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Hello District 8!
With the Board’s August recess fading into distant memory, the District 8 Office is gearing up for a productive fall. We hope you’ve had a wonderful summer and are looking forward to the best weather of the year in September and October! We’ve taken on numerous projects this year, from increasing traffic enforcement to expanding shelter capacity, but this month we wanted to update you on one of our ongoing projects: the Residential Treatment and Care Workgroup.
I have been working on expanding access to mental health treatment since I became Supervisor. I believe strongly in using conservatorship to care for people who cannot care for themselves, and whose mental illness prevents them from voluntarily accepting care, but the reality is that without an adequate supply of appropriate facilities, we will be stymied in our efforts to get the hardest-to-treat people off the streets, and out of the jails. And the tragic reality is that, San Francisco (and California more broadly) simply do not have enough treatment facilities or placements for people with severe mental illness. Earlier this year I asked the Mayor to convene a Residential Care and Treatment Workgroup to analyze and address our acute lack of such facilities.
The Workgroup, which I co-chair along with the Director of the Department of Public Health, includes public and private stakeholders, including UCSF, Kaiser, and Sutter Health, has met several times already, and its work is being informed by interviews and focus groups with community health providers and other stakeholders. We are aiming to complete our work and provide recommendations to guide future City investment and advocacy by the end of the year.
The Workgroup comes at an opportune time, as the passage of Prop 1 allows San Francisco to apply for funds to buy and build mental health facilities, while Senate Bill 43 has expanded conservatorship criteria to include people with disabling substance addictions. If you’re interested in learning more about our work on mental health treatment beds, feel free to reach out to my staffer on this issue, Adam Thongsavat.
Thanks for reading, and as always, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our office. You can always reach us at mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org and (415) 544-6968, or you can stop by to visit us in Room 284 of City Hall.
See you in the District!
Rafael
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MEET YOUR SUPERVISOR: OFFICE HOURS
IN-PERSON OFFICE HOURS: Join me in-person in the Castro, on Sunday, October 6th, from 10:30AM-12:30PM! Email mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org to reserve a spot.
VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS: Join me online on Saturday, October 19th, from 10AM-12PM! Reach out to mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org to secure a spot.
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UPPER NOE BLOCK PARTY!
Saturday, September 21, 11am-3pm: Come celebrate the Upper Noe neighborhood and park with an admission-free party featuring live music, dance, demonstrations, food, children’s activities, and fun for all ages. Meet your neighbors and learn about local community groups, schools and activities. A fun-filled day that strengthens community connections. Free tables and space are available for local groups who want to participate. Email hello@uppernoeneighbors.com or visit uppernoeneighbors.com for more information.
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COLE VALLEY FAIR!
Sunday, September 22, 10am-5pm: Back for its 20th anniversary this year, the Cole Valley Fair features food booths, live music, a historic Cole Valley photo display, fine arts and crafts, a full block of vintage cars owned by neighborhood residents, and lots of family-friendly fun. With live music, children’s activities, and local resources, come celebrate Cole Valley with this beloved annual neighborhood event!
Join us at Cole Street between Frederick & Grattan and Parnassus Ave between Shrader & Belvedere!
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NOE VALLEY ART FESTIVAL!
Sunday, September 22, 10am-4pm: Mark your calendar for the third annual, free to the public Noe Valley Art Festival, featuring 23 artists who will be showcasing and selling photographs, paintings, drawings, multi media art, jewelry, ceramics, fabric art, digital art, and sculpture! Many of the artists are locals who live and work in Noe Valley and the surrounding neighborhoods. The Art Festival provides a great opportunity to support and interact “up close and personal” with artists in the Noe Valley community. Art activities for adults and kids will feature interactive typewriter poetry, friendship bracelet making, drawing activities and face painting! In addition, and new this year, you can stroll down 24th Street on the first-of-its-kind Noe Valley Art Walk where you will be able to see more art displayed at several local businesses. Maps will be provided.
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CASTRO STREET FAIR: 50TH ANNIVERSARY!
Sunday, October 6, 11am-6pm: The Castro Street Fair is a community street celebration that was founded by Harvey Milk in 1974. For the last 50 years, on the first weekend of October, the Street Fair has promoted queer-owned businesses and continued Harvey Milk’s legacy. Hundreds of local artists, vendors, craftspeople, and organizations line the streets and celebrate the neighborhood, while stages with live entertainment, DJs, and dance areas are scattered along Castro and Market Streets. Donations are suggested and all proceeds go to charitable causes important to the Castro community. Learn more here!
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CASTRO NIGHT MARKETS -- BECOME A VENDOR!
The Castro Night Market is coming soon! Vendor applications for the 1st Castro Night Market are LIVE and open for submission! Submissions are due October 8 to allow time to facilitate permit needs. They are accepting applications for retail and other vendors, food vendors, cooking food vendors, and food trucks. Castro Merchant Association members will receive discounts on application fees as well as booth fees, and businesses with a zip code of 94114 will also receive discounts on booth fees.
Vendors can apply for the Castro Night Market directly via the Vendor portal, or through the event website at www.castronightmarket.com . (FYI, the website is just a landing page for now, but will be updated soon!)
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GET INVOLVED IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
District 8 is home to many active neighborhood groups that organize events for the community, lead projects to keep our neighborhoods clean, safe, and beautiful, and connect neighbors with City leaders to advocate for neighborhood priorities. Join an association or go to an upcoming local event - it’s a great way to get involved, make new friends, and change your community for the better!
Learn more about how to get involved in your neighborhood here!
- Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association: Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every other month from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, in the Ballroom of the Harvey Milk Recreation Center for the Arts, lobby level, and preceded by a community social from 6:30 – 7:00 pm.
- Dolores Heights Improvement Club: Green Gardens group holds monthly clean-ups on the first Saturday of the month from 9:00 – 10:30 am. DHIC Board meets on the second Monday of every other month. Meetings are held via Zoom from 7pm – 8pm. Email info@doloresheights.org to obtain the Zoom meeting link.
- Upper Noe Neighbors meets every other month on the third Wednesday at the Upper Noe Recreation Center.
- Castro Art Mart is a monthly street fair on Noe Street between Market and Beaver the first Sunday of every month from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm, featuring LGBTQ art from local artists, live music, comedy and drag shows, and more.
- Castro Art Walk is a monthly community-driven event where local businesses host special events to share art with the neighborhood! Check out their website to learn which businesses are participating and head out to the Castro each month on the first Friday, from 5-8pm!
- Noe Valley Town Square hosts regular events such as Acoustic Sunday, Rhythm and Motion dance, and Free Sunday Morning Yoga.
Don’t see your neighborhood group but want your information added to our website? Email Henry DeRuff at henry.deruff@sfgov.org.
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SFPD STATION CAPTAINS’ MEETINGS
Curious about safety in your neighborhood or have questions for SFPD? Attending your Station Captains’ Meetings is a great way to learn about what’s going on. Captains’ Meetings are at the following times:
- Park Station (1899 Waller): Fourth Wednesdays at 5PM on Zoom
- Neighborhoods: Cole Valley, Duboce Triangle, and Twin Peaks
- Mission Station (630 Valencia): Last Tuesdays at 5PM at Mission Station
- Neighborhoods: Castro, Mission Dolores, and Noe Valley
- Ingleside Station (1 Sgt. John V. Young): Third Tuesdays at 6PM at Ingleside Station
- Neighborhoods: Diamond Heights and Glen Park
Mission Station has a new Captain! We will miss Captain Harvey, but Mission Station is in good hands with Captain Liza Johansen. We know her from her previous work work at Mission Station, and we know that she is responsive and efficient. We’re excited to continue working together with her in the Castro, Mission Dolores, and Noe Valley. You can come meet her at the Mission Station Captain’s Meeting on Tuesday, September 24. Until then, here’s a quick introduction:
Captain Johansen is an 18-year veteran of the San Francisco Police Department. She grew up in the Mission District, specifically lower 24th Street. The rewards and challenges of the district are second nature to her. Captain Johansen worked in the Mission District as a patrol officer, as a lieutenant, and recently returned to the district as Captain. She is thrilled to be home and eager to roll up her sleeves and go to work.
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SFPD BOUNDARY ANALYSIS UPDATE + FEEDBACK:
After several months of data analysis and subject matter expert discussions, the San Francisco Police Department is ready to present a new SFPD District Station boundary map for feedback. This proposed map has 15 changes that aim to increase workload balance across stations and improve police services across the city. These changes affect 8 of the 10 district stations. This process is required to be completed every ten years by our City’s charter.
The next step in the process is to hear from the community. With your input, SFPD will revisit our map proposal and refine our recommendation before submitting to the Police Commission. To see the proposed map and provide feedback by October 15, click here.
311 UPDATE: NOW AVAILABLE IN CHINESE, SPANISH, AND FILIPINO!
From the City Administrator’s Office:
The SF311 mobile app is now available in Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino! Accessing City services has never been easier. Whether you're on Android or iPhone, just a few taps connect you to the services you need. Download the app today. The app will automatically detect your phone’s language.
GRAFFITI ADVISORY BOARD VACANCY
Tired of blight and graffiti in your neighborhood, District 8, and San Francisco as a whole? Apply to be the District 8 representative to the Graffiti Advisory Board today. Fill out the application here by July 31. Once you’ve applied, or if you have questions, please reach out to mandelmanstaff@sfgov.org.
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VOLUNTEER WITH US!
We are always looking for D8 office volunteers and interns! Specifically, we are looking for interns or volunteers on Tuesday mornings this fall. Volunteering or interning in my office is a great opportunity to serve District 8 and learn about the issues facing our city, gain valuable experience in the legislative branch of local government, and see how elected officials can work with the community to create effective public policy solutions to solve our toughest problems. Sign up here or reach out to anh.v.ha@sfgov.org for more information.
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FACES IN THE CROWD:
SOPHIE CONSTANTINOU
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Welcome to Faces in the Crowd, written by Marshall Kilduff, accomplished journalist and long time volunteer with our District 8 Office. Marshall tells the stories of District 8 community members who are going above and beyond to contribute to San Francisco!
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What draws a neighborhood crowd and gets the volunteer energy flowing? For Sophie Constantinou, the answer is clear. It’s the sidewalk things near at hand. Think graffiti cleanup, fresh plantings for a rubbish-filled lot, or sewer fixes that prevent flooding. Keep it simple and get real.
She’s the organizing spirit behind the College Hill neighborhood, a locale sitting between better known Bernal Heights and Glen Park. It lies alongside the Bernal Cut, a short run canyon dug in the 1920’s to connect the Mission with outer San Francisco. The geography comes with a pair of bridges, murals, hillside bulkheads, Muni tracks, and speeding cars shooting by small homes and flats. It’s a reflection of the past and present with no pretense.
Don’t bother calling meetings on long range civic plans. “People want local, not big issues,” she says. Sophie and her neighbors focus on the here and now. With a mailing list of 400, there is the energy to take on projects and apply pressure. An unfancy neighborhood has developed clout on her watch.
Graffiti–there’s plenty–means her group calls the Department of Public Works to provide roller brushes and paint. The group doesn’t bother waiting for city crews to do the clean up work. Instead volunteers pick up supplies that include favorite paint colors: garbage can green, feather gray for alley walls, and mailbox blue. There are other everyday improvements on the wish list. A sewer grate at the bottom of the hill that repeatedly floods is due for an overhaul. After that comes a rain garden, a plan to open up the pavement to let the rainfall soak in.
Maybe her pride and joy are the walkways that run at the crest of the Bernal Cut. The public paths once were overgrown, trashy, and dotted with homeless camps. College Hill volunteers went to work with the city’s help to remove overgrown patches, put in native plants, and install solar-powered lighting for the pedestrian routes that run to the Glen Park BART station. It was borderline scary and now it’s used by strollers and shoppers toting groceries. The paths are now part of the Crosstown Trail that showcases the city’s neighborhoods.
One job for neighborhood leaders is urging the city to think more broadly with work projects. In College Hill’s case, take Richland avenue, a semi-racetrack that drivers use to shoot through the area. With a sewer replacement project taking shape, College Hill asked for speed bumps as part of the repair work. Relief from noise and danger is on its way, she believes.
By background Constantinou is a documentary filmmaker. A pending project deals with San Francisco social justice luminaries Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani, who ran Glide Church for decades. The late couple’s shared history must make Constantinou think. Surely her ground level organizing and decades of living here tempt her to weigh a political run? “No way,’ she laughs. “I can’t stand people who complain.’’ Far better to dwell in a corner of the city that unites to make life better.
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On September 13th, we celebrated the landmarking of the Gilbert Baker Rainbow Flag at Harvey Milk Plaza! Gilbert Baker created the Rainbow Flag as a symbol of hope for all races, all genders, and all ages. A big thank you to the other members of the Board, who unanimously passed our Gilbert Baker Rainbow Flag Landmarking Ordinance. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen, Gilbert's Rainbow Flag will fly above the Castro for generations to come!
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On September 12th, I joined the Public Works team doing a deep clean on Church St. from Clipper to 30th. Thanks for keeping our City clean!
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Hail to the Queen! On September 7, we helped celebrate Elizabeth Crane, who has managed the Noe Valley Farmers Market every Saturday, rain or shine, for the last 20 years. She has never called in sick once!
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On September 6, I stopped by the Children’s Day School to join them at the ribbon cutting ceremony for their new building, complete with a slide from the roof!
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On September 5, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, SFPD Chief Bill Scott, new Mission Station Captain Liza Johansen, and I teamed up for a walkabout to discuss public safety challenges with Castro merchants. We heard a lot of disturbing stories and SF plainly has a lot of work to do, but I am grateful that our DA and Chief are listening and doing everything they can to respond to the community’s needs.
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Also on September 5, we kicked off Transit Month with a rally at City Hall! Visit www.sftransitriders.org to learn how you can participate.
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Our third stop on September 5th was SFPD's 282nd recruit class graduation. We need more police officers, and I'm grateful for this bunch, who come from a variety of backgrounds, including a restaurant manager, athlete, parking enforcement officer, construction worker, software engineer, and SFPD cadet. Thanks for your commitment to us all!
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On September 3, we honored retiring Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson with a Special Commendation. She joined in 1994 and worked her way up the ranks to become the City’s first openly LGBTQ+ Fire Chief. My staff and I are huge fans, and we will miss her tons!
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On August 30, I got to visit McAteer Culinary Center, located on the campus of Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and the Academy SF. The folks in the kitchen there cook for several schools in SFUSD, and since they started, participation in school lunch has gone up 500%!
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On August 24, I visited the Cole Valley Improvement Association’s Summer Social at Finnegan’s Wake. Thanks for the great discussion of neighborhood and City issues!
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Interns make the world go around. Or, at least the D8 office. Thank you Summer 2024 Interns for all your great work!
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Time for reform? San Francisco has been working under same legislative rules for nearly 30 years
ABC7 News, September 6
"What we have at this point, I think, is kind of a mess," according to Supervisor Rafael Mandelman because of how the city's governance is structured, based, in part, on that charter.
"If we want to do better than what we've been doing, if we want to improve the functioning of city governance, I do think there are structural changes that we need to make to make our city government is more successful going forward, and I think San Francisco deserves it. I think we should do it," Mandelman said.
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New SF Mission Station captain walks Castro beat as she sets priorities
"It's a tough, tough, tough job," [Mandelman] said of being Mission Station Captain. "They really do have some very serious public safety challenges in different neighborhoods. In the Castro and Noe [Valley], I'm hopeful we can make a deeper dent in retail theft, that they can help reduce the use of drugs in public spaces, and get people who need help into care."
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Tickets galore: Traffic violations triple with SFPD enforcement push
“It is positive. I am grateful, but I am not satisfied,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. May was the top month for violations so far this year, with the SFPD issuing nearly 1,800 citations. In 2023, the department regularly wrote fewer than 400 tickets each month. But in 2014, before the decadelong ticket decline, SFPD averaged about 10,800 violations monthly, 26 times more than during an average month in 2023.
That’s why Mandelman isn’t ready to declare victory in his long-running crusade to pressure the department to write more tickets. “We were starting from what, in my view, was an unacceptably low baseline,” Mandelman said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
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Pioneering bi activist Marguerite 'Maggi' Rubenstein dies
Bay Area Reporter, August 30
"Maggi was a Milk club stalwart and active in many progressive campaigns," said gay District 8 supervisor and former club president Rafael Mandelman. "She was a fierce voice for bisexual rights and definitely made her mark in San Francisco."
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Dirt bikers rampaged all over SF on Sunday. Did cops do anything?
San Francisco Standard, August 26
“The dirt bike problem, this is not new this weekend,” he said. “It has been going on for a while. But it is wildly alarming. It is dangerous. There have been injuries and deaths associated with these events. They’re doing crazy-dangerous stunts, and that makes it dangerous for other people around.”
Much like with sideshows, which Mandelman described as “somewhere between annoying for most people and dangerous for others,” the dirt-bike rampages are tough for law enforcement to control.
“The challenge for the police department is that it’s a pretty hard problem to get a handle on safely,” Mandelman told The Standard in a phone call Monday evening. “Because a police pursuit would also be dangerous.”
But the public is increasingly demanding that the city figure out how to prevent or punish scofflaw bikers. To that end, Mandelman said police are relying more on tools like drones, which they can more quickly deploy since Measure E relaxed oversight requirements on surveillance technology.
Since the dirt bike events seem fairly organized and take place in multiple jurisdictions, Mandelman said it would make sense for state law enforcement to play a bigger role in policing these things.
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'They have to be held accountable': Bay Area residents frustrated with street takeovers
NBC Bay Area, August 26
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said City Hall is well aware of the concerns raised by residents, but he said police chasing them may cause more harm than good.
“The dirtbike takeovers of our city streets are happening frequently,” said Mandelman. This was a very large incident, but smaller incidents are happening all the time. It’s dangerous -- it’s dangerous for pedestrians, it’s disruptive for businesses and for other folks who are trying to use the roads.”
“There was a death, actually,” Mandelman continued. “A motorbiker died in the last couple of months in one of these incidents. So, it’s bad, and there’s a lot of pressure, from the public, from elected officials like the Mayor and myself, on the police to get a handle on this. But I do think these are uniquely challenging incidents for the police to safely respond to, and I’m hopeful that the voters’ passage of Prop E will allow us to use drones and surveillance technology, which may make it easier to safely follow these folks and make arrests.”
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London Breed calls for overhaul of San Francisco city charter
CBS News, August 22
County Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who, like Breed, was interviewed for SPUR's report, agreed that a lot of "dysfunction is baked into our Charter."
"Too often, our City government acts more like a collection of loosely affiliated departments than a unified municipal government with clear lines of accountability and oversight," Mandelman said.
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S.F. Police are pulling over a lot more drivers. These citations have tripled from last year.
San Francisco Chronicle, August 22
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who called for hearings on the dearth of traffic citations earlier this year, told the Chronicle he has seen the increase in enforcement in his district and that SFPD is “moving int he right direction.” But Mandelman also added that police need to continue to ramp up enforcement to get back to pre-pandemic citation numbers.
"Our police departments needs to figure out a way to get back into the business of effective enforcement of our laws while also safeguarding some of the important reforms we’ve made over the last ten years,” Mandelman said. “It’s not going to be easy, but that is the task of the moment.”
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San Francisco Democrats bask in Kamala Harris' big night
San Francisco Examiner, August 22
“For those of us who are not in Chicago right now, I think there's an interest in being around other people and not watching such an exciting moment for San Francisco Democrats alone,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.
Mandelman, like many of the attendees Thursday night, has been in local politics long enough to recall Harris’ runoff win for district attorney in 2003. Twenty-one years later, Mandelman and others say they are ecstatic to see Harris poised to potentially become the first woman elected president.
“I was the president of the Noe Valley Democratic Club” when San Francisco elected Harris as district attorney, Mandelman said. “And I was putting up door hangers with her face on them.”
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Is S.F.’s government structure in need of reform? Here’s Mayor Breed’s road map to change.
San Francisco Chronicle, August 20
San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said he’s looking forward to working with the mayor to come up with “common sense reforms” to “meaningfully improve how City Hall functions.”
“Too often, our city government acts more like a collection of loosely affiliated departments than a unified municipal government with clear lines of accountability and oversight,” Mandeleman said in a news release. “Much of this dysfunction is baked into our Charter, and it’s high time for us to take a comprehensive look at that foundational document.”
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Bay Area think tank has ideas for overhaul of SF government
San Francisco Examiner, August 12
Late last month, the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association published the results of a yearlong study called “Designed to Serve” in which it identifies and attempts to remedy what it sees as the most glaring inefficiencies in The City’s government.
SPUR researchers spoke to dozens of high-ranking city officials for the report, including Mayor London Breed, City Attorney David Chiu, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director Jeffrey Tumlin and Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Rafael Mandelman.
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Great Highway closure another potentially permanent pandemic holdover
San Francisco Examiner, August 9
“I think there’s a real interest in seeing The City be safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and seeing the creative adaptation of spaces that may historically, over decades, have been used primarily for cars,” Mandelman said.
“The City has quite a bit of work to do creating usable networks that can get people across the city to every neighborhood who aren’t using cars,” he said. “The goal, ultimately, is for it to be safe and easy to bike or walk in every neighborhood in San Francisco.”
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SF businesses desperate for city help against ‘criminally insane’
San Francisco Standard, August 3
“[Triball is] just criminally insane,” said Mandelman, whose district includes the Castro. “I want him kept away from people he’s going to harm.”
Mandelman has written three times to judges overseeing Triball’s criminal cases, asking “that he be held off the streets for the longest legally feasible period of time.” Mandelman previously told The Standard he thinks Triball should be in a conservatorship.
“This revolving door must stop,” Mandelman wrote in a 2022 letter to one judge. “The current approach of court-mandated treatment with minimal supervision is not working.”
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