Can gyms be preserved?
By: Ken Garcia
Examiner Staff Writer
February 20, 2009
The plot lines in the battle to save and/or remake the Metro Theater on Union Street have become so convoluted it would take a team of rewrite specialists to fix them.
The script centers on a charming but secretive owner who refuses to sell the grand showcase, even with the knowledge that his desire to transform it into a new enterprise is fraught with peril — politics being what they are in San Francisco.
It features a community organization whose primary goal is to save neighborhood theaters, even though it’s likely it can’t save this one. But, it wants to preserve its historic integrity just the same.
And as if the story needed to get any murkier, the Metro’s fate may be decided by a new agency created by voters in November, even though it doesn’t even have all of its members.
The latest word is that the decision about whether the interior of the majestic theater should be landmarked might fall to the new Historic Preservation Commission rather than the Planning Commission, something that could delay a vote for months. The historic landmark hearing was scheduled for March 5.
Owner Stephane de Bord has said he wants to convert the Metro into a “lifestyle center,’’ essentially a gym and spa with some sort of dining facility. And to that end, his consultants say if the theater’s interior is landmarked, it would make it nearly impossible to develop.
But members of the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, which bought the Vogue Theatre and helped save the nearby Presidio, say they’re not trying to stop any possible conversion. They just want to see details of the plan, which officially does not exist.
“We would love to see a plan in front of us to work with,’’ said foundation board member Katherine Petrin. “It’s discouraging to have people say we’re taking an active role in blocking the project. There is no project.’’
You can see that this picture is not black and white. Yet, there is a precedent that might be helpful: The elegant Alhambra Theater on Polk Street was converted to a gym with much of the art-deco interior remaining intact.
Is it possible to have a small theater and a gym and keep some of the Metro’s lovely interior intact? My quixotic tendencies run toward preservation, but most people would still like to see a happy ending.
Restrictions will likely be ignored at annual race
All the public consternation regarding new rules about participation in this year’s ING Bay to Breakers race seems to forget one thing: In San Francisco, the rules rarely apply.
Does anyone really think people are going to refrain from drinking and charging naked up Hayes Street because race organizers want to put a cap on the zaniness? Or that the police might actually enforce regulations on clothing-optional jogging?
You’d have a better chance of getting busted for pot possession in San Francisco. It pays to remember that it was only a few years ago that city leaders finally put an ordinance on the books barring public defecation. And you wonder why the streets are such a mess.
Although there is little doubt that officials would like to clean up the annual race (owned by an affiliated company of The Examiner), one would be hard-pressed to imagine a scenario in which city police actually did anything but monitor the route for safety reasons. After all, this city does look the other way at such wild festivities as the Folsom Street Fair, where a lot more than just your average nude strolling occurs.
So while we can appreciate some supervisors who are calling for more skin to be included in this year’s race, we think they should be paying more attention to pressing matters, like that little $460 million budget deficit.
Besides, the matter can probably be taken care of with something as random as a minor rain storm.
Veil lifted on famously private mayor
One thing I’ve learned through the years is that if you want to get some steam rising from Mayor Gavin Newsom’s slick scalp, just start pressing into his personal life.
Remember when The Chronicle came forth with the shocking news that his former 20-year-old date sipped a glass of wine in public? Newsom was so happy he stopped reading the paper.
So you can imagine how much fun they were having around Room 200 this week when the phone lines were buzzing with reporters calling to find out if Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was actually pregnant.
His friends, enemies and consultants were all quizzed — to the point that the mayor’s press office finally had to issue a release, saying that, yes, the blessed event was upon us.
We wish them well. His friends can relax now. We think Montana Newsom or Jo sounds swell, but only if it’s a girl.
Muni mystery: Furious employee manages to halt service for an hour
Muni’s on-time performance receives enough criticism, but you can’t blame a slow bus commute early Wednesday on traffic or scheduling problems.
For that we must cite a brain malfunction.
We don’t know if they still give awards for Muni Employee of the Month, but we’d have to count out the union steward with Local 250, who took it upon herself to block the front gate with her car at a Muni vehicle yard in the Dogpatch area because of a dispute about whether a work assignment was handed out properly.
Kavai Muao-Harris refused to move her vehicle. More than 70 Muni buses scheduled to depart were delayed for close to an hour. And no, I’m not making this up.
The union representative only budged after a horde of management officers rushed to the scene. How a bus yard filled with heavy equipment didn’t have the capacity to haul Muao-Harris’ car from the street remains a question, but Muni’s operation has long been steeped in mystery.
“The proper procedure for someone to object to [union] work rules is to file a grievance,’’ said Muni spokesman Judson True.
No doubt a lot of angry Muni riders would like to file their own.
Check out Ken Garcia’s new blog at www.sfexaminer.com/opinion. If you’d like to dish the dirt, chew the fat or wag the tongue, e-mail kgarcia@sfexaminer.com
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