Membership Meetings: 2nd Thursdays ~ 7-9pm
Park Branch Library, 1833 Page St, SF, CA 94117 (except August)
By Tes Welborn, HANC Board
Community members have been fighting UCSF's unilateral decision to break the Space Ceiling limits agreement of a maximum of 3.55 million square feet, established in 1976 and written into state law. The coalition, of which Calvin Welch and I are members, supports retaining the Space Ceiling and the 2014 Long Range Development Plan's smaller new hospital.
By Christin Evans, HANC Board
“How do we make our community safer for all?” was the opening question for our panelists at HANC’s May meeting. Police Commissioner John Hamasaki kicked off the discussion, “Last year, before George Floyd, the Police Commission adopted a resolution to transfer homeless related calls away from SFPD. That’s something we all should agree about because police should be reserved for serious criminal activity, danger [and] violence…. Across the country and San Francisco, for too long we’ve relied on the police to fill in all the gaps in social services, in mental health and substance abuse. And that has been an abysmal failure putting a burden on police they don’t have the training for and the negative implications of that for the community.”
Last year, the city launched a pilot initiative of Street Crisis Response teams (SCRTs). Each team includes a Fire Department paramedic, a behavioral health clinician, and a peer counselor. The SCRTs have primarily responded to 911 calls (rated Priority B or C) where a person is experiencing a mental health crisis. The teams have already alleviated call volumes from police response. Recently Mayor Breed announced an expansion of the concept and said she would propose in her 2021-22 budget that the city add Street Wellness Response teams (SWRTs) who would respond to priority B and C “wellness check” calls.
By Calvin Welch, HANC Board
In a surprise move, Mayor Breed ordered a halt to the community planning process being done by the non-profit developers the city selected for the 100 % affordable housing development at 730 Stanyan Street.
Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) and the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) had conducted a pre-application meeting and a series of community planning meetings since June 2020, and were poised to hold their fifth and seemingly last meeting with the community which was to present the modifications to the design gathered from the community.
But Mayor Breed seems to have other plans for the site. While no official announcement has yet been made to the community in over a month since the April 29 meeting was cancelled, the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) did respond to an Examiner op-ed drafted by the co-chairs of the Coalition for a Complete Community (CCC) which called upon the Mayor not to delay the development of the proposed 120 unit development (The op-ed piece can be found at: https://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/city-should-stop-foot-dragging-on-critically-needed-affordable-housing-in-haight-ashbury/).
By Lisa Awbrey, HANC President
In the Spring of 2020, during an unprecedented chain of events relating to the COVID-19 shut down and Shelter In Place orders, bold action by San Francisco’s leaders and electeds, neighbors and residents was required. On April 14, 2020, the Board of Supervisors passed unanimous emergency legislation mandating (by an 11-0 vote) that by April 26, the city obtain 8,250 hotel rooms, with 7,000 earmarked for unhoused folks living on the streets and in congregate shelters. But the emergency legislation was never put into effect by the Mayor who quietly refused to fund it.
On a national level, the CDC (along with global and local level UCSF physicians) continued to caution against the health dangers of congregate living settings (like indoor shelters). UCSF doctors also warned against moving too slowly in obtaining hotel rooms for the City’s most vulnerable: our unhoused people. Medical workers and first responders staged a street demonstration (dubbed a “die in”) in front of Mayor Breed’s home to underscore the crisis in an attempt to spur her to swift action.
By Christin Evans, HANC Treasurer
PG&E and the City of San Francisco’s dispute over electricity contracts has delayed the powering of traffic signals and pedestrian light poles installed last year. As part of the Haight Ashbury Public Realm plan which started its implementation in 2017, SFMTA planned new traffic lights at intersections along upper Haight Street between Shrader and Central streets. Those traffic lights were installed where stop signs now control the traffic flow. The city’s plan was to use traffic lights instead to speed the Muni buses and reduce the hazards of pedestrian-involved accidents. But while those poles have been in place since Fall, 2020, the DPW project manager says contracts disputes with PG&E have delayed both the traffic signals and pedestrian light poles from being powered on.
