Public safety on Beacon Hill is the focus of next week’s North Beacon Hill Council meeting, Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Here is the planned agenda as forwarded by Judith Edwards:
7:00 Hellos and Agenda
7:05 Public Safety on Beacon Hill
(10 minutes each)
Sgt. Ann Martin, South Precinct, Seattle Police Department
Lt. Fowler, new South Precinct Lieutenant
Craig Thompson, Community Leaders for Public Safety Committee Member
7:35 Q and A
8:00 Other Community Reports and Announcements
Food Forest at Jefferson Park
Community Planting on Beacon and Forest, March 20
Advisory vote from Council on supporting parking at El Centro for 80 vehicles, and acting on discussion at our last meeting there will be no fencing around the parking lot.
Announcements and upcoming events
8:15 Executive Board Meeting – Vote on parking at El Centro, approval of meeting minutes from previous months.
El Centro de la Raza is hosting a community meeting on Saturday, February 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to discuss ideas and planning for the development of the El Centro south lot. All are welcome, and food will be provided. Please RSVP to Miguel Maestas at 206-957-4650 or at associate@elcentrodelaraza.org.
The meeting will be held at the Cocina located on the first floor of the north end of the El Centro de la Raza building, 2524 16th Avenue South.
El Centro is also working with a group of business students from the University of Washington to develop recommendations for the future mixed-use, transit-oriented development on the south lot. The students have created an online survey, to gather Beacon Hill residents’ opinions about the small businesses they would like to see in the development. Here’s a link to the survey.
What will this bleak lot become? Photo by Joel Lee in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool.
I am completely sympathetic to El Centro’s need to produce income for their programs while we wait out the zoning process, and I’m excited to see what the long term development will bring to the community. However, I don’t think that a parking lot will add much of anything other than traffic, and it seems like El Centro could develop something, even temporarily, that would coincide better with their values of building the community and serving low income families. Here are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling, with hopes that we can think of more.
A mercado booth. Photo by Victor Ramiro via Creative Commons.
A mercado or traditional Mexican market. Stalls are rented for low prices and merchants offer a variety of goods. Mercados in Mexico are crowded, noisy, and kind of amazing. They are full of people shopping and offer choices for low income merchants and buyers to get their foot in the door.
A community garden. Although it wouldn’t be a big money maker, it could directly produce food for low-income people. There are plenty of crops that can be grown year round here with a little help, and classes could be offered. Plots could be given to low-income people and rented to others.
Food carts. How much fun would it be to have a choice between a variety of food carts for any given meal? Food carts can be very minimal, sometimes just a cooler strapped to a bicycle or a lemonade stand. Again, giving low-income people a chance to get their foot in the door of our economy.
Farmers’ markets tend to be seasonal, but I still love them. Even if it were only one day a week, it would leave the space open for other activities the rest of the week while bringing locally grown produce to the community and generating income.
I know that we are already getting a skate park, but I would love to offer up a place for young people in the community to gather. Probably not a big money maker, but still a good idea. Bring back the basketball court?
I know that mini-golf sounds like a weird idea. But think about it. A great family activity, and with a little shelter, it could be a year-round destination. Build some kind of giant Godzilla statue eating the Eiffel Tower and this could put Beacon Hill on the map and employ a lot of people.
We don’t really need a bookmobile since the library is so close, but as a kid this was a highlight of my youth. What other social services or small companies could be brought to the community by truck? Flower shop? Kite shop? Toy store?
Everyone loves a flea market, right? A slightly less-permanent version of the market, it offers a chance to socialize and meet neighbors while you sell your old junk and obtain new junk. Another good foot in the door of the economy.
There has been a lot of talk about creating an outdoor cinema, but it’s hard to imagine a better area than next to the light rail station. It could become a destination for people all along the light rail line and could be in conjunction with many other uses.
What about a mini amusement park? Many rides are designed to be portable and could be cleared out when the time comes to build more permanent structures. Lets be honest, if we had a giant Ferris wheel I would ride it every day. Wouldn’t you?
(Do you have an opinion? We welcome opinion articles on topics related to Beacon Hill. Please email us your ideas.)
Neighbors enjoyed a Beacon Rocks performance on Festival Street last summer. The El Centro building and the proposed parking lot site are in the background. Photo by Wendi.Beacon Hill is (and historically always has been) a community of mixed incomes, cultures, ages and lifestyles. I am sometimes teased by friends from other ’hoods for what seems like excessive neighborhood pride, but there’s a lot to be proud of! Our Neighborhood Council is an active and effective voice for the community, and meetings are almost always respectful and productive. Even comments on our neighborhood blog manage to stay civil most of the time.
I hope we can maintain the positive and productive tone as the process moves forward to plan the next stages of development activity at El Centro de la Raza. El Centro staff, volunteers, patrons and tenants are part of our Beacon Hill community. I don’t understand the “us versus them” tone that creeps into conversations and comment threads about El Centro—especially when we’re all in the same room. We share the same goals and priorities: making Beacon Hill safe, vibrant and successful for everyone who lives, works, plays, studies and shops here.
El Centro de la Raza is working towards a goal to develop affordable housing, commercial space, and a public plaza. They are trying to build the “beloved community.” The need is real and the goals are attainable. While the process of changing zoning around the light rail station moves forward, El Centro is trying to activate their now-vacant south lot. They want to encourage vendors and food trucks, and to improve security and pedestrian access. Â They also need revenue and are proposing a gravel parking lot with 80 spaces for commuters and sports fans.
In 1972, the “Four Amigos” inspired countless volunteers to pressure elected officials for access to a space that would become a community meeting place. The original Beacon Hill Elementary building was vacant and seemed an ideal location. Their passion and dedication still inspire 38 years later.
El Centro de la Raza is the Center for all Peoples. The name is Spanish; the roots and mission multicultural. Roberto Maestas is the man best known for the occupation that led to El Centro’s foundation, but a photo of those involved in the occupation would make a classic Benetton t-shirt.
Today, the people who seek services (and those who provide them) are astonishingly diverse. Blonde acupuncture clients share the halls with East African mothers picking up children who learned Spanish with their Filipino classmates. Ukrainian seniors wait in line at the food bank staffed by Latino volunteers coordinated by an Asian AmeriCorps leader.
El Centro’s clients and staff are more than culturally diverse. They also represent the economic diversity of Beacon Hill. The food bank and meal programs help our hungry neighbors.  All services are supported by donors and volunteers who have extra time, money, or other resources to share. Several small businesses and independent nonprofit organizations thrive as tenants in the building.. Public art and cultural events are offered throughout the year. El Centro is also the new home for Tots Jam, the toddler music class that started at ROCKiT space.
In addition to the work that goes on inside the building, El Centro advocates for and represents those in our community who might not otherwise participate in the political process. Through translation services, advocacy training, public meetings hosted at accessible times, and other means, El Centro staff and volunteers engage and inspire the community.
I’m not thrilled about parking lots on Beacon Hill. I don’t like any part of the idea. However, I’m willing to support El Centro’s efforts to build a temporary lot while the slow zoning process moves forward. A safe, accessible area with vibrant small businesses is a better short term use of this area than an empty lot. Some small income to help support programs is better than nothing.
El Centro is a vital part of the incredible community I’m proud to call home. They need our help so they can help us.
Oh, by the way…Â a group of diverse community activists are working to secure public meeting space on Beacon Hill. The North Beacon Hill Council is working with the Beacon Hill Merchants’ Association and other groups to request free access to office space in the library. We need a place to share community information and provide storage and meeting space. Please contact the Mayor’s Office and City Council members to support our efforts. We’re not asking people to occupy the space—an email or tweet should suffice.
Viva Beacon Hill!
(Do you have an opinion? We welcome opinion articles on topics related to Beacon Hill. Please email us your ideas.)
The El Centro building on opening day of Festival Street in December 2009. The lot behind the chain-link fence is proposed to become a temporary parking lot until it can be developed. Photo by Jason. (Updated at 12:48 p.m. to add a link to Estela Ortega’s letter. The link was mistakenly left out of the story when posted earlier this morning. — Ed.)
El Centro de la Raza is seeking permission from the city to open a parking lot south of the El Centro building until the land on that site can be developed, and is asking neighbors to support this proposal.
A January 31 letter from El Centro’s Estela Ortega (read the full letter here) to the Beacon Hill community requests support for a temporary parking lot in El Centro’s south lot, adjacent to Beacon Hill Station. The proposal is for 80 public parking spaces, to “help generate much needed revenue to support (El Centro’s) programs and mission during these difficult economic times.” The letter goes on to describe potential benefits to the neighborhood including security improvements, access to Link Light Rail and neighborhood businesses, hosting of mobile food vendors, and parking for Festival Street events.
Currently new parking lots are not allowed in light rail station areas. A current proposed land use amendment would allow interim parking use on lots that already have legally established parking near Mount Baker, Columbia City, Othello and Rainier Beach Stations, but the proposal says “Light rail parking would not be allowed within the North Beacon Hill station area.” However, though El Centro is adjacent to the station, it is not within the officially-defined “station area.” The land use amendment currently being considered would allow commuter and business parking on certain lots such as El Centro’s that are just outside the station area and already have existing parking.
You can give your opinion on the proposed parking lot at a hearing of the City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment on Wednesday, February 23 at 9:30 am in the City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue.
Ortega’s letter lists other El Centro items of note:
Santos Rodriguez Park has new playground equipment and is open to all neighbors. $350,000 in funding from the Seattle Parks Opportunity Fund will be used to improve the park further, with input from a community advisory committee.
South Lander Street between 16th and 17th Avenues South will be renamed Roberto Maestas Festival Street in honor of El Centro’s late principal founder and leader. Lewis Park, at the north end of Beacon Hill near the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge will be renamed the Roberto Maestas Nature Park.
El Centro has received funding to begin a community process to plan the development of their south lot. A community meeting is planned for Saturday, February 19 to discuss the project. The meeting time will be announced later.
Also at El Centro:
United Way is operating a free tax preparation site. In addition to filing tax returns, customers will be able to purchase savings bonds, open credit union accounts, sign up for prepaid debit cards, and apply for public benefits such as the Washington Basic Food Program. Hours are Tuesdays from 5-9 p.m. (English, Spanish, and Arabic), Thursdays from 5-9 p.m. (English, Spanish, and Chinese), and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. (English and Spanish).
Spanish classes at El Centro will run from April 12 until June 9, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuition is $300. Please contact 206-957-4605 or execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org for more info, or visit the El Centro website to enroll.
The Just Garden Project is kicking off their Spring into Bed fundraising campaign with an event at El Centro on March 5 from 7-9 p.m. Proceeds from the event go to building free and subsidized gardens for low-income families in King County. See the invitation for more info.
Estela Ortega has been confirmed as one of 14 community members to serve on the city’s Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee III. This is the third committee of its kind that has selected to advise the city on questions that affect transportation in Seattle. Other members represent organizations including (among others) Cascade Bicycle Club, Downtown Seattle Association, Carpenters’ Union Local 131, Transportation Choices Coalition, and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Skin Deep Dance troupe is performing tribal-style belly dance at Inay’s Asian Pacific Cuisine on Saturday December 11 and again on December 18. Shows are at 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and waiter Louie will also appear in drag. There’s no cover, but bring cash for tips. Inay’s is located at 2503 Beacon Avenue South.
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Photo by emdot via Creative Commons.Neighbor Lily sent this report a week or so ago: “I just wanted to report that I believe I’ve heard coyotes howling a lot this morning near Dearborn Park.” We at the BHB have actually seen Beacon Hill coyotes within the last couple of years, crossing the street near 17th and Walker. It’s definitely not a new problem. Please keep your pets safe.
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El Centro is hosting a tree lighting ceremony later this month. Las Posadas, “A Neighborhood Celebration of the Holidays,” is from 4:30-6:00 pm on Monday, December 20 at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Avenue South.
Besides lighting the Christmas tree, the event will feature caroling by the Beaconettes, a visit from Santa, holiday treats, and more.
Beacon Hill’s own a cappella group, The Beaconettes, recently took the People’s Choice award at the Great Figgy Pudding Street-Corner Caroling Competition for the second year in a row, singing Seattle-centric versions of carols including “My Favorite Things” and “The 12 Days of Christmas.”
The event, a fundraiser for the Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank, was held last Friday, December 3 at Westlake Center. 35 choirs competed in front of a large and cheerful crowd. Here are a couple of videos of the Beaconettes’ performance.
On December 6, the Levy Citizens Oversight Committee gave their final recommendations for Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund grant projects. Two North Beacon Hill projects made the final list, which will go to the City Council for approval in March.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of Dee Dunbar, Vinh Nguyen, and the other Friends of Lewis Park, Lewis Park has been recommended for an Opportunity Fund grant for $260,000. These funds will be used to pay professional crews to take care of the steep slopes which are inaccessible to volunteers, as well as restoration of native plants and trees.
Santos Rodriguez Park at El Centro de la Raza, in the snow. Photo by Joe Mabel via Wikimedia Commons.El Centro de la Raza was also recommended for a $350,000 grant for Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park on the west side of the El Centro building, to revitalize the park and increase public awareness and access to the park space. This grant would be conditional, requiring improvements in public access; the recommendation reads: “Must provide public access during non-childcare program hours. Entrances/access should be provided to make the site clearly open to the public and gates must be unlocked during non- school/program hours.”
Caspar Babypants (Chris Ballew) will perform at the Wellspring Family Services open house on Saturday.‘Tis the season for sharing good cheer! Here are some ideas to get into the spirit of giving.
Don’t miss the Wellspring Family Services open house on Saturday, December 4, at 1900 Rainier Avenue South. The event features a free performance by Caspar Babypants (aka Chris Ballew of the Presidents of The United States of America) and other musicians. The open house is free and for all ages, but please bring a new unwrapped toy to support the holiday drive. Â You can donate your child’s outgrown clothes and gear (car seats, high chairs, etc.) now and all year-round. Why not start a new tradition and ask your child to make room in the toy box for new things?
Clean your pantry and/or pick up extra items for a Beacon Hill food bank. South Beacon Hill neighbors can donate to Beacon Avenue Food Bank, located at 6230 Beacon Avenue South.  North Beacon folks can donate to El Centro’s food bank. Mid-Beacon neighbors can flip a coin—or donate to both!
The Alleycat Acres urban farming collective relies on donations and volunteers to keep their community-run farming efforts going.
The silent auction is sold out, but you should still make a donation to Open Arms Perinatal Services, a nonprofit agency helping pregnant women.
Don’t forget to keep your eye on the BHB Events page to see what’s coming up on the Hill. We’d like to draw your attention to a few of this week’s events listed there.
Tonight is El Centro de la Raza’s DÃa de los Muertos Opening Ceremony. This year’s theme is “A Tribute to Las Adelitas: Revolutionary Women of Strength and Courage.” Dinner is served at 5:30 pm, and the reception ceremony begins at 6:30. Admission and food are free. The Ofrenda exhibit will continue from November 2 through November 19, open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and on Wednesday from noon to 8:00 pm. El Centro is located at 2524 16th Avenue South.
At 6:00 pm tonight, Asa Mercer Middle School is hosting a School Superintendent Coffee Chat, one of a series of chats with Superintendent Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, open to all parents, grandparents and caregivers of Seattle Public Schools students. Mercer is located at 1600 South Columbian Way.
Splinter Dance Company performed at Beacon Rocks! this summer, an event organized by Beacon Hill Music. Photo by Erika Warner-Court in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr. Then at 7:00 pm, Beacon Hill Music is holding an organizing meeting. They say “There are a lot of possibilities for music on Beacon Hill, including the brand new Jefferson Park with a beautiful amphitheater just waiting for musicians, possibly a beat walk, possibly almost anything. During the next few months Beacon Hill Music will need to pick what opportunities to pursue and determine the steps to turn those ideas into actual events. We are asking you to join in and make stuff happen on Beacon Hill.” The meeting is at 2900 22nd Avenue South (the green house on the corner of 22nd and Forest). For more information email beaconrocks@gmail.com or call Paul at 206-658-3622.
On Thursday evening at 5:00 pm, there is an Art in International Education fundraising event at Fisher Pavilion, 305 Harrison Street (Seattle Center), for Beacon Hill International School and the four other International Schools in the city. The event will feature silent and live auctions, as well as a dinner prepared by chef Kaspar Donier. Tickets start at $35; for more information, contact Dick Lee at rjlee@seattleschools.org or 206-252-0476.
Also Thursday night is North Beacon Hill Council‘s monthly meeting at the Beacon Hill Library. Watch this blog for the agenda when we have it.
The Beacon Hill Merchants group will meet on Friday morning, November 5, at 10:00 am at Inay’s, 2503 Beacon Avenue South. The group reports:
“At our last meeting we approved our bylaws, and as we approach the end of the year we must complete the work that is being paid for by our city grant. One large part of this is being primarily done by our graphic designer Nityia Przewlocki, as she finishes the logo design we’ll continue with the development of a brochure with a walking map, and then a website as well. Another portion of our grant is going for board development and training, and our board trainer Angela Powell should be attending this meeting. While we do have the minimum of five committed potential board members, having seven (or more!) would put us in a stronger position, so please step forward if you think could bring skills or resources to the table and help the Beacon Hill business community. The bylaws and some of the bios are up on the Google group site here. Anyone can join the Google group right now and we encourage members to do just that.”
Finally, Saturday is the Fifth Annual Green Seattle Day. Three forest restoration sites on the Hill will be hosting work parties that day from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm: Lewis Park, Cheasty Greenspace, and the Maple School Ravine. Register at the greenseattle.org website.
Photo by TheCulinaryGeek via Creative Commons.Tasha’s is offering free breakfast to kids in costume today (Halloween). Â The kids’ menu has tasty treats for every little monster’s palate, and the family-owned business welcomes children of all ages. Mom and Dad might want to prepare for a long day by enjoying one of Tasha’s mimosas with breakfast.
Head to El Centro on Monday for the opening ceremony for DÃa de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The Ofrendas (altars) are always amazing, and this event is a wonderful combination of solemn and festive celebration of those who have passed on.
Here are a few tips to keep your monsters safe while they’re being spooky (from the Centers for Disease Control—experts on scary!)
Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.
Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.
Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.
Only walk on sidewalks or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.
Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.
Eat only factory-wrapped treats. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook well.
Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult. Otherwise, stay outside.
