Joining neighbors in the Bernal Cut on January 17th for a cleaning and greening day.
It is my great honor and privilege to continue to represent the residents of District 8 for another year. Please read below for updates about the work my office has been doing during these first several weeks of 2021, as well as a recap of some of our 2020 accomplishments.
STAYING CONNECTED
City Hall remains closed to the public, but we are still working remotely. The best way to stay in touch with us is by email. We check our email and voicemail every day. Please don’t hesitate to reach out via email, at mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org.
VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS
Have questions or concerns for the District 8 Office? Our next Virtual Office Hours will be Saturday February 13th from 10am to 1pm. Email mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org to request a 10 minute appointment. Appointments are on a first come first served basis.
WEEKLY ZOOMSIDE CHAT
Every second and fourth Friday at 2pm my office hosts an informal Zoomside Chat, where constituents can get the latest updates and ask questions of us and our special guest. For more information, please visit my Facebook page or email erin.mundy@sfgov.org.
On January 22nd we welcomed SFPD Chief Bill Scott for a conversation about criminal justice reform and public safety.
On Friday February 12th at 2pm, we'll be joined by San Francisco's new City Administrator and Co-Chair of the Economic Recovery Task Force, former Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu. To attend this meeting on Zoom, register here or watch on Facebook live.
PUBLIC HEALTH UPDATES
VACCINE AVAILABILITY
My office has heard from many constituents frustrated and confused by conflicting information and opaque processes in this early stage of the vaccine rollout. We've been working hard to get clear, accurate, and updated information about vaccine distribution to District 8 residents. The City’s COVID Command Center, SF Department of Public Health (DPH), and private health care providers are working around the clock to get all available vaccines into the arms of San Franciscans as quickly as possible. The fundamental challenge remains the ongoing shortage of vaccines provided by the State to both public and private health care providers.
The City has created a website where people who live and work in SF can be notified once they are eligible to be vaccinated. Sign up for these notifications here: http://SF.gov/vaccinenotify.
Currently, the California Department of Public Health has issued guidelines authorizing counties to vaccinate individuals in Phase 1a which includes front line health care workers, as well as adults 65 and older. However, while an individual may be eligible for the vaccine, the lack of sufficient vaccine supply continues to limit both public and private providers' ability to vaccinate all those who are currently eligible. In other words, simply being eligible is no guarantee that an appointment will be easily available.
DISTRICT 8 VACCINE TOWN HALL Have more questions about vaccinations? Join my office, the SF COVID Command Center, and Department of Public Health on Monday, February 1st from 5 to 6pm for a virtual town hall about the COVID-19 vaccine. We'll provide updates on vaccine efficacy and safety as well as San Francisco’s allocation and distribution plan.
In response to Governor Newsom lifting the State's Regional Stay at Home Order, San Francisco has eased certain requirements under the local Stay at Home Order. San Francisco has been assigned to the purple tier -- the most restrictive tier in California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy system -- allowing the City to resume certain businesses and activities effective Thursday, January 28th.
The following activities have been reopened/allowed to resume as of Thursday, January 28:
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
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
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
While this is welcome news for our many struggling small businesses and their workers, it's critical that we not forgot how we got here: San Francisco experienced a significant surge in COVID-19 cases in the fall that escalated further in December, with the average number of new COVID cases increasing more than tenfold from 32 per day in mid-October to 372 per day at the surge’s peak. Currently, San Francisco is averaging 187 new COVID-19 cases per day, and although our ICU capacity holds steady at more than 25% and hospitalization and case rates are declining, we can't let our guard down yet. San Francisco’s case rate is still nearly twice the rate that would be required to advance to the red tier and allow further reopening of businesses and activities.
As a new, extremely contagious, and potentially more lethal variant of the virus emerges, we must remain vigilant to save lives and prevent the continued shuttering of our economy. Let's all do our part by wearing masks whenever we're outside, maintaining six feet distance, washing our hands, and refraining from indoor gatherings with anyone we don't live with.
WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON
CHAIRING THE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors doubles as the County Transportation Authority (CTA). At our first meeting of the year, my colleagues unanimously elected me as the new chair of the CTA. COVID-19 has created a crisis for public transportation systems across the country. We are facing historic challenges, but I am hopeful that changes underway in Washington and the availability of COVID vaccines will allow us to restore service and reimagine transportation in San Francisco in a way that creates a more reliable and equitable system for everyone who depends on it. The Transportation Authority can play a critical role in shaping our recovery and addressing our climate crisis and I am grateful for the opportunity to work with my colleagues, transportation leaders, and our regional partners over the coming year.
NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING: This Tuesday I will be proposing legislation to allow up to four units on corner lots and on lots within a half-mile of train stations. My legislation will also make it harder to build mega-mansion single family homes and it will encourage the construction of multi-family buildings in their place. I believe we have to come together to find reasonable solutions to our housing crisis and I look forward to working with anyone who's willing to join that conversation over the coming months.
FEE RELIEF, GRANTS & LOANS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: COVID-19 has devastated our small businesses. Many have been stuck on a merry-go-round of re-openings, closures, and new restrictions, while others have been unable to operate at all since March. On January 5th, the Board unanimously passed legislation I authored with Mayor Breed to provide more than $5 million in fee relief for some of our hardest hit businesses.
I am also co-sponsoring legislation by Supervisor Stefani to waive business license and registration fees for an even broader range of small businesses that were ordered to close, and to refund any payments that have already been made.
This round of relief cannot be the end of the City’s efforts to support our small businesses, but it does re-affirm our commitment to creating an environment where longtime businesses can stabilize and re-grow and new businesses can flourish.
PUBLIC SAFETY HEARING: In the wake of the horrible events that claimed the lives of Hanako Abe and Elizabeth Platt on New Years Eve and forever changed the life of the individual responsible for their deaths, I joined Supervisor Stefani in requesting a hearing to take a hard look at San Francisco’s public safety policies and protocols.
There is no more important job for government than to keep our people safe. For many years now, San Francisco has been engaged in work that I believe in and remain committed to – re-examining how government provides safety to make it more equitable, anti-racist, more restorative and rehabilitative, less punitive and arbitrary. I would argue that we are a better, and safer city, for that work.
And San Francisco today is objectively a far safer place than it was when I was growing up here. But over the last year I have been hearing from constituents that they feel it is becoming less safe, and there is at least some crime data to back that up. That is why I believe it is so important that we dig in to understand how this tragic event came to take place.
Our charge as policy makers is not just to announce reforms – set it and forget it - but to ensure their implementation in a way that makes the public safer and our City more just. I look forward to having this important conversation with our public safety partners at this hearing. Please reach out to Tom Temprano in my office at tom.temprano@sfgov.org if you would like more information about this hearing.
STREET CRISIS RESPONSE TEAMS ARE COMING TO D8: Starting February 1st, the Street Crisis Response Team will be on the streets of District 8! The SCRT, which is comprised of a behavioral health clinician, a community paramedic, and a peer, will respond to 911 calls for people experiencing behavioral health crisis on the streets of Upper Market and the Castro.
San Francisco has long lacked an effective emergency response to people suffering from addiction and severe mental illness on our streets. That's why the creation of the SCRT was a top recommendation of the 2019 Methamphetamine Task Force, which I co-chaired, and why I worked with Mayor Breed and Supervisors Ronen and Haney to secure full funding for this new program in the 2020-21 Budget.
Now when residents, visitors, and businesses in Upper Market and the Castro see someone in crisis and call 911, the 911 Call Center can dispatch the SCRT to respond, diverting calls from police in situations that don't involve violent behavior. Initially the Castro/Mission team will work Monday to Friday 8am-4pm, and will soon expand to 7am-7pm 7 days a week. As new teams are formed and deployed the goal is 24-7 coverage.
ACCELERATING OUR ELECTRIC VEHICLE TRANSITION: On January 27th I introduced a resolution urging the California Air Resources Board (CARB), State agencies and the State Legislature to take immediate action to support electric vehicle adoption across the state. The resolution calls for the swift implementation of Governor Newsom’s Executive Order requiring all personal vehicle sales to be zero emission by 2035. It also calls for the expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, subsidy programs for low-income consumers, and funding to help transit operators switch to all electric fleets.
The climate crisis is not going to wait. We need major investments in electric vehicles and buses included in this year’s State budget and we need the State to adopt regulations phasing out fossil fuel vehicles as quickly as possible. With the Biden-Harris administration committed to installing 500,000 new charging stations nationwide by 2030, and the Governor’s recent actions to accelerate the electric vehicle transition, the next couple of years present a special opportunity for San Francisco to steer away from fossil fuel vehicles once and for all, while boosting our economic recovery.
PUBLIC SAFETY TOWN HALLS: In response to concerns from neighbors about increasing crime, my office convened a series of public safety town halls where our public safety departments can provide updates and answer residents' questions.
In December we were joined by the Captain Pedrini of Park Station and District Attorney Boudin for a meeting with neighbors in Corona Heights, Corbett Heights and Mount Olympus to address car break-ins and property crime.
In January, after a series of gun related incidents in Noe Valley, we brought together the Captains of Mission and Ingleside Station, District Attorney Boudin and SF SAFE to update neighbors.
Sadly there have also been multiple incidents of gun violence in Glen Park over the last several weeks so we will be convening public safety departments and Glen Park neighbors in the coming months. In the interim we have asked for an increased SFPD presence to keep the neighborhood safe. If you would like to attend the Glen Park public safety meeting please contact Erin Mundy in my office at erin.mundy@sfgov.org for details.
IN THE NEWS
SF Supervisor's creative proposal: Make it hard to build McMansions, easier to build small apartments.
“I’m a little offended by the idea we care about how many people live in a box of the same size,” Mandelman said. “And I’m more offended that we want fewer people living in that box. It’s not sustainable if you want a diverse city.”
Will the commercial corridors in SF's Mission recover? It may only be a matter of time.
“The pandemic has pushed along some conversations that were probably long overdue about ways for the city to be more supportive of small business,” Mandelman said.
“We have this opportunity over the next two years,” said San Francisco Supervisor and incoming chair of the County Transportation Authority Rafael Mandelman in an interview with Streetsblog. “It could be the best opportunity we have… towards having the funds that we need for the downtown extension.”
The lady was a champ: Remembering Margot St. James, patron saint of sex work
"Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced the resolution to declare February 14th Margo St. James Day, “in memory of a truly extraordinary woman who dared to champion the cause of sex worker rights, who fought fiercely and effectively for women’s liberation, and who in doing so changed not just our city but our world,” Mandelman says."
The Castro's Rainbow Honor Walk Helped me Escape 2021 Anxiety
“It’s the most important gayborhood in the world,” Mandelman said. “We’re just getting started on commemorating the history of the queer community and the AIDS crisis in the Castro. I love the Rainbow Honor Walk, and we need to continue building it out, and I also feel like there’s a whole lot more we need to do. We need a real museum, too. I think that’s important.”
2020 was a hell of a year, but we managed to get some good things done nonetheless.
ADDRESSING OUR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS
Establishing a D8 Behavioral Health Navigation Center: In February I introduced a proposal to open the City’s first community-based Hummingbird Navigation Center in District 8 at 1156 Valencia Street. The Valencia Street Community Hummingbird will nearly double the City's behavioral health navigation center beds, but I will continue to push for an expansion of the Hummingbird model citywide to help get people in crisis off our streets and into these safer places. The Valencia Street Community Hummingbird faced construction delays and a reduced capacity due to COVID-19, but is slated to open this spring, with 20-24 beds with a focus on individuals from the surrounding neighborhood.
Mental Health Reform During COVID-19: I held hearings in June and July to assess the City’s plans to meet the behavioral health needs of unhoused San Franciscans during the pandemic. COVID-19 created significant hurdles to implementing the City’s key mental health reforms that will get the most vulnerable and sickest people off of our streets and into care, but I felt it was critical that this work continue. You can watch a recording of hearing one here, and hearing two here.
HOMELESSNESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Safe Sleeping Villages: While COVID-19 did not create our homelessness crisis, the pandemic saw an increase in the number of encampments citywide and a significant spike in neighborhoods in District 8. In April I authored a resolution urging the City to open Safe Sleeping Sites throughout the City to meet the shelter needs of people living on our streets during the pandemic. I also helped facilitate the opening of the Safe Sleeping Village at Everett Middle School, which operated from June 5th through July 14th. During the time it was open, 48 people resided at the Everett Safe Sleeping Village; among those residents 10 were moved into hotel rooms, 10 were able to be moved to another Safe Sleeping Village following the closure of Everett, and 13 were moved to a congregate shelter site. I also secured additional funding in the 20-21 budget to continue the expansion of Safe Sleeping Villages in San Francisco.
A Place for All: In October I introduced legislation to require the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing to open a network of temporary safe sleeping sites, with enough capacity to ensure that on any given night, any unhoused person who is unable to access a shelter bed, housing unit, or hotel room can be offered an overnight stay at such a site. Safe sleeping sites are a tested and proven model that can be cost-effective and scalable, and are a preferred option of unhoused people. Since May, the City has piloted and proven the concept, opening eight safe sleeping sites, seven of which are still active and which currently provide shelter to over 250 people who would otherwise be sleeping on the street. I am hopeful my colleagues will join me in passing this legislation early in 2021.
LGBTQ Senior Affordable Housing: District 8 has experienced the second highest level of displacement of all districts over the last decade but has seen little new affordable housing built during that time. Finding affordable housing sites in District 8 has been a top priority of mine since taking office and in January 2020 Mayor Breed and I introduced a resolution to authorize the city's acquisition of 1939 Market Street, which will allow us to build desperately-needed LGBTQ friendly senior affordable housing. As too many seniors face displacement from their homes and their community, these units will help ensure that LGBTQ and other seniors at risk of eviction can remain in the Castro.
SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Shared Spaces in District 8: Since June, my office has worked closely with merchant associations, small businesses, neighbors, and City staff to assist businesses interested in participating in the Shared Spaces program. The Shared Spaces program supports our local merchants to safely offer outdoor dining and retail by making use of sidewalks, parking spaces, and street closures. The expansion of outdoor activities has been a critical intervention to sustain many restaurants and retailers, and to date more than 200 District 8 small businesses have participated in the Shared Spaces program. During the budget process I funded additional support for District 8 small businesses doing outdoor dining and retail through the Shared Spaces program.
Economic Recovery Task Force: From April to October, I served on the Economic Recovery Task Force where I worked with a diverse group of City, business, labor, and community stakeholders to craft 41 policy recommendations to support small business sectors in an equitable and sustainable economic recovery. I was proud to serve as Co-Chair of the Arts, Culture, Hospitality, and Entertainment Policy Group with Executive Director of the SF Entertainment Commission Maggie Weiland. You can read the full list of recommendations made by the ERTF here.
Delaying Seismic Retrofit Closures: As COVID-19 raged on, many small businesses that had finally reopened following long periods of mandatory closure due to COVID-19 were being asked to shut down yet again to allow city-mandated seismic retrofit work. We knew many of these businesses would not survive another closure. That’s why I authored legislation in July to extend the deadline for businesses to complete Tier IV soft story retrofit work by one year. This allows additional time for property owners to complete retrofit construction on a timeline that reduces disruption to our already beleaguered and struggling small businesses, while ensuring retrofit construction is also less disruptive to residents as we continue to shelter in place.
Waiving outdoor permitting barriers and fees: I co-authored legislation with Supervisor Aaron Peskin to waive outdoor permitting fees for small businesses. The Shared Spaces program has shown that outdoor dining and shopping is a lifeline for businesses barely hanging on during the pandemic, and we should be doing everything we can to help all small businesses make use of this innovative new program. Our legislation will help to preserve this lifeline by reducing barriers and fees for outdoor permits.
FOR A GREEN FUTURE AND SAFER STREETS
All Electric Buildings: After passing legislation in early 2020 to incentivize the use of electric construction in new buildings, in the fall I authored legislation to require all-electric construction in new buildings that file permits starting in 2021. With limited exceptions, my legislation will prohibit new buildings from including natural gas, a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions and a serious public health and safety hazard -- making San Francisco a leader in the building electrification movement growing across California, where over 30 cities have already taken some action to limit natural gas construction and the State is considering similar statewide building standards to phase out gas in future buildings.
Slow Streets: The Slow Streets program launched in April to limit through-traffic on certain residential streets and make more space available for pedestrians, cyclists, and outdoor activities in our neighborhoods. My office worked with the MTA and neighborhood groups to launch the first round of Slow Streets on parts of Sanchez in Noe Valley and Chenery in Glen Park, with several additional segments opening throughout the district in the months since the program launched. The program has become beloved by many, and I’m grateful to all District 8 residents who have engaged with my office and the MTA to make Slow Streets successful. The SFMTA is currently soliciting feedback on the Slow Streets Program and would love your input. Fill out the survey here.
Making streets safer in Upper Market: As Vice Chair of the Transportation Authority, I worked to secure funding for the Upper Market Safety Project, an important set of safety and streetscape investments along Market from Castro to Octavia. The project includes safer crosswalks and bike lanes and other safety improvements, and a number of streetscape enhancements like new lighting, tree planting in the medians on Market, new trash cans and pit stops, and funding to extend the Rainbow Honor Walk down Market from the Castro.
STANDING UP FOR THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY
Ending the bathhouse ban: The closure of the bathhouses in San Francisco and the decades-long requirements of invasive patron monitoring and the ban on private rooms, which were put in place at the height of the AIDS crisis, have no scientific justification today. In February I introduced legislation requiring the Department of Public Health to update their minimum standards for adult sex venues to remove regulations that date back to the 1980’s. My ordinance does not and will not require or allow the reopening of adult sex venues in San Francisco before it is safe to do so, but it will allow for adult sex venues to be a part of our economic and cultural recovery when it is safe to permit their reopening.
Landmarking the Lyon-Martin House: Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin were trailbazers in the LGBTQ rights movement and the home they shared for more than half a century has clear historic value that needs to be preserved and memorialized. In October, the Board of Supervisors passed the resolution I authored to initiate a historic landmark designation of their home of more than 50 years. Thank you to the GLBT Historical Society and those who knew Phyllis, Del, and their home first hand for their support for this effort.
Fighting the Anti-Gay Blood Ban: Last year blood banks across the nation faced a severe blood shortage as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shelter-in-place and social distancing orders. Despite this shortage, the United States Food and Drug Administration refused to end the federal ban on blood donation by gay and bisexual men. In April, the Board unanimously passed my resolution calling for an end to this discriminatory ban at a time when blood donations were desperately needed. The FDA has since announced they have begun a study which could lead to the end of the ban by the end of 2021.
Funding for LGBTQ Housing, Healthcare and Shelter: Working with community leaders I was able to fund help for Lyon-Martin Health Services to rebuild their staffing and gender affirming healthcare services, rental subsidy programs for trans and gender nonconforming community members, for people living with HIV and 28 new beds at Jazzie’s Place shelter for trans and gender nonconforming unhoused people.
SECURING HEALTH CARE FOR WORKERS
HEALTHY AIRPORT ORDINANCE: I worked with SFO workers and their labor unions to co-author legislation with Supervisor Shamann Walton that requires San Francisco International Airport employers to provide expanded health benefits for thousands of underinsured and uninsured private sector Airport Service Employees. For far too many workers – the majority of whom are low wage and people of color, and many of whom live below the Bay Area poverty line – sky-rocketing co-pays and deductibles mean workers regularly forego necessary or urgent medical visits because they can't afford to take on thousands of dollars in debt, and many workers are unable to afford the cost of family health care. Our legislation expanded San Francisco Airport employees’ access to family health insurance benefits in order to protect those employees and their families, the community and the traveling public from the spread of COVID-19, and restore public confidence in the safety of air travel to and from San Francisco.
SFPD Station Community Meetings: District 8 has three different SFPD Stations whose jurisdictions are within our borders and our office works very closely with the Captains from each of those stations on specific issues impacting each neighborhood.
Each Captain hosts a monthly community meeting that you can now join virtually to share your concerns and ask questions. I encourage you to attend these meetings and find out more on the SFPD website.
New LGBTQ+ Older Adult Online Survey: During the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ+ older adults may have increased vulnerability and reduced access to the services they need. Take this survey and help San Francisco understand the health experiences and unmet needs of LGBTQ+ older adults, age 50+ who live and or work in San Francisco Here is the survey link: http://lgbtqseniorsurvey.com.
If someone would prefer to complete the survey by phone, they can call and leave their phone number on a confidential line at 415-935-3978 and a community research assistant will get back to them.
Prop 19 Information: In November 2020, California voters passed Proposition 19, which makes changes to property tax benefits for families, seniors, severely disabled persons, and victims of natural disaster in our state. In response, the San Francisco Office of the Assessor-Recorder has consolidated resources, including video tutorials, frequently asked questions, forms and reference links, on their website to help you understand and prepare for the upcoming changes.
This email was sent by: City and County of San Francisco
1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Place, San Francisco, California, 94102 United States
