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When businesses on University Avenue have a problem, they turn to Dave Fogarty. 

On Thursday, the University Avenue Association showed its appreciation to Fogarty, the city’s community development project coordinator, with its second annual outstanding community service award. 

“Dave is a blessing for us,” said Kirpal Khanna, president of the association and owner of Bazaar of India at 1810 University Ave., where Fogarty received his award plaque Thursday night. The association represents businesses on University Avenue between Martin Luther King Way and Fourth Street. 

Fogarty, a 13-year city employee, goes far beyond his normal city duties, Khanna said. Fogarty worked on his off hours for passage of Measure S, the November ballot measure that will fund an $800,000 renovation of the University Avenue median. Shop owners on the street have been pushing the city to plant flowers and install a better irrigation system on the median, which is now choked with weeds.  

“Thousands of people drive by every day and look at that ugly median,” Khanna said. “It’s embarrassing.” 

A spruced up median will improve the image of the street’s businesses, Khanna said. 

Fogarty said he was “greatly honored” by the award. But, he added, “I don’t think of this award as being for me, but for the joint effort we all participated in to get Measure S passed to and to get the landscaping that will really enhance University Avenue.” 

Fogarty said visitors to Berkeley have called the city to complain about the unsightliness of the median, but, until the passage of Measure S, there simply was not enough money to remedy the problem.  

Khanna said the award is not just for Fogarty’s work on Measure S. He was also instrumental in establishing police bicycle patrols along University, in combating graffiti, in assisting new businesses to obtain city permits, and in helping businesses get city grants for façade renovations, he said. 

Fogarty always attends the association’s monthly meetings, which “keeps us more informed and makes us more effective,” said John Solomon, treasurer of the association and owner of Venezia restaurant, 1799 University Ave. 

“He’s there on his own time, and he’s there because he’s interested in making University Avenue a better place,” Solomon said. “He’s just a delight.” 

Solomon won the group’s community service award last year for organizing the “How Berkeley Can You Be?” parade. That is yet another event that Fogarty volunteers for, he said. 

Khanna said Fogarty has had a lot to do with the increase in business along University Avenue over the past several years. There are now fewer vacant stores and a “more cosmopolitan” mix of shops, he said. 

Fogarty is working on other improvements for the street, including the construction of concrete extensions that intermittently jut out into the street in the parking lane. As with the extensions recently built along University Avenue in downtown Berkeley, the extensions will have trees planted in them. After those trees are planted, the city plans to remove existing trees that are diseased and dripping a sticky substance onto cars and onto the sidewalk; customers sometimes track the gunk into stores, damaging the carpeting. The city also wants to install decorative lights in the sidewalks, he said. 

Fogarty’s boss, Bill Lambert, manager of economic development, said he “wasn’t surprised” that the association gave Fogarty its award. 

“He’s very involved in lots of different activities and is usually behind whatever positive is going on,” Lambert said.