f r a n k s u . c o m

Holiday Joy!

Aww the holidays......

Here is our new home in all its xmas light spectacle.

Who is that asian santa? Of course its me, dressed as Santa, where I got to pass out presents and act Jolly. My new job for the next few years.....

Rogue's grandparents got him some xmas antlers. Granted they didn't stay too long on his head.

Safeway Part 2

Here are the angry Berkeley/Albany responses to my Safeway letter which was really about development in general and not specifically about Safeway. Sounds like it touched some nerves which makes you wonder how truth really upsets people.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/contra_costa_county/el_cerrito/13473005.htm

Here is a cut/paste of the 2 responses in case the link dies. I'm evil I suppose. I must hate children and love the huge corporate money making machine that Safeway is. Oh yeah apparently I got it wrong!!!!

Plan lacks respect
Frank Su wrote a letter on Dec. 16 berating the neighbors who oppose Safeway's proposed condominium/store expansion project on Solano Avenue.

He has a point: Real estate prices in the East Bay are too high and do exclude many from owning. However, he fails to understand the actual concerns being voiced by many residents (read: residents, not just owners) in the area who oppose Safeway's plan.

These are issues that affect everyone -- safety of the children who attend the elementary school at the corner of Curtis Street and Marin Avenue; concerns about additional 18-wheeler traffic on the side streets that access Safeway; and increased high-speed traffic on these streets, not to mention the elimination of street parking.

Moreover, Su apparently hasn't lived in the area long enough or close enough to Safeway to be aware of the lack of respect the corporation has shown for its neighbors. We who oppose this plan are wondering if the same lack of concern will continue and be amplified by the massive nature of the proposed development.

Nancy Brandt
Albany

Safeway has duty to its neighbors
Frank Su's letter of Dec. 16 got it wrong.

He accuses those of us who object to the Safeway development plans at 1500 Solano Ave. as having an "elitist ideology" and being all about excluding people from our neighborhood. Not so.
There are no "code words" being used here about race or class as Su implies. And it's not about homeowners vs. renters (count me as the latter).

It's really about how Safeway has acted as a neighbor in the past and what the implications are of letting them build something bigger rather than having them take care of what they've already got.

I do agree that Safeway needs to redesign this store: that is, improve and update the existing store. When several people brought up this point at the meeting held with Safeway and the developers in November, Safeway's representative admitted that this store does not reflect the shopping habits or needs of the surrounding community.

Many people at the meeting offered to work with Safeway to rectify this. However, since November, we've heard nothing in return from the corporation.

It's not about, as Su says, greed or NIMBYism on the part of the neighbors; it's about Safeway's responsibility to be a good neighbor.

Sarah Baughn
Berkeley

Safeway and the Trust Fund Hippie

Living in Albany/Berkely sure is fun. I get to spout my opinions and see countless "Trust Fund Hippies" act socially progressive and liberal but really just masking their elitest ideology with Sierra Club Bumper Stickers and Question Authority tee shirts.

This is the latest scuttle in our neighborhood. The Safeway redevelopment...... ohh...... Of course Safeway is a block away and they want condos which nobody in the Peoples Republic could ever support.

See the article http://www.berkeleydaily.org/article.cfm?issue=11-15-05&storyID=22756

I get so worked up over this I had to write a commentary to the local Albany paper. It should be published in the next week or so according to the guy at the newspaper. Below is my sarcastic look at the Republic.

Recently,I have read all about the new Safeway development and heavens no.... “new condos”. The new trendy dirty word, condo, is a screeching tone to any established homeowner and community group.

This ideology of not creating new units of housing is causing this housing problem in the Bay Area and elevating prices that do not allow first time buyers to afford a shack. These comments from the community of "not good for the community" and "causing traffic" are really masks for this elitist ideology that says "I already own a home here so tough!" What's good for the community is allowing a true mix of incomes to live in the neighborhood and adding new housing units so a rising demand market can meet our short supply. Ironically in the Bay Area, where people view themselves as socially progressive, these attitudes are in fact EXCLSIONARY not inclusionary to others in society and are derived from pure greed.

I live (rent of course) on Curtis St and am in favor this project. Why can't Safeway re-create their store and bring a new and better design to further define the vibrant DENSE street that Solano Ave is? Why shouldn't Safeway be allowed to create homes above their store so that maybe just maybe there might be a home in the $300,000 price level? God forbid that a first time family could actually purchase a home in Albany without making $200,000 a year.

Instead of denying new developments, let's help shape the new developments so that they further enhance our neighborhoods for ALL PEOPLE. Besides, what would happen if Safeway decided to move their store down to some new development in El Cerrito, since their store on Curtis became obsolete and a financial drain.

Well, I guess that would ease traffic…..except we would all drive to the store.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Holiday Joy!

Safeway Part 2

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Safeway and the Trust Fund Hippie