I am OMI

What is "I am OMI"?

"I am OMI" is part of the California Council for the humanities "Communities Speak" initiative, and is focused on the community in southwestern San Francisco comprised of the Ocean View, Merced Heights and Ingleside neighborhoods.

In 2003-2004, the Western Neighborhoods Project will collect stories and history of the OMI to present back to the community via a youth video program, free "history nights", a booklet, a theatrical production and a radio play---all with plan to help a diverse community find a united voice.

About the OMI Neighborhood

Located in San Francisco's southwest corner, the Oceanview-Merced Heights-Ingleside (OMI) community faces issues common to many urban neighborhoods. A long-standing middle-class neighborhood, OMI now faces disenfranchised teens and young adults and a dearth of constructive activities for them; families and seniors at risk; a lack of basic services commonly found in other neighborhoods; increased crime and drug activity; as well as changing demographics.

A community in need, OMI has long been overlooked and has taken the initiative to counter negative trends by creating block clubs, neighborhood organizations, community centersÐÐÐto name a few examplesÐÐÐbut much remains to be done to unite and strengthen these efforts.

As its acronym name suggests, the OMI neighborhood is a collection of micro-neighborhoods, divided by terrain (a 500-foot ridgeline), socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. Many OMI residents feel they are only united with their neighbors "over the hill" by the OMI name, or in sharing the same supervisorial district.

The Ingleside Terraces development on the west side is a "residential park" featuring million dollar homes, and 60% of its residents are college graduates; but in the rest of OMI, close to 20% have never finished high school, and over 7% experience hunger (San Francisco Food Bank). The fastest growing neighborhood in San Francisco, OMI exceeds the city's averages in such categories as households with children, unemployment, and AFDC and Medi-Cal recipients.

According to the US Census, OMI was 79% white in 1960, but each census after that has shown dynamic ethnic changes. Outside of the Ingleside Terraces tract (55% white, 30% Asian-American), OMI is now 45% Asian-American, 25% African-American, 14% Latino and 13% white.

In 1999, residents of OMI, through a community action committee, established a set of priorities to address concerns in the neighborhood. These priorities included business and economic development; coordinated services for youth and young adults; promotion and expansion of educational and cultural activities; improved heath and human services; and safety. The committee hoped "to empower residents to have a unified voice and collective action to develop workable solutions to crucial problems."

By using stories to bring the neighborhood's diverse population together, our project, "I am OMI", will help fulfill this hope.

The "I am OMI" project will begin with the collection of oral histories from representatives of OMIÕs community. Hundreds of stories will be told and heard in the course of the initial work, and collected in a variety of ways.

September 2002: Ridge Greene, representative of the shacks' owners, says the shacks historical significance was unknown to the owners. Says they'll be willing to work with WNP to find a way to save the shacks. Money slated for demolition could be used to move them.

September 26, 2002: Woody LaBounty of WNP, Jane Cryan, and Ridge Greene meet with Hillary Gitelman (Deputy Director of Planning) and other staff at the Presidio Trust. Ms. Gitelman says she doesn't see a way the shacks could come to join the two the Presidio already has, but says she'll look into whether temporary storage space could be found.

October 7, 2002: Representatives from the Museum of San Francisco take a look at the shacks. Lack of storage space precludes the organization from taking them.

October 23, 2002: Ms. Gitelman reports back that storage space at the Presidio would have to be rented, and refers WNP to the real estate leasing department.

December 2, 2002: San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carl Nolte writes an article on the Kirkham shacks, which spurs letters, emails, telephone calls, (and a few checks!) from the public. Craig Middleton, executive director of the Presidio Trust, says he'd "love to find a way to preserve these," and that he's "intrigued."

December 2, 2002: The Oakland Museum calls, interested in perhaps having a shack for their 2006 Earthquake Centennial exhibit. Unfortunately, they have no money or resources to aid in saving the shacks, and perhaps have room to store only one (if WNP paid to get it there).

December 5, 2002: KPIX does a piece on the shacks and Craig Middleton comes out to tell the reporter he's "intrigued and will definitely look into it." Woody LaBounty meets him briefly then and Middleton says "we'll talk".

Reed Walker, project manager for general contractor Mayta & Jensen, lines up companies to work on the shacks for FREE. This includes asbestos abatement, cleaning the lot, removing and disposing of additions, and physically moving the shacks to a new location. This offer means we can take the owners' allocated demolition money and use it for renovation seed money.

Letters, emails and calls start coming into the Presidio Trust offices urging the Trust to take the shacks. WNP follows up by sending an email to Craig Middleton, asking for more discussion on his apparent interest.

December 10, 2002: Tia Lombardi, Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Trust emails WNP: "In order to proceed in a thoughtful manner, then, what we need from you is a proposal that outlines just what it is you have in mind for the shacks: what is the project's scope and timeframe; what resources would you bring to bear on the project; what is the extent of your commitment/involvement over time; and what you would expect from the Presidio Trust.

December 16, 2002: WNP submits proposal to the Presidio. Tia Lombardi says don't expect an answer until mid-January, and that if we can work out a rental agreement with their real estate leasing department we can temporarily store the shacks at the Presidio.

January 22, 2003: Elena Anaya of the Presidio Trust leasing department shows us a warehouse, says we can use the space to store the shacks on a 6-month lease for $300 a month (later, we find she misquoted and the fee is really closer to $500). The doorway to the warehouse may be too narrow and right now it's full of other stuff, but we're hoping it will work.

January 23, 2003: Woody LaBounty talks to Steve Haller of the National Park Service and ask if they've been included in discussion of our proposal. He knows about it, rehashes the basic concerns about money, priorities, and whether the Presidio is the best place. Woody reiterates commitment to do all the work, pay all the money, and provide the resources for proper interpretation with Park Service guidance.

February 2, 2003: Woody LaBounty checks in to see how the proposal is moving along at the Presidio. Tia Lombardi replies that the Park Service "is reluctant to undertake this project on a permanent basis. As I understand it, their main concern is that the Presidio is not the most appropriate place for these shacks, and that with shrinking resources (for both the NPS and the Trust) they have to question whether this project is the best one to undertake. I suggest that you contact Stephen Haller for further clarification."

Suddenly less optimistic, we leave messages for Steve Haller, the Museum of San Francisco, and talk to the Oakland Museum. Coincidentally, Carl Nolte from the Chronicle calls to check in. We give him an update.

It seems that political influence (or a lot of money) is needed to aid our Presidio proposal.

February 4, 2003: Jane Cryan suggests contacting Amy Meyer (on the Presidio Trust's Board of Directors) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (who as mayor designated Jane's former shack domicile a city landmark). Ms. Meyer is very sympathetic to the shacks' plight and says she'll see what she can do. WNP faxes her the situation to date.

February 5, 2003: Steve Haller from the NPS calls back, expresses his hope something can be done to save the shacks, but refers me to Rich Weideman to get any "official opinion" the Park Service has on moving the shacks to the Presidio.

February 7, 2003: Rich Weideman calls, and is by far the most knowledgeable person we've talked to about our proposal. He explains that the two "Goldie" shacks the Presidio have are planned to be moved into a courtyard behind the rehabilitated Visitor's Center (Building 102); that the NPS technically has ownership of the Goldie shacks and that there really isn't any appropriate space for additional shacks in NPS-run space ("Area A") in the Presidio. He cites further obstacles, such as the Presidio being a National Historic site and the difficulty in adding structures. (Note: Most people don't know that the shacks aren't designated as "structures", but as "artifacts", so this problem could be worked around.) He acknowledges that if the Presidio Trust alloted space for new shacks in "Area B", something could conceivably be worked out to have the Goldie shacks join the Kirkham shacks.

Right now there isn't a dime allocated to moving the Goldie shacks to behind the Visitor's Center, and it's just the plan. Rich wonders how the Goldie shacks bucked the bureaucracy to be located in the Presidio back when the military had jurisdiction, and finds the answer himself: "I guess what the general wants, the general gets."

This is our new battle cry, and our mission is now to get enough generals to concur that the shacks would be terrific in the Presidio.

More on the Kirkham street homes and earthquake shacks in Streetwise!

Images: 1) 4331 Kirkham Street, September 2002 (WNP photo); 2) 4329 Kirkham Street (WNP photo).

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Page launched 1 Sept 2002; Updated 9 Feb 2003