Is your faith in the city’s progressives strong enough to move mountains? How about 109-year old homes — can the city’s lefty supervisors move a three-unit, rent-controlled, pre-quake woodframe house, to save it from the wrecking ball?
Not on Tuesday they couldn’t. But they did try.
At issue was 1831-1835 Broderick Street, whose owner is The Drew School. The Drew, a private college preparatory high school, bought the building, next door to its main campus at California and Broderick Streets, in 2005 for a cool $1.9 million, according to property records.
The Drew wanted to tear down the home and build a three-story classroom/theater building on the site; the neighbors, led by attorney Stephen M. Williams of the Pacific Heights Residents Association, wished to stop The Drew from killing off poor 1831-1835 Broderick. Claiming historical significance and loss of housing stock, they took their fight to supervisors on Tuesday — where several supervisors sided against The Drew.
The Drew could build something on the site, Supervisor Chris Daly suggested, but only if they move the building somewhere else. Bollocks, said Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, what if it falls off of the truck and breaks? What then, sir? (Yes, both of those statements were actually made). Other supervisors told The Drew and each other to fuck off, in succession. Lovely thing, government.
What came of all this? The Drew gets to do what The Drew wants to do, because only six supervisors voted against The Drew (eight were needed to scuttle the project). 1831-1835 Broderick Street, you ain’t going nowhere.
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