By Tes Welborn, HANC President

Tim Redmond was the main speaker on the November election, and what an energetic presentation he gave to an energized audience! The District Attorney race has drawn national attention and pushback, surprisingly. The Police Officers' Association's late and crude opposition may have helped Chesa Boudin.

The Mayor had not campaigned much for herself, and did much to support her endorsed, and appointed, candidates, Suzy Loftus and Vallie Brown. Therefore, their loss was also her loss, and can be seen as a referendum on her policies. And the Mayor only got about 60% of the ballots cast. [Some 26,000 ballots did not include a vote for mayor, so the higher percentage vote quoted in media ignores them.]

Tim thinks some 40-60% of Owner Move-in Evictions are fraudulant, and a potential target of our new D.A.Regarding the election of Dean Preston as District 5 Supervisor, Tim says ranked-choice voting got him elected, along with the many, diverse and young activists. There are exciting possibilities now for the Board of Supervisors to set city policies and to move major legislation.

Other presentations included legislation to raise the fee that developers pay when they build, although it is still about 20% of what the city's own analysts say that new development costs the city to provide MUNI, schools, etc., and creates a demand for low- and moderate-income housing not fully funded by developers.

The third presentation was on the Planning Department's proposed HUB development, largely in the few blocks south of Market and Van Ness, and north of the freeway.  The plan calls for up to 9,000 new housing units and some 19,000 new residents, with selected buildings as tall as 600 feet, including the four corners of Market and Van Ness! While the EIR may have been certified, the Board of Supervisors may still have a say on this massive development in a congested area.

The Children’s Playground at the Panhandle reopened with a celebration on November 12. 

The playground has separate areas for younger and for older children, including two separate swing sets. 

There are also multiple climbing areas and picnic tables.  HANC is especially pleased that the playground includes a sand play area and a plaque honoring “Gus” Vardakastanis. 

As of November 16, the Park Police Station has a new Captain, Renee Pagano.  Captain Pagano was born and raised in Sunnyvale.  She joined the San Francisco Police Department in 2000.  She has worked at the Ingleside Station, the Tenderloin Station, the Taraval Station, the Southern Station, the Burglary Detail, and the Airport Bureau.  She was promoted to Captain in 2018, and served as Night Captain, overseeing the San Francisco Police Department Night Watch.

While searching for information about Captain Pagano, we came across a recent (November 12) article from the Washington Post:  “I was a Meth Addict.  Then I became friends with the cop who locked me up.”  This can be found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/11/11/how-i-became-friends-with-cop-who-locked-me-up/.  It appears that Captain Pagano is poised to treat everyone (housed and unhoused residents, merchants, employees, and visitors) in the Haight-Ashbury with empathy, courtesy and respect.

We welcome Captain Pagano to the Park Station and to the Haight-Ashbury.  We will invite her to a future meeting to introduce herself to our members and neighbors.  

Editor’s note:  This information is excerpted from the SF LGBT website.  More detail about this program can be found at https://www.sfcenter.org/hosthomes-faq/.

Host Homes is an innovative, community response to the youth housing crisis. LGBTQ+ young adults (18-24) are paired with temporary San Francisco community hosts and receive case management services to help them secure stable housing.Host Homes staff work diligently to ensure that matches between hosts and guests are made based on aligned values, interests, and lifestyles.Hosts and guests are provided a number of supports from the SF LGBT Center, including training, regular check-ins, and stipends based on need and availability. Our goal is to house 10-15 youth in San Francisco for 3-12 months while providing case management that leads to stable housing.  Host Homes staff will use youth and host applications to find commonalities among the two, allow the individuals to meet, and then determine if they are the right fit. Our aim is to create pairings that are mutually beneficial both to the host and the guest.

If you are interested in becoming a host, Call Karessa Irvin, Host Homes Program Manager, 415-865-5541 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The US Census Bureau is reaching out to neighborhood organizations as they prepare for the 2020 decennial population count.  Bret Putnam, Partnership Specialist with the Census Bureau, will give a short presentation and answer questions.

The Census Bureau relies on trusted local organizations to help spread the word about the importance of participating in the Census. Crucial federal funding for local programs - including health, education, housing and transportation - is based on the decennial population count.

The Census Bureau especially needs assistance reaching hard-to-count segments of the community, such as seniors, immigrants, families with children under five, those living in poverty, renters, ethnic minorities, etc.

The Census is currently recruiting hundreds of enumerators, at $30 per hour.  Learn more at HANC’s November meeting.

Nominations for the HANC Board are open through the election at our November Meeting.  All current HANC members are eligible to serve and to nominate other members.  If you would like to serve, or would like to nominate someone, you can do so before the vote at the November meeting.  The term is from December, 2019 through November, 2020.  The current HANC Board has made the following recommendations for officers and Board members for the upcoming term:

President:                                             Tes Welborn

Vice President:                                   Bruce Wolfe

Recording Secretary:                      Shira Noel

Corresponding Secretary:            Jim Rhoads

Treasurer:                                           Christin Evans

Nominating Chair:                           James Sword

Membership Chair:                         Richard Ivanhoe

Housing & Land Use Chair:         Calvin Welch

Recycling Chair:                                Karen Fishkin                          

                                 Members At Large:

Alex Aquino, Lisa Awbrey, Jaime Michaels, Christian Vaisse, David Woo

By Dennis Antenore, HANC Member and former Planning Commissioner

Editor’s note:  this article first appeared in 48 Hills on October 21.  We have reprinted it because UCSF’s plans will affect our neighborhood.

"Uh-oh -- the cat’s out of the bag now.”

That’s what a consultant was heard to say at the final meeting of the Community Working Group on the Parnassus Heights Re-Envisioning Process when it was accidentally revealed that UCSF is planning to add 1.5 million square feet to its Parnassus Height campus.

Despite claims to the contrary, the community has been left completely in the dark and the university has made all decisions on this behind closed doors, in violation of commitments made by the Board of Regents to carefully consult with neighbors and make efforts to reduce impacts before deciding upon major planning decisions.

Since 1976, the Parnassus Campus has had a space ceiling at 3.55 million square feet. The regents adopted that limit to settle a lawsuit brought by its neighbors. Since its adoption, the regents have repeatedly recommitted to the ceiling, most recently in the 2014 Long Range Development Plan, which is still in effect. With regard to the Space Ceiling Issue the plan provides:

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By Calvin Welch, HANC Board Member

HANC's monthly (except August) general membership meeting is usually held downstairs at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street (between Cole and Shrader) on the second Thursday of the month, beginning at 7 pm.  Our meetinngs are open to the public and free to attend.

The Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) has announced its intention to seek qualifications from developers for the permanent 100 % affordable housing proposal at 730 Stanyan, the former McDonalds at Haight and Stanyan.  MOHCD has set November 29th as the date for its final "selection of the development team."

HANC will discuss the site, the City process and efforts of the Coalition for a Complete Community (CCC) to ensure a development of maximum benefit to our neighborhood at our October 10th monthly meeting. 

The September 10th "Request for Qualifications" for the development of the permanent affordable housing is the second time MOHCD has issued a "request" for the 38,000 square-foot  site. The first, a Request for Proposals (RFP) For Interim Uses, was issued on December 1st, 2018 after the completion of a January, 2018 environmental assessment in January, 2018. 

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