By Lisa Awbrey, HANC Vice-President, and Christin Evans, HANC Board

At HANC’s March meeting we will host San Francisco African-American Reparations Advisory Committee (AARAC) members Gloria Berry and Eric McDonnell (Chair) to discuss the body’s recently released report. 

The AARAC was created in 2020 under the City’s Human Rights Commission and is tasked with developing a plan to address “the institutionalized city sanctioned harm that has been inflicted upon African-American communities. “ San Francisco is among several cities and states across the country working to atone for the damage caused by slavery and institutionalized racism.

Some history around the issue of San Francisco and reparations and the formation of AARAC:

In 2019, the San Francisco chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) made a proposal to the Board of Supervisors: The City and County of San Francisco should pay the debt it owes to Black residents for generations of disinvestment and displacement. At the time, City leadership said there were “no plans” to introduce legislation to support the effort.

The SF NAACP and other Black community members continued their advocacy efforts until, in February 2020, Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton introduced a resolution supporting the creation of a San Francisco Reparations Plan. The Plan would comprehensively address the inequities that exist in San Francisco’s African American communities as a result of chattel slavery’s legacy of systemic oppression.

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By David Woo, HANC President

The Mayor and her YIMBY allies demand the city “build more housing” at any and all cost. Especially, they say, given the state mandated Housing Element goal of San Francisco producing 82,000 new housing units in the next eight years. The problem is that 46,000 of those state mandated units (more than half) have to be affordable, and the Mayor and the YIMBYs don’t have any affordable housing plan to build those units. What are the Mayor’s priorities? The police have been getting funding increases, and the Mayor is anti-homeless to the point of violating a federal injunction against sweeps. And while the Mayor readily supports efforts to deregulate private housing development, streamline private development and increase profits for developers, she withholds affordable housing funds and refuses to land-bank scarce land to build affordable housing. Will the Mayor ever have an affordable housing plan?

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By Nate Horrell, HANC Board

On January 17th, the SFMTA Board of Directors approved Page Slow Street, from Stanyan to Octavia, as a permanent part of the city’s Slow Streets program. The board also made permanent the turning restrictions onto Page at Stanyan and Masonic, which were added in the fall to limit car through-traffic, and the bike lanes between Octavia and Webster. The board’s action adds new turning restrictions onto Page at Divisadero.

Traffic restrictions were first added on Page near Octavia during 2015-18 in order to prevent drivers from cutting the line to freeway via Page. Slow streets were added as a response to the pandemic and have been evaluated one by one based on usage and neighborhood feedback. Of the 900 people surveyed, the majority of whom live on Page street and use it daily, 85% said they support a permanent slow street. MTA staff studied Page Slow Street’s potential impact on Muni travel times down Haight Street and found no impact on travel times.

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By Christin Evans, HANC Board

The January 2023 general membership meeting of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council marked its first “hybrid” meeting.  In person, more than 10 neighbors attended the meeting and another 20 or so joined virtually via Zoom.  HANC Board member Bruce Wolfe with assistance from Reid Coggins (Harvey Milk Club) set up a laptop with projector and screen allowing audience members to interact near seamlessly.

Panelists too joined both in person and virtually.  City College Trustees Alan Wong presented in person and Susan Solomon virtually on the current challenges the educational institution faces.  Members raised concerns about keeping the neighborhood John Adams campus active and accessible for students who find it difficult to travel afield to the Mission or Ocean campuses, especially for English as a Second Language (ESL) students, who are often juggling studies with work. Ways for the College to increase enrollment were also discussed.

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We are saddened by the passing of Alice Chun, who also went by Alice Rules, in January, 2023.  Alice had been a neighbor on Ashbury for the past 40 years.  We knew her as the most energetic person in the neighborhood, even into her eighties.  She died at home at age 85, sitting on a rocking chair with a cat on her lap.  Here are comments by some of those who knew her:

“She brought so much love and happiness to everyone. A genuinely kind person. I’ll miss her so much.”

“Alice was a true original and will be missed..Fare thee well my friend”

“I was shocked to see this news. I will miss seeing her in the neighborhood”

“I LOVED Alice so much. She lived her name fantastic! She brought the wonder to wonderland!”

“She was a sweet person and Haight Icon”

“I loved running into her around the neighborhood and hearing stories. So upbeat, and she lifted up the community by supporting various folks’ art endeavours. She helped keep the spirit alive, and i hope in turn each of our torches will burn a little brighter to do the same”

“I remember Alice as a wonderful woman full of love and light, she always went out of her way to say hello.....”

By Lisa Awbrey, HANC Vice-President

A new sandwich shop, Sandy’s, is coming to 1457 Haight Street (next to Pork Store Cafe.) Last November, The Sandy’s team Peterson Harter and Moni Frailing announced their plan to open a brick and mortar site to house their popular New Orleans muffuletta business; the couple lives 5 minutes away with their beloved doggy Delilah. 

During the COVID19 lockdown in March of 2021, Harter and Frailing started Sandy’s as an offshoot of their successful pop up Bread Spread Pickle; it was “a popup within a popup.” With Sandy’s they decided to give muffulettas a try. In the beginning, the sandwiches were so huge you actually had to use a fork and knife to cut them into edible pieces. The reception was amazing and they repeatedly sold out. At that time of lockdown, they were selling them out of their apartment in the Haight through the front window.  The food publication EaterSF featured them as they popped up at different venues across the city with even more people clamoring for their muffulettas.

Says Harter:” The thing about Sandy’s is that we would not be here without the generosity of our friends, our family and our community. At every turn, there has been someone who has been willing to lend a hand, give us a chance, or offer help and for that I am forever grateful. Without that support, I’m not sure I would have had the courage or will to push forward with this business.”

The 1457 Haight Street site is very small, and with limited space, they won’t be able to do everything they’d like, like selling red beans and rice, gumbo or beer and wine. But Harter says “At this point, I don’t even care. I just want to get back to what I love, interacting with our community and selling muffulettas.” Sandy’s is set to open in late March. Stay tuned. Follow Sandy’s here:  https://www.sandyssf.com/ 

For our January meeting, we have invited Susan Solomon, who was elected to the City College Board of Trustees this past November and joined the Board in December, and Alan Wong, who was elected to the City College Board in November, 2020, and has been a Trustee since December, 2020.

We have asked them to address the following questions:  What does the City College Board do?  What are some of your plans for the coming year?  What can we as the public do to help?  and, What are the plans for the John Adams campus?

Bring your own questions for what we expect to be an interesting and informative discussion.

As this is our first (partially) in-person meeting since February, 2020, we have also set aside time for sharing and discussion.  How have you been returning from the pandemic?  What activities have you felt safe doing?  What do you still refrain from doing?  Or, feel free to steer the conversation in another direction:  What topics would you like HANC to address in the coming year?

We look forward to seeing you, whether in person or online.  Join us on January 12, and bring a friend.

By Calvin Welch, HANC Board

This November’s election was the first held under the new Supervisor District boundaries which split the neighborhood into three Supervisorial Districts, with the North Panhandle (Fulton to Fell, Stanyan to Baker) having one precinct in Distract 1, and the remaining 3 joining four of the five “Flatland” precincts (Fell to Frederick, Stanyan to Baker) in  District 5.  The remaining Flatland precinct was moved, along with the 3 “Hill” precincts into District 8. (see map, hint, the second digit denotes the Supervisor District; precinct 9801, which is entirely west of Stanyan, was not included in the analysis).

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