What’s Really Impacting Grades in BVHP

Children going to school in San Francisco face a multitude of challenges. Psychologists and social scientists have known that for years. But now San Francisco school officials are reporting that children from the city’s toughest neighborhoods are showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the murder, violence and trauma they witness on an almost daily basis.

As The Chronicle reported on Sunday trauma-related stress is causing student grades and test scores to slip, keeps kids from paying attention in class and in the most extreme cases causes school children to act out feelings of hostility or aggression.

As The Chronicle reports in the case of one girl the sight of cockroaches in her family’s infested apartment, the constant presence of police patrol cars and discarded syringes found on city sidewalks were enough to trigger PTSD symptoms such as withdrawal, fear and anxiety.

These experiences have been all too common for the residents of Bayview-Hunters Point. But after years of hopelessness, there is hope.

Lennar’s redevelopment of Hunters Point Shipyard is the first step in restoring neighborhoods, cleaning environmentally damaged land, creating hundreds of acres of parks and open space and restoring residents’ pride and responsibility for where they live.

The community’s children deserve a future and a safe, healthy place in which to grow and learn. Lennar is committed to giving these kids that chance.

Calling all contractors

The Hunters Point Shipyard is undergoing major changes and is presenting many new opportunities for contractors and suppliers.

Lennar invites you to an Information Workshop to discuss the Vertical Development of Parcel A. The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 8 at the Bayview Opera House located at 4704 Third Street.

The Information Workshop will provide information on the bidding process, phasing of construction, and what Lennar is looking for from bidders interested in the vertical development phase of the project. This is a great opportunity for local contractors and suppliers to meet and network with the project team, other contractors, suppliers and local businesses.

For more information, visit our website or call John Scott, Contractor Liaison at (415) 671-0829.

The New San Francisco Treats

If you want to experience the best of the best homemade pralines and other sweets, Pralines by Yvonne is the place to go. Says State Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco/Marin/Sonoma Counties) that is.

Recently, Yvonne Hines, owner of Pralines by Yvonne, was presented with an award naming her “2007 San Francisco Small Business Owner of the Year.” Located at 5128 Third Street in San Francisco, Ms. Hines took over a vacant storefront along the new T-Third line in October 2006 and is helping revitalize the Bayview-Hunters Point community. Senator Migden acknowledged her hard work and dedication to making a positive difference in the community.

Yvonne Hines is a San Francisco native and has lived in the Bayview-Hunters Point for over 25 years. Her culinary experience began in 2003 at her home where she perfected her special recipe of pralines, a confection pecan candy originating from the Old South. Ms. Hines began her mission to bring something sweet into every child’s life by hosting an annual Easter Egg hunt with a basket of pralines as the grand prize. As a result, family and friends encouraged Yvonne to make pralines for various gatherings, launching Yvonne into a business she immensely enjoys. The small order request quickly grew into large orders of 100-200 guests at local events and now she is living her dream of providing the public with a quality product and expressing a God given talent that was passed to her by her late grandmother, Vermell Hines.

Pralines by Yvonne features an array of delicious desserts that include: Yvonne’s signature praline pecan candy, ol’ school butter cookies, sweet potato pies, pecan pies, peach cobblers, 7up pound cakes and other homemade sweets.

Pralines by Yvonne
5128 Third Street
(between Revere & Shafter)
(415) 368-7900
pralines@mail.com

Wed / Thur / Fri 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sat. 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sun. 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Lennar mentoring local companies

Lennar’s Mentorship-Protégé program celebrates the partnership of mentoring firm Ranger Pipeline with two Bayview-Hunters Point businesses: Oliver Transbay and Let’s Get Busy Contractors. Ranger Pipeline, recently selected by Lennar to oversee the infrastructure phase of the redevelopment project, is a locally-owned Bayview-Hunters Point construction company specializing in underground utilities, concrete construction, site development and heavy engineering.

The Mentorship-Protégé program is designed to create a professional mentoring partnership between contractors and Bayview-Hunters Point businesses. The program offers opportunities for local businesses to receive job experience from experienced mentors and industry leaders, such as Lennar, who are committed to helping aspiring contractors grow professionally.

To participate in the MBE/WBE Mentorship-Protégé Program, please contact Alton Byrd, Mentorship-Protégé Program Manager, at (888) 381-7731.

Getting help for your small business

Lennar, in partnership with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, created the Small Business Assistance program to assist local Bayview-Hunters Point companies in business opportunities on the Shipyard, as well as in the community.

To help local small businesses benefit from the Shipyard development, Lennar requires all contractors and consultants working on the redevelopment project to purchase a minimum of 20 percent of project-related purchases from BVHP Area small businesses. To qualify as a BVHP Area small business you must have 50 or fewer employees and you must be located in the BVHP Impact Area zip codes: 94124, 94134 and 94107.

Also, through the Small Business Assistance program, Lennar hosts quarterly Small Business Networking mixers. The mixers serve as a great opportunity for BVHP Area small businesses to meet potential customers and clients, to receive updates on the needs of Lennar’s contractors and consultants, and to market their goods and services.

The next Small Business Networking mixer is being held from 6 – 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 6 at the Lennar Trailer on the Hunters Point Shipyard. Click here to RSVP.

To further assist small businesses promote their goods and services, Lennar is proud to sponsor the Small Business Directory. It is the first ever compilation of small businesses in the BVHP Impact Area zip codes. The directory is available here. If you are a local BVHP business and would like to participate in the program or be listed in the directory, please contact Clem Clarke at (415) 995-1770.

Get on the track to homeownership

Don’t miss the opportunity! Lennar and the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency are sponsoring a free workshop discussing the OPPORTUNITY for homeownership.

Please join us on Wednesday, August 15 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Lennar Trailer on the Hunters Point Shipyard to receive information on homeownership opportunities and first-time homebuyer financing programs, as well as to get in touch with organizations that offer one-on-one homebuyer counseling services. Workshop participants will also receive a free credit report, a first step to qualifying for homeownership.

The workshops review both market-rate opportunities and provide a summary on the Limited Equity program, which is the affordable housing component for the sale of the homes on the Shipyard. Approximately 30 percent of homes will be affordable to low-income families.

Lennar launched the Homebuyers Assistance program in connection with the redevelopment of the Hunters Point Shipyard to qualify Bayview-Hunters Point residents for homeownership on the Shipyard. Lennar has hosted 26 workshops over the past two years and more than 500 Bayview residents have attended.

Please RSVP for this community workshop by calling the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency site office at (415) 822-4847 ext. 201.

We look forward to seeing you. Refreshments will be served.

A Central Park in San Francisco?

Lennar’s redevelopment plans for southeast San Francisco include more than 300 acres of new park and open space, the rehabilitation of wetlands closed for decades to the public and the creation of new wildlife habitat. Among these goals is a proposed Central Park near Hunters Point Shipyard. It’s all part of an effort to fully realize the enormous recreation potential of one of the sunniest, unobstructed portions of San Francisco’s shoreline.

Just to give you an idea of what Lennar wants, the company is working with Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abbey and Thomas Balsley Associates two premier landscape architect firms. Their work includes designs for San Mateo County’s coastal parks, the Presidio and Golden Gate Park.

The designs for Bayview-Hunters Point envision 7 miles of waterfront walkways and bikeways, hundreds of acres of diverse public open spaces and the replanting of plants native to the area.

Feds Brought in to Confirm Safe Shipyard

The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has agreed to review procedures in place at Hunters Point Shipyard to mitigate and control dust at the construction site. The ATSDR was invited to conduct its review by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Lennar welcomes this review which is expected to confirm what other federal, state and local regulators have been saying for months – the Shipyard is safe, dust control measures are effective and health problems reported by some community residents can’t be linked to Shipyard construction.

San Francisco’s Director of Public Health, Dr. Mitch Katz, was unequivocal in his statements about safe conditions at the Shipyard in his testimony to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Dr. Katz also said claims of dust blowing through the Hunters Point neighborhood could not be confirmed over the past six months during which health inspectors have been conducting daily unannounced inspections.

African Marketplace Set to Return

The highly anticipated International African Marketplace (IAM) is back! It’s time to reconnect with your cultural roots because the second annual IAM is bringing the music, dance, food, arts and crafts of the African Diaspora back to the Bayview-Hunters Point beginning this Fall. The marketplace will take place at the Bayview Opera House from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on three consecutive weekends in September: 15-16, 22-23 and 29-30. Remember, all activities are free and easily accessible from the MUNI “T” line.

If you weren’t able to join us last year, the IAM is a celebratory series of events and activities of cultural diversity representing the African Diaspora and its cultural influences worldwide. What began as a promotional tour around the San Francisco Bay Area to develop ethnic outreach to San Francisco artisans and small businesses for their participation has now turned into the “crown jewel” of the Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment project. Last year, the marketplace ran for eight weeks and served as a venue for all cultures of the African Diaspora and as a rallying point for coordinating resources in the African American business, social service and art community. It further serves as a cultural destination for tourists and residents.

By presenting global goods and wares of the African Diaspora, local vendors will recreate a cultural destination within the Bayview-Hunters Point community that illuminates the range, depth and diversity of the African American experience. This extraordinary event includes the finest World music, jazz, and rhythm and blues performers, from Brasil Brasil to Pete Escovedo and Kotoja to the African Highlife Band. Children's activities include mask making, mural painting and t-shirt design, while adults can attend and learn African, step, salsa dancing and hair braiding at the free classes offered.

For more information, please visit www.BVHPafricanmarketplace.org or call (888) 877-7763.

The Community Has Spoken

The Board of Supervisors had a full agenda and lots of important business to attend to on Tuesday night but all meaningful work for the city’s legislative body came to a halt for several hours for another political circus ginned up by San Francisco’s most controversial politician, Chris Daly

The showdown was over Daly’s resolution seeking to halt construction at Hunters Point Shipyard supposedly because conditions there pose a threat to public health. The real truth is that state officials, the federal Centers for Disease Control and the San Francisco Department of Public Health have all concluded that the soil at the Shipyard is safe for residential development. This testimony has been presented repeatedly at City Hall and community hearings.

The real community members and leaders showed up in force to let the Board of Supervisors know that Daly doesn’t speak for them. Many residents said they worry more about drugs and drive by shootings than dust from a construction site. When the posturing and preening was over, Daly and his gang came up short with the board voting 6-5 against his resolution.

The San Francisco Examiner got it right the next day with their headline calling concerns over the Shipyard just “dust in the wind.”