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We did it. We made it to another year.
San Francisco closed out one of the worst years in modern U.S. history with another shutdown after a statewide surge in COVID-19 cases but reemerged in 2021 with a renewed sense of hope. On January 20th, we listened to inaugural speeches filled with optimism and compassion from competent and engaged leaders ready to meet this moment of challenge with urgency and commitment. We watched the first woman, Black and South Asian American be sworn in as Vice President, my childhood friend and former classmate, Kamala Harris. Within the first hours of taking office, President Biden signed Executive Orders to rejoin the Paris Accord, halt construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, require masks and issue federal aid to struggling Americans.
Here in San Francisco, we were encouraged that President Biden signed an Executive Order committing to 100% FEMA reimbursement for our Shelter In Place hotel rooms for the homeless through September, which will allow the City more time to identify permanent supportive housing for our homeless population. I’m proud that three of those housing sites will be located in our district, and that we are close to opening the City’s first Transitional Age Youth Navigation Center in Lower Polk, even amid pandemic setbacks. In addition, the recent announcement that San Francisco's COVID-19 reproductive rate is back under 1.0 (at 0.99) means that we’ve successfully slowed the spread and could soon start reopening under CA's guidelines!
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Finally, I want to thank the voters of District 3 again for electing me to serve a fifth and final term as Supervisor. President Walton has appointed me to continue serving on the Land Use & Transportation Committee as well as Chair the Rules Committee. If you are interested in serving on a public Board, Commission, Committee or Task Force, the 2021 Maddy Act Vacancy List has been published - and I look forward to seeing you in front of the Rules Committee! If you are interested in serving on one of these bodies, please review guidance on applying here.
See you in the neighborhood,
Aaron |
Economic Relief & Support for Small Businesses & Workers
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Saving America's Chinatown Is a Team Effort
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While every neighborhood across San Francisco has suffered as a result of the pandemic, Chinatown has been especially hard-hit, with national press sounding the alarm at its imminent extinction. From early xenophobic attacks and debilitating Central Subway construction delays, to struggles with accessing COVID relief programs geared toward English speakers, Chinatown has “become a ghost town.” In 2019, mainland Chinese tourists spent $1.3 billion in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially Chinatown - revenue that has dried up with the pandemic. Chinatown merchants normally generate 30% of their annual income in the week of the Lunar New Year parade, the largest in the United States. With festivities cancelled for the second time in two years, historic legacy businesses are shuttering without plans to re-open.
Meanwhile, Chinatown residents have watched their jobs dry up, with almost 50% of families living in SRO’s losing all income. Seniors sheltering in congregate SRO’s are also at higher risk of transmission. The crisis facing America’s last intact Chinatown has brought us all together - and we’re fighting to save this vital gateway neighborhood for new immigrants and historic tourism driver.
On January 19th, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $1.9 million in emergency relief to address the two most immediate needs in Chinatown: restaurant recovery and food security. The funds, coupled with donations from Chinatown Community Development Center and the Human Services Agency for a total of $2.5 million, seek to pay roughly 60 Chinatown restaurants, bakeries and cafes to prepare 300,000 nutritious and culturally appropriate meals to low-income families and seniors sheltering in our Chinatown SRO’s for the next two months.
Read More:
“S.F. Greenlights $1.9 Million for Chinatown…” - SF Chronicle
“$1.9 Million Relief Measure Passes Board of Supervisors” - Hoodline |
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How You Can Help Support Chinatown
- Order Take-out from Chinatown Restaurants - The Rose Pak Democratic Club has published a handy promotional guide on delicious restaurants who need your support. You just might find a new favorite dish! LINK: https://sites.google.com/view/chinatowneats/home
- Donate to the Chinatown Feed + Fuel Chinatown 2.0 - While the $2.5 million in emergency relief will help feed residents for eight weeks, fundraising continues to get them through the pandemic. Please help spread the word or donate here to extend the restaurant relief and food security program! LINK: https://www.chinatowncdc.org/feed-fuel-chinatown-2
More Small Business Relief is Coming! Starting early February, the City will begin the distribution of $12.4 million in new small business relief grants to more than 2,000 eligible small businesses across San Francisco. Details are forthcoming, though my office is advocating for the program to ensure that those funds end up in the pockets of small businesses who need them most, to encourage landlords and property owners to grant relief, and to maintain the fabric of our small business communities. Stay tuned for a small business forum sponsored by my office in early February. |
The Right to Recover Program offers one-time financial support of $1,285 to those who need monetary resources in order to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19. The City recently announced an additional $6 million to ensure that essential workers don’t risk transmitting COVID-19 just because they can’t afford to miss work.
Have you tested positive for COVID-19 and are concerned about missing work? For more information on the Right to Recover program, call the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) Workforce Hotline at (415) 701-4817 where representatives are available Monday through Friday to answer calls in multiple languages, or email workforce.connection@sfgov.org. Learn more at www.oewd.org/covid19/workers.
OEWD also hosts Rapid Response/Layoff Response Assistance webinars for businesses and workers affected by COVID-19 with the CA Employment Development Department (EDD). The First and Third Tuesdays of the month 2:00 - 3:15 PM. You can register here. |
California Rebuilding Fund
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| Loans up to $100,000 are available for qualifying businesses, with 3- to 5-year terms and fixed interest. Businesses that employed 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) and had gross revenues of less than $2.5 million or below in 2019 are eligible to apply. You can fill out a pre-application to get matched with a participating community lender. Learn more and apply here. |
Personal Protective Equipment (PPP) for Small Businesses
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San Francisco small businesses that would like to request PPE can do so through their nearest participating community-based organization. They may request a 30-day supply of hand sanitizers, surgical masks, and face shields.Organizations that have received their shipment have contact info listed below. For questions, call the Office of Small Business at 415-554-6134.
Chinese Chamber of Commerce - sfchinesechamber@gmail.com
Southeast Asian Community Center (SEACC) - lisachau@seaccusa.org
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center - dchacona@rencenter.org
Goodwill Industries - thenry@sfgoodwill.org |
Protecting a San Francisco Jewel: SFAI Diego Rivera Mural
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Our office has been fielding a lot of calls about the vaccine. Where can you get it? Who should you call? I want to assure you that I've been meeting with the Department of Public Health to ensure that the vaccine will be distributed equitably and as expeditiously as we receive them. At last week’s hearing on the city’s vaccination plan, the Department of Public Health announced that it hopes to offer the vaccine to all San Franciscans by the end of June 2021. It’s an ambitious goal, but if ever the circumstances called for ambition, now is that time.
However, the truth is, the supply of the vaccine continues to be extremely scarce. While many people qualify for the vaccine under the States’ definition, the City and other healthcare institutions are still prioritizing healthcare workers and those most vulnerable to the disease. Although the city has little control over the supply of the vaccine, we are working diligently to create an infrastructure that would allow us to quickly notify everyone with language and cultural competency as the vaccine becomes available.
As part of this infrastructure, the City recently opened its first of the three high-volume vaccination sites at City College of San Francisco’s main campus on Ocean Ave. Two additional sites will soon be opened at Moscone Center in SOMA and SF Market in Bayview, which will serve anyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine regardless of health coverage. Smaller scale vaccination sites at clinics, community hubs, and mobile vaccination sites, are also on the pipeline to serve communities highly-impacted by COVID-19.
Fortunately, we are seeing a plateau in a number of public health indicators and fingers-crossed that the Bay Area region will soon come down from the Purple Tier as defined by State guidelines. In the meantime, sign up to receive notification about the latest update about the vaccination plan.
Check Your Eligibility
- Acute care, psychiatric, and correctional facility hospitals
- Skilled nursing facilities
- First responders (paramedics, EMTs)
- Dialysis centers
Tier 2
- Intermediate care facilities
- Home health care and in-home supportive services
- Community health workers
- Public health field staff
- Primary care clinics, including correctional facility clinics, and urgent care clinics
Tier 3
- Specialty clinics
- Laboratory workers
- Dental and other oral health clinics
- Pharmacy staff not working in settings at higher tiers
- People 65 years and above
Find out more about the vaccine, here. |
D3 Community Events & Announcements
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D3 Public Safety During COVID Forum
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I have been meeting regularly with Central Station Captain Robert Yick and Northern Station Captain Paul Yep in response to an increase in commercial and residential break-ins. This rash of break-ins citywide, along with several high-profile assaults, highlight the need for a public safety strategy that addresses the lack of foot traffic and “eyes on the street” during the COVID-19 shutdown.
I have asked Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Chesa Boudin, in partnership with SF Safe, to host a District 3 public safety forum to update constituents and small businesses on the City’s strategy for addressing crime during COVID-19, as well as offer insights as to what we all can do to support neighborhood safety.
We’re aiming to host the event in the first week of February and will be sending a separate invitation this coming week. Meanwhile, we want to hear from you if you have any questions for us or our public safety officials. Please send email to my staff Calvin Yan, so we can include your inquiries into the presentation. |
| Many of you have reached out to our office wanting to knowhow to support Ms. Vorhaus, who was visciously mugged for her 5 year old French bulldog, Chloe. SFPD is actively pursuing leads on the assailants, but you can help by getting the word out about Chloe who may have been sold already. The reward poster is here, and you can also call SFPD anonymous tip-line at 415-575-4444 with any info or email Sgt Kevin Cuadro. |
Rent is Due on 2/1. Do you know your rights?
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As rent comes due for hundreds of thousands of San Francisco residents, amid a pandemic that has caused unprecedented unemployment, my office is engaged with our State legislative delegation to ensure that eviction protections are extended beyond their current January 31, 2021 expiration date.
The clock is ticking, and I recently put the Board of Supervisors on record in support of Assembly Bills 15 and 16 (Asm. Chiu, AD-17), which would extend protections and create a framework for financial relief for renters statewide.
Know Your Rights Town Hall - 1/27 at 5pm: This Wednesday, State Senator Scott Wiener is hosting a Know Your Rights Town Hall with tenant attorney Stephen Collier and Shanti Singh, of statewide advocacy group Tenants Together. Register here.
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Community Resilience: "Love Letters to Chinatown"
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 24th, 2PM-4PM - Join the API Cultural Center in listening to “Love Letters to Chinatown”, a collection of love notes dedicated to Chinatown during the COVID-19 pandemic, showcased live by a panel of artists, writers, filmmakers and community organizers. Inspired by the W.O.W Project NYC and love for our community, this art project recognizes the unity and stories that have always existed here in the Bay Area. These letters carry on conversations and memories of resilience for future generations and act as a live documentation of community strength and love.
Click here to register for this art panel. |
DEADLINE TO ENTER - February 10th - Join On Lok PACE and Community Youth Center (CYC) in an intergenerational Lunar New Year poster contest to celebrate the Year of the Ox. The theme is “Caring for the Elderly Through Lunar New Year”. Children are encouraged to interview and work with their elders to identify their family’s Lunar New Year traditions and bring them to life through art. You can register and submit your original artwork here:
The winner will be announced at a joint press conference by On Lok PACE and CYC and used online to promote safe community celebrations during Lunar New Year. Please help spread the word!
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Board of Supervisors | District 3 | Aaron Peskin
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