A new year, a new beginning, 2008 is going to be a year that that will mark the beginning of many changes around the Rosemary Gardens area. The construction of high density housing at First Street and Rosemary, at Century Center and First Street, and on Fourth Street near Gish Road are only a few. Construction of a new Whole Foods grocery store, which is somewhat close to us, located on the corner of Stockton and The Alameda will begin this year as well as the development of a “second downtown” in the area known as North San Jose.
With change, come questions and concerns. What a better time to make your voice heard than at the Rosemary Gardens Neighborhood Association General Meeting and Election.
Join us, whether you are an RGNA member or not, as we meet some special guests, talk to our council representative, and begin to understand how the changes around us are going to affect our neighborhood.
- Joseph Fota, President
It’s that time again, time to renew your RGNA membership. Not an RGNA member? For just $5.00 a person or $10.00 per household, you can become a member. Your dues and support help fund neighborhood activities such as the National Night Out Ice Cream Social, the neighborhood Yard Sales, Christmas Tree Lane, the Annual Picnic and helps keep the bimonthly newsletter alive. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to personally contribute to the welfare of the neighborhood.
Membership is from January 1st to December 31st of each calendar year. Please complete the enclosed form and mail it with any additional contributions to the address listed on the form.
Please take this opportunity to voice your concerns. What activities would you like to see in the neighborhood? What issues need to be addressed? Is there any information the RGNA Board of Directors can provide to you? What would you like to see in the newsletter? Are there any committees you would like to serve on?
This is a good one. Five residents have reported that when making a left turn into the neighborhood they have been met with headlights staring back at them on the right hand side of the road. This scenario seems to happen between the hours of 8:30 to 11:00 p.m. at the corner of Rosemary St. and Gish Road. The cars appear to have left the parking lot of Sushi Zen, House of Genji or Cathay Restaurant.
Being that we live in an area with hotels and restaurants which out-of-country travelers frequent, we may have some disoriented left-hand-side drivers. Please take care when entering the neighborhood. There may be a car exiting the neighborhood in your lane
Thank you to all who responded to the RGNA's request for traffic calming and street maintenance issues in our neighborhood. The top three traffic issues submitted by residents are the following:
1. Speeding on Rosemary Street, Gish Road and Sonora Avenue. 2. Ineffective bulb outs on the corner of Sonora Avenue and Forrestal Avenue which do not control speeders on Sonora Ave. 3. Speeding on the 1300, 1400, and 1500 blocks of Keoncrest Avenue.
These issues were submitted to the District 3 Traffic Calming and Street Maintenance Committee. The RGNA will keep you informed as these issues wade through committees and budget meetings.
Our City Forest, an organization dedicated to the understanding, planting and care of the urban forest, is offering residence of the Rosemary Gardens free trees to those residences with a bare parking strip. To qualify, you must be available to help with the tree planting and commit to 2-3 years of care and watering of the tree. For more information, contact the RGNA Message Center at 441-RGNA (7462) and leave us your name, address and phone number.
Santa Paula Avenue - mail awaiting collection was stolen.
See something suspicious in the neighborhood? Call 9-1-1 immediately!
Unsure whether you should call 9-1-1? The 9-1-1 dispatcher will determine the urgency of your call. Be prepared to give a description of activity, person(s), vehicle, etc.
Equity Office has informed the RGNA that they have three potential buyers for the property that borders the neighborhood along Sonora Avenue between San Juan and Forrestal Avenues. Originally, the plan was to build a five-star hotel, however that plan has changed.
The new plan is to build residences. According to Arthur Kennedy, Vice President and Senior Project Manager for Equity Office, it is unknown at this point if the residences will be condos or apartments.
Watch your newsletter for more information as it becomes available.
Recycle Saturday is the second Saturday of every month!
January 12th and February 9th
Please have your paper, cans and bottles out for pick up by 8:00 a.m.
Special thanks to Mark, Annie, and Jack Symons for their commitment to keeping this event alive. This year's trees were the best with heights ranging from 4 feet to almost 7 feet. We are planning to do this again next year. Tree sign up will probably start around August.
The RGNA would like to extend an apology to the residents of Rosemary Gardens for what Councilmember Sam Liccardo's office deemed a failure on the part of the RGNA. According to Khanh Bui, Staff Director for Councilmember Liccardo, our Dumpster Day had only an 85% response which was felt to be below the normal 100% response for this type of event.
The reason Khahn gave for the supposedly low turn out, was because the RGNA handed out the flyers as opposed to the council office mailing them out.
Hmmm… CSJ Code Enforcement Supervisor Henry Machens, who organized our Dumpster Day, viewed the event as a success: 21 of 22 bins were filled.
Thanks Khahn for announcing this information at a Traffic Calming meeting instead of at one of the RGNA's board meetings.
Street sweeping is the third Tuesday of every month!
January 15th and February 19th
Please have your cars off the street from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.