The mural includes a portrait of the late Fred Husary, who was the owner of Café Venice, but this section of the mural was left untouched. Photo Armando Valdez

By Alexis Terrazas

Regarding the furor over the “Heart of the Mission” mural at 24th and Osage streets, some people didn’t get their facts straight.

The mural located on the side of the building at 3325 24th St. has been the centerpiece of much neighborhood controversy over the last two weeks when the building’s new tenant opted to cut out a portion of the mural to make way for a new fixed window.

The uproar over the mural erupted over social media on Jan. 19 after VanishingSF linked to a Mission Local story headlined “That New Café Will Have a Walk Up Window,” which was posted on Mission Local’s website on Jan. 16.

VanishingSF’s facebook post, however, claimed that the new tenants “cut a large hole” through what they claimed were the names of children who died victims of violence. Their post read: “That New Café Will Have a Walk Up Window Where Dead Children’s Names Once Were.”

That Facebook post generated nearly 100 comments, many of them from angry neighborhood residents and community sympathizers calling for a boycott of the new business, all the while bashing the new renter for daring to cut out the names of dead youths.

After seeing the uproar on social media, Mission Local posted an update on Jan. 27, repeating the information regarding dead children’s names that was shared by Vanishing SF, whom they attributed as their source.

El Tecolote contacted Vanishing SF to find out where the rumor originated. They declined to reveal the name of their source in respect for that person’s privacy, but have since deleted the post.

El Tecolote, however, confirmed that the names that were cut out to make room for the window were aliases of two graffiti artists who worked on the mural. El Tecolote is happy to report that both graffiti artists, who go by “Yoak” and “Rave,” are alive and well.

“It wasn’t done maliciously and it wasn’t done without regard for people,” said John Gavin, the new tenant at 3325 24th St. Gavin, according to city documents, acquired the proper permits to cut out a 15-foot by 2-foot portion of the mural for a new fixed window. “And we didn’t paint over the other things up there. As a tenant, my landlord said to me, ‘Oh, you can paint the side of the building if you want.’ I was like, ‘Hey you know what man, I’m not trying to paint over it’…you don’t want to create enemies.”

But nevertheless, Gavin did.

The Mission Local story apparently misidentified the purpose of the window, according to Gavin.

“It’s going to be a fixed window. I had read an article that said it was going to be a walk-up window,” Gavin said. “It’s not a walk-up window. On the inside it’s going to be a counter where somebody can sit or stand.”

Change, inevitably, is gonna come

The window that cut through the mural was on the side of the building at 3325 24th St. that faces Osage Alley. The names cut out were not of dead children. Instead, they were the names of graffiti artists “Yoak” and “Rave.” Both of them are a live and well. Photo Armando Valdez

Mel Waters, a Mission District-raised muralist and tattoo artist, was one of the artists who helped paint the “Heart of the Mission” mural in 2013.

“I feel the hurt, that people are upset about the mural getting distorted,” said Waters. “I think it’s part of the neighborhood and the culture.”

Waters was invited by the mural’s various graffiti artists to paint the portrait of Fred Husary, located on the upper left-hand side of the mural. Husary was the owner of Café Venice and the previous renter of the property at 3325 24th St. After Husary’s death, his son, Rami, wanted his father’s memory to be preserved.

And so did Gavin, who said he spoke with Rami before cutting out the space for the new window. According to Gavin, Rami said the window was ”OK with him,” so long as his father’s portrait remained undisturbed.

Gavin, who plans to open up shop in February under the name “Mission Coffee” or “Coffee Mission,” also said that he spoke with one of the mural’s artists briefly over the phone about six months ago while work was being done on the building. He has since forgotten the artist’s name.

“He was out there and he was wondering what work we were doing on the building,” Gavin said. “And someone passed the phone to him, and I said, ‘Hey, when we’re done with it, you can come out and touch it up.’ We’re happy for him to put any names back up on the wall. I’m not trying to change it.”

It’s also not the first time that the wall at 3325 24th St. has seen change.

“There was a portrait there before of a girl wearing a San Francisco hat, and a younger girl wearing a San Francisco hat,” remembered Waters. “But things change, opportunities change. Artists are always trying to get opportunities.”

Waters, a renowned muralist whose works include the recent Carlos Santana mural at 19th and San Carlos streets and another of the late Sandy Cuadra at 24th and Harrison streets, has learned not to get attached to public art.

“It doesn’t hurt me. Public art, street art, graffiti—it’s writing on the wall. You have that attitude, ‘It’s not going to last forever.’ You just have to live with it, and hope they last,” Waters said. “Regardless of gentrification, I think things are going to change. You have to accept change and educate people that are part of the change. Instead of being upset, transfer that energy into what can we do.”