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. "
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San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Endorsement: No on Engardio recall in S.F. but Yes on charter reform
Recall elections have become a regular facet of life in California — particularly in the Bay Area. The latest public official to face a constituent uprising is District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, whose fate will be decided by voters in San Francisco's Sunset neighborhood in a recall election on Sept. 16. If Engardio is recalled, Mayor Daniel Lurie would appoint a replacement. The District 4 supervisor seat would then be on the ballot for the city's next scheduled election in June 2026, and whoever wins that race would be eligible for reelection the following November. Throughout the recent uptick in California recall elections, the editorial board has held a clear stance: Recalls should be reserved for instances of gross incompetence and egregious or illegal misconduct by an elected official. Does Engardio meet that threshold? Recall supporters insist he does. They say Engardio deceived them in 2024 when he joined four other supervisors to place Proposition K on the November ballot. 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Axios
5 days ago
- Axios
What to know about Supervisor Joel Engardio's recall election
Over 50,000 voters in District 4 are set to receive ballots for the Sept. 16 special election to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio. Why it matters: The moderate Democrat's support for closing the Great Highway ignited a wave of backlash from his constituents, a majority of whom opposed the initiative over concerns about traffic and longer commutes. How it works: The ballot will ask voters to vote "yes" or "no" on whether to remove Engardio from office. Once filled out, voters can return them via mail or drop them off at City Hall's elections department office. Three official ballot drop boxes will also be stationed at the Ortega Branch Library, Parkside Branch Library and City Hall. If voters oppose the measure, Engardio will remain in office and fight to retain his seat when he's up for reelection in November 2026. If they approve it, Mayor Daniel Lurie will appoint a replacement to serve until the June 2026 primary, which will ask voters to decide who should fill the remainder of the term. The big picture: Engardio was put on blast after he championed Proposition K, which would convert a 2-mile stretch of the Great Highway into a park, in the lead-up to the November 2024 election. Though the measure passed with 55% of voters' approval citywide, only 36% of voters in District 4 agreed with Engardio. A recall campaign was launched shortly after amid rebuke from voters in the Sunset and Richmond districts. The Department Elections called for a special election in May after certifying the 9,911 signatures — 20% of the district's registered voters — needed to put it on the ballot. What they're saying:"District 4 voted against Prop K — overwhelmingly. If Joel Engardio didn't know that was going to happen — he was out of touch, not listening, not talking to us or he deliberately defied our will," the recall campaign's website states. The other side: "Prop. K was decided by voters in the most open, transparent, and democratic process possible," Engardio said at a Wednesday San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee endorsement hearing for Prop. A.
The Hill
12-08-2025
- The Hill
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