April 22, 2004

STREET SCENENeptune Court

There's a street in Almaden Valley that's out of this world.

Like its namesake planet, Neptune Court mimics the sun-orbiting body. And although one of the most distant streets from downtown San Jose, it shines brightly in its neighborhood with a collection of smart, yuppie baby boomers who proudly call Almaden home.

The street, with about 15 homes built in the early 1970s priced in the $800,000 range, thrives today with multicultural families from China, Korea, Brazil, India, Pakistan and Czechoslovakia.

Jamshed and Saba Qamar have lived on the Neptune Court cul-de-sac for 16 years. Originally from Pakistan, they explain that the neighborhood reminds them of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, with its beautiful hills and serene atmosphere. “We feel at home here,” says Jamshed, who immigrated to the United States in 1978, receiving a master's degree in engineering from Mississippi State University. Jamshed is vice president of engineering and business development for Oki Semiconductor.

His wife, Saba, teaches preschool for the Dent campus of Challenger School.

“Living here has been very good so far,” says Saba of Neptune Court. “That's why we've been here so long. It's a very quiet and very nice neighborhood.”

When the Qamars moved to the Almaden street, the area was fully developed. Saba remembers the neighborhood initially had “only boys.”

The Qamars, who have four children, also say the street is so safe that once when they traveled to Pakistan for a long period of time and called the police to notify them, they responded that “they didn't even worry about the area.”

Greg and Stephanie Thiel moved to Neptune Court in 1993. Greg says several years ago he and neighbors Ken Gordon, Steve Radunick, “the cousin of Gary Radnich on Channel Four,” and Fred Sanchez, called themselves the “Three Amigos plus one,” and started organizing block parties. The neighbors then changed their name to be more inclusive of other Neptune Court families calling themselves, “The bad boys of Neptune Court and their no fear girls.”

Now, the celebrations are called “Block Party for Friends and Families,” which are organized in May, July, September, and “whenever the power goes out at night and it's not raining the neighbors can come out and barbecue on the street,” says Greg.

The Neptune Court parties are primarily coordinated by Greg who says he blocks off the street with cones and sets up a swimming pool, tents and barbecue grills during the spring and summer parties. The celebrations have now expanded out of Neptune Court to other streets in the neighborhood like Ashfield Court, Leland Park Drive, Barndale Court and Woodcliff Drive. “The situation for us is to have neighbors that we get to know and that we can trust,” says Greg. “That's what our neighborhood is about. The people who live here are my extended family.”

He remembers living on the street for several years when only a few neighbors had the courage to introduce themselves and start a friendship. “I thought that was crazy. I started knocking on people's doors and organized a block party,” says Greg of his neighborhood tradition attended by as many as 50 neighbors and friends.

He recalls the first party was a Cinco de Mayo celebration because Fred Sanchez, who lives across the street from Greg, is from Brazil and is a well-known youth soccer coach and player. When the World Cup came to Stanford University in 1994 Sanchez housed several professional Brazilian soccer players.

The neighbors on Neptune Court joke about the skunks and raccoons that often come down from nearby hills to eat. They have also seen d eer in the neighborhood feeding on the large variety of plant material found in the area. Some have eaten homegrown vegetables and fruits from the gigantic well-kept backyards.

Neptune Court residents also have close and easy access to the Almaden Quicksilver County Trail, near McAbee Road.

A native of Almaden Valley, whose parents live nearby, Greg remembers riding his bike on the hills where the Neptune Court neighborhood is now located. He says the area used to be part of a dairy farm, which still exists today with a barn and cattle that often grazes in the hills. The area is known as Pierce Ranch. “When I was younger it was just open space. Camden Avenue ended at Coleman Road.”

Greg says he loves having his home in a cul-de-sac so that his daughters, Natalie, 7, and Lauren, 4, can safely play outside with supervision. The neighborhood children attend Simonds Elementary School, Castillero Middle School, (which is only one block away from Neptune Court), and Pioneer High School.

It's also the kind of neighborhood that allows children to knock on the Thiels' doors because they need help opening a can of spaghetti sauce. “It's neat because I know my girls can go over to my neighbors' house and that their girls can come over to our house. We tag team picking up and dropping off for school or helping each other when we're sick. We know each other and it's nice to have that comfort level in the neighborhood,” says Stephanie.

—By Sheila Sanchez