Letters

Out of Left Field
Regarding the article on the baseball field ("Little League vs. Bush League," Cothran, Nov. 4), I told Mr. Cothran the open space at Seventh Avenue and Lawton is not big enough to accommodate a regulation-size Little League baseball field. This fact is conveniently missing from his article.

At the second of our meetings, Sherri Ott from Little League said she didn't see any problem with combining the Little League field with the challenger field. That is why neighbors are hopeful that one field could work for both groups and that some open space can be retained. This fact is missing.

Mr. Cothran kept pushing me to describe myself as a leader of the opposition. I told him my concern is that neighbors should be kept informed so that we can all make good, thoughtful decisions. I have not organized a letter-writing, petition-signing, or a phoning-in campaign as an opposition leader should do. This fact is missing.

I told Mr. Cothran that although I am a member of SHARP, SHARP itself has not taken a position on the issue. SHARP has, however, made its clubhouse available as a meeting place for neighbors and the school district. This is a free service SHARP provides to this community. This fact is missing.

Neighbors have been negotiating with the school district in good faith. I hope this article has not set us back.

Chooi Eng Grosso
Inner Sunset

Foul Ball?
Mr. Cothran, your article about Little League and Seventh Avenue is filled with inaccurate and one-sided information and was written in a distasteful, patronizing way ("Little League vs. Bush League," Cothran). First of all, did Mr. Tepper tell you this undeveloped piece of open space is not large enough to build a regulation-size Little League field? That it would be completely off-limits to the neighborhood, people who are mostly unable to afford their own homes and live in apartments, and who use the field as a minipark for their children, their animals, and themselves?

Another piece of information I would like to bring to your attention is that the idea of an artificial turf field at this location was discussed with Jesse Tepper and the head of Little League from Marin, at a community meeting, and we, the neighbors, were assured that one regular field would not have a negative impact on disabled children in wheelchairs. If you put more than one second of thought into this, you would realize that an artificial turf field would be much more dangerous to disabled children who are mobile -- that a fall could seriously hurt them, or are you assuming that "disabled" only refers to individuals in wheelchairs?

In an effort to keep this note short, I will simply address a couple of your condescending comments directed to my neighbors and me. First of all, if you ventured to the open space at Seventh Avenue and Lawton for the photo opportunity you provided Mr. Tepper, you would know that a little additional traffic congestion on this street is more than problematic; it is dangerous. Have you done any research to find out how fast cars drive down Seventh, how many accidents, some fatal, occur on a regular basis, and the number of vehicles that already use this strip as a thoroughfare? Hot dogs and peanuts are great, but what about the animals that will be displaced, and who are hungry. This land and the surrounding woods are home to raccoons, skunks, etc. and the smell of "hot dogs and peanuts" would draw them out in even larger numbers, only to be hit by speeding cars. Are you aware that Mr. Tepper brought some of his Little Leaguers to one of our meetings? I'm sure he didn't mention that the children were adamant about leaving some open space for the children of our neighborhood. They told us that all the fields they played on were surrounded by open space, and they liked the fact that other people were around -- children, animals, etc.

Needless to say, that was the last meeting that the Little Leaguers attended.

I'm assuming that you saw the proposed plans which would require the clear-cutting of all the mature trees on the land. Do you know the history of this area? What the trees mean to the Lake Honda Tract, the neighborhood, San Francisco? As a native San Franciscan, anytime one tree is brought down unnecessarily, I feel the city has lost something that has helped to make it special.

I am not, nor do I believe my neighbors are, opposed to Little League.
I am aware that Mr. Tepper has been involved in community issues/politics for over 20 years, and he should know that if he perseveres, and has patience, he will find a location more suitable for his fields. An area that is large enough to build a regulation-size field, where no mature trees will have to come down, where a neighborhood street will not become a city freeway.

It is clear that the quality of life for the people in this neighborhood is of no concern to you, but as a journalist, I expect a more intelligent, less nasty representation of this situation.

Nanette Grimm
Via Internet