We are welcoming a May spring and its shades of rebirth and reopening with the launch of API Heritage Month and Small Business Month. 

Chinatown is the cultural and spiritual hub for the Chinese community in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area. We kicked off API Heritage Month with a public safety walk-through of Chinatown with the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) and SFPD Chief Bill Scott, along with an installation ceremony of new Pagoda lighting to illuminate Portsmouth Square at night. Working with the community and our Chinatown Captain Julian Ng, the City has also made investments in culturally competent community patrols. You may see Community Youth Center (CYC) and Street Violence Intervention Program (SVIP) staff walking the alleys and business corridors of Chinatown together - please say hi!

I was thrilled to launch Small Business Month with the reopening of two iconic neighborhoods: Chinatown and North Beach. One of San Francisco’s oldest Legacy Businesses, the SF Flower Mart, put their best floral designers to work marking the fresh “blooming” of commercial corridors citywide with giant floral butterflies . The Shared Space at Jack Kerouac Alley, connecting both Chinatown and North Beach, is hosting the masterpiece of artist Nixon Tran, who has been working at the SFFM since he was 14 years old. His piece draws elements from each neighborhood but is only complete when YOU stand in the middle to join the wings. Stop by, snap a picture and patronize the small businesses on either side! Nixon’s butterfly will be up through this Friday, May 7th, for North Beach First Fridays. You can also check out the rest of the creations citywide on this map: link.oewd.org/Butterflymap

It was my honor to commemorate Italian Labor Day with a special  75th anniversary celebration of Legacy Business, Biordi Art Imports, in the heart of North Beach. Longtime Biordi customers, Deborah and Michael Baldini, are the third Italian family to carry on the Biordi tradition of supporting Italian artisans and bringing their Majolica ceramics to an American market. We’ll be celebrating Small Business Month all throughout May. Have a small business you can’t imagine your neighborhood living without? Let us know, so we can stop by and support! 

More info on reopening, vaccines, upcoming hearings on the SF recovery and neighborhood events below. 

See you in the neighborhood, 
Aaron

Small Business Recovery

Tomorrow, 5/5: OEWD Budget Hearing Recovery

Tomorrow, Wednesday, at the May 5th Budget and Appropriations Committee, Supervisor Haney and I are holding a hearing on the Office of Economic & Workforce Development’s direct relief for local small businesses, as the Mayor prepares to finalize her budget proposal for consideration by the Board of Supervisors. 

I’ve received many emails from frustrated small business owners who took the time to apply for local relief, navigating the often confusing city portals and processes, only to be denied -- and often without much of an explanation or further guidance on what a better approach might be. Obviously, with limited funds, we can’t fund everything but we hope to improve the City’s services and processes to better serve those most impacted by the COVID-19 shut-down. Your input will also inform the Budget & Appropriations Committee’s recommendations on amendments to OEWD’s budget, changes to their process and additional funding.

Read more about the hearing here.


While the meeting starts at 1:00pm on Wednesday afternoon, the hearing is the last item on the agenda, so likely won’t come up for many hours into the afternoon. Given the uncertainty of the timing and the lack of flexibility that most of you struggle with as small business operators, we are recommending that you send in your “story” to the Committee via email to be included in the file. (Please email Budget & Appropriations Committee members, with a CC: to the Committee Clerk, Linda Wong and Supervisor Peskin.)

If you really want to call in and address the Committee directly, you can do so here:       
 

WATCH SF Cable Channel 26, 78 or 99 (depending on provider)

WATCH www.sfgovtv.org

PUBLIC COMMENT CALL-IN 1 (415) 655-0001 / Meeting ID: 187 707 6356 # #

The Board of Supervisors is only as good an advocate as the small business community it represents, who are best poised to tell their respective stories and offer feedback on what they truly need to survive and thrive during our economic recovery.
 

 Small Business & Grant Opportunities

 SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund

Applications are open now for $28.6 billion in federal relief pursuant to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). Eligible businesses can apply for relief funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss (calculated as the difference between gross revenue in 2019 and 2020). Special thanks to Allan Low of Perkins Coie LLP, Self-Help for the Elderly and Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach for their work to ensure that immigrant and monolingual API small business operators have culturally competent, in-language access and technical assistance to apply.  like this KTSF story.  

For more information and for application materials in multiple languages, visit the Small Business Administration website.  

Community Anchor Storefront Grant

Get a grant for $10,000 or $25,000 for your local small business with at least an average of 2 employees before the pandemic. Your business must be a storefront with less than $2.5M in gross revenue in 2020 that lost at least 25% of your revenue from 2019 to 2020. The deadline is May 7.

Learn more about the application requirements, here. Access information in  Chinese and Spanish .

Small Business Storefront Equity Grant

Get a grant of $5,000 for your local small business. Your business must have less than $2.5M in gross revenue in 2020 and not have received more than $5,000 in grants or $20,000 in loans from other programs. The deadline is May 7.

Learn more about the application requirements, here. Access information in  Chinese and Spanish .

COVID-19 Relief Grant Program

The State of California has established a COVID-19 Relief Grant Program to offer grants up to $25K for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 health and safety restrictions such as business interruptions or business closures. Grant amounts vary based on the applicants' annual revenue as documented in their most recent tax return.

Eligibility
 

• Active businesses or nonprofits operating since at least June 1, 2019, and must be able to provide documentation
•  Less than 2.5M in gross revenue based on 2018 or 2019 tax returns
•  Business must be impacted by COVID-19 and the health and safety restrictions such as business interruptions or business closures incurred 
•  Businesses must currently be operating or have a clear plan to reopen once the State of California permits the reopening of the business
•  Go to CAReliefGrant.com for the latest eligibility criteria for each round. Apply * REOPENING APRIL 28

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVO Grant) program (previously known as “Save Our Stages”) will provide grants to support live entertainment, theatrical, and other arts and culture businesses. Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. $2 billion is reserved for eligible applications with up to 50 full-time employees. Learn more about the program,  here.

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

$284 Billion has been added to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and program terms have been updated. Learn more about the new PPP and apply here before the May 31, 2021 deadline.

Everyday Is Earth Day: A Cleaner and Greener District 3

Last month, Russian Hill Neighbors celebrated Earth Day with a neighborhood clean-up, while Le Beau Market and Lower Nob Hill neighbors continued organizing their monthly street sweeps. My office will continue to support the efforts of our neighbors to keep our city cleaner, so please let us know if you’re having a clean-up in your neck of the woods. I can’t overstate my appreciation for your efforts. 

In the meantime, we are continuing our advocacy with the Department of Public Works (DPW) to ensure equitable resource allocation for parts of the District that are in need of additional cleaning and trash cans. Thanks to those of you who wrote in with your suggestions, which we have transmitted to DPW in a formal request. We will have more follow-up soon. 

Divesting San Francisco's Public Pension from Fossil Fuels

Ever since returning to office in late 2015, I’ve made it a high priority to continue pushing on San Francisco’s public pension system to lead by example and fully divest from fossil fuels, coal and tar sands. Not only is it an environmental imperative, it is a financially responsible imperative as well - these investments have performed poorly relative to other investments year over year, not to mention the insurmountable costs we will collectively face if we fail to cut back emissions now.

Earlier this year, I authored a Resolution, passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, urging the next appointee to the governing board of the City’s public pension be someone with the awareness and expertise to commit to full divestment. As Chair of the Rules Committee, I’m committed to holding our public pension oversight body accountable to full divestment from fossil fuels, much sooner than its current goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Environmental Justice is Racial Justice

Environmental justice is a racial justice and equity issue, and low-income communities and communities of color in San Francisco disproportionately experience poor air quality year-round. In recent months, an effort led by the California Air Resources Board to improve air quality in those communities expanded into San Francisco, accelerated in response to worsening air conditions from the lightning-sparked wildfires.

We’re proud to support the efforts of environmental advocacy nonprofit Brightline Defense and Executive Director Eddie Ahn - psst, he’s also the VP of San Francisco’s Commission on the Environment! - who are leading the San Francisco effort to install air-quality sensors near single-room occupancy hotels and to survey residents on their health in collaboration with SRO hotel tenants themselves.

Read more about Brightline Defense’s air quality sensor installations over at KQED: https://www.kqed.org/news/11834504/impoverished-sf-communities-get-new-air-quality-sensors-just-in-time-for-smoke-clogged-skies

If you’re into podcasts, check out Episode 2 of Brightline Defense’s Podcast, which takes a deep dive into how Chinatown SRO residents and communities are taking new approaches to combat environmental health crises: https://brightline.medium.com/brightline-podcast-ep-2-bbe8af25782
 
And one more thoughtful read in SF Examiner featuring Commissioner Ahn’s work to improve the environmental quality of life of San Francisco’s most vulnerable communities in and around Chinatown: https://www.sfexaminer.com/news-columnists/environmental-dangers-are-connected-to-racism/

Bay Area Restoration Authority on NBC's "Open Road"

I continue to serve as a representative on the SF Bay Area Restoration Authority Board, which governs the regional agency that funds shoreline projects that will protect, restore, and enhance the San Francisco Bay through the allocation of funds raised by the Measure AA parcel tax.

Watch some of the environmental work we’ve been doing in our race to restore about 100,000 acres of tidal wetlands to make the Bay’s shoreline more resilient to rising seas caused by a rapidly warming planet. In 2016, by a 70% margin, residents in the nine Bay Area counties voted to tax themselves to raise $500 million over 20 years to restore the Bay’s marshlands and make the shoreline more accessible to everyone in the region. Check out our public work creating new wetlands to improve the futures for our bayshore communities while fueling the economy with many thousands of green jobs on Episode 65 of NBC’s OpenRoad here. 

Housing & Tenant Opportunities

I’ve been meeting regularly with the Mayor’s Office of Housing & Community Development (MOHCD) to ensure that our local rent relief program rolls out in the most effective way. MOHCD anticipates being able to launch the rent relief application process mid-May, and feels confident that they’ll be able to process approximately 300 applications a month. We will be organizing a Tenants’ Rent Relief Town Hall with MOHCD soon, so stay tuned for more details!

Swiss American Hotel Waitlist Opening

The Swiss American Hotel waitlist is officially open in North Beach. I’ve toured this residential hotel on several occasions and worked with the residents on a number of community issues. There are 32 units opening for individual rent at $841/month and a waitlist openings for units renting at $1,009/month. Read Sing Tao Daily coverage here in Chinese.

Application Deadline May 14, 2021 at 5:00 PM. 
The application fee is $35 with more information here: https://housing.sfgov.org/listings/a0W4U00000HnVLJUA3

Housing Rights Committee is Hiring

Housing Rights Committee of SF is hiring a Lead Organizer. They are looking for an experienced organizer to help build tenant associations from the ground up in the west side and southeast neighborhoods of SF. The position is full-time with medical, dental, and vision including chiropractic and acupuncture and a generous accrual of paid vacations and sick time. Read the full job description here.

Property Tax Payment- Deferred

The City is deferring the due date for the second installment of property taxes to at least May 15, 2021 without penalty. If you're unable to pay by this date for reasons related to COVID-19, you can request a penalty waiver online. For more information,  the SF Treasurer & Tax Collector's COVID-19 page.

SF Rent Board "Reasonable Reliance" Legislation is Working

Right before the pandemic, my office worked with then Supervisors Vallie Brown, and Sandra Lee Fewer to pass legislation urging the Rent Board to adopt fair and objective guidelines for the use of “reasonable reliance” in the evaluation of of operating and maintenance pass-through petitions in rent-controlled buildings. Through tenant organizing and Board of Supervisors advocacy, the Rent Board adopted those guidelines and is actively using them to protect tenants from unfair pass-throughs. Here’s a visual (redacted for privacy) of one tenant’s victory. Learn more at the San Francisco Rent Board website and remember: organizing gets the goods!

Community Updates & Neighborhood Events

Restoring SFUSD Chinatown " Grab & Go" Meal Program

Last month, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) announced it would be closing down the only free meal program serving SFUSD families in the entire northeast corner of the city in order to focus on other neighborhoods where in-person enrollment has been highest. The free meal site at Gordon J Lau Elementary School in Chinatown had been consistently serving between 1,000 and 1,200 low-income and food-insecure families throughout the pandemic, mostly monolingual residents. Families were told they could walk to the Tenderloin to get meals, but many families expressed public safety fears in the wake of several violent attacks outside of Chinatown. With SFUSD unable to restore staffing, my office has worked with the COVID Command Center/ Department of Emergency Management to deploy a limited number of city volunteers who are working full-time for days a week to pack and distribute meals. Special thanks to Chinese Hospital for providing free expedited TB skin tests to volunteers in order to meet SFUSD criteria and to Charity Cultural Services for providing volunteers to do in-language client services and line management. If you’ve been fingerprinted by either the SFUSD or the City and are willing to take a TB test, we still need more volunteers to meet the demand, but service is slowly being restored! Email my office to help.

Tuesdays: Free Meals Available for SFUSD Students & Siblings

On Tuesdays, 5 days’ worth of meals, including breakfast, lunch, supper, fresh fruits and vegetables, and milk is available.
 
Thursdays: Free Meals Available for All Children 18 & Younger

On Thursdays, 2 days’ worth of meals, plus snacks, fresh fruits and vegetables, and milk is available. SFUSD families can pick up free meals one or both days!

View May Grab & Go Calendar

May 5th: State Budget Town Hall

HSH Guidance Regarding Neighborhood Homeless Concern

• How to access HSH or City services:  designed for individuals and families on the brink of, or currently experiencing homelessness 
• How can neighbors report concerns: designed for concerned sheltered neighbors and constituents 
• How to get involved: a call to action for our sheltered neighbors wanting to engage with HSH and our nonprofit partners. We’ve received inquiries about renting out rooms and opening up homes to formerly homeless individuals, learn more! 

North Beach First Fridays Returns May 7th

Help Envision a New Aquatic Park & Pier Project

SF Public Library Reopening Timeline

Summer Together Interest Form

Glide: Womxn's Wellness Fair

Join Glide Memorial Church, The Healing Well, YWAM, and LaCocina for a Womxn’s Wellness Fair from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm on May 7, 2021 at Ellis and Taylor. 

Outdoor Commencements for SFUSD High Schools

A heads up that Graduations for All (via a partnership with SFUSD and the City and County of San Francisco) will provide staggered commencement ceremonies June 1-3, 2021 for 4,000 public school graduates. Schools with large graduating classes will be hosted at the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s iconic Kezar Stadium. This includes Lowell, Burton, Galileo, Washington, Balboa, O’Connell, Mission, Lincoln, Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, Marshall and Wallenberg. Smaller public high schools will enjoy more intimate commencements at SFUSD’s McAteer High School campus overlooking Glen Canyon. This includes The Academy SF, Civic Center Secondary, Downtown, Hilltop, Independence, Ida B. Wells, June Jordan School for Equity, SF International, and Youth Chance. More detailed commencement information will be provided through SFUSD at sfusd.edu/2021graduation

Vaccinations Continue! Have Gotten Yours?

As San Francisco moves into the Yellow Tier of reopening, our City data dashboard  has documented that almost 70% of San Francisco residents over 16 years of age have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 85% of 65+ years have received at least one dose. As mass vaccination sites close down with declining demand, we are focused on reaching populations that have struggled with access or have been waiting for more information. If you have questions about vaccinations or need help accessing an appointment, please reach out to my office. In the meantime, check out this PSA from some familiar faces: Let’s get vaccinated, SF!

Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day Brings Long Awaited Recognition

During my time at City Hall, I have long championed the cause of the Armenian community fighting for the recognition of one of the world’s most horrific atrocities: the genocide of upwards of 1.5 million Aremenians by the Ottoman Empire between the years 1915-1917. The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed my Resolution commemorating the Armenian Genocide (in English and Armenian!) in time for the community to come together on April 24th and honor the victims and surviving descendants of the Armenian Genocide at the sacred site of the Mount Davidson Cross. 

That same day, President Biden, offered that same long-awaited and solemn recognition, becoming the first President in the history of the United States to do so. The struggle continues for Armenians facing present day acts of violence by Turkey and Azerbaijan against Armenians seeking to recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of Artsakh. We stand with you against hate in San Francisco, today and always. 

Learn more via KRON 4 News Coverage here.