Happy Lunar New Year!
The Year of the Rat began with renewed efforts on the part of the City to celebrate our diversity - and make sure that every single one of our community members is counted in the 2020 Census! We kicked off SF Counts 2020 in partnership with the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), and are arming our communities with the facts they need to ensure San Francisco is well-resourced to meet the needs of everyone. |
Working with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the API Council and our new Chinatown Visitors’ Center, we have been promoting a fresh wave of Legacy Businesses in Chinatown and implementing a shuttle from the Cruise Terminal to North Beach and Chinatown in partnership with the SFMTA. The recent story of Yuet Lee Restaurant underscores the power of property owners willing to invest in their communities -- now more than ever, small businesses cannot survive without affordable commercial spaces. |
My Chinese zodiac sign is the Dragon, so I was especially thrilled to join Principal Dowd and the Redding Elementary community at an unveiling of their spectacular new dragon mural which spans three floors and five artists. Redding is one of the most diverse schools in the city, and attending their annual Community Culture Day is a reminder of why our local investments into the Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF) and the Children’s Fund are so important.
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Finally, it was my honor to represent District 3 in the largest Chinese New Year Parade in the entire United States. Not even misinformation about the coronavirus could keep the thousands of revelers away from the epicenter of the Lunar New Year festivities. In fact, we are encouraging residents to GET THE FACTS: There is NO confirmed case of novel coronavirus transmission in San Francisco. Of course it is flu season, and residents should take the normal precautions to protect themselves, including washing their hands and getting a flu shot. Our tourist hot spots are still very much open for business, including Chinatown, North Beach and Union Square. I think I actually hit a record number of Family Association banquets this year -- so a special thank you to the incredible chefs in Chinatown for keeping me stuffed with only-in-Chinatown cuisine.
From my team to you and yours: Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Aaron Peskin
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Celebrating Black Women Leaders
This Black History Month, we celebrated grassroots leaders from District 3 who have worked tirelessly to create a safe space of healing, sharing and mutual aid for black women who have made Ping Yuen housing their home. The Board of Supervisors celebrated the community building efforts of the eight women at the core of the Ping Yuen Black Womens’ Social Circle. Towanna, Myrisha, Carolyn, Barbara Ann, Tiffany, Gail, Antionette and Debra brought down the house with their message of reciprocity and inter-generational support for black women throughout the City’s rental housing. I’ve known some of these women for many years, and to see their hard work to build a permanent legacy celebrated by so many was pretty wonderful. I’m so proud of you, ladies!
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Homeless Services & Housing Are Welcome Here
Since I came back into office, I have been singularly focused on developing a Navigation Center with low barriers to accessing treatment and, ultimately, housing. I want to thank the District 3 community that has long been engaged on solutions to homelessness, whether standing against the speculative evictions of their neighbors or rallying for big corporations to pay their fair share toward mental health treatment and affordable housing.
I am excited to continue working with the community to address homelessness and housing insecurity across District 3. Our partnership with Goodwill Industries for a 75-bed Transitional Age Youth Navigation Center and job training facility in Lower Nob Hill has passed its first round of lease negotiations, and we recently announced the master-leasing of 65 units of permanent supportive housing in a neighborhood that has lost many residential units to illegal tourist conversions and warehousing.
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Near the Cable Car Barn, I joined the Mayor to welcome the first “Our Trans Home SF” residents to temporary supportive housing designed to create a safe launch out of homelessness. Our trans community is 18x more likely to be homeless, and we have made a significant investment into targeting the unique needs of our LGBT homeless community with flexible rent subsidies and workforce placement. Learn more via the SF Examiner.
Finally, with the recent litigation settlement with the Academy of Art University, my office is once again evauating opportunity sites to restore the balance of affordable housing lost to AAU’s illegal conversions. Thank you to the tenant community for your ongoing organizing efforts - we will fight for every opportunity to restore units to our neighborhoods!
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SFMTA Muni Reliability Reforms Working Group
Last year, I joined the Mayor and Supervisor Mandelman in initiating a soup-to-nuts overhaul strategy of SFMTA, led by experts in regional transportation governance and community-led transit planning. Since the formation of the group, I have been re-elected Chair of the San Francisco Transportation Authority Board, and the City has hired a new SFMTA Director. The Working Group, in partnership with the Audit Team at the Controller’s Office, has released our final recommendations and I am looking forward to partnering with SFMTA Director Jeffrey Tumlin to implement these reforms in rapid succession.
I particularly want to recognize the good work and contributions of our District 3 SFMTA Citizens Advisory Committee member, Queena Chen, who not only brought a grassroots community perspective to the analysis, but was the only API/Chinese American representative. The Chinese population in San Francisco is extremely transit-reliant, and we must do more to ensure that SFMTA is responding to language access needs and seniors and families who depend on affordable and reliable transit to get to work and school. Read the Full Report Here.
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*** LEGISLATIVE ALERT ***
It’s no secret that I have an incredible team that, even when short-staffed, has managed to work around the clock to produce and pass almost three times as much legislation as the next supervisor. I want to take a minute to thank my staff (scroll to the bottom to meet the newest addition to our office, Geri Koeppel!) for all of their hard work, as well as the community of stakeholders that is always at the center of that work. Here are some legislative updates for your attention:
- PASSED! The Rent Board finally adopted my Temporary Capital Improvement Legislation, which you can read here. Special thanks to Asian Law Caucus, the Housing Rights Committee, Senior Disbability Action and Rent Board staff for helping my office think through the best possible policy to keep tenants from being displaced indefinitely from their homes.
- PASSED! We also finally passed new heating requirements after many Veritas tenants complained of having limited spurts of heat that left many freezing through the night in their apartment complexes when the required heating facilities are not under the control of the tenant or occupant of the building. Now the building owner and/or manager must provide that heat 24 hours a day in all residential units.
- COMING UP: Corporate Rental Regulations - Up at Land Use Committee on February 24th (Read more via 48hills.org)
- COMING UP: Government Audit & Overisght Hearings on Public Works Dept Reforms - March 4th, March 24th
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Jefferson Streetscape Improvement Project Updates
Serving as the unofficial “Main Street” of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, Jefferson Street is getting a makeover! After the completion of Phase I of the project in 2013, we finally broke ground on Phase II in fall last year.
In January, the project focused on restoring the sidewalks at Jefferson and Jones, and crews have begun forming the new curb and gutter on Jefferson between the SE corner of Jones to 281 Jefferson.
Crews continue to work on water utility work on Jefferson between Mason and Powell streets and have completed preparation saw-cutting activity for upcoming sewer lateral replacement activity on Jefferson between Taylor and Mason streets.
Check out the project’s official website and sign up to get updates regularly. |
District 3 Community Clean Team
We kicked off this year's Community Clean Team event in District 3. We swept the streets, planted trees, and cleaned up Portsmouth Square and a mini community garden on Broadway. If you are interested in continuing the effort beyond the once-a-year event, gather your neighbors and get involved by joining the Adopt-A-Street Program!
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Welcome Our New Administrative Aide, Geri Koeppel!
Geri’s name might sound familiar, as she was a neighborhood reporter/editor for Hoodline a few years back and has been involved in the community for many years. A resident of D3 since 2009 (full-time since 2014), she has served on the board of the Gateway Tenants Association, the Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association, and the Community Police Advisory Board for Central Station, and she ran a neighborhood news website, The Barbary Coast News. She’s a member of The Bay Club Gateway and an avid tennis player, art aficionado, animal lover, reader, and wine enthusiast.
Geri brings to the job a passion for community and a deep desire to help people and improve neighborhoods. She’s thrilled to be part of the D3 team and eager to hear from you!
You can contact her at 415.554.7452 or email her at Geri.Koeppel@sfgov.org.
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EARLY VOTING HAS STARTED!
We are back to March primaries in California, and this election has snuck up on San Francisco particularly fast! Here’s some election basics:
- Early voting has begun at City Hall, 8:00am - 5:00pm, Mon-Fri
- February 17 is the deadline to register to vote - you still have time!
- Weekend voting will be 2/22, 2/23, 2/29, and 2/30 from 10:00am - 4:00pm
- March 3rd is ELECTION DAY! Polls will be open 7:00am - 8:00pm. If you’re in line by 8:00pm, you can vote!
- Look up your POLLING PLACE in advance here
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Polk Street Merchants Workshop - 2/20
In partnership with the Lower Polk Landlord-Tenant Clinic, Discover Polk CBD, the San Francisco Bar Association and local government partners, I’m excited to co-host this workshop on how best the City can step up to make a positive difference for small business owners along Polk Street and across San Francisco.
The scope of this initial meeting is broad. We want to make sure merchants are aware of which resources exist, and that they have a seat at the table regarding important policy decisions going forward. Particularly if you’re a small business owner, we’re looking forward to seeing you next Thursday.
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Public Power NOW!
Our City, Our Power is San Francisco’s effort to unite behind cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable local public power. It’s time for San Francisco to fully transition to public power, and we can’t wait any longer. To learn about how we can achieve significant benefits under local power, visit PublicPowerSF.org.
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SFUSD’s New Student Assignment System
In December 2018, the Board of Education passed Resolution to start the process of developing a new student assignment system for elementary schools. Throughout the 2019-20 school year SFUSD will host a series of public meetings and a series of community engagement events in order to develop a new policy that better meets the needs of SFUSD students and their families. SFUSD needs your input! Attend a community workshop in the coming weeks!
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Board of Supervisors | District 3 | Aaron Peskin
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