Monthly Archives: June 2010

Food and Drink, Local Business

Would a Beacon Hill farmers’ market be one too many?

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Will we ever see this on Beacon Hill? Photo by Jeremy Keith via Creative Commons.
Are there too many farmers’ markets in Seattle? Apparently some folks think so, according to an article in Seattle magazine. In the article, Chris Curtis of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance says that the organization has chosen not to sponsor markets in neighborhoods such as Beacon Hill or Genesee because the organization is in “a holding pattern,” and they don’t think there are enough farmers or customers to justify opening a market there.

Others seem to disagree, however, including Zachary Lyons of the Seattle Farmers Market Association, which will operate six markets this year including the new one in Georgetown, which will combine the farmers’ market with an antiques and crafts market. “To suggest we’ve somehow reached a saturation point is, to me, just absurd,” says Lyons.

There are 18 neighborhood markets in Seattle this year, but still none on Beacon Hill. Our nearest markets are in Columbia City, and now, Georgetown. And while it’s not a “neighborhood farmers’ market,” we have MacPherson’s — and they are open every day.

Should Beacon Hill have a farmers’ market? Do you think the Seattle area is oversaturated with farmers’ markets?

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Dancing, eating, and fire juggling

Elemental art is coming to the Hill on Saturday night, June 5, 6:00 pm to midnight, with the third installment of the home_page.project: NEPO 3: Air, Water, Fire (We Will Leave the Earth Behind). This is a one night art/performance event at NEPO house, 1723 South Lander Street. The event will include installations, music, visual art, and even fire juggling and “a cell phone launch to outer space”!

Participating artists include Lauren Atkinson, Lara Davis, David Lasky, Aaliyah Gupta, Lauren Klenow, Julia Haack, Mark Callen, Stefan Knorr, Serrah Russell, Gitane Versakos, Jason Hirata, Matt Hilger, Timothy Cross, Rumi Koshino, Klara Glosova, Emily Pothast, David Golightly, SP Weather Station (Natalie Campbell and Heidi Nielson), Eric Ostrowski, Janel Twogood, Matt Baker, Sebastian Shaw, Christopher McElroy, and Whiting Tennis.

For more information about the art and the schedule, see the website.

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Tonight at McCaw Hall, Pacific Northwest Ballet opens an all-new production of George Balanchine’s classic Coppélia. Two young dancers with Beacon Hill connections will be featured performers. Alejandra “Ali” Prevost-Reilly of Seward Park is a student in Grade 5 at Kimball Elementary School here on Beacon, and Kyrlia Young lives on North Beacon and is in Grade 6 at Mercer Middle School. Both are eleven years old. Congratulations to Ali and Kyrlia!

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Bethany UCC Church has been hosting a community film festival with discussion focusing on the topic of food justice, health and nutrition. Saturday, June 5, Fast Food Nation will be screened at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome, and the event is free, but donations are accepted. Childcare is available. Bethany UCC Church is located at 6230 Beacon Avenue South.

The next event in the series will be June 19, when scientist David Suzuki will discuss Cuba’s organic urban agriculture projects, with commentary from Tom Warner.

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New coffee shop The Station and neighborhood baker A Touch of Sweden are hosting a sampling event on Sunday, June 6 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Those who come by to give feedback on the pastries and sandwiches that The Station should carry will be eligible to win free coffee, a free pie or cake, or other goodies. Pastries will be available at a reduced price. (We recommend the cinnamon rolls. They are especially good.) The Station is located at 2533 16th Ave South.

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In other food and drink-related news on the hill, Inay’s Restaurant opened their new cocktail lounge last Friday. You can visit it at 2503 Beacon Avenue South.

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A decision came down last week in a land use application to allow Clearwire antennas to be added to a City Light transmission tower at 4999 P Beacon Avenue South. A Determination of Non-Significance with conditions was made, along with decisions to conditionally allow the antennas to be located in a single-family zone and exceed the underlying zoned height limit. For more information, see this DPD website.

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Don’t forget the Beacon Hill Festival on Saturday!

Urban Planning

Walker Street property not available for park, say owners

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Proposed Walker Street Park site

The Walker Street Park prospects may not be so promising after all.

As previously reported here, the Beacon Ridge Improvement Community (BRIC) applied for a grant through the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund, to turn a block at 17th Avenue South and South Walker Street into a neighborhood “pocket park” and orchard. There is only one house on the block, owned by Joseph Fasano and his wife.

The Fasano family, however, is not interested in selling. A letter sent by Joseph Fasano’s son Mark Fasano to BRIC and to the Beacon Hill Blog on Monday states flatly: “The property is not currently for sale nor do you have any permission to begin moving forward on any project regarding this property. Our family has occupied this property for over 71 years and plan to continue residing at this property for generations to come.” The letter also says that the family has obtained legal representation, and asks that all submissions and funding requests for the project be retracted immediately.

Mark Fasano tells us that the family’s roots on Beacon Hill are very deep, and the Walker Street property has starred in a lot of memories. “I grew up in the house and on this property, so all of my childhood memories revolved around the house and playing in the woods along with my two brothers. My oldest brother lives on the other side of the cul-de-sac. My father has lived there since he was four, so all of his childhood is there as well. The home has always been the gathering place for all holidays and family functions.” The Fasanos want to keep the property in family hands.

According to Fasano, the owners were never formally contacted to discuss the sale of the property. “My father was out walking when a neighbor stopped to talk, and in that conversation among other topics he said ‘You should put a park here. What do you think about that idea?’ My father replied in jest, as he thought he was joking, ‘that would be interesting but I don’t think my wife would approve.’ He was just talking to a neighbor having small talk conversations. He never in a million years thought he was trying to get information to get something started like this.” The family did not find out about the project, says Fasano, until a friend emailed to tell them about the May 28 post in the BHB.

If the Fasanos aren’t interested in selling, the Walker Street park is not likely to happen. The park proposal acknowledges that the property is owned by Joseph Fasano, and that acquisition would depend on agreement with the owner; if the owner does not want to sell, the property is unavailable for the project.

This may change the fortunes of the Beacon Hill Central Park project, which was scored highly in the Opportunity Fund project assessment process, but was ranked lower than the Walker Street Park proposal.

(We contacted BRIC for comments on the situation but were unable to get a response in time for this story. We hope to have a follow-up with more information soon.)

Meetings

NBHC meeting agenda: Parking lots, pizza, recognition

Pizza, parking lots, and praise for local volunteers are all on the North Beacon Hill Council agenda for this Thursday’s meeting. The meeting is at 6:30 pm (one half-hour earlier than usual!) at the Beacon Hill Library community room, 2821 Beacon Avenue South. As always, all are welcome; you are part of the council when you attend your first meeting, and you have voting privileges when you attend your second.

Here is the agenda, as forwarded to us by Council chair Judith Edwards:

  • 6:30 Pizza and tamales, a gift to the community from the Friends of Lewis Park; and recognition of the following people and organizations who have worked so hard on the trails and parks on North Beacon:
    • Jefferson Park Alliance
    • Dr. Jose Rizal Park – Craig Thompson
    • Cheasty Boulevard Trail – Willie Weir
    • Lewis Park – Dee Dunbar and Vin Nguyen

    “It truly takes a village to make this such a great place to live. Each of these parks or trails has benefited by countless volunteer hours, a true gift to the community. If you are one of those volunteers, please plan to attend.”

  • 6:50 City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, Chair of Parks, Waterfront and Seattle Center Committee (10 minutes – followed by Q & A for 20 minutes)
  • 7:20 Mike Podowski, Seattle Department of Planning and Development: Proposed plan for parking lots at the light rail stations on North Beacon and McClellan/Mt. Baker, as well as El Centro and other empty lots. (10 minutes – followed by Q & A for 20 minutes)
  • 7:50 Board and membership vote of approval/disapproval of DPD parking lot plan, nominations for four vacant Board of Directors positions by full council membership, establishment of Board of Directors by vote of Directors.
  • 8:00 Community concerns and announcements
Local Events

18th Annual Beacon Hill Festival this Saturday

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It’s June again, which means it’s just about time for the 18th Annual Beacon Hill Festival! The Festival is at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South, on Saturday, June 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s theme is “Around the World on Beacon Hill,” and the all-ages event will feature local entertainment, food, a silent auction, carnival games, and bounce toys.

All proceeds of the event go to support scholarships and programs provided by the Jefferson Community Center Advisory Council.

Here are some photos from last year’s festival. (All photos are by Jason.)