve the pilot program despite the high prices to avoid delays.

“I think most people, including me, would say just replace the damn cans with cans that we know work in other cities, just do it,” he said.

Haney said the “whole trash can saga has this stench of corruption,” referring to disgraced former Department of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who pleaded guilty in January to federal wire fraud charges. Nuru awarded the contract to maintain San Francisco’s trash cans to a company owned by a relative of a developer who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and is cooperating with federal authorities in the case against Nuru.

On top of the corruption, the city has long been the butt of jokes for how long it takes to complete public works projects of all kinds.

A bus rapid transit system along Van Ness Avenue, one of the city’s main arteries, finally opened this year after 27 years of construction. A new subway line connecting Chinatown with other areas of the city that started construction in 2010 is four years behind schedule. In 2017, the city completed the Transbay Transit Center only a year late, but the $2 billion terminal abruptly shut down six weeks later after crews discovered two cracked steel girders.

Ultimately, what trash can the city gets will depend on feedback from sanitation employees, and the surveys completed by the end of September, Rubenstein said. The new cans are not expected on the streets until the end of 2023.

Diane Torkelson, who often picks up trash in her Inner Richmond neighborhood with other volunteers, recently trekked 5 miles (8 kilometers) with a dozen other civic-minded San Franciscans to examine three of the cans.

The two prototypes were already full when the group arrived to check them out, she said.

“If the trash can is full, it’s of no use, no matter how well it was designed,” she said.

The post What Takes Years and Prices $20K? A San Francisco Trash Can – GV Wire appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO – From car break-ins to shoplifting, much has been said about property crime in San Francisco. For one set of victims, theft doesn’t just come with a cost, it’s making it difficult to work.

“Remodel,” contractor Dan McCann explained as he walked through a home under renovation in Oakland. “Total interior. Addition, front and back.”

From full remodels in the Oakland Hills, to foundation replacements in San Francisco.

“One section at a time,” he said of another project in Haight-Ashbury. “So the house doesn’t fall down.”

McCann is a city native who built his contracting business from scratch, now employing teams of workers on various sites. For all of the complexities that come with running jobs around the bay, his work in San Francisco has presented one particular challenge.

Contractor Dan McCann works on a home in San Francisco. Following multiple thefts, McCann has taken on the task of finding his stolen tools.

CBS

“We usually bring the tools home, but one day we left everything here,” McCann told KPIX 5. “Maybe somebody was staking us out. They broke the lock off, let themselves in. Three jackhammers, a concrete saw. A bunch of smaller items. It came out to about $14,000 worth of equipment.”

“The ladder isn’t on it, no pipe racks,” plumber Tony Campos said of his work van.

Campos is another victim, even though he tries to keep his van as inconspicuous as possible.

Had a couple jobs like Dan’s where we had all of our equipment, all of our plumbing gear, all of our tools stolen,” Campos said of his experience with thieves. “I’ve had one of my cars broken into, in my garage, everything taken from that.”

“This is the third time I’ve been hit pretty big,” McCann added.

The third time convinced him to take on another job, tracking down his stolen property, and he said it wasn’t that hard to find: A resale website and a seller who may not be the thief, but has thousands of items for sale.

“This is the guy who tried to sell me my stuff back,” McCann said, pointing to an online profile. “You can see here, 2,600 items sold on OfferUp. So I met up with him.”

Zeroing in on the saw he recognized, McCann set up a parking lot meeting in which he confronted the seller. They demanded proof of a serial number, which he produced the following day.

“Gave him the serial number the next day,” McCann said. “He told me I made a fake receipt and he wouldn’t meet up with me. Told me to call the cops and have them come deal with it. The cops want me to find him again before they do anything about it. So that what a frustrating thing.”

Police say they cannot comment, as they now have several ongoing investigations into the fencing of stolen property. They encourage everyone to record serial numbers, and put distinct markings on tools in case they do go up for sale. This is a frequent, and costly problem.

“Not only in money and what those tools cost us, but in time,” Campos said of his experiences.

“Missing a day at work, or missing a couple days of work because we have no tools could be a big problem for most of my workers,” McCann said for his crew.

Not one to quit on a job, McCann now has a private investigator working to build a case that he hopes to pass on to police. A mission borne out of frustration.

“These burglaries are devastating to contractors, like myself,” McCann said. “These criminals have made a business off of stealing the livelihood of honest people. Hopefully we can start catching these guys.”

Wilson Walker

Wilson Walker joined KPIX 5 in July 2007. After 10 years producing newscasts, Wilson became a Multimedia Journalist (MMJ) in 2012, meaning he shoots, writes and edits all of his own stories.

The post After a number of thefts, San Francisco contractor takes on discovering stolen instruments appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — What takes four years to make and costs more than $20,000? A trash can in San Francisco.

That costly, boxy bin is among six trash cans hitting San Francisco’s streets this summer in the city’s long saga in search of the perfect can. Overflowing trash cans are a common sight in the Northern California city, along with piles of used clothes, shoes, furniture, and other items strewn about on sometimes-impassable sidewalks.

City officials hired a Bay Area industrial firm to custom-design the pricey trash can along with two other prototypes that cost taxpayers $19,000 and $11,000 each. This summer, residents have the opportunity to evaluate them along with three off-the-shelf options added to the pilot program after officials faced criticism.

Last month, the city deployed 15 custom-made trash cans and 11 off-the-shelf trash cans — each of those costing from $630 to $2,800 — with QR codes affixed to them asking residents to fill out a survey. City officials said they intend to pay no more than $3,000 per can.

San Francisco began its search for the perfect trash can in 2018 when officials decided it was time to replace the more than 3,000 public bins that have been on the streets for almost 20 years.

Officials say the current bins have too big a hole that allows for easy rummaging. The bins also have hinges that need constant repair and locks that are easy to breach. Some people also topple them over, cover them in graffiti, or set them on fire.

The city is so serious about the endeavor it has created interactive maps so residents can track and test the different designs, which include the Soft Square, the priciest prototype at $20,900. The boxy stainless steel receptacle has openings for trash and for can and bottle recycling and includes a foot pedal. The Slim Silhouette, at $18,800 per prototype, is made of stainless steel bars that would give graffiti artists less space to tag.

If one of the custom-designed bins is chosen, the cost to mass produce it will be $2,000 to $3,000 per piece, said Beth Rubenstein, a spokeswoman for San Francisco’s Department of Public Works.

“We live in a beautiful city, and we want (the trash can) to be functional and cost-effective, but it needs to be beautiful,” she said.

But the good looks of the shiny new trash cans have not protected them from vandalism and disrespect. Three weeks after being unveiled, several have already been tagged with orange and white graffiti. Others already show the drip stains of inconsiderate coffee drinkers or have attracted dumping, with people leaving dilapidated bathroom cabinets and plastic bags full of empty wine bottles next to them.

Trash on San Francisco city streets has been an issue for decades. In 2007, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom eliminated about 1,500 of the city’s 4,500 trash cans because he said they were not helping keep streets clean and were becoming magnets for more trash. Officials couldn’t say how many receptacles are currently on the curb, but the city plans to replace at least 3,000.

“A trash can is one of the most basic functions of city governance and if the city can’t do something as simple as this, how can they solve the bigger issues of homelessness and safety and poverty?” asked Matt Haney, a former supervisor who lives in the Tenderloin neighborhood and now represents the area in the California Assembly.

New trash cans will be the latest addition to the city’s arsenal against its dirty streets. In 2014, San Francisco launched its “Pit Stop” program in the Tenderloin neighborhood, the epicenter of drug dealing and homelessness in the city, setting up portable public toilets. In 2018, the city created a six-person “poop patrol” team amid demand to power wash sidewalks.

Haney said that as a supervisor he reluctantly agreed last year to approve the pilot program despite the high prices to avoid delays.

“I think most people, including me, would say just replace the damn cans with cans that we know work in other cities, just do it,” he said.

Haney said the “whole trash can saga has this stench of corruption,” referring to disgraced former Department of Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, who pleaded guilty in January to federal wire fraud charges. Nuru awarded the contract to maintain San Francisco’s trash cans to a company owned by a relative of a developer who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and is cooperating with federal authorities in the case against Nuru.

On top of the corruption, the city has long been the butt of jokes for how long it takes to complete public works projects of all kinds.

A bus rapid transit system along Van Ness Avenue, one of the city’s main arteries, finally opened this year after 27 years of construction. A new subway line connecting Chinatown with other areas of the city that started construction in 2010 is four years behind schedule. In 2017, the city completed the Transbay Transit Center only a year late, but the $2 billion terminal abruptly shut down six weeks later after crews discovered two cracked steel girders.

Ultimately, what trash can the city gets will depend on feedback from sanitation employees, and the surveys completed by the end of September, Rubenstein said. The new cans are not expected on the streets until the end of 2023.

Diane Torkelson, who often picks up trash in her Inner Richmond neighborhood with other volunteers, recently trekked 5 miles (8 kilometers) with a dozen other civic-minded San Franciscans to examine three of the cans.

The two prototypes were already full when the group arrived to check them out, she said.

“If the trash can is full, it’s of no use, no matter how well it was designed,” she said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Follow @ktar923

The post What takes years and prices $20K? A San Francisco trash can appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO – From car break-ins to shoplifting, much has been said about property crime in San Francisco. For one set of victims, theft doesn’t just come with a cost, it’s making it difficult to work.

“Remodel,” contractor Dan McCann explained as he walked through a home under renovation in Oakland. “Total interior. Addition, front and back.”

From full remodels in the Oakland Hills, to foundation replacements in San Francisco.

“One section at a time,” he said of another project in Haight-Ashbury. “So the house doesn’t fall down.”

McCann is a city native who built his contracting business from scratch, now employing teams of workers on various sites. For all of the complexities that come with running jobs around the bay, his work in San Francisco has presented one particular challenge.

Contractor Dan McCann works on a home in San Francisco. Following multiple thefts, McCann has taken on the task of finding his stolen tools.

CBS

“We usually bring the tools home, but one day we left everything here,” McCann told KPIX 5. “Maybe somebody was staking us out. They broke the lock off, let themselves in. Three jackhammers, a concrete saw. A bunch of smaller items. It came out to about $14,000 worth of equipment.”

“The ladder isn’t on it, no pipe racks,” plumber Tony Campos said of his work van.

Campos is another victim, even though he tries to keep his van as inconspicuous as possible.

Had a couple jobs like Dan’s where we had all of our equipment, all of our plumbing gear, all of our tools stolen,” Campos said of his experience with thieves. “I’ve had one of my cars broken into, in my garage, everything taken from that.”

“This is the third time I’ve been hit pretty big,” McCann added.

The third time convinced him to take on another job, tracking down his stolen property, and he said it wasn’t that hard to find: A resale website and a seller who may not be the thief, but has thousands of items for sale.

“This is the guy who tried to sell me my stuff back,” McCann said, pointing to an online profile. “You can see here, 2,600 items sold on OfferUp. So I met up with him.”

Zeroing in on the saw he recognized, McCann set up a parking lot meeting in which he confronted the seller. They demanded proof of a serial number, which he produced the following day.

“Gave him the serial number the next day,” McCann said. “He told me I made a fake receipt and he wouldn’t meet up with me. Told me to call the cops and have them come deal with it. The cops want me to find him again before they do anything about it. So that what a frustrating thing.”

Police say they cannot comment, as they now have several ongoing investigations into the fencing of stolen property. They encourage everyone to record serial numbers, and put distinct markings on tools in case they do go up for sale. This is a frequent, and costly problem.

“Not only in money and what those tools cost us, but in time,” Campos said of his experiences.

“Missing a day at work, or missing a couple days of work because we have no tools could be a big problem for most of my workers,” McCann said for his crew.

Not one to quit on a job, McCann now has a private investigator working to build a case that he hopes to pass on to police. A mission borne out of frustration.

“These burglaries are devastating to contractors, like myself,” McCann said. “These criminals have made a business off of stealing the livelihood of honest people. Hopefully we can start catching these guys.”

Wilson Walker

Wilson Walker joined KPIX 5 in July of 2007. His television career started at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1999. There, he covered the departure of the Charlotte Hornets, The Rae Carruth case, and the devastating East Coast Ice Storm of 2002. He also spent three years in Sacramento with KCRA, covering California politics, the Hamid & Umer Hyat terrorism trial, and the Sacramento arena debate.

The post After a number of thefts, San Francisco contractor takes on discovering stolen instruments appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis scoffed at efforts to bring Twitter to the state.
• DeSantis stated that a Twitter HQ in Florida would drive up the cost of living.
• Twitter’s headquarters are in San Francisco but it has received calls from other states to move.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis discouraged Twitter from bringing its headquarters to the state following Elon Musk’s privatization of the platform, Jacksonville outlet News4JAX reported.

At a press conference Monday, DeSantis said the company will bring between $15 and $20 million in profit to the state when Musk is officially the owner of the platform due to the state’s investment in Twitter. But he said actually welcoming the company into the state would result in a higher cost of living for residents of the Sunshine State.

“In Florida, I think we’ve done very well, particularly over the last few years, attracting businesses that are producing things,” DeSantis said. “Importing some tech company from San Francisco has not been high on our list. I think that what happens is they’ll tend to come in, they drive up the cost of living for everybody else. Yeah, they enjoy our lower taxes but you know, what is what are they really providing?”

Twitter approved Musk’s offer to buy the company for $43 billion outright on April 25. Musk has received calls from lawmakers and constituents of different states to move the Twitter headquarters from San Francisco.

Opposite DeSantis, some Florida lawmakers and residents have encouraged Musk to relocate to Florida.

“Join me in inviting @elonmusk to move @Twitter to the freest state in the nation! Florida would benefit the company as a whole — we have no state

income tax

and the perfect business climate. It’s time to book a one way (SIC) ticket,” Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said in a tweet.

—Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) April 29, 2022

Patronis has created a website where residents can sign their names in approval of the relocation.

In Texas, Congressman Tan Parker said that he would “roll out the red carpet” for Musk if he moved the company’s headquarters there. Texas is home to many of Musk’s companies including Tesla, SpaceX, and the Boring Company.

Musk has stated that he does not own a home and frequently stays at friends’ houses.

“This is a guy that has succeeded in almost every enterprise he’s ever done. And so he will, our state will benefit, we will get, I think $15, $20 million profit from our pension fund. But then he will make that company more valuable, I have no doubt about it,” DeSantis said at the news conference.

DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

The post DeSantis Takes Dig at Elon Musk, Discouraging Twitter HQ Transferring to Florida appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Judge: Oakland Officers Wrongly Fired for Homeless Man’s Shooting DeathAn Alameda County judge ruled that five Oakland police officers who fatally shot a homeless man in 2018 were unjustly fired and should have kept their jobs. Da Lin reports. (4-15-22)

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Affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities, many of whom are on a fixed income and require additional in-home care, is hard to come by. Meanwhile, studies have shown that The City’s homeless population is aging, compounding health challenges for those with limited access to even low-barrier resources like the new Tenderloin Linkage Center and other in-person navigation services that The City has set up for people experiencing homelessness .

Now, city leaders are taking a second swing at a project that aims to add more than 200 affordable units for seniors and disabilities on the campus of the Laguna Honda Hospital nestled in the bucolic hills just west of Twin Peaks.

But only if community members don’t stop the project in its tracks, again.

“We all know there is a tremendous lack of supply of affordable assisted living in San Francisco,” said Mara Blitzer, director of housing development for the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, during a recent public presentation about the project. “Most senior designated units are being built downtown, with a dearth of affordable housing on the west side.”

Planners of the facility, which is still in its early phases, hope to include assisted and independent living components, a child care center for staff and an Adult Day Health center that would provide drop-in services such as medication management, transportation and meals. The project would work in tandem with its hospital neighbor, providing an alternative care environment for elderly patients at Laguna Honda who are ready to be discharged into a less institutional environment.

It could also help free up some of The City’s existing low-income housing supply. San Franciscans over the age of 62 and people with disabilities occupy 58% of The City’s affordable housing inventory, a city report from October 2021 found, far more than the amount that is specifically carved out for this population.

“People often need to move far from their homes to find affordable housing developments,” said Blitzer. “We’re looking for opportunities on the west side to build affordable housing. And large parcels of land are scarce; that’s another benefit of working with Laguna Honda.”

But efforts to build a similar 150-unit facility for low-income seniors near the Laguna Honda campus were threatened by neighbors in the wealthy Forest Hill and Midtown Terrace neighborhoods back in 2016. Members of the community who opposed the project said it could damage the hillside that gives Forest Hill its name and change the look, feel and physical skyline of the neighborhood, which is predominantly single-family homes.

The sentiment echoes much of the opposition that other low-income housing proposals have faced, causing delays or altogether abandonment of projects across San Francisco.

After the original plans floundered, city officials moved to give the idea another shot, this time in a slightly different location and new goals for the facility in mind.

In 2019, The City released a request for qualifications for a development team that could transform an empty oval lot on the hospital campus that had previously been used for construction parking during renovations. Mercy Housing, an affordable nonprofit housing development, was tapped to lead the new effort. The organization has 49 senior residential communities in California and 30 of those are in the Bay Area, and claims to have a 98% retention rate across all of its senior properties.

The pandemic shifted needs and priorities and now, in 2022, conversations with local community groups, hospital leaders, planners and other stakeholders are taking form to once again resurrect the effort of building affordable senior housing on The City’s west side.

“We are just commencing our community outreach. There is lots of time to come back,” said Tim Dunn of Mercy Housing, who is working on the project. “If things go well we would submit our permit at the end of summer this year, in which case we could have entitlements at the end of the year and funding applications for federal programs in 2023, and start construction in 2024. But there are a lot of variables in there.”

A website with information about the project in different languages ​​offers a place for residents concerned to submit questions. And Dunn said that his team is currently working with Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose district includes the Laguna Honda campus, to connect with neighborhood groups over the coming weeks and months. Mailers have already been sent out, and Dunn said others will follow.

Given prior pushback, Dunn’s team is approaching the process with sensitivity but also optimism.

“A lot of opponents of that project were supportive of doing senior housing on the Laguna Honda campus,” said Dunn. “Our ears are open, and with robust community outreach, we can address those concerns.”

sjohnson@sfexaminer.com

The post San Francisco takes a second swing at inexpensive senior housing appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities, many of whom are on a fixed income and require additional in-home care, is hard to come by. Meanwhile, studies have shown that The City’s homeless population is aging, compounding health challenges for those with limited access to even low-barrier resources like the new Tenderloin Linkage Center and other in-person navigation services that The City has set up for people experiencing homelessness .

Now, city leaders are taking a second swing at a project that aims to add more than 200 affordable units for seniors and disabilities on the campus of the Laguna Honda Hospital nestled in the bucolic hills just west of Twin Peaks.

But only if community members don’t stop the project in its tracks, again.

“We all know there is a tremendous lack of supply of affordable assisted living in San Francisco,” said Mara Blitzer, director of housing development for the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, during a recent public presentation about the project. “Most senior designated units are being built downtown, with a dearth of affordable housing on the west side.”

Planners of the facility, which is still in its early phases, hope to include assisted and independent living components, a child care center for staff and an Adult Day Health center that would provide drop-in services such as medication management, transportation and meals. The project would work in tandem with its hospital neighbor, providing an alternative care environment for elderly patients at Laguna Honda who are ready to be discharged into a less institutional environment.

It could also help free up some of The City’s existing low-income housing supply. San Franciscans over the age of 62 and people with disabilities occupy 58% of The City’s affordable housing inventory, a city report from October 2021 found, far more than the amount that is specifically carved out for this population.

“People often need to move far from their homes to find affordable housing developments,” said Blitzer. “We’re looking for opportunities on the west side to build affordable housing. And large parcels of land are scarce; that’s another benefit of working with Laguna Honda.”

But efforts to build a similar 150-unit facility for low-income seniors near the Laguna Honda campus were threatened by neighbors in the wealthy Forest Hill and Midtown Terrace neighborhoods back in 2016. Members of the community who opposed the project said it could damage the hillside that gives Forest Hill its name and change the look, feel and physical skyline of the neighborhood, which is predominantly single-family homes.

The sentiment echoes much of the opposition that other low-income housing proposals have faced, causing delays or altogether abandonment of projects across San Francisco.

After the original plans floundered, city officials moved to give the idea another shot, this time in a slightly different location and new goals for the facility in mind.

In 2019, The City released a request for qualifications for a development team that could transform an empty oval lot on the hospital campus that had previously been used for construction parking during renovations. Mercy Housing, an affordable nonprofit housing development, was tapped to lead the new effort. The organization has 49 senior residential communities in California and 30 of those are in the Bay Area, and claims to have a 98% retention rate across all of its senior properties.

The pandemic shifted needs and priorities and now, in 2022, conversations with local community groups, hospital leaders, planners and other stakeholders are taking form to once again resurrect the effort of building affordable senior housing on The City’s west side.

“We are just commencing our community outreach. There is lots of time to come back,” said Tim Dunn of Mercy Housing, who is working on the project. “If things go well we would submit our permit at the end of summer this year, in which case we could have entitlements at the end of the year and funding applications for federal programs in 2023, and start construction in 2024. But there are a lot of variables in there.”

A website with information about the project in different languages ​​offers a place for residents concerned to submit questions. And Dunn said that his team is currently working with Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose district includes the Laguna Honda campus, to connect with neighborhood groups over the coming weeks and months. Mailers have already been sent out, and Dunn said others will follow.

Given prior pushback, Dunn’s team is approaching the process with sensitivity but also optimism.

“A lot of opponents of that project were supportive of doing senior housing on the Laguna Honda campus,” said Dunn. “Our ears are open, and with robust community outreach, we can address those concerns.”

sjohnson@sfexaminer.com

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SAN JOSE (KPIX) — The deadline for some emergency workers in Santa Clara County to vax up or stay home is fast approaching, and if they don’t show up, there could be gaps in critical staffing positions.

A health order takes effect on Tuesday for all workers in so-called “high risk” occupations to provide proof of vaccinations and boosters, or they can’t report for work. That includes medical workers and firefighters.

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“We very, very much hope that people will go ahead and get their booster shot, it’s simple to do,” said James Williams, Santa Clara County Counsel.

The order has been looming for months, and fire departments and other agencies have been working to verify that their employees comply, but gaps remain.

“We did see over a 90 percent vaccination rate originally, and so we are expecting our booster rates to be similar,” said Erica Ray, a San Jose Fire Department spokesperson.

The department says 634 firefighters have been fully vaccinated which leaves 42 who are not according to published staffing levels of 676. The department doesn’t know precisely how many vaccinated, but not boosted firefighters there are.

To take up the slack if firefighters cannot report to work, the city plans to cover shifts with overtime.

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“We have been reyling on our members to fill in with extra hours. So we are very
confident in our ability to offer those critical services to our community,” Ray said.

Last week, firefighters from several agencies voiced concerns that relying on overtime to cover shifts is dangerous and called on supervisors to override the health department and respind the mandates.

“We have a critical staffing crisis in our EMS system and the hospitals. The public is now in jeopardy,” said San Jose Firefighter Barry Arata.

The county is making firefighter’s employers responsible for complying with the mandate, not the firefighters themselves.

“We will be proactive in reaching out and making sure that folks have complied with the order,” Williams said.

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Consequences for non-compliance could range from misdemeanor charges to monetary fines.

The post Crucial Workers Shortages Doable When Santa Clara Co. Vaccine Mandate Takes Impact – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.