The current City administration likes to talk about running the City at the speed of business. Who knew it was the molasses business?
On December 10, 2010, the Certificate of Occupancy was issued for the Bascom Community Center / Library Café at 1000 South Bascom Ave. On June 7, 2014 the third and final part of that facility was finally opened – the BookMark Café. For anyone into numbers that’s 1274 days. Molasses…in January.
Nevertheless, our neighborhood and community is welcoming this Café because it is owned and operated by an entrepreneurial Latina neighbor who has taken the risks to open this business and serve our Community. Her drive, determination and spirit are a model for all of us to have a dream, work for it, and make it real.
Interestingly, when the community helped to design the facility, the street facing Café was part of the original design so that it could be independent of the Library and the Community Center. All of the other library café’s are closed inside the facility (except for the King Library) and are dependent on their hours.
Bascom Library groundbreaking, June 9, 2008
The community also insisted as part of the building design that a full commercial kitchen be provided, separate and apart from the Café. This would be an added benefit not only to the café, but also open the possibilities for other neighborhood businesses. Lo and behold, we were heard and the kitchen was built with an independent access so that it need not be tied to either the Library or the Community Center.
But wait, the Café is part of the library and the commercial kitchen is part of the Community Center. Each department has different managers, goals and rules. Consequently, the Café cannot use the commercial kitchen, even on a part-time basis as her agreement is with the library department. In the business world, we would call this insane management.
San Jose is One City. The Bascom Library Community Center Café is one neighborhood serving facility. The bureaucratic silos that are the San Jose Way are a systemic problem for this City that prevents an efficient delivery of essential services to the people. While this is not the hottest issue to face the voters in November, it is at the root of many of San Jose’s problems. The next administration must break down these walls and work for all the people as One City.
Bringing us together as One City is not just a slogan for a Campaign, it must be the philosophy and watchword for changing San Jose for the better.
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It’s amazing how the author turned what should have been a neighborhood-centric, positive piece about the newly-opened Bookmark Cafe into a criticism of San Jose City government. The Bookmark Cafe is a very real gamble in our neighborhood. With McDonald’s just up the street, no signage or street visibility, and without access to the library or community center’s WiFi networks, Minerva (the owner) needs all of the community help she can get to remain in business. A positive article on your website could have been a boost.