HANC is saddened to learn of the passing of Robert M. Leon in March, 2021.  Robert served on the HANC Board from 2009 through 2011.

He served as Executive Director / Producer of the Haight Ashbury Street Fair from 2007 to 2019.  He served on the Street Fair’s Board of Directors since 1979.  He was awarded a Certificate of Honor by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in recognition of his commitment to Community Arts and Events.

Robert left Phoenix, Arizona when he was 25, and lived in San Francisco for the next 45 years.  He graduated from the International Association of Assembly Managers in 2003.  He was part of the activities and programs at Yerba Buena Gardens, various commercial theater production venues in San Francisco and was always involved in community arts and issues in the Haight-Ashbury.

Again, we are sorry to lose a good friend and neighbor.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with his final arrangements.  Contributions can be made here:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/robert-m-leon-memorial-fund .

By Calvin Welch, HANC Board

Since the HANC General Membership meeting on UCSF’s massive 2 million square foot expansion plan for its Parnassus campus, three community groups have filed separate law suits opposing the proposed project.  While all three cite the significant environmental impacts of the projects, each advances different concerns. In the name of full disclosure, HANC is the fiscal agent of one of the organization suing UCSF, San Franciscans for Balanced and Livable Communities (SFBLC) ,whose members include current HANC Board members Tes Welborn and the author of this article, as well as former Planning Commisoner Dennis Antenore .  The two other groups filing law suits are the Parnassus Neighborhood Coalition (PNC) made up of residents literally next door to the UCSF Parnassus campus and the Yerba Buena Neighborhood Consortium (YBNC), a group from the South of Market.

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Our Supervisor, Dean Preston, publishes a newsletter to inform District 5 residents (and also those who work in or visit D5) about the work of the Supervisor’s office, and events within the District.  The full newsletter can be read at https://sfbos.org/supervisor-preston-newsletter , or you can ask to have the newsletter emailed to you (contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

Below are excerpts from the February newsletter.  One week after the newsletter was distributed, a lot is already old news.

Covid-19 Vaccines

Vaccines are now being distributed to healthcare workers, those 65 and older, education and childcare workers, emergency services workers, and food and agricultural workers.  To determine if you are eligible and to book an appointment, go online to https://sf.gov/get-vaccinated-against-covid-19 or call the CA Covid-19 hotline at 833-422-4255 (Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm; Saturday and Sunday 8 am to 5 pm).  The Maxine Hall Health Center is offering vaccines to those who are eligible and part of the SF Health Network (but not patients from other medical groups, such as Kaiser, CPMC, UCSF, One Medical, and others).  More information is available here:  https://sfhealthnetwork.org/covid-19-vaccine/

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By Christin Evans, HANC Board

As previously announced in the Voice, the Mayor’s Office of Economic & Workforce Development (OEWD) initiated a survey in October of 2020 to gather information about the unmet needs of neighbors within the 10-minute trade area surrounding the Haight Ashbury commercial corridor.  Conducted by Livable City and Tom Radulovich, the survey asked where residents currently shopped for their household needs.   The goal was to identify potential opportunities to attract new businesses to Haight street that were most in demand from the immediate neighbors. 

The survey was conducted over 2 months and at a time when the corridor has been hard hit with storefront closures.  The Haight Ashbury Merchants Association (HAMA), which tracks the number of storefront vacancies had previously reported that a number of stores had closed between 2016 and 2020 due to a number of reasons including skyrocketing rents, higher costs of doing business in the city such as the rising minimum wage, and the multi-year construction work which disrupted foot traffic in the corridor.  The number of storefront vacancies rose from 6 in 2016, to 21 in February 2020 and 31 in December 2020. 

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By Calvin Welch, HANC Board, and past member of the Advisory Committee for the Future of UCSF Parnassus Heights (2019-2020)

The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood existed before the University of California, then known as the Affiliated Colleges, opened in the fall of 1898 on Parnassus Heights.   By 1883, with the completion of the Haight Street Cable Car, some dozen blocks of homes had been developed in the neighborhood, with Haight Ashbury real estate being touted by speculators because of its location next to Golden Gate Park, the Chutes amusement park  (on Haight St between Cole and Clayton) and the California League Baseball stadium at what is today Frederick and Stanyan streets.

It is important to understand that the continued existence of the neighborhood’s  access to transit and housing has been an ongoing issue between the neighborhood and UCSF for much of its 120 year history on Mt. Sutro. And as the UC Regents ponder a new expansion plan for the campus, which will remove a forty -five year old agreement with the community to expand off the Parnassus campus, the neighborhood’s future is again to be decided by an unelected body advised by unaccountable campus administration.

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By Christin Evans, HANC Board

To defund the police, it is politically necessary to create an alternative when citizens call for assistance. In January, activists in conjunction with Police Commissioner John Hamasaki and Supervisor Matt Haney launched a campaign for CART SF (The Compassionate Alternative Response Team). At HANC’s February meeting, we will host a member of the campaign’s workgroup to present its plan for such an alternative.

Every year in San Francisco, the city receives over 60,000 reports involving homeless and mental crises which it directs to the police.  This despite the reality that police officers are not trained social workers, mental health experts, or care professionals, nor do they have appropriate resources to offer.  Many such calls result in police directing the individual or individuals to simply pack up and move along.

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By Bruce Wolfe, HANC Board

Last year the Haight Ashbury was bestowed yet another Park Station captain in a short period of time, Captain Christopher Pedrini.

You may or may not know that there is a direct forum with the Captain. From the Police Department website, “SFPD hosts the city's Community Police Advisory Boards (CPAB's), which are composed of community volunteers who live and/or work in a specific geographical police district. A CPAB member’s role is to advise the district station Captain about public safety, crime and quality of life issues that affect their community.”

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By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC Board

Information about obtaining a Covid-19 vaccine has been inconsistent and confusing.  There are different Federal, State, and City websites, as well as information coming from private health plans and pharmacies.  Plus, California is in the midst of revising its vaccination plans.

Here is information we can give you (as of the end of January):

Eligibility - California

The California site (https://myturn.ca.gov/) will tell you if you are eligible for a vaccine, but is only booking appointments in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties for healthcare workers and individuals over 65.  California’s tier system is described at https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/#California's-vaccination-plan .

Eligibility-San Francisco

San Francisco’s site (https://sf.gov/get-notified-when-youre-eligible-covid-19-vaccine) will also tell you when you are eligible to be vaccinated.  Again, being declared eligible does not mean that you can get a vaccine.  Although individuals 65 and older are eligible, the State is first prioritizing those who are 75 and older, have high occupational exposure, or reside in vulnerable communities.  The State’s allocation guidelines (as of January 22) can be found at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Revision-of-Allocation-Guidelines-for-COVID-19-Vaccine.aspx .

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