Japantown Bowl Property Sold
Editor’s note: The following letter was sent via mass e-mail.
Dear Editor: Despite months of promises to work with the Japantown community to find a buyer from within the community, Kintetsu Enterprises Co. of America dropped a bombshell by apparently selling the former Japantown Bowl property to a group of investors that includes John E. McInerney, III, local real estate investor and member of the S.F. Board of Appeals.
The Kuroyama Group, headed by local attorney George Yamasaki, Jr. appeared to be the only bidders at the table and had continued to dialogue with community groups regarding community benefits for the property’s continued use in Japantown.
No formal announcement has been made, but contact with McInerney confirmed that escrow has closed and title has transferred out of Kintetsu Enterprises Co. of America hands. No contingencies on the sale were made.
McInerney has been a member of the powerful Residential Builders Association, and apparently is well-connected in the San Francisco commercial development arena. He stated his initial plans are to demolish the popular, former bowling center, and build sublevel parking with high-end retail stores at street level and condominium housing above.
However, the 1790 Post Street property — in the heart of Japantown — sits under the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency’s Western Addition A-2 Redevelopment Project area and is zoned for Community/Commercial use. Any change of use must be approved by the agency, which has pledged to hold thorough community hearings before any new project would be considered for approval.
Japantown Bowl served 250,000 bowlers annually, and provided affordable social and recreational activities to seniors, youth and families of San Francisco for over 24 years before closing its doors on Sept. 20, 2000. Kintetsu cited economic factors for closing the popular attraction, despite its records showing a net profit of over $500,000 a year.
Christopher Hirano
JCCCNC
via e-mail
Ashcroft Editorial One-Sided
Dear Editor: This letter is in regards to “No on Ashcroft,” (Jan. 18). Senator John Ashcroft has a distinguished track record of public service as Missouri attorney general, governor of Missouri and a member of the U.S. Senate. He made Martin Luther King Jr. Day a state holiday and honored black musicians and soldiers as governor. He also supported civil rights laws in Congress.
Additionally, your editorial mentioned that Ashcroft accepted an interview with Southern Partisan, a ‘racist’ magazine. So, does it make me a liberal by reading AsianWeek?
Jeffrey C. Kwong
via e-mail
OCA and JACL Statements on Chao Troubling
Dear Editor: Several of my colleagues in the Asian American communities of New York have expressed grave reservations about the strong statements of support from the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) immediately following the nomination of Elaine Chao for labor secretary. Chao’s positions on issues of critical importance to Asian American and other immigrant and working class communities are both significantly conservative, and more importantly, from a civil rights perspective, represent a dangerous step backward for the community.
We understand that it is important to be balanced in our assessment of political appointees and our approach as we attempt to gain influence in the political process. However, we feel that it is of paramount importance that the national API organizations, which represent more than an abstract notion of an “Asian American community,” but are our sole voice in D.C., are mindful of the wide impact of their statements concerning activity in the capital.
While OCA and JACL’s statements were not ringing endorsements of Chao’s nomination, they do not question her past statements on affirmative action, her reinforcement of Asian American model minority stereotypes, and other positions. A press release from a national API organization applauding the nomination before the confirmation hearing may be misconstrued as an endorsement from the community. They could have at least waited until the nomination was confirmed.
I applaud the strong position that the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Japanese American Citizens League has taken regarding the nomination of former Senator John Ashcroft for attorney general based on his positions on hate crimes, affirmative action, and judicial nominations of people of color. We, as community workers, ask that OCA and JACL take a consistent position on all nominees based on their record and the interests of the community at large. A nominee for labor secretary who stands opposed to the fundamental philosophies of advocates for immigrants and the working class must be strongly questioned, regardless of her race.
Chao opposes affirmative action partially because she perceives that it does not hold all individual applicants to the same set of standards. She should not benefit from a community policy that does not hold her to the same standards to which we hold non-Asian American nominees.
Parag Khandhar
New York City
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