I read with interest in the current issue of the Sierra Club Yodeler that the City has a sustainability coordinator (cc’ed above) named Garrett Fitzgerald who will be coming up with a Energy and Climate Action Plan (ECAP). First on the list of the approach is to
“shift the City from car-dependent to transit-oriented: commit to demonstrable, annual goals that reduce vehicle travel, and invest in pedestrian/bike friendly corridors and in transit operations.”

Isn’t it ironic that AC Transit is talking about such severe service cuts that it might not really be able to call itself a transit company and yet members of our “progressive” City Council seem to be rubber stamping a parking lot that encourages greenhouse producing cars and traffic? At the same time that Oakland insists on another deadening parking lot, Berkeley has magnificently turned a City owned lot into the David Brower Center, a environmental jewel that opens Sunday, May 10th (www.browercenter.org) to great acclaim as a LEED certified building. They are also building an amazing Ed Roberts Disability Center on top of parking at Ashby BART (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/29/BADATKMG2.DTL ) while I see no groundbreaking for the MacArthur BART transit development.

Where is the City Council leadership on green building and activating commercial areas like the burgeoning Uptown?

BTW, I heard from an aide to nancy Nadel that the Fox is not part of the Business Improvement District (seems like a shame) and they could change the boundaries perhaps but BID should still be weighing in on this.

I think a quality Faremr’s/craft market on a weekday 3-7pm could be a good alternative as opposed to a weekend. I know I keep harping back to Berkeley (but they do some thngs right), but their Tues and Thurs markets are very popular and I could see a Wed or Thurs market in the dirt (with a little leveling and some very low cost and permeable top) doing well IF the City put some $ into marketing it right. That’s what we did wit the Temescal market and it worked over time (afer one year really).

I’m considering starting a petition, but I’d rather help host a protest. I don’t have ANY experience with this, but I’d really like to get the City’s attention, and frankly (despite some tiny concession of a poorly thought-out farmer’s market) we have failed to do so.

I saw the rink a few weeks ago when we were downtown and realized that I’d sort of forgotten about it. I went a few times years ago, but we’re always busy doing stuff and I don’t always remember that it’s there.

when it comes to using the 19th st bart station in the wee hrs, personally, the only way I recommend one get there from Telegraphis up TBW to Broadway. More light. More traffic.

Can someone verify this with OPD?

http://oakland.crimespotting.org/map/#types=AA,Mu,Ro,SA,DP,Na,Al,Pr,Th,VT,Va,Bu,Ar&dtend=2009-04-29T23:56:38-07:00&dtstart=2009-03-31T08:51:57-07:00&lon=-122.269&zoom=16&lat=37.809

I just checked OPD stats for the last 30 days, and only find ONE simple assault in the evening around any potential showtime, and it’s at 16th and San Pablo — NOWHERE NEAR 19th Street BART.

http://oakland.crimespotting.org/crime/2009-04-24/Simple_Assault/126655

So, this accusation of high crime without any proof is just a FUD scare tactic so far, that I can see. I would hate to see someone working for the FOX making false statements.

I’ve hung out around the FOX and on Broadway at night and I didn’t see anyone assaulting any FOX patrons. Kids from the Broadway/12th-to-14th corridor don’t hang out around the FOX Oakland area on Friday nights.

Lastly, why are the Uptown Apartments and FOX Oakland not part of the local business improvement district? That seems really odd.

Look at these 76 reviews of FOX Oakland on Yelp by “people under 35″ – per Greg Perloff’s comments:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-fox-theater-oakland

NOT ONE PERSON COMPLAINS ABOUT PARKING.
What are people complaining about? SOUND! And legroom.

NOBODY IS COMPLAINING ABOUT PARKING. Yes, BART should be 24-hours, or at least start last trains from 3am, on Friday and Saturday nights.

Why are we – city taxpayers paying for city-owned FOX Oakland’s renovation, then letting Another Planet Entertainment (as good a job as they may be doing) get free parking too? Can I just write APE a check? (Aside: I’ve gone to at least one show there already, and probably will keep going, it’s a great venue!)

4/23: “I went on April 18th to see the Black Keys. Had Mezzanine seats. The sound was WAY TOO LOUD. Piercing at times, even in the lobby, with earplugs. My husband left with a migraine. All of the ushers left as soon as the band started to play. The people in the front row were continuously being blocked by people standing in the walkway watching the show. Sucks to look like the bad guy shooing people away. I went to the bathroom for a break from the noise and had to push people out of the entryway to get through (fire hazard?). This would NEVER happen at the Warfield! I know it’s a new venue, I’m sure this will be a great venue once they get their sh*t together. I’ll update after my next visit.”

4/22: “Went to the Blitzentrapper FleetFoxes show last night – I don’t know what it sounded like on the floor – but in the balcony it sounded like listening to bad beach boys songs out of blown out speakers in my mom’s chevette (I wish my mom actually had a chevette, but you get my point).
They get one star for having fabulous byzantine decor and an insanely trippy ceiling.
But seriously guys – if you are going to spend millions of dollars renovating a theater can you at least put a decent sound system in?”

4/20: “parking was easy enough…garage like a block away for 10 bucks.”

4/19: “easy parking across the street.”

4/19: “The problem is the sound, not what I would expect from a smallish venue. This seems to be a common complaint about the fox. So, amazing building and disappointing sound quality… too much bass/drum/thud or something going on. Parking was suprisingly easy on the street for a Friday night. BART entrances seem very close too.”

4/17: “So my dear Fox, you must be downgraded to 2-Stars
Last night at BB KING was the final straw in my frustration level. We had Floor Seats & they were as horrible, if not more so, than the Balcony Seats we had 2 nights before.
More legroom I grant you but the view was completely occluded by the people in front of me & at best, I got to see flashes of BB’s right shoulder.
The sound was completely off ( couldn’t hear BB ) & many in the audience were yelling at you to turn up the volume…..but it took forever for you to get the hint
This, in addition to the cocktail party behind us – who completely drowned out BB King – even after turning up the volume – was appalling.”

4/16: ” Parking is street if you come super early and the lot which ranges from about $8-10. Pretty reasonable I think.”

4/16: “Close to 19th St. BART, easy parking, great places to relax and mingle and eat before the show…”

4/15: “I went to go see Green Day at the fox theater and I have to say that my Jaw dropped as soon as I walked in to the theater. This venue is gorgeous, big with a small venue feeling. Drinks are reasonable and parking in Oakland is not that bad.”

3/8: “If you do drive, get there early and there is street parking, if not there are local garages.
Get there early, not only for the street parking, but to get into the connected bar on the corner, settle in with a drink and perhaps a pre-show appetizer…
It only gets four stars from me for the leg room, some of the blocked views and the acoustics are just fair. All in all, I will be back, especially now that I am a little more educated about the place.”

3/5: “Parking: They have a parking lot up the street (behind the theatre) if you can’t find street parking, $10. OR you can do “Valet” parking and leave your keys with some random dude, I opted for the “Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll keep my keys with me” Parking Lot.” (I hear these guys yelling at night sometimes when I’m at home “parking for ten dollars!”)

2/25: “And can you believe this was almost a parking lot?”

2/23: “In addition, one of the best things about the venue is that it is so easy to find free street parking. Plus, my drive home only took 10 minutes. Double fist pump!”

2/21: “Don’t even bother driving. Traffic is still a cluster#@$% and parking is probably not much better. Either BART or taxi around here. Taxis hang around this area looking for people. Be sure to hang out at either Cafe Van Kleef or Flora beforehand as well. I cannot wait to see more shows here.”

So out of 74 reviews, there are ZERO complaints about parking. Where are the parking complaints? Did APE pay Yelp to remove those? I doubt it.

This leads me to believe that the real solution is better signage for out of towners to FIND existing parking, and for BART patrons to get to/from the FOX Oakland.

Seems to be NO need for a parking lot here.

I second the motion that a farmers market would compete with TFM or GLFM and take a year to start up. And then what? Hopefully the FM would continue to exist, like Pike’s Place Mkt or Chelsea Mkt INSIDE ForestCity’s new development on the spot. That would be righteous.

Also, city must include PAID bicycle parking lot inside this car parking lot. The existing sidewalk bike racks are oversubscribed during popular shows, and would encourage that “green” citizenry that city officials/staff claim to desire.