When I first moved to London Street I didn't even notice Kenny Alley. In fact, I didn't even see it for probably three years! I don't remember how I found it, but it quickly became my shortcut from home to the 29 Muni stop at Safeway.
On my groggy walks to the bus stop, I'd encounter the craziest things at Kenny Alley. Sure, there were lots of broken bottles, leftover food, random litter...but there were also mattresses, vacuum cleaners (plural!), wigs, raw meat (lots of it, time and time again), cat food, used feminine products, dirty diapers, empty packages of Swisher Sweets, security bottle tops from Safeway and plenty of other insane things. I desperately wanted to know what was going on in this walkway at night. Who was putting these things here? Were they coming here for the sole purpose of leaving these things at Kenny Alley? Why Kenny Alley?
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I'd also daydream about how it could be prevented. Signage? Unlikely. 24/7 security? Probably, but not a realistic option. Neighborhood Watch? Maybe but I didn't know many of my neighbors.
Photo taken during actual walk to the bus in the morning
I'd also daydream about how it could be prevented. Signage? Unlikely. 24/7 security? Probably, but not a realistic option. Neighborhood Watch? Maybe but I didn't know many of my neighbors.
Knightscope Security Robot
In an evaluation of robotic technology, I visited the Knightscope Robotics company in Mountain View, California. Could this security guard robot be the answer? I knew it wasn't something we could afford, but I did seriously consider that a 300-lb autonomous robot patrolling Kenny Alley could be a good deterrent. Until someone pointed out that the robot could probably be foiled by someone simply throwing a blanket on top of it.
One day it dawned on me that a mural would very likely deter the rampant graffiti, and may convert this alley from its pariah status to that of a neighborhood mascot that everyone loved and protected. How does one find a muralist? I can't paint anything, and I don't have the money to pay someone. How do these murals happen?
While I was riding the bus to work, my imagination went wild. What if there was a big mural on the apartment building, and a beautiful mosaic on the stairs? Would lighting act as a deterrent to loitering at night? What if we put plants, too, and some other elements? Could we paint the walkway?
"Who's in charge of these stairs anyway?" I thought. "Isn't the city supposed to maintain these spaces to be clean, safe and well lit? If they aren't maintaining the stairs but the community wants to, do we need to get approval to make some changes? How does one even go about this? If we could make these changes, these lasting improvements in the neighborhood, this might be the most meaningful thing I've ever done." (After 20 years in tech, retail and advertising I had started to ponder the meaning of my work.) (Also, a couple years later I had a baby and he turned out to actually be the most meaningful thing I'd ever done.)
I had recently installed the NextDoor App and enjoyed reading the hyperlocal conversation and discussion topics in the Excelsior. Other users were pretty active and most questions were quickly answered. I posted to see if anyone knew about city property and improvements, and was quickly directed to the Excelsior Action Group and Stephanie Cajina, who were miraculously kicking off a mural project in the next few weeks!
And that's how I got involved with Kenny Alley.