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Dear Neighbor,
As we move into the holiday season, all of us in the D9 office extend our best wishes to you and yours. This past month has been incredibly busy with the election season and our constant work to address the many pressing issues facing our District, which has included exciting wins while moving the needle on some of the more pervasive challenges. Read on to learn about some of the highlights of our most recent efforts.
Prop G Wins!
We are so proud that Prop G, the measure we wrote and put on the ballot, also known as the Student Success Fund,
passed overwhelmingly by San Francisco voters on election day. This measure represents a historic investment in our public schools. The funds will allow schools in SFUSD to apply for grants to implement programs that promote academic achievement and social emotional wellness, to meet the needs of students most impacted by trauma and social inequities, including addressing learning challenges further exacerbated by the pandemic. Our office will be working closely with the Department of Children Youth and Their Families in the coming months to work out an immediate implementation plan.
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Supporting Small Businesses
I put forward legislation in September to support new small businesses with an ordinance for the Waiver of Permit, License, and Business Registration Fees for Certain Small Businesses to continue, and indeed expand the current First Year Free program. This will waive initial license, permit, and registration fees for new businesses through June 30, 2023, and will include businesses with gross receipts up to $5 million (up from $2 million). The First Year Free program
is now available to all new businesses (not just those with ground floor commercial storefronts). To date, over 1900 small businesses have already enrolled! The Small Business Commission unanimously voted to support this legislation noting that the new guidelines would make it more accessible to a variety of new businesses, and that the extended timeline is necessary given the slow economic recovery from COVID-19. |
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"The Commission is committed to pursuing policies that support new business creation such as this. The Commission commends Supervisor Ronen and her staff for their willingness to extend this valuable program for another year. Thank you for considering the Commission’s recommendations.” |
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Tackling Homelessness
This is one of the biggest problems in the Mission and is a tragedy for everyone involved. I fight every single day to bring as many resources as possible to meet this great need. As Chair of the Budget Committee I passed a budget that included more hotel rooms, tiny cabins and permanent supportive housing for transitional aged youth living on the streets of the Mission. As these resources begin to come online, we expect a big difference on the streets.
In an effort to be as transparent as possible we have asked the two departments charged with addressing homelessness to provide weekly data as to how many encounters and placements each has made during the week. You can look at city-wide data here, and check out our website for specific
D9 data.
San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team (SFHOT)
The San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team is on the streets of the Mission every day. Their job is to provide outreach, offer shelter when available and begin to build trust with our unhoused neighbors. Their goal is to facilitate the best and most appropriate housing opportunity to ensure a permanent, positive outcome.
If you encounter an unhoused person who seeks shelter and resources, please encourage them to call 415-355-7401 and leave a message with their name and location. Neighbors may also call and leave a message to request outreach. Please note you can only leave a message and SFHOT will only respond to the location described in the message. SFHOT does not resolve encampments, cleanups or move people along.
Healthy Streets Operation Center (HSOC)
The Healthy Streets Operation Center is charged with resolving large encampments and assisting the residents of those encampments to the most available and appropriate housing opportunities. They operate citywide, however because of the conditions in the Mission they are here 2-3 times a week, cleaning and moving people inside. |
Street Conditions
Community Ambassadors
Through the advocacy of my office, the Mission has received a grant from the Mayor’s office to fund 14 new community ambassadors, to bring the total number of city ambassadors in the Mission to 25. These new ambassadors will be hired and trained by local, community-based organizations, to reflect the individual needs and culture of our neighborhood. They are currently being recruited and trained and we expect them to hit the street early next year.
Currently ambassadors are deployed around schools to ensure safe passage of children and their families. These ambassadors will be deployed in high needs areas such as the 16th & 24th BART plazas, around schools and on the Mission corridor.
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“Conditions in the Mission have been unacceptable for quite some time. We have been working to restore a healthy atmosphere in the neighborhood while working hard not to further punish people for being poor,” said District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “Striking this right balance isn’t always easy. I believe community ambassadors will help us accomplish both goals and am so excited we will shortly have dozens of ambassadors walking the streets to help people feel safe and restore some vibrancy to the neighborhood.” |
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Photo: Speaking at the press conferencing during the announcement of more ambassadors in the City, including at least 14 in District 9 (Oct. 24th). |
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Vendor Legislation
After months of outreach, in collaboration with Calle 24, city departments and other community-based organizations, there are over 35 permitted street vendors in or around the 24th & Mission Bart Station. It has been a top priority of my office to ensure that legitimate street vendors selling their artisan goods have a safe and orderly place to operate, earn their living and contribute to the character and economy of the Mission.
Public Works have also done an exceptional job of outreach and education about basic minimum standards to keep our streets clean and free from the fencing of stolen goods. At the same time, we understand that there is still much work to be done to make sure the Mission is not a destination for the selling of stolen goods.
Through a special allocation in last year's budget, Public Works will hire more inspectors to ensure there is a city presence at 24th and Mission and the Mission Corridor 7 days a week. Our Office will continue to monitor the situation and demand the appropriate city response when needed. |
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month |
| Photo: Supervisor Ronen, Debby Santiago (honoree), Paloma Flores and Sharaya Souza of the American Indian Cultural District |
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I am very proud that our office hosted the first Native American Heritage Month Special Commendations at the Board of Supervisors. Our office honored Debbie Santiago, owner of the longest running Native American small business in SF, Debbie’s Hair & More, on Capp and 22nd Streets. Debbie has also been an incredible leader who has created and sustained the American Indian Cultural District of San Francisco, the first American Indian cultural district in the country. Thank you AICD for working with us to host this wonderful event and congratulations, Debbie! |
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More Affordable Housing Wins!
The Board of Supervisors approved the next steps in moving forward with the Potrero Yard Modernization Project, an exciting plan that will restore the dilapidated 107-year-old Potrero Bus Yard with a state-of-the-art bus storage facility and 575 affordable rental units for low- and moderate-income tenants.
“This is an exciting milestone for a project that not only brings urgently needed improvements to our aging transportation infrastructure, but also shows how we can work outside the box to create desperately needed housing,” said District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “Affordable housing is critically needed in San Francisco, and I'm thrilled that this project seeks to place a significant number of affordable units in District 9." |
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Supporting Green Spaces in D9!
🌱 🌿 We have been supporting the efforts of several neighborhood groups who are revitalizing City parcels by creating (or rehabbing) community gardens and park space to beautify our neighborhoods, implement sustainable land stewardship, and benefit residents by creating public use spaces. These projects are resident and volunteer-led, and bring in design elements that meet the City’s long-term Climate Action goals, while enhancing community engagement with the land, and incorporate design elements that promote art and environmental education. Current projects include Ogden Avenue, Virginia Garden Walk, and Good Prospect Community Garden. Keep your eye out for future news on
these and other Green Space developments! |
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Creating a Shop Local D9 Holiday Guide!
In partnership with the San Francisco Office of Small Business, we are creating a Holiday Shopping Guide for District 9 to be released next week. We asked the cultural and merchant associations in Bernal Heights, Mission, and Portola to help us feature small businesses who sell gift items for the holidays. We hope to provide an inclusive list but know it might not catch everyone.
If your business has not yet participated, it's not too late! Fill out this form no later than 4 pm this Saturday, November 19! The form is very quick and easy and will take you no more than 5 minutes to fill out.
If you don't get in this time, let us know and we will be sure to include your business in future guides. Note that this specific guide does not include restaurants or bars, rather shops that have items to sell for holiday giving. We anticipate creating a future D9 guide for restaurants and bars sometime next year. |
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And always, but especially during this holiday season, we encourage you to...
SHOP & EAT LOCAL!
Keep an eye out for our D9 holiday guide. Next week we will send the guide out through email and post on our website, which you can find here after Monday 11/21! 🎁 |
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Profile of a D9 Resident in SF Senior Beat
Senior beat has featured another wonderful District 9 resident. Mack Dudley has lived in the Mission since the early 1980s and has worked at the Walgreens at 4th and Howard for 42 years. He is also an accomplished potter. Read his full story here.
And... speaking of Seniors...
The D9 Office is Seeking a Retiree to join our Intern Team!
We have an opening for a part-time intern position. Join the D9 team of interns and staff! This position is primarily remote work although you will get to spend some time at the majestic City Hall. Engage with constituents on important issues impacting our City and learn about the legislative process, the role of the Supervisor and press City departments to respond to resident needs.
Anne Gallagher and Jesus Barragan, our two current and long-time Senior interns, are featured in this Senior Beat article about their work in our office.
“When someone calls about a troublesome corner, it helps that we know the neighborhood and we’re familiar with the problems,” Gallagher said.
On hearing of a problem, the first thing they do is call the appropriate city department, Johnson [former intern] said. “Often, just by saying we’re from Hillary Ronen’s office, we help things move along. Working in Hillary’s office gives us leverage and a sense of agency.”
From Jesus...“I always think, ’What if that was me on the line’ ” he said. “I try to treat all our callers with respect and courtesy.” |
We have a lot of fun in our office, even while tending to very serious issues...
The D9 Staff and Interns had a recent celebration to say farewell to our wonderful long-time intern, Lisa Haut. We wish her well on her future adventures and want to extend our deep-felt gratitude for all she has done for District 9.
If you are interested in joining our team, email: ronenstaff@sfgov.org with your resume and statement of interest. |
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Photo: Back from left: Ana Herrera (Legislative Aide), Supervisor Hillary Ronen, Jen Ferrigno (Legislative Aide). Front from left: Lisa Haut (former intern), Jesus Barragan (Senior Intern), Anne Gallagher (Senior Intern), Santiago Lerma (Legislative Aide). (Missing: Nikita Saini, Legislative Aide) |
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As always, you can reach out to our team if you have any concerns or questions by emailing: ronenstaff@sfgov.org.
Wishing you a healthy and peaceful holiday season.
Sincerely, |
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