New mural vandalized day after Great Highway shut down to cars
The community group, Friends of Ocean Beach Park, and the artist say they won't let it discourage them and they will repair it. People who frequent the area, like Jim Kirk, noticed the tagging.
"I actually used to go to Playland when I was a little boy," Kirk said while looking at the mural of Playland by the Sea. "It's just beautiful, she portrayed the whole thing, the cliff house, and someone came and graffitied over the whole thing."
Kirk has spent his life in San Francisco, the new mural reminded him of his childhood.
"Playland was where the Safeway was down there that whole thing was all Playland," Kirk said. "It was like the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk."
It closed in 1972, but the mural brought it back to life.
Kirk says he saw the artist, Emily Fromm, paint it and he was disheartened to see it had been tagged.
"That's my first thought," Kirk said. "Maybe it's someone against the park but regardless it's just uncalled for."
Friday was the first day a two-mile stretch of the Great Highway was closed down to cars for good. Crews have already started the transition of the space between Lincoln Avenue and Sloat Boulevard into the city's newest park.
Back in November of 2024, 55% of San Franciscans voted "Yes" on Proposition K to transition the space, but many people who live nearby didn't support the proposition, including Kirk.
"I'm not really for the park either myself," said Kirk. "I lived here my whole life and I like having the Great Highway to drive on. I feel like we need it for the traffic and for the emergency workers, firetrucks, ambulances, the coastguard uses it if somebody needs help out on the beach. I feel like we need the highway."
Sunset Resident Seth Rosenblatt disagrees with Kirk. He still rides his bike with a sign of his support for Prop K.
"People keep forgetting that although two-thirds of The Sunset voted against K that means a third of us voted for it," said Rosenblatt about the closure of the Great Highway. "This is really going to be an incredible thing, not just for recreation but people are going to come out here in a way that they haven't since we had Playland at the beach. It's going to be an economic engine that people are not expecting."
Rosenblatt stopped to take a picture of the vandalism. He says it's disappointing, but he doesn't think it was in defiance of the park.
"I would be surprised if it was related," said Rosenblatt. "The people who have turned their 'No on K' support into recalling Joel Engardio have been using what I call fact-free arguments but I don't think they would tag something like this."
Kirk believes there should be a middle ground between having only a park, or only a highway.
"My thought is that they could have both," said Kirk. "They have enough room up here where they could have two lanes of traffic and then they could create a park on the west side. I think that would be a good comprise."
The organization Friends of Ocean Beach Park and the artist plan to restore the mural and put a protective coating on it so that if it gets vandalized again, it can be cleaned off more easily.
"While I do not know why the mural was vandalized, since the markings were random and unspecific, it is likely tied to the conversion of the Great Highway into a park, a very divisive change which took effect the day of the defacement," Fromm said in a statement. "However, the mural is intended as a gift for the community, regardless of that change, and defacing my art has no bearing on this voter-approved measure. "
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Charlie Kirk names JD Vance as guiding light for young conservatives, but says GOP must deliver on promises
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk points to Vice President JD Vance as the conservative candidate to beat among young voters in the 2028 presidential election, should he run. During an interview at last weekend's Turning Point Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, Kirk said he believes Vance will be the candidate that young Americans look up to as the future leader of the conservative movement once President Donald Trump leaves office. "I think JD Vance fits that mold really well," the political activist said when asked by Fox News Digital who the guiding light for young conservative voters in 2028 will be. I'm A Young Democrat And I've Got To Admit My Party Is Losing 2025 While Looking At 2028 Kirk, whose mission with Tpusa is to educate and engage young voters and students on conservative principles, named several qualities which allow the vice president to connect with younger people. "He can operate seamlessly in a podcast environment," he said, remarking that Vance has a "wonderful family." Read On The Fox News App Kirk also mentioned the 40-year-old Vance, the third-youngest VP in the nation's history, relates to younger Americans because of his age, while acknowledging Vance hasn't committed to a presidential bid. "He's the youngest vice president in quite some time, one of the youngest in American history," he said. Charlie Kirk Warns 'Mamdani Effect' Metastasizing In The Democratic Party With 'Grievance-based Politics' Beyond Vance, Kirk stressed that any future leader of the conservative movement needs to address the top concerns of young people in America today, namely the high cost of living. "But outside of the candidate, we need to actually be able to deliver and go to the American people and go to the younger voters and say, 'Here's how your life was, and now it's easier for you to own a home. You don't have to rent for the rest of your life. It's easier to get married, easier to have children.'" Elsewhere in the interview, Kirk warned Republicans that the GOP may lose the young voters that helped Trump win the White House in 2024 if they don't deliver on cost-of-living issues. "The biggest threat to the Republican Party in 2028 is if we do not deliver on our promises of [home]ownership for the next generation," Kirk told Fox News Digital. "The youth vote didn't just vote for Donald Trump. Young voters put Donald Trump in the White House." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture The TPUSA founder also stressed that the future conservative leader would have to deliver on the major issues conservatives of all ages are focused on. "We have to deliver on immigration, on the deportations. We have to deliver, I think, on managing the size and scope of the federal government from cost savings and from cutting spending," he said. Kirk mentioned that he "would love" for Vance to be the man that takes up the conservative mantle, referring to himself as a "big JD guy." However, he noted that it's more important that, whoever the candidate is, they are solid on core conservative issues. "I say, 'Guys, if we don't deliver, it doesn't matter who you run, because then we're going to have big problems,'" he article source: Charlie Kirk names JD Vance as guiding light for young conservatives, but says GOP must deliver on promises
New York Post
4 days ago
- New York Post
Charlie Kirk says JD Vance is a guiding light for future conservative leaders
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk points to Vice President JD Vance as the conservative candidate to beat among young voters in the 2028 presidential election, should he run. During an interview at last weekend's Turning Point Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, Kirk said he believes Vance will be the candidate that young Americans look up to as the future leader of the conservative movement once President Donald Trump leaves office. 'I think JD Vance fits that mold really well,' the political activist said when asked by Fox News Digital who the guiding light for young conservative voters in 2028 will be. Kirk, whose mission with TPUSA is to educate and engage young voters and students on conservative principles, named several qualities which allow the vice president to connect with younger people. 'He can operate seamlessly in a podcast environment,' he said, remarking that Vance has a 'wonderful family.' 3 Kirk said he believes Vance will be the candidate that young Americans look up to as the future leader of the conservative movement. AFP via Getty Images Kirk also mentioned the 40-year-old Vance, the third-youngest VP in the nation's history, relates to younger Americans because of his age, while acknowledging Vance hasn't committed to a presidential bid. 'He's the youngest vice president in quite some time, one of the youngest in American history,' he said. Beyond Vance, Kirk stressed that any future leader of the conservative movement needs to address the top concerns of young people in America today, namely the high cost of living. 3 Kirk also mentioned the 40-year-old Vance, the third-youngest VP in the nation's history, relates to younger Americans because of his age. AP 'But outside of the candidate, we need to actually be able to deliver and go to the American people and go to the younger voters and say, 'Here's how your life was, and now it's easier for you to own a home. You don't have to rent for the rest of your life. It's easier to get married, easier to have children.'' Elsewhere in the interview, Kirk warned Republicans that the GOP may lose the young voters that helped Trump win the White House in 2024 if they don't deliver on cost-of-living issues. 'The biggest threat to the Republican Party in 2028 is if we do not deliver on our promises of [home]ownership for the next generation,' Kirk told Fox News Digital. 'The youth vote didn't just vote for Donald Trump. Young voters put Donald Trump in the White House.' 3 Kirk warned Republicans that the GOP may lose the young voters that helped Trump win the White House in 2024 if they don't deliver on cost-of-living issues. Getty Images The TPUSA founder also stressed that the future conservative leader would have to deliver on the major issues conservatives of all ages are focused on. 'We have to deliver on immigration, on the deportations. We have to deliver, I think, on managing the size and scope of the federal government from cost savings and from cutting spending,' he said. Kirk mentioned that he 'would love' for Vance to be the man that takes up the conservative mantle, referring to himself as a 'big JD guy.' However, he noted that it's more important that, whoever the candidate is, they are solid on core conservative issues. 'I say, 'Guys, if we don't deliver, it doesn't matter who you run, because then we're going to have big problems,'' he said.
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco sets parking limit on RVs to clear vehicle dwellers off streets
People living in RVs in San Francisco will soon be barred from parking longer than two hours on all city streets unless they get a permit, a move that critics say has caused significant distress among the hundreds of RV dwellers who live in the city. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week gave initial approval to a law from Mayor Daniel Lurie that would impose strict two-hour parking limits for oversized vehicles to deal with the hundreds of people living in vehicles on city streets. The board voted to approve the plan in a 9-2 vote, with Supervisors Jackie Fielder and Shamann Walton voting no. Lurie introduced the legislation in June as a way to tackle the proliferation of vehicle dwellers in San Francisco with a combination of increased funding, enforcement and outreach. For years, San Franciscans have seen people sleeping in vehicles and in RVs amid a dire housing affordability crisis. The mayor's plan will impose a two-hour parking limit for oversized vehicles on all city streets, with the exception of commercial vehicles parked in industrial areas. Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who sponsored the legislation on behalf of the mayor, said the legislation also includes several additions made during negotiations with other supervisors and the mayor. The law will include a refuge permit system, which will allow people living in vehicles to apply for a renewable 6-month permit, contingent on compliance with community rules around such things as waste disposal and neighborly behavior, as well as ongoing work with housing support services. People living in RVs will also have access to a buyback program that will provide financial support for those willing to relinquish their vehicles in exchange for aid toward securing permanent housing. Both programs will allow the city to track RV dwellers in order to better provide them with services, Melgar said. 'In a city as wealthy as ours, I think it's on us to build a system to support people to success, and not pretend that by leaving them to be out on the streets, we are doing the progressive thing,' Melgar said. The board's approval on Tuesday highlights how the alliance between a moderate majority on the Board of Supervisors and the mayor's office has significantly changed City Hall politics. Just last year, Mayor London Breed was blocked from making minor changes to the city's parking rules by a progressive board of supervisors that often clashed with her. Now, a year later, Lurie has a moderate board working with him to push his agenda, having already passed laws to address the city's fentanyl crisis and permitting issues. Melgar said Lurie's legislation is 'great progress' over what was proposed by Breed. The new policy is expected to go into effect this fall. Despite her reservations about the plan, supervisor Connie Chan said she ultimately supported it because the mayor showed he is working in good faith to get RV dwellers housed and not just taking punitive action against them. 'San Francisco voters want us to deliver solutions with public dollars, and our city's most vulnerable cannot wait for the perfect policy,' Chan said. 'Mayor Lurie and his team and especially Supervisor Melgar have demonstrated in good faith that they have a thoughtful approach and compassionate solutions.' But supervisor Walton was sharp in his criticism of the mayor's legislation. 'More RVs than shelter builds equals an ineffective and impossible plan… a plan to fail,' Walton said. ' T his would be an attack on people trying to have a shelter in this expensive city, and they would lose their only homes.' For those living in RVs, the prospect of having nowhere to park legally has been stressful. During a walk near Lake Merced on Tuesday, San Francisco native Bill Russo told the Chronicle he lives in an RV because he wanted to be completely 'self-sufficient.' Because he has secured a disabled person license plate, Russo only has to move his RV for street cleaning every two weeks, as opposed to the every four hours as required of other RVs in the area. But Russo said he will be subject to the new restriction and will likely receive a temporary special permit allowing him to park in the city for only six more months. 'I'm counting on the delays and the fact that this won't be executed,' Russo said Meanwhile Devin Plant, a nearby RV dweller who said he has been parked in the city for just over a month, is mainly worried about what will happen to community members who don't have a way out. RV dwellers are 'going to deal with harsher conditions,' Plant said, and will 'end up under a bridge." "People don't understand this is what happens,' he said. Plant plans to leave the city this week for a guest services job he has lined up in Yosemite National Park.
