Herve Ernest Cultural Campaigner

What are you up to these days? Working on our big culinary arts festival later this year and getting volunteers signed up for our big Read-In event throughout elementary schools in SFUSD for Black History Month.

Who's your favorite quintessential local character? Chris Duke. He's an amazing artist who paints San Francisco street scenes on old, found Victorian windows and doors. Because he paints on glass, he paints in reverse, so that when the glass is turned back around, it appears as it was intended. He lives and paints out of his van. 

Why do you love your neighborhood? I moved here from Greenwich Village in Manhattan and felt a sense of charm and familiarity as soon as I got to North Beach and said, "This is where I'd like to live." I like its combination of artistic history (literary & jazz), amazing vistas, and self-sustenance. 

What's your favorite San Francisco institution? I can go to the de Young Museum every week and always find something new to discover. Great institution, great public programming, and great audiences. 

What do you get obsessive about? The aggressive nature of giving out tickets! I once got a ticket after an hour and a half parked in a two-hour residential zone!

What would you change about San Francisco? Expand the underground and make BART run throughout the evening (at least between SF-Oakland-Berkeley).