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R  ckridgeNews

THE

www.rockridge.org

VOL 36  •  NO. 10  •  ISSUE  NO. 380   •   NOVEMBER 6, 2020               CIRCULATION: 5,800 Residences; 200 Businesses

Sponsored by the Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC)  •  4900 Shattuck Ave., PO Box 22504, Oakland  94609

Is Your Neighborhood Prepared for Whatever Comes Next?
by Skip Fogarty
W

ith another destructive and
smoky season of wildfire
recently upon us, Bay Area residents
live with the constant awareness of
lurking disaster. No one knows when
the next “Big One” will strike, but we
all know it’s out there.
With many confined at home by the
pandemic, now might be a good time
to start to organize (or re-organize)
your neighborhood’s readiness to
respond to an earthquake or wildfire.
You’ve heard the mantra “make a
plan” — but where to start? Let’s look
at one neighborhood’s history with
disaster preparedness to gain some
insights.
Still reeling from the Loma Prieta

quake in 1989 and the
1991 East Bay Hills
Firestorm, longtime
Rockridge resident
Louise Comfort says
she and a cohort of
neighbors on Golden
Gate Avenue realized
they needed to get
better organized.
“Back-to-back disas-
ters was more than a
wake-up call,” remem-
bers Comfort, who lost
her home in the fire.
“We needed to take
action.”

Golden Gate Avenue resident
Michael Black surveys the
neighborhood’s shared
emergency supply locker.
Emergency Preparedness, see page 4

Staircases of Rockridge
by Bill Kaufner
D
Nov 19 — RCPC
Virtual Town Hall
id you know that east of Upper
Broadway there are public
paths and staircases, signed with
romantic names (Verona Path);
visually descriptive names (Ridgeway
Path, Buena Vista); names that mys-
tify (Gando Path, Ratondo Path); and
walkways that provide fabulous views
of the bridges, bay and hills? All told,
there are 16 or more of these dotted
along Upper Rockridge.
Most are in good condition,
although a few may require the adven-
turer to mind winter debris and loose
handrails. The good news is these
pathways provide the intrepid roamer
with a myriad of architectural styles
and landscape designs to ponder —
not to mention the exceptional health
benefits of vertical-climbing aerobic
activity.
Have an Idea to Beautify
Your Neighborhood?
— By Robin McDonell, RCPC Vice Chair
Have an idea for a neighbor-
hood-improvement project but
not sure where to begin or how best
to fund it? The Rockridge Com-
munity Planning Council (RCPC)
is hosting a virtual Town Hall on
November 19, at 7:30pm, to propose
a new round of the Kevin Faughnan
Community Grants Program. Join
your neighbors at the virtual gath-
ering where RCPC Board members
will present the program: What
it is; how it works; who is eligible;
and how to apply. The RCPC Board
voted to set aside $5,000 of the pro-
ceeds from the Rockridge Kitchen
RCPC Grants, see page 11
Staircases, see page 14

Prospect Stairway on
Rockridge Blvd. South


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page 2
NOVEMBER 2020

RCPC Welcomes New Board Members
T

he Rockridge Community Planning Council welcomes two new board
members: Annette Floystrup and Kirk Peterson, who join the ten current
board members. (M.C.) Mary Catherine Haug retired from the board last
month to devote herself to “exercise; domestic projects; her two cats, Dexter
and Jack; and the California Revels.” The board and the community thank her
for her time and contributions.

The Rockridge News was founded March 1986
by Don Kinkead, and is published monthly (except
August).  It is sponsored by the Rockridge
Community Planning Council (RCPC), a nonprofit
public benefit organization founded to: preserve
and enhance the unique character of the Rockridge
neighborhood; promote the health, safety and
quality of life of its residents; furnish a forum for
community involvement; and provide leadership
and representation of neighborhood interests.
Rockridge News Production
Anna L. Marks ........................ Editor & Layout Artist
Jo Ellis...................................................Assistant Editor
Judith Doner Berne.......................Eyes on Rockridge
Susan Montauk................................Business Manager
RCPC Board of Directors, 2020-21
Leonora Sea..........................................................Chair
Robin McDonnell..................................... Vice-Chair
Casey Farmer......................................... Co-Secretary
Michelle Boyd........................................ Co-Secretary
Ronnie Spitzer...............................................Treasurer
David Garcia, Stuart Flashman, Annette Floystrup,
Matt Levy, Eric Lombardo, Andrew Masalin, Kirk
Peterson
Annette Floystrup
Kirk Peterson
A dual citizen of Denmark and the
United States, Floystrup immigrated
with her family to Oakland at the age
of five. She grew up on 63rd Street,
at Hillegass, when Rockridge was a
working-class neighborhood, and
attended Peralta, Claremont, Oakland
Tech, and UC Berkeley. Her family
was politically active during the ’60s,
and she experienced being tear-gassed
more times than she can count. After
10 years in Berkeley and a year abroad
in Denmark, Floystrup moved back to
Rockridge in 1981 where she now lives
with her husband, Ben Hong, and their
two cats.
As a self-taught PC Consultant
specializing in computer workplace
ergonomics, she was asked to speak at
Silicon Valley’s Homebrew Computer
Club by Lee Felsenstein, designer of the
first portable computer, the Osborne 1.
Floystrup worked on creating a
permanent home for the Rockridge
Branch Library — from concept to
completion — even contributing her
talents to the architectural design
committee. As co-chair of the Rock-
ridge DVD Project, she helped to raise
$17,000 to increase the library’s collec-
tion. Floystrup also writes content for
every RCPC Kitchen Tour brochure. n
Kirk Peterson was born in 1951 on Pill
Hill in Oakland, at which time he also
inherited Italian citizenship — and
has been hereabouts since. He studied
at UC Berkeley and the Rhode Island
School of Design, and has been prac-
ticing architecture locally, on College
Avenue, for a few decades.
Peterson engages in civic activities
including volunteer work for the
Oakland Museum and serving on the
Landmarks Preservation Advisory
Board. He has had project-related
interactions with RCPC for many
years and decided it was time to
become more active.
“I love the Oakland cityscape and
its neighborhoods, the eclectic archi-
tecture, and of course the interesting
sorts of people we share the city with.
My wife and I have lived in our ‘loft
space’ in our storefront for eight
years, and are currently transitioning
into the new house and ADU in the
backyard. We really look forward to
sharing our home again once it’s safe.”
Peterson enjoys getting together
with his extended family. His mother
Aïda lives a block away from him
at Merrill Gardens, and Kirk has a
musician son in Baltimore, and a
fashion-designer daughter in LA. n
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org
Contacting The Rockridge News
Are there community issues you’d like to see
covered in The Rockridge News? Have questions
about newsletter distribution? Want to volunteer
to be a Rockridge News block captain? Want to
write a letter to the Editor?
Articles and letters submitted for publication
should be emailed to the editor. All submissions
are limited to 600 words max, and must include
the author’s name, phone number, email address,
and city or neighborhood of residence.
All submissions are subject to editing for clarity
and brevity. To submit content, or for reprints of
an article, contact: editor@rockridge.org.
Newsletter Subscriptions
To subscribe to The Rockridge News, send your
check for $20, payable to RCPC with “Rockridge
News” noted on the memo line.
Mail payment to:
RCPC, 4900 Shattuck Ave.,
PO Box 22504, Oakland, 94609
Display Advertising
Deadline for December issue: November 19, 2020
Advertising rates are $28/column inch. Six-month
pre-pay rate available. For display ads, call Jo Ellis
at 510-653-3210 (after noon), or email joellis1@
hotmail.com. Email Susan Montauk at smontauk@
gmail.com for information regarding classified ads.
The Rockridge News reserves the right to refuse any
articles, display ads, or classified ads.
Views expressed in articles accepted for publication do
not necessarily reflect those of The Rockridge News,
its editor, or the board of directors of the Rockridge
Community Planning Council.


THE

page 3
NOVEMBER 2020

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CCA Dorm Sold for
Affordable Housing
U
John Wagers’ Legacy, Continued
Thanks to Jo Ellis and The Rock-
ridge News for her informative
and loving memorial for longtime
neighborhood activist, John Wagers.
Jo Ellis recorded many of John’s inter-
ests and pursuits, but didn’t include
his longtime involvement with North
Oakland Voters Alliance (NOVA),
which is how we came to know him.
NOVA (initially the Ad Hoc
Committee to Save the Old Merritt
College Building) formed in the mid-
1980s to save the nine-acre former
University High School building and
site on MLK Jr. Way. John was one
of the original steering committee
members, along with the late Henry
Johnson, Mattie Jones, Ceci Kilmar-
tin, and the two of us.
The controversial strip mall project
was fought for years, as NOVA sued
the City of Oakland in Federal court
over “demolition by neglect” and
successfully placed the site, often
referred to as the “Birthplace of the
Black Panther Party,” on the National
Register of Historic Places.
NOVA, for several years, held
monthly public meetings at nearby
churches and schools, and distributed
newsletters free to households (similar
to RCPC), in the areas surrounding
the campus, now referred to as the
Bushrod neighborhood. At its zenith,
NOVA published 3,000 newsletters/
month. We funded the newsletter and
the lawsuit with money raised from
donations, garage sales, and money
returned by the City of Oakland to
NOVA, after the City settled our law-
suit and secured the building, backing
away from the demolition path going
forward, pursuing an adaptive re-use
strategy instead.
John plunged in, attending every
meeting, promoting the cause
wherever he went (and he was a
great meeting go-er), and personally
supervising the delivery of hundreds
of newsletters in his neighborhood
around Ayala.
Success has a thousand mothers,
failure none. A recent profile of
lawyer Fred Hertz in The Rockridge
News mentioned his support for
the rescue and rehabilitation of Old
Merritt, now Children’s Hospital
Research Institute (CHORI), the
North Oakland Senior Center, and
Dover St. Park. Hertz, along with
other Oaklanders, supported our
efforts, yet it was John Wagers and
NOVA who led the effort. Victory
wasn’t assured until the election of
Sheila Jordan in 1991, who ran on
a platform that included saving the
campus. n
Robert Brokl & Alfred Crofts
pper Broadway Advocates (UBA)
is delighted that the City will
buy and repurpose California
College of the Art’s (CCA) dorm
building for transitional and perma-
nent housing, plus on-site support
services, for unhoused Oaklanders.
Our city needs much more of this.
We hope all of Rockridge will join
us in welcoming the families and
seniors who will be our new neigh-
bors on Broadway.
The sale is scheduled to close in
December. The building will then be
refurbished, and move-in is slated
for in March 2021. At that time we’d
like to help acquaint residents with
neighborhood resources, activities
and benefits, and continue to extend
what hospitality we can as time goes
on. We will be seeking ideas from
their social services staff and the
residents themselves. Others in the
neighborhood may also be interested.
With the dorm gone from the
project, the revised plans for the
CCA site include only 10 percent
for “moderate” (not low) income
housing. UBA continues to advocate
for truly affordable units, along
with sensible density that the neigh-
borhood can absorb, and green and
attractive architecture that harmo-
nizes with Rockridge. n
L. Correll, UBA Steering Committee
Rockridge Community Planning
Council — Land Use Committee
RCPC
Due to space limitations, the
November 28 meeting report is only
available online at rockridge.org.
The December meeting of the Land
Use Committee will be held on
Wednesday, December 23, at 7:30pm,
online via Zoom. An agenda will be
posted at https://rockridge.org the week
prior. Those interested in attending
should rsvp via email to landuse@
rockridge.org or call the chair at (510)
652-5373 for information on joining the
meeting via computer or phone.


THE
page 4
NOVEMBER 2020

Emergency Preparedness, from front page
ahead of time, so we would be ready
to respond with collective action.”
Comfort, who is a disaster manage-
ment expert, author and university
professor, says there are several simple
steps to get started making your
neighborhood safer. First, identify a
leader, or better yet, form a small team
to organize meetings (Zoom calls work
fine), and create a neighborhood roster
of all residents. Rosters should note
children by name and age, pets with
names and descriptions, neighbors’
applicable emergency skills, medical
needs, mobility issues, and out-of-area
contacts.
“Preparedness is an ongoing
process. You need to have regular
meetings to keep everyone focused.
You have to practice essential skills
like first aid and CPR to be ready to
help,” Comfort says.
Keeping in touch and having reg-
ular get-togethers is key. “When our
block captain moved away a few years
ago, we lost some momentum,” Com-
fort reports. But now a new group
of Golden Gate neighbors, about 25
households, is in motion.
They’ve refreshed their roster to
include many new residents. They’ve
held preliminary meetings about roles
and responsibilities. They’ve inven-
toried their shared emergency supply
locker including first-aid supplies, a
300-foot fire-hose, rescue tools, and
communication gear. They’re plan-
ning wildfire evacuation strategies
and budgeting for needed supplies
and equipment.

Shortly thereafter, several home-
owners “on the curve” — as neighbors
refer to their stretch of Golden Gate
— undertook rigorous Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT)
training. CERT was originally
developed by the Los Angeles Fire
Department and is now sponsored by
the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
The purpose of CERT is to train
people to care for their families and
neighbors during and after a disaster.
The likelihood is, in the midst of
a disaster, the fire department and
other responders won’t be able to
answer most calls for hours, or maybe
days.
“That training was an ambitious
way to start,” Comfort says. “But it’s
critical to think about potential risks
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Competition Drives Price in October
Closing date
BR
BA

Address                                Original price         List price
DOM
Selling price
10/05/2019
3
2

5340 Broadway Terrace         $795,000
        $795,000
   7
$940,000
10/06/2019
2
1.5

5132 Lawton Avenue           $1,100,000
      $1,100,000
   4
$1,275,000
10/09/2019
2
1
         5701 Broadway                     $1,595,000
      $1,195,000
  91
$1,202,000
10/14/2019
3
2

6110 Colby St                           $995,000
        $995,000
   8
$1,350,000
10/15/2019
2
2
         5559 Kales Ave                      $1,000,000
      $1,000,000
   7
$1,635,000
10/16/2019
2
1

6344 Telegraph Ave                $650,000
        $650,000
  10
$855,000
Homes sold in October closed 18% over the asking price on average.
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The Golden Gate response team’s
longtime leader was Marv Tripp. A
retired OUSD educator, Tripp moved
to Davis several years ago.
“I’m delighted to hear the block is
re-organizing around this purpose,”
Tripp says. “Putting the team together
was a blessing to me. After the fire,
we were training and practicing
regularly. But we were also creating
stronger bonds as a community.”
Oakland has several programs
supporting neighborhood readiness.
Communities of Oakland Respond to
Emergencies (CORE), was originated
following Loma Prieta by the city’s
fire department. But this intensive
training program (comparable to
CERT) lapsed a couple of years ago
because of staffing and budget chal-
lenges. (Good news: CORE is now
restaffed and aiming to restart online
trainings as soon as January 2021.)
Maybe the easiest starting point
is with Oakland Community Pre-
paredness & Response (OCP&R),
part of the Oakland Firesafe Council.
OCP&R Program Manager Doug
Mosher says: “We think of ourselves
as ‘CORE-light.’ We offer one-hour
online workshops and lots of check-
lists and guides on our website about
strengthening a neighborhood’s resil-
ience.” (See OCP&R info on next page).
Mosher has been involved with
emergency preparedness for 20 years
and is a leader of his neighborhood
group in the hills. “Even during
shelter-in-place, one or two motivated
residents can get the ball rolling by
identifying neighborhood boundaries,
telling neighbors about the benefits
of getting organized, and starting a
roster.” He pointed out social media
platforms like Nextdoor are especially
useful for organizing.
Getting your home and family
prepared is something that you can
start today. Make a “go-bag” for every
family member including pets. Iden-
tify an alternate place to meet if you
can’t get home. Program phones with
a mutual out-of-area contact. Store
food and water.
Taking a few small steps like this
puts you on track to staying safe as a
family and as a neighborhood. n


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page 5
NOVEMBER 2020

Jump Start Your Preparedness Plan
A good first step toward getting better prepared
for an earthquake, wildfire, power outage, or other
disaster is to reach out to the Oakland Community
Preparedness & Response (OCP&R) program. An
offering of the Oakland Firesafe Council (www.oak-
landfiresafecouncil.org), OCP&R provides awareness
training, on-line workshops, videos, guides, and other support to help you
and your neighborhood respond to an emergency.
Funded by grants from CAL FIRE and the California Fire Foundation,
OCP&R teaches you how to:
• Build an organized and active neighborhood group
• Create an evacuation plan
• Understand emergency alerts and notifications
• Pack your Go-Bag and Stay-Box
• Harden your home and community against earthquake and wildfire

OCP&R walks you through the most important aspects of preparing
for and responding to disasters and disruptions that can strike at any
time. Please visit www.oaklandcpandr.org/prepare. If your community or
neighborhood group would like a one-hour OCP&R workshop covering the
basics, email ocpr@oaklandfiresafecouncil.org. Sign up for weekly OCP&R
eNewsletters for notices, tips and techniques at www.bit.ly/33c1wXK.  n

Rockridge Library Welcomes New Branch Manager
A

fter working as a branch manager
at various libraries throughout
the Oakland Library system and
serving as “acting” manager at the
Rockridge, Montclair, and the Dimond
branch libraries, Sandra Toscano is
happy to be back at Rockridge to serve
as it’s new Branch Manager.
Toscano’s first position as a librar-
ian was with the Brooklyn branch
of the Oakland Public Library as the
Spanish Language Librarian. She has
worked at the Oakland Public Library
for over 20 years, eventually moving
on to become a Children’s Librarian at
the Brookfield and Montclair branch
libraries.
“Opportunity brought me to work
at Rockridge. In 2012 I got a taste of
what it was like to work at Rockridge.
Pat Lichter, the previous branch
manager was temporarily re-assigned
to the 81st street branch, and I was
assigned to fill in for her while she
was away,” says Toscano.
“I enjoyed the library, the staff, the
community, and the very active com-
munity groups in the area. I kept my
Rockridge Branch Manager, Sandra Toscano
eyes set and focused on Rockridge for
the next available opportunity. Now,
with the retirement of Paul Schiesser,
I had a chance to pursue this oppor-
tunity.”
Born and raised in East Oakland,
Sandra Toscano genuinely loves
Oakland — the city and the residents.
At the age of 17, she received her very
first Oakland Public Library card at
the Rockridge Branch Library when it
was located in a trailer next to Clare-
mont Middle School.
“I am really excited to be back per-
manently, this time, and prepared to
continue delivering the level of service
that the Rockridge community has
been accustomed to receiving.” n


THE
page 6
NOVEMBER 2020

Rockridge Redux
These days, local businesses are facing all sorts of challenges and
obstacles to stay afloat. As a way to support our local merchants,
we will continue to highlight them within the pages of this newsletter.
We encourage our readers to support them when looking for goods and
services.
Bagel Black Friday
Boichik Bagels will be celebrating its first full year in
business on Friday, November 27. Be sure to stop by as
everyone who comes to visit will receive a free bagel.
Pavé Fine Jewelry
Founded in 1983 by award-winning jewelry
designer Michael Endlich, the Rockridge
store has been deeply connected to genera-
tions of families in the local community.
As of this summer, they adopted an
appointment-only model that guarantees a
more intimate experience and ensures the safety of clients and team mem-
bers. As an additional precaution, all jewelry pieces are sanitized after a
client has tried them on, so visitors can always feel safe and comfortable
shopping in person. As a result, and despite the current health crisis, the
store has added team members to its staff. For an appointment, call (510)
547-7000, or email customercare@pavefinejewelry.com.
Merchants in Motion

What’s Happening At
Levant Rug?
by Judith Doner Berne
It’s been a Safeway, The Levant Rug
Company, and now, the building at
5450 College Avenue, one of a few with
its own parking lot, could become a
Red Cross Blood Donor Center.
According to Oakland City Planner
Ed Manasse, in order to do so, the Red
Cross will first need a conditional use
permit from the City of Oakland. He
stated that as of October 23 “we have
nothing on file, they need both a zoning
clearance and a business license. They
can’t just open without talking to us.”
“A long-term authorization for a
medical or administrative use without
a strong draw for pedestrians would
be problematic,” said Stuart Flashman,
who heads the Rockridge Community
Planning Council’s Land Use Commit-
tee. “A two- to five-year lease may be
okay given COVID-19 and the current
economic situation.” The committee is
recommending that the Red Cross and
the property owner present their case
at an upcoming RCPC board meeting.
“We’re going to be responsible just
like everybody else,” said Matt Jones,
Real Estate Project Manager for the
National American Red Cross. “We
would bring in more foot and car
traffic [than retail would]. We have a
pretty solid base of donors. We’re only
going to improve the neighborhood.”
Peter Pap, a nationally recognized
dealer and appraiser, took over The
Levant building and the rug and
carpet collection in 2019 following the
death of longtime owner, Albert Kes-
hishian. Pap’s lease is up in December
and he hopes to relocate along College
Avenue. ”I’ve developed a real bond
with Rockridge,” Pap said. “It’s
important for me to continue a
business that started in 1927.”

Ain’t Normal Cafe opened late last month in the location previously occupied by Bica
(College Ave and Miles), where they sell specialty coffee along with coffee machines,
grinders and other supplies. Founder Faunus Lucas also operates a coffee catering
business.

Ben & Nick’s at 5612 College Ave., is closed for upgrades and improvements; and has
applied for a transfer of ownership (according to the signs in front).

Bill McNally’s, founded in 1933, is now
featuring live music to entertain outdoor
diners at 5352 College Avenue.
Fort Point Rockridge is finally open in the
location formally occupied by Trappist
Provisions. Neighbors can now order to-go
cans and bottles at 6309 College Avenue (at
63rd Street).
Healthy Spot Rockridge is now open (3206
College Ave, at Alcatraz) for pet supplies, pet grooming, and dog daycare services.

The Red Cross closed its Oakland
blood donor site at 3901 Broadway
ahead of its lease being up in December.
Blood donations can now be made at
its offices at 6230 Claremont Avenue,
which houses its disaster, armed forces,
and international services; training;
and volunteerism. n

Namastey Patio is moving into the space left vacant by La Boulangerie (5416 College
Ave.), and will be serving beer and wine along with Indian fare (according to the signs
in front).

The Point at Rockridge assisted living facility has re-opened its indoor tours.


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page 7
NOVEMBER 2020

Thanksgiving Day Meal Tradition Continues

from local people that the meal can
take place.
by Monte McClain
F
Volunteers Needed
Have some extra time? We will
need volunteers to help in our
socially-distanced, anti-contagion,
protocol-observing effort, to provide
this holiday meal. We’ll be looking
for help with cooking (at distance),
preparing the site, serving, and clean-
ing up — all done with the utmost
attention to safety measures.
or more than 40 years, the College
Avenue Presbyterian Church
(CAPC) has been hosting a
neighborhood-empowered annual
Thanksgiving Day Community Meal.
Faced with the current challenges
of the COVID-19 pandemic, and
reflecting on the positive energy
generated each year by our col-
laboration, we recognize that such
relational bridge-building is needed
now more than ever.
With this in mind, we have
decided to radically adapt our
traditional community meal to the
circumstances of our “new normal”
and we’ll be providing a to-go meal
on Thanksgiving Day from 11am to
noon at our campus location at 5951
College Avenue. As this is always a
joint project with diverse members of
our Rockridge Community, we want
to invite our neighbors to help by
involving congregational members,
local merchants and residents.
In light of pandemic fatigue,
emotional exhaustion, and relational
distancing, it’s an opportunity for us
to gather as a community to respond
to the needs of those struggling with
hunger, solitude, and joblessness.
We’re adapting the meal to provide
150 to-go meals — free for anyone
that comes.
Donations of Money and Food are
Gratefully Accepted.
Visit the Thanksgiving Meal page
on the church website at www.
capcoakland.org/thanksgiving-meal
to sign up to volunteer, or to make
an electronic monetary donation; or
contact the church office at capc1@
sbcglobal.net, or (510) 658-3665. n
In past years, we’ve spent $4 for
each meal with all the fixings. That
means it takes roughly $1,500 to
make the whole thing possible. It’s
because of such annual donations
College Avenue
Repaving —
POSTPONED
by Matt Levy, RCPC Board Member
The repaving work along College
Avenue, including South of BART,
will be delayed until some point
in 2021. Originally slated for late
October 2020, the work was intended
to take place in two phases, with
the repaving between Broadway and
Ocean View in the first phase; and
Ocean View and Alcatraz in the
second. The work is also expected to
include the installation of bike lanes
and the upgrading of traffic signals at
various intersections.
The RCPC will stay abreast of the
situation, so look for more details on
this project in upcoming issues of The
Rockridge News. n


THE
page 8
NOVEMBER 2020

Rockridge Café Owner
Calls on Residents for
Support
by Judith Doner Berne
“T
he pandemic has uprooted the
financial conditions of our
fellow citizens and also our businesses.
I would ask Rockridge residents to
patronize the small businesses on
College Ave including the hard-hit
restaurants. Rockridge Café is fighting
for its survival…”
— Bill Chung, Rockridge Café owner
Molly Posner has been with the café for many years.
Avenue on a warm mid-October
afternoon. “But right now we are in a
big hurricane trying to find a place to
dock.” He purchased heat lamps but
decided against building a street patio
as many local eateries have done.
“Generally, five
outside tables have
been enough,” he
said. “Otherwise
you need to add
staff. I’m glad we didn’t do it.”
Early on, Chung applied for, and
was awarded, a Paycheck Protection
Program loan. Still, he had to cut
his staff of 20 in half and allot those
who remained to shorter shifts. “Four
of us — Robert Gay, Daniel Geary,
Marjie Flannagan, and myself — total
138 years here.” He also cut the café’s
business hours slightly, from 8am
to 2pm daily. With the resumption
of limited indoor service, he has
concerns for his employees’ safety.
“We will be able to hire additional
staff and give more hours to current
employees,” he said. “But it’s going to
take a lot of work.” He’s opted for a
soft re-opening to see how it goes.
When the now 76-year-old grand-
father of three opened the café in
1973, it was about half its present
size, and Chung was chef, front-of-
house manager, and server for its
first year. Then, “I hired an upstairs
apartment tenant to work at the
counter for an hour or two.” For 30
or so of those years, he was open
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
and for a time, he operated Pizzeria
Guglielmo down the street. But when
daughter Jenny, now an attorney, and
son Kevin, in high tech, graduated
from Cal Berkeley, he and his wife
Jean decided, “We didn’t have to
work so hard and maybe we would
last longer.”
Chung and Jean, whom he met in
Taiwan, married after only knowing
one another two weeks. They’ve
lived in Rockridge for 45 years.
“She’s a terrific cook,” he told me,
“but she doesn’t do any cooking in
the café.” Her role is to manage the
café’s finances. “Our kids went to
Chabot Elementary where both of us
spent time in classrooms and I was
vice-president of its PTA.” He also is
a past president of the College Avenue
Merchants Association.
That was the alarm sounded by
long-time Rockridge Café owner and
Rockridge resident Bill Chung in a
recent email to The Rockridge News.
He was responding to the reality, mir-
rored elsewhere, of how the pandemic
has overwhelmed small
businesses, bars, and
eateries from Rock-
ridge, Oakland to
Rockland, Maine.
After closing for three months,
Chung’s venerable breakfast and lunch
spot re-opened, following State and
Alameda County guidelines, for pre-
paid take-out, then outdoor dining,
and, as of October 26, indoor dining
utilizing one-quarter of its space.
“Before COVID, my business was
cruising along very nicely,” Chung
told me, as we sat at one of his hand-
ful of sidewalk tables at 5492 College
510.843.6400
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Rockridge Cafe, see next page


THE

page 9
NOVEMBER 2020

for outdoor service, saving a table
wasn’t practical. Rather than wait,
they headed down the street. “The
owner ran after us and took us to a
table, usually used by staff, that was
out in the back. So, we had lunch with
the garbage cans,” she happily relayed.
Rockridge Café was the platform
used by former District 1 Coun-
cilwoman and Vice Mayor Marge
Gibson Haskell to get together with
constituents. Haskell, who served
from 1979 to 1993, was there “before
meetings, after meetings. Everybody
knew where it was. It was a neigh-
borhood hangout.” But no, she rarely
went for a family meal. “I never get to
talk to you if we go there,” she quoted
her late husband, Arthur Haskell.
Gary Lucks calls the Rockridge
Café “a community institution” which
he has frequented since moving
to Rockridge in 1993. “I enjoy the
reliably delicious food, consider it to
be the best breakfast place in North
Oakland, and appreciate it as a venue
for community connection where my
friends and family gather. It is also my
local ‘go-to’ place for business break-
fasts with clients and colleagues.”
He and his son Dylan (a remote
freshman at Oakland Tech High
School), often accompanied by their
golden retriever Gus, either get
take-out or dine outside during the
pandemic. Dylan’s favorite is the
corn beef hash and his dad is partial
to the “Beyond Burger” with Swiss
cheese and mushrooms. However,
“I’m not ready to eat inside at any
restaurant” until vaccines are widely
distributed or we have proven, effec-
tive anti-viral remedies,” Lucks said.
On its website, the Rockridge Café
lists a number of celebrity guests
including singer-songwriter John
Legend, figure skater Kristi Yamagu-
chi, basketball star Andre Iguodala,
baseball star Reggie Jackson, and
actors James Avery and Carl Weath-
ers. “But we always feel like this is a
local restaurant,” adding, “I’m not
a quitter; I’m a fighter,” and says he
plans to keep Rockridge Café a neigh-
borhood fixture.
To comment or suggest topics, please
email judyberne@att.net. n
In addition to outside table
service and take-out, the café
now offers some inside dinning.
Rockridge Cafe, from previous page
He was 25 when his family, orig-
inally from China, emigrated from
Taiwan to the United States. Chung
left graduate studies in chemistry at
California State University, Sacra-
mento, to move to Berkeley where
his dad taught tai chi and his mother
held Chinese cooking classes. “I
loved to cook because my mom was
a great cook,” he said. “I was trained
as a Chinese chef through a federal-
ly-funded program in San Francisco
to teach immigrants new skills — but
I never opened a Chinese restaurant.”
Instead, he opened his American
diner-style café, which, for a while,
featured one of his mom’s Chinese
dishes. Chung created the café’s
signature Rockridge Breakfast
(scrambled eggs with cheese, peppers
and onions, home fries and toast),
and recently added a vegan tofu
breakfast burrito. But he credits chefs
through the years for other standouts
such as ricotta pancakes, challah
French toast, and a chicken bacon
ranch sandwich with cheese.
Suzie and John Dahlgren have eaten
at the café twice a week for most of
the 25 years they have lived in Rock-
ridge. “We go there every Thursday
for lunch and Sunday morning for
breakfast,” Suzie said. “The food is
great and so is the service. Robert
always saves us a table.” On a recent
visit, when the café was still only open


THE
page 10
NOVEMBER 2020

When Oakland Tech grad Nathan
Nakadegawa-Lee’s gig at The Backroom
in Berkeley was unexpectedly cancelled
by Berkeley’s Health Department on
Sunday, October 18, the 19-year-old
saxophonist and his fellow East Bay
band members took to the front
porch of his Rockridge home to give
neighbors an afternoon jazz concert.
A crowd of up to 75, which included
surprised passers-by, turned up.
Photo courtesy of Laura Mytels
Alameda County Goes
Orange
O
As of October 13, elementary stu-
dents began returning to classrooms,
if their schools were ready.
that follow the State’s guidance.
Playgrounds pose a risk because they
have high-touch surfaces and involve
gathering and mixing of households.
Additionally, they cannot easily be
monitored to ensure protocols are
enforced. Adults supervising children
and playground operators should
review and follow the State’s recom-
mendations closely.
“We are glad to see improving case
rates and decreasing test positivity,
including among our communities
of color, but we caution residents that
cases can rise very quickly,” said Dr.
Nicholas Moss, Alameda County
Interim Health Officer.
For the list of activities currently
open in Alameda County, visit: https://
covid-19.acgov.org/sip.page. n
The following activities are allowed
as of the week of October 26:
n October 13, the State
announced that Alameda
County is in the Orange Tier of the
color-coded, four-tier Blueprint for a
Safer Economy having met the State’s
metrics for the Tier for at least two
consecutive weeks.
Reaching the Orange Tier is a result
of decreasing case and positivity rates,
and is due, in large part, to the sacri-
fices made by the County’s residents
and businesses, and their adherence to
Health Officer Orders and guidance.
Collectively, we’ve slowed the spread
of COVID-19. We need to continue
to wear face coverings, stay six feet
away from each other, wash hands fre-
quently, and stay home when sick or
exposed to someone who became sick.
• Indoor dining; worship services; wed-
dings; funerals; and theaters are now
allowed up to 25 percent capacity, or
less than 100 people, whichever is less.
• Expansion of indoor gyms and fit-
ness centers, up to 25 percent capacity.
• Family entertainment, like bowling
and climbing walls, now allow up to
25 percent capacity.
• Expansion of indoor retail, malls,
and food courts, now permitted at up
to 50 percent capacity.
As of Friday, October 16, Alameda
County allowed additional outdoor
activities, including playgrounds


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page 11
NOVEMBER 2020

Interior Design Studio Shoshin Persists
Despite Burglary

RCPC Grants, from front page
Tour to the Kevin Faughnan Fund in
order to support small community-led
projects in the Rockridge neighbor-
hoods. The Program is named for its
creator, because of Kevin’s love of the
neighborhoods and his passion for this
grant program.
Participants are encouraged, but not
required, to partner with communi-
ty-based organizations, neighborhood
groups, or local business groups.
Individual projects are eligible to
receive up to $750, all of which must
be spent within a year of grant award.
Additionally, project proponents must
supplement 20 percent of the grant
received with other matching funds.
Interested? Reach out to neighbors
and share your ideas — build pride
in your community by working
together on a project. Some examples
might include, but are not limited to,
programs to clean up litter; mural
projects; or community gardens.
The program will be officially
launched with detailed information at
the November Town Hall. The appli-
cation window will continue for one
month, and successful proposals will
be announced in January. n
by Jorja Siemons
O
Today, Shoshin, located at 5914
College Avenue, provides not only
in-home design services but also
home furnishings and vintage pieces
in its Rockridge shop, which opened
for the first time last summer. “We
love to spend one-on-one time with
folks looking for special touches for
their homes,” Smith said.
Though the pandemic has restricted
shop activity, Smith has used Insta-
gram to promote the business and sell
decor virtually. She has also seen an
increase in personal consultations,
which she thinks is a result of people
reconsidering their living spaces
during quarantine.
As for the break-in, Smith said she
doesn’t feel angry or violated. “Our
feeling on it was more of sadness that
someone needs that kind of cash that
badly,” she said. “This speaks to the
situation so many people are finding
themselves in.”
Smith said she is looking forward
to returning to normal shop hours as
of Nov. 9, and could not get through
this time without Rockridge’s support.
“I have gratitude for the community,”
she said. “There are so many treasures,
both in terms of the individuals who
live here and in the restaurants and
boutiques on the street.” n
n the evening of Sept. 7, Shoshin
store owner Alexis Smith
received a phone call from Bay
Alarm that her store’s glass door
had been broken in. An iPhone and
$300, along with the cash box it was
in, were all stolen from the College
Avenue business.
“It was an all-night affair,” Smith
said about the aftermath. Because of a
recent move to Carmel Valley, Smith
was not close to the scene, so she
called her father and an employee to
assess the damage.
Though Smith is glad the distur-
bance was minimal, she said she feels
sad that the store is boarded up for the
second time this year. To her, keeping
Shoshin’s storefront welcoming during
the pandemic has been essential when
it comes to “retaining the vibrancy of
the neighborhood.”
Smith opened Shoshin as an interior
design studio in 2017 to shift gears
from her job in public affairs. Smith
had been working at a “high-stress,
high-stakes” job that was unsustain-
able. After helping friends with home
renovations, Smith decided to turn
her interior design hobby into some-
thing bigger. “Before I knew it, I sort
of just fell into this role,” she said. “It
felt like a great fit.”
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THE
page 12
NOVEMBER 2020

Poetry Book Raises
Money to Help
Unhoused Women
by Myrna Walton
This past January, three unhoused
moms with children and a South-
ern California realtor specializing in
flipping foreclosed houses were in
a face-off. The house on Magnolia
Street in West Oakland had been
vacant for two years before the
families took it over, and in an overt,
and extreme show of force, a sheriff’s
squad armed with military-grade
weapons ultimately evicted them.
In a city where too many families
are living on the streets, thousands of
houses sit vacant, sometimes for years
(according to U.S. Census data), often
because of foreclosures due to pred-
atory lending practices. To Sara Biel
and Karla Brundage, this story was a
clear call to action.
“We felt driven to support these
Black women, moms who found a way
to make a positive change, who took
on the system in an incredible act of
bravery,” said Biel.
Biel is a poet, social worker, mom,
and Rockridge resident since 2003.
She and another long-time Oakland
resident, Karla Brundage, co-edited
their newly published poetry book
Colossus Home: An Anthology of
Colossus:Home, Edited by Oakland
poets Sara Biel and Karla Brundage,
illustrations by Francis Baker; cover
design by Colin Dodsworth; book
design by Fred Dodsworth. Available
for $19.95 at www.colossuspress.org.
Lives in and out of Place as their pos-
itive action for change.
Poetry as Activism
In an alchemical process uniting
art and activism, the two women
created a handsome, 190-page book
of poetry and illustrations. More
than 60 Bay area artists ultimately
contributed their time and writings to
benefit Moms4Housing, an Oakland
collective of homeless and marginally
housed women that grew out of the
Magnolia Street eviction. Poet and
publisher Fred Dodsworth donated
the layout and design for the book,
resulting in a professionally published
compilation (with an ISBN number!).
Biel explains the book’s purpose: “I
would hope that people would come
to see unhoused folks as our neigh-
bors who need support. These moms
were previously employed, striving to
make a good life for their families in
the town they grew up in. Health and
economics often play significant roles
in housing loss. Some of us have hard
times but have family support that
can help us pay rent or our mortgage
until we get a new job or recover from
an illness. Some of our neighbors do
not have that support and lose their
homes.”
The book is divided into parts,
each an investigation into how one
inhabits a proverbial home: In one’s
body; a building; a landscape; a town;
BUYING?
SELLING?
LET ME HELP YOU
ANNE D. BRANDON, REALTOR
35+ YEAR ROCKRIDGE RESIDENT AND HOMEOWNER
DRE# 01877719 | 510.682.6644
ANNE@THEHIGHLANDPARTNERS.COM
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Poetry Book, see next page


THE

page 13
NOVEMBER 2020

Poetry Book, from previous page
Colossus:Home helps to provide some
financial support to Moms4Housing
and inspires people to think differ-
ently about their unhoused neighbors.
When they’re leaving Trader Joe’s, you
know, or getting off BART, or leaving
a restaurant on College Avenue, and
someone is asking for some help,
perhaps it won’t seem alarming or
annoying. Some of these unhoused
people are our neighbors, the people
who lived in the house next door.”
In case you didn’t hear about the
happy ending, the corporate owner
of the Magnolia house agreed to sell
it to the Oakland Community Land
Trust, and, after renovation, it will be
used by Moms4Housing for transi-
tional housing. This is a victory, and
a wonderful step in the right direc-
tion to create housing for all Oakland
families — yet there is much more
work to do. n
a country; a memory. Although I am
not a fan of poetry, I was immediately
hooked — remembering the look,
feel and color of my first home, my
last, the towns I lived in, the spaces
that are embedded in me. But it also
opened me to what it must feel like
to lose one’s home, and worse, to be a
silent audience to this suffering:
It’s not whether or not there is
life on Mars
it’s whether you care or you don’t
care that you don’t care
that you don’t feel anything about
what is happening on
your world
— Abe Becker
Biel and Brundage have focused
on creating community art/poetry
projects in the Rockridge/Temescal
neighborhood since 2013. They’ve
collaborated with neighborhood poets
and artists to create site-specific,
collaborative, visual art and poetry
installations scattered throughout the
neighborhood. This project, called
Temescal Insitu, focused on honoring
the history of that neighborhood and
imagining visions for its future.
The women were inspired to
edit their first Colossus book after
Trump’s family separation policy
was announced. “We invited people
to write poems based on the Emma
Lazarus lines: “Give me your tired,
your poor, your huddled masses
yearning to breath free...” The read-
ings evolved into a hand-produced
kitchen table book, called Colossus 1.
Proceeds were donated to Freedom for
Immigrants, which provides support
and advocacy at the state level.
Do you feel your activism has had
results? Brundage says, “Small things.
I see them rippling out into the larger
world, like Colossus, to inspire change.
And maybe it’s not like changing a
law, like Brown vs. Board of Educa-
tion, but we help people get closer to
embracing those changes when they
happen.”
Biel adds, “I do. We are support-
ing a local organization that has
a direct impact on addressing the
housing crisis in our community.

Eight-year-old Sophie is
intrigued by local news and
events, and looks forward to
her monthly home delivery
of The Rockridge News.


THE
page 14
NOVEMBER 2020

Staircases, from front page
for pedestrians looking to avoid the
long switchback roads. These stairs
also provided alternative pedestrian
routes to local shopping areas.
One time, I took a Claremont
Middle School hiking club on an
urban hike. It started at the Rock-
ridge Gates on Broadway, went up
Rockridge Boulevard to the Prospect
Steps and West Lane, then along
Alpine to the Locarno Path. We
returned via Oceanview Avenue
and Margarido Drive, down to the
Ridgeway Path, and finally back to
Rockridge Boulevard.
The students and teacher sponsors
were exhausted but thrilled to learn
that urban hikes could be not only
physically challenging but visually
exhilarating. In fact, I would chal-
lenge any fit person to take the route
and not realize the aerobic gains… it
is a heart-healthy, outdoor gym that is
fun in any weather.
To learn more about the paths and
bike routes (including street grades)
of Oakland, check out the Walk
Oakland Map & Guide available at
local bookstores. Other excellent
guides and fun reads include Hidden
Walks In The East Bay and Marin:
Pathways, Essays, and Yesterdays by
Stephen Altschuler; and Secrets Stairs
East Bay: A Walking Guide to the
Historic Staircases of Berkeley and
Oakland, by Charles Fleming. These
days, it’s important to take life one
step at a time. n
The earliest stairs were originally
built to serve the rapidly expanding
“trolley-car suburbs” of Oakland in
the years after the 1906 earthquake
and fire. According to an Oakland
Public Works project manager who
designed the set of rebuilt stairs in the
Glenview District, the automobile was
not the main factor in urban design at
the time. In fact, during the 1920s and
1930s, developers built stairs mostly in
the hilly areas to be used as shortcuts
Emerson Elementary Needs Your Help
Last month, Emerson Elementary launched the “Month of Giving” as a
way to help bridge the gap in the school’s funding stream. About $10k
from school and community members has been raised, but double that
amount is still needed to meet the shortfall.
These funds are needed to provide support for important programs
during this time of distance learning — art, music, reading intervention,
small groups, PE, and more. Donations will be accepted throughout the
year, and the school appreciates any support our community can offer.
For more information, visit them at www.Emersonschool.net.
Fundraiser to Benefit
Local Schools
Wlaw office of
dave karlinsky

725 washington st., suite 313  oakland, ca 94607
(510) 788-5700    www.davekarlinskylaw.com
ant to get a jump on holiday
gifts? Purchase gift certificates
online from Mrs. Dalloway’s Book-
store fundraiser, November 11 to
November 14, and the store will
donate 15 percent to the school of
your choice. Claremont Middle
School, Emerson Elementary, and
Chabot Elementary are all included
on this year’s list of recipients.
Mrs. Dalloway’s has long partnered
with local schools to assist with
fundraising. Gift certificates may be
purchased in any denomination and
redeemed either online or in person
when the store re-opens — the gift
certificates will never expire.
In order for donations to be dis-
tributed properly, be sure to enter the
school of your choice in the Order
Comments Field at the bottom of the
checkout page.
To purchase multiple gift certif-
icates, please call the store at (510)
704-8222; visit https://www.mrsdallo-
ways.com. n

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THE

page 15
NOVEMBER 2020

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List your 36-word message here for only
$22 (phone number counts as one word).
Make check payable to RCPC, and write
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Mail to: RCPC, 4900 Shattuck Ave.,
PO Box 22504, Oakland, 94609-20131.
The deadline for the December issue is
November 19 – available on December 4,
2020. For more information, email Susan
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Handyman for Hire
Multifaceted and well experienced.
Hauling and towing available. No job
too small. Reasonably priced. Lee Self.
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Shop
Rockridge
Chabot Canyon Raquet Club
Your neighborhood Tennis Club is
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Pining for remote control lights? I can
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6162Dover.com 1+BD ‘home-style’ condo, shared outdoor deck near BART
Coming:
2 bedroom 2 bath Rockridge condo w/balcony, gas fireplace, open kitchen/dining/living space
2 parcels in Lower Rockridge, 4 residential units/1 commercial unit plus bonus lot
Awareness Month > Native American Heritage, Inspirational Role Models, Family Care Givers
Tool Lending Library
Sidewalk pickup is now
available Thursdays through
Saturdays, 10am to 1pm, at the
Oakland Tool Lending Library,
5205 Telegraph Avenue. The ser-
vice is free to Oakland residents
with verification of residency.
For info, visit www.oaklandli-
brary.org/sidewalkpickup.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Perry Riani, Senior Associate
2016 Realtor of the Year
1900 Mountain Blvd Oakland, CA 94611
1625 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA 94709
C: 510.813.3799  Perry.Riani@Compass.com
License # 01402540


SOLD
COME VISIT US AT
THE CORNER OF
LIFE & CHANGE

THE
446 65th St. | North Oakland
446-65th.com
www.ClaudiaMillsRealEstateTeam.com
Claudia Mills
510.350.6419
c.mills@ggsir.com
Lic.#01881682
Each Franchise Is Independently Owned And Operated.

ROCKRIDGE
REAL ESTATE
STAYS STRONG
L A W T O N
A S S O C I A T E S
R E A L   E S T A T E
B R O K E R A G E
Ron Kriss, Broker
Lawton Associates
(c) 510-612-2547
RonKriss@JPS.net
DRE# 01417458
“#1 in Rockridge Real Estate”
160+ Successful Sales in Rockridge
www.LawtonAssoc.com