February 1, 2021
A Message From The Supervisor:
February is a special month for District 11 because so many of our residents are celebrating Black History Month or Lunar New Year. For the month of February, this newsletter will be highlighting Black History and Lunar New Year events. As the Supervisor of one the most diverse districts in the City, it is important to highlight the richness of all cultures in my district. Moreover, I'm asking that our community members share all cultural events and celebrations happening in the District with my office so we can highlight them in our weekly newsletters. This newsletter is only as effective as the information we receive from our constituents, community partners, and City staff.
Although our City Hall Office is closed to the public due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are still here to serve you. If you have any difficulty during this time, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are available by email: safaistaff@sfgov.org or by phone 415-554-6976 (leave a message and we will call you back). You can also check for updates on my Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Supervisor Ahsha SafaiÂ
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As you may know, San Francisco returned to the purple tier of re-opening starting last Thursday, January 28, after the state announced it would lift mandatory regional restrictions.Â
The following activities were reopened/allowed to resume:
- Personal Services. Indoor and outdoor personal services establishments, including hair and nail salons, barbers, tattoo, piercing, and massage services may reopen, but facial coverings are required to be worn at all times. Services that would necessitate the removal of facial coverings are not allowed at this point.
- Outdoor Dining. Outdoor dining may resume. It is limited to up to 6 people total from up to two households at a table. Per State requirements, barriers between tables can no longer serve as an alternative to distancing tables 6 feet or more. Live entertainment is allowed except for singing or brass or wind instruments.
- Outdoor Museums and Zoos. Outdoor operations for museums and zoos may resume, though zoos are capped at 50% capacity not including personnel. Concessions are allowed under the guidance of retail or outdoor dining according to the type of concessions.
- Outdoor Family Entertainment Centers. Family entertainment such as skate parks, batting cages, miniature golf, kart racing, and laser tag or paintball may resume outdoor operations. Roller and ice skating rinks may operate at 25% capacity. Concessions are allowed under the guidance of retail or outdoor dining according to the type of concessions.
- Open Air Boats and Busses. Open air boats and busses may operate outdoor operations of up to 12 passengers or physically distanced groups of 12, if social distancing can be maintained between groups. Concessions are allowed under the guidance of retail or outdoor dining according to the type of concessions.
- Small Gatherings. Members of up to 3 households with a maximum of 12 people total may gather outdoors if social distance can be maintained and no food or drink is being consumed. If food or drink is being consumed, only members from two households of up to 6 people total is allowed.Â
- Indoor Fitness. 1:1 personal training is allowed to resume indoors with no more than 3 people, including the customer, the trainer and a support staff.
- Indoor Funerals. Indoor funerals may take place with up to 12 people.
The following activities may expand their operating capacity:
- Grocery Stores. Standalone grocery stores may operate at 50% customer capacity, not including personnel, up from 35%.
- Retail. All retail including low-contact retail services such as dog groomers, shoe, electronics and similar repair services may operate at 25% customer capacity, not including personnel, up from 20%. For enclosed shopping malls, any common areas and food courts must remain closed.Â
- Hotels and Lodging. Hotels and lodging may accept reservations for tourist use from in-state and out of state guests. Out of Bay Area guests are required to quarantine for 10 days and must make a reservation for 10 days or longer in order to do so. Indoor gyms, meeting rooms, ballrooms and dining must remain closed, though outdoor dining can resume and room service can continue.
- Outdoor Fitness. Removes the 12-person cap on outdoor fitness so long as social distancing can be met, and increases the fitness class cap to 25.
- Youth sports. Youth sports without spectators are allowed if it is part of a childcare or out of school time (OST) program or part of an organized and supervised youth sports program. Additionally, low-contact youth sports that are allowed by the state in the purple tier may resume such as dancing, biking, no-contact martial arts, lawn bowling, or bocce ball. Distancing and face coverings must be in place at all times.
- Outdoor Recreation. Up to three households may engage in recreational activities that allow social distancing, including low-contact sports such as hiking, biking, dancing, and including those that share equipment such as balls and Frisbees.
- Golf and Tennis. Expands to allow foursomes for golf, but limits to one household per cart and requires staggered tee times. Expands to allow doubles for tennis limited to members of one household per team. Pickleball remains limited to singles per State requirements.
- Outdoor Religious and Political Gatherings. Removes the 200-person cap to allow religious and political activities to take place unrestricted as long as social distancing can be maintained.
Vaccine Rollout
The mass vaccination site located at the City College of San Francisco started operations on Friday, January 22. The appointments are currently limited to those in Phase 1a. You can visit the following website to see the State's prioritization plan for distributing vaccine: https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/#When-can-I-get-vaccinatedÂ
You may also click here to sign-up for a vaccine notification to see when you may qualify to receive a vaccine. Below are links to some additional resources on the available COVID-19 vaccines and the State's prioritization plan: Â
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February COVID-19 Testing in District 11Â
The City is encouraging residents who have insurance to get tested through their medical provider, so as to take the strain off of our free testing sites. If you have health insurance, schedule a test with your doctor . If you have symptoms or known exposure, your healthcare provider is required by law to get you a test.
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Excelsior (Community Pop-up Site)
Mondays from 10am to 6pm
Crocker Amazon Park
799 Moscow (in the parking lot near Paris Street)
San Francisco, CA 94112
Walk-Through and Drive-through
OMI (Community Pop Up Site)
Fridays from 9am-4pm
50 Broad Street
No Appointment Necessary
Walk-Through, Free Parking Provided
Alemany Farmers Market (CityTest SF)
100 Alemany Boulevard
Walk-Through and Drive-through
Alemany takes a limited number of drop-ins. Make an Appointment for guaranteed testing. Click HERE to make an appointment at Alemany.Â
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Please click HERE for housing resources, eviction prevention programs, and other financial assistance related services offered to District 11 residents and all San Francisco residents.Â
If you are facing any difficulty, please reach out to my office at SafaiStaff@sfgov.org and we will connect you with a housing resources available to all residents.Â
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SFTMA Updates
Last week, I co-sponsored Supervisor Myrna Melgar's resolution urging the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) to expedite the return of transit lines indefinitely cut during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Â
SFMTA reduced service on many transit lines during the shelter-in-place order, however, regular vital routes such as the F, 6, 18, 21, 23, 31, 35, 36, 52, and 53 have remained completely out of service. SFMTA suspended their light rail system, which has provided limited bus substitutions for light rail routes including N Judah, L/K Taraval Ingleside, and M Oceanview. While some of these lines served student commuters, they were relied upon by many seniors and other individuals who need to access essential services such as child care, work, grocery store, and medical appointments. SFMTA launched the Essential Trip Card (ETC) program for seniors in order to access subsided taxi rides, but it is limited and is still cost-prohibitive for residents living on fixed incomes. Â
As San Francisco reopens to the purple tier, it is imperative that residents in all parts of the City have access to reliable public transit for essential activities, especially for residents in our Southern neighborhoods who rely heavily on public transportation to move around the City. Many residents in District 11 do not have immediate access to essential services within walking distance, such grocery stores, medical centers and pharmacies, continuous access to COVID-19 testing sites and mass vaccination sites as the City eventually opens appointments to the public. I strongly urge the SFMTA to reinstate critical lines to help our working families stay connected with the rest of the City.
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Our District 11 office will continue to keep you updated on MUNI services as they may change in the near future. Click HERE for the latest update on MUNI routes.
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CalTrans
If you have any questions or requests for Caltrans, please visit the Caltrans’ Customer Service Request tool: https://csr.dot.ca.gov/
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OEWD Best Practices Webinar with Supervisor Ahsha Safai
As you may know, San Francisco returned to the purple tier of re-opening as the State released all regions from the strict stay-at-home order. This means that many of our small businesses were allowed to reopen with limited capacity. This week, I am facilitating an update from the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) on best practices when applying for grants/loans and operating shared spaces.
Please join us for our weekly community meeting and OEWD Best Practices webinar this Thursday, February 4, 2021 from 12:00-1:00pm. We will be joined by special guest OEWD Director Joaquin Torres and other representatives from OEWD. See below for more details
Weekly District 11 Community Meeting and OEWD Best Practices Webinar
with Supervisor Ahsha Safai and special guest Director Joaquin Torres
Thursday, February 4, 2021
12:00-1:00pm
Register via Zoom:Â https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIudu6tpjgrEtY3vT5REwQwyCHFJs_gxniN
$62 Million SF Small Business Relief Program
Mayor Breed also announced a new plan to provide immediate financial relief for small businesses struggling as a result of COVID-19. The $62 million plan will provide a combination of grants and very low to zero-interest loans, which will complement and expand existing local, state, and federal initiatives. Click HERE to read more about this plan.
Federal COVID-19 Emergency Relief PackageÂ
Congress reached an agreement on a $900 billion relief package and a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill that funds the federal government through September 2021. Measures will include COVID-19 relief to small businesses, individuals, and families. The President has finally signed the bill into law as of a couple days ago. Small business measures include
- $284 billion added to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP will also be updated through expanded eligibility and forgiveness.
- $20 billion added to the Economic Injury Disaster Loans Program (EIDL)Â
- $15 billion for the Save Our Stages Grant ProgramÂ
This new grant program will support live entertainment venues and promoters, movie theaters, museums, performing arts organizations, and talent representatives. Applications are not yet available.
- $3.5 billion in debt relief and program enhancements for new and existing SBA-backed small business loans, including 7(a), 504, and Microloan programs.Â
Updates will be posted on the Office of Economic and Workforce Development’s (OEWD) resource page HERE as details are finalized.
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Informational Webinars
The Small Business Development Center will host webinars daily at 11:00 AM to educate businesses about program details and go over the application process, tips for applying, FAQs, and updates. If you’re interested in applying for this grant, please plan to attend one of these sessions. Click HERE  for the webinar link and schedule for different languages.
OEWD Budget Discussions
OEWD will be holding three virtual public budget discussions to share their work and to hear directly from you to inform their budget priorities.
Click HERE to Register for Thursday, February 4 at 6:00PM
Click HERE to Register for Friday, February 12 at 10:00AM
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James Denman Middle School
Wednesdays from 9am-1pm
Address:Â 240 Seneca Avenue, San Francisco, 94112
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Minnie and Lovie Ward Rec Center
Saturdays from 9am-1pmÂ
Address:Â 650 Capitol Avenue, San Francisco, 94112
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Stonestown YMCA
Wednesdays from 12pm-4pmÂ
Address:Â 333 Eucalyptus Drive, San Francisco, 94132
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Cow Palace
Fridays from 9am-1pm
Address: 2600 Geneva Avenue San Francisco, 94014
Food Bank participants can inquire about the home-delivery service or apply directly by calling their Hotline: 628-272-8430.
Or, the agencies can refer participants to the program via the link below:
To be eligible for the Pantry at Home program, participants must be:
- 65 years or older, OR
- Have an underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk for complications from COVID-19, OR
- Have difficulty attending a food pantry due to a physical or cognitive disability.
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| A new San Francisco Public Library To Go-Go pop-up site launches in the OMI Â neighborhood on Wednesday, February 3. You can now pick up and drop off books at 50 Broad Street in the parking lot of Catholic Charities on Wednesdays between 2-6 pm. Visit the Library's website to check out your books today! https://sfpl.org/sfpl-to-go |
Prop 19 Workshop Video
On January 5, Assessor Recorder Carmen Chu's office hosted an online workshop about the changes brought by this new law and invited financial and estate planners to join us to help answer some of the most frequently asked questions.Â
Over 2,000 people registered for the event and close to 1,000 questions were submitted, we covered as much as we could during the 90-minute event. The recording of the workshop is now available on their newly developed Proposition 19 website at SFAssessor.org/Prop19. Chinese and Spanish interpretations are also available. Feel free to share them with your family and loved ones. (98% respondents said they would recommend the event to friends and family!)
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