Supervisor Melgar 05192023 Newsletter

Dear Readers,

I hope you had a happy Mother’s Day. Our office has been busy as Budget season is upon us once again!

This month, our City departments are presenting their needs to the Budget and Appropriations committee chaired by Supervisor Connie Chan in weekly meetings. On June 1st, the Mayor’s office will present a balanced budget proposal, which the Board of Supervisors will review and negotiate changes on funding priorities and amounts. There is likely to be much agreement and some minor disagreements on how best to allocate funds so that the city functions well. Once consensus is reached, our budget will be voted on and passed at the end of July. This can be a grueling process as there are so many worthy needs, yet we are projected to have far less funds available than in previous years. Our office will be monitoring the meetings carefully and engaging in discussions to ensure our district’s needs and what we deem are citywide priorities are not forgotten.

In one bright area of our city’s economic news, tourism is returning! We’ve been hearing many pessimistic stories about the possibility of a “doom loop” that might happen due to a cycle of office vacancies, less spending, and an empty lackluster downtown. The City has plans to entice new uses for those vacant buildings including housing and temporary arts and pop-up commerce spaces to make the downtown vibrant again. But this recent article shows that despite the constant drumbeat of negativity, tourists are returning to enjoy the city we all love. Tourism is up to 86% of what it was in 2019, before the pandemic. 2022’s visitor spending was a whopping 71 percent higher than 2021. This is important because basic services and city programs are funded from the Hotel Occupancy Tax and Sales tax which are increasing.

Yes, our city faces many challenges and a decreased General Fund is daunting, but we should remember the positive things we love about this city and celebrate good news when it comes to us.

Sincerely,
Myrna Melgar

TABLE OF NEWSLETTER CONTENTS

District 7 in Action
Events and Announcements
- Ocean Ave Mobility Action Plan
- Volunteer Opportunities
Senior Corner - Community Living Campaign at St. Anne's

DISTRICT 7 IN ACTION

INNER SUNSET AMBASSADORS

Last year, I fought to ensure that our values of public safety were reflected in our budget. I included funds for Police Department Community Ambassadors to be the “eyes-on-streets” for West Portal, Ocean Avenue, and the Inner Sunset. Last week, these ambassadors had their first shift in the Inner Sunset. Moving forward, you can find them on Irving Street between 5th and 12th Avenues and 7th Avenue between Lincoln and Judah. They work Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 8 pm. Stop by and say hi!

INNER SUNSET PARKLETS SAVED

When I found out that several of the cherished parklets of the Inner Sunset were going to be in jeopardy, I stepped in immediately to intervene. These parklets are not only essential for the bottomline of Inner Sunset businesses, they are community hubs and bring life to our streets. Last week, I sat down with the Inner Sunset Merchants Association, Lale, Fresca’s, Art’s Cafe, the SFMTA, and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to dig into the details of the issue and identify solutions that don’t threaten the future of those parklets. Thanks to our ability to put our heads together, I’m happy to report that those parklets are here to stay!

LARGE ATTENDANCE AT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY TOWNHALL

On April 27, my office organized a Public Safety Townhall at St. Brendan’s Church in Forest Hill. The room was packed and I moderated a discussion between District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Chief Bill Scott. While violent crime is relatively low compared to other cities, property crime remains high and many people are feeling uneasy about the state of the city.

The issues that were brought up in the meeting reflected many of the concerns of the neighbors of District 7: graffiti, catalytic converter theft, stealing from local stores, and car break-ins. We were joined at the Town Hall by Assistant Chief David Lazar, and all of the Police Captains that are responsible for District 7: Captain Robert Yick, Captain Kevin Knoble, Captain Maura Pengel, and Captain Derrick Lew.

We could not have pulled of this meeting without our community partners: St. Brendan’s Parish - Father Mike Quinn , Miraloma Park Improvement Club (Tina McGovern). SHARP (Frank Noto). Greater West Portal Neighborhood Association (Karen Tarantola). West Portal Merchants Association (Dierdre Von Rock), Midtown Terrace Homeowners Association (George Wooding) and the Forest Hill Association (Jamie Wong).

Given the successful turnout of the event, we hope to organize another event in a different neighborhood depending on the participants’ schedules. If you missed the event you can read about it here.

LARGE VEHICLES NEAR LAKE MERCED BLVD AND PORTOLA DRIVE

Our office receives many inquiries about the oversized vehicles and campers near Lake Merced Blvd and other areas of our District. The Municipal Transportation Agency is planning the Lake Merced Quick-Build project that will soon add bike lanes and improve crosswalks along with other mobility enhancing changes. The project should start by the end of this summer. In response to that deadline, it is imperative that the numerous large vehicles parked along Winston Drive and Park Merced Blvd are addressed.

My office has done two things to improve the situation: For five weekends in a row, the Homeless Outreach Team, along with non-profit partners, worked along Winston Drive, knocking on vehicle doors to assess whether the inhabitants qualify for more permanent housing. Not everyone will qualify or are interested in our programs, but we hope to place those who are interested in housing soon, so they no longer need their vehicles to survive.

The search for a suitable “Safe Parking” site is still on in order to relocate more of the residential vehicles. While establishing a site like this would be a cost-effective and humane solution to address those living in their vehicles given the lack of affordable housing options for them, it has been difficult to find a property owner willing to assist. We have not ended our search however!

Additionally, enforcement of large commercial vehicles (without inhabitants sleeping in them) has admittedly been poor. I’m well aware of the large car carriers, landscaping company trucks, and semi-cabs parked along streets that do not get ticketed, which makes the problem of oversized vehicles seem even worse than it is. I’ve asked the MTA to step up enforcement on commercial vehicles who are taking advantage of the lack of enforcement for their private gain. Parking along Vidal Drive and nearby streets is already restricted for uninhabited vehicles, but enforcement should be better. Additionally, I’ve asked for new parking rules to be considered and put in place along Portola Drive, which should help clear up the roadways a little.

RECAP: HEARING ON YOUTH VIOLENCE

Last month, the Board of Supervisors’ Youth, Young Adult, and Families Committee jointly held a hearing with the Youth Commission to discuss the recent spate of violent incidents involving youth. I called this hearing because of my deep concern that our young people are in crisis. We heard from the School District and the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families about their collaborative plan to provide additional support for students and to expand more violence prevention measures like expanding the presence of Violence Interrupters on campus. Violence Interrupters provide conflict resolution, mediation, and family-involved interventions to support students to respond to any issues, but also to prevent violent incidents from taking place. Youth that are at the highest risk now have access to 24/7 wrap-around counseling and services. The City is also working to expand training so that staff members of other agencies, like the SFMTA, are informed about how to handle situations involving youth. The rapid response approach is promising, but we still have a dire need for more coordination and communication. I want to see that protocols and practices are changed after the lessons we learned from what took place in recent months. Check out this story in the San Francisco Standard about the issue.

DISTRICT 7 PARTICIPATORY BUDGET

The Participatory Budgeting application is closed and the proposals are currently being vetted by my office. The public ballot will open on June 12 on our website here. Keep your eyes out for the winners in early July!

Zoom Town Hall to Consider the Renaming of Stow Lake

In order for a name change to be considered for Stow Lake three community meetings must be held. June 1st at 6:00pm is our first meeting and it will be virtually held over Zoom. Show up and make a suggestion for a new name. Blue Heron Lake so far is the leading contender.

Stow Lake was completed in Golden Gate Park and named after former California State Assembly Speaker, William W. Stow. During his time as Assembly Speaker, William W. Stow made headlines for his anti-Semitism and speaking against Jewish people directly from the Assembly floor.

Join the Zoom Meeting here.

IN PERSON OFFICE HOURS

Join Supervisor Myrna Melgar and staff for in-person office hours at the Inner Sunset Farmer’s Market on Sunday, June 11! We will be on hand to answer your questions beginning at 10:00 am.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

LAKESIDE LANDING ART WALK RIBBON CUTTING

Supervisor Melgar joined the Mayor and Friends of Lakeside Village volunteers, Kath, Anne, and Lisa to celebrate this new community space. The April Art Walk brought over 1,000 people to visit Lakeside Village and we are glad to have it.

OCEAN AVENUE MOBILITY ACTION PLAN PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority is developing the Ocean Avenue Mobility Action Plan in partnership with District 7 Office of Supervisor Myrna Melgar to prioritize and identify funding for transportation, pedestrian safety, bike safety, and traffic circulation along Ocean Avenue.

The Ocean Avenue Mobility Plan Task Force has prioritized a set of projects for advancement in the Ocean Avenue Mobility Action Plan. The projects were developed and refined with input from the Ocean Avenue Mobility Action Plan Task Force over the course of five meetings and with input from the public collected through surveys.

The set of projects includes two large projects and three small projects. The projects are representations of how to apply a toolkit of improvements and are subject to more technical work and public outreach to determine final designs.

Large projects:

Shared pedestrian and bike path improvements, with removal of the Ocean Avenue pedestrian bridge
K-Ingleside Muni Forward improvements

Small projects:

Ocean Avenue pedestrian safety improvements
Ocean Avenue speed management improvements
Bike connectivity improvements via Holloway Avenue

Learn more

To learn more about the features of each project, please visit the project website.
If you would like to provide input, please email oceanave@sfcta.org by April 27.

The Ocean Avenue Mobility Action Plan final report will be presented to the Transportation Authority Board in summer 2023.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUPS

Kensington bridge volunteers did a fabulous job spiffing up the landscape. Volunteer days are a great way to meet your neighbors and benefit the city. Keep an eye out for them in your neighborhood. Next up is the May 19th cleanup on West Portal or...

LAKESIDE LANDING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Spring has Sprung and so have the weeds! On Saturday, May 27 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, meet at the Lakeside Landing community garden. Bring your favorite garden tools (gloves provided). We will also weed the tree basins on the west side of Junipero Serra between Ocean and Sloat.

SENIOR CORNER

Board of Supervisors | District 7 | Myrna Melgar

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 260
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 554-6516 | Fax: (415) 554-6516
melgarstaff@sfgov.org

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