Dear Friends & Neighbors,
As we bid farewell to 2021, we want to share with you some of our accomplishments from the District 5 office over the past year. From generating more than a hundred million dollars to fund housing stability, to writing a dozen anti-eviction laws, to saving Muni lines, we’re proud of what our hard-working team has been able to deliver during these challenging times.
As we close out this calendar year, we know so many of our constituents and folks across the City are struggling and we are nowhere close to where we would like to be in getting out of this pandemic. On balance, there’s no denying that 2021 has been a bad year across the nation. White supremacists are gaining power and becoming more extreme, the Supreme Court is overturning reproductive freedoms, climate change is here and worsening, and Covid is out of control. We have seen local failures too: prematurely winding down SIP hotels that house the homeless, increasing police budgets, failure to provide home Covid test kits to families before school, corruption scandals, just to name a few. We won’t sugarcoat this. Times are tough and all of us are feeling the impact of nearly two years of pandemic.
But amidst this chaos and these challenges, our vision and our daily work for something different matters. In many ways, it matters more because it is such a contrast and because the needs are so great. The voices of reason and calls for justice are louder. Our coalition for change is broader, stronger, and growing. Our mutual aid is more essential than ever. Our innovative local legislative advocacy is essential and often the only thing standing between our constituents and financial ruin or homelessness. We are making a difference in the lives of our communities, especially those most vulnerable. I thank you for continuing to fight for compassionate and sustainable solutions, for affordable homes, against evictions, for racial equity, for income equality, against climate change, for workers rights, in solidarity, and for a different and better future.
Here are some of the accomplishments our team is most proud of as we reflect on our work this year. These are the top 21, in no particular order.
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- $74 Million to Social Housing: Following up on our huge victories on Propositions I and K last year, we fought hard this year to make sure funds from Prop I would go to what the voters intended – housing stability for San Franciscans. First, we created the Prop I Oversight Board and won $74 million for affordable social housing. (San Francisco Business Times, 48Hills, MissionLocal, San Francisco Public Press, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle)
- $42 Million in COVID Rent Relief: We passed a $10 million appropriation and won $32 million in the budget for COVID rent relief to prevent displacement. We know that the investment from the federal government won’t cover the full cost that the pandemic has put on vulnerable tenants, and our office has played a leading role in making sure we have local funds to prevent displacement from Covid back rent.
- Saved Muni Lines: Muni service was slashed in the pandemic, and many of our lines were suspended with no promised date for return; there was every reason to believe MTA was considering permanent elimination of bus lines that had existed for a century. Our office held hearings, passed a resolution, and worked closely with advocates to force MTA to change course – and in October the MTA confirmed they will bring back suspended Muni lines, including the 2 Clement, 6 Parnassus, and 21 Hayes. We still have some work to do, and to be clear, this is far from 100% restoration.That said, the commitment by the SFMTA is a major step in the right direction, bringing back key lines and expanding others.
- Won Free Muni for All Youth: The Mayor vetoed our 3-month Free Muni for All pilot, but feeling the heat, granted our more limited demand: Free Muni for all youth. Since students returned to school in Fall 2021, Muni has been free for all youth, saving families money, preventing harassment of students of color, and encouraging a new generation of Muni riders.
- Championed Local Eviction Bans: Our office led local efforts to ban evictions during the pandemic with twelve anti-eviction ordinances, effectively shutting down the eviction machine to the maximum extent allowed under state law. Our work to prevent eviction continues, as we look to take lessons learned from pandemic anti-displacement policies to create permanent eviction protections. After state protections expired, we declared D5 an Eviction Free Zone, and we meant it . With millions of available rent relief, a right to counsel, and other protections, tenants who know their rights shouldn’t be losing their homes. We conducted outreach to all renters in District 5, with tens of thousands of volunteer-led phone, text, lit drop, in person bootcamps, and personal visits.
- Full Funding for Voter-Enacted Tenant Right to Counsel: We wrote the right to counsel law passed by voters in 2018, and since arriving in office, we’ve pushed to get it fully funded. That’s because it is one of the most effective programs to keep people in their homes, already responsible for preventing hundreds of evictions in San Francisco. This budget season we succeeded in full funding for the universal right to counsel program, the strongest in the country!
- Former D5 Shelter-in-Place Pilot, Oasis Inn, Becomes D5 Permanent Emergency Family Shelter: We went around the bureaucracy at the start of the pandemic to launch the City’s first Shelter in Place Hotel so we could move homeless women and families from a congregate shelter with mats on a floor, no showers, and limited hours, to private hotel rooms with support services. It was a complete success, saving lives and giving hope, and sparked other efforts to use hotels around the City. This year, we fought to make it permanent, and succeeded. The hotel is now a master-leased permanent emergency shelter for women and families run by Providence Foundation.
- Launched First Public Bank Working Group: We believe San Francisco deserves a public bank that puts people before profit. Following state law changes that clarify the pathway, this year we unanimously passed legislation to create a Public Bank working group. The members of the working group – an amazing group of advocates – have now been appointed. We also won $350k in funding to retain the experts the working group needs to develop the business plan for the nation’s first municipal public bank!
- Championed Vaccines and Testing for Vulnerable D5 Communities: Our office heard from constituents that the Maxine Hall pop-up vaccination site at Ella Hill Hutch was a huge success. Once Maxine Hall returned to their renovated facilities, our office worked with the Department of Public Health and community leaders to ensure that we could keep providing services, testing, and vaccines at the site. We also arranged mobile vaccination units for community members across District 5.
- Enacted Back Rent Protections for Small Businesses. We wrote and passed the only law of its kind in the state to excuse back rent for businesses that were shut down during the pandemic. This lifeline for small businesses is so impactful that it’s being challenged by landlords in court who claim it will waive “staggering amounts” in back rent. We are doing everything possible to keep neighborhood small businesses afloat.
- Invested in Economic Recovery in the Fillmore: Our office prioritized the Fillmore not just in words but in deeds. We dedicated our limited add-backs to micro-grants for Fillmore entrepreneurs, funding for commercial corridors, seed funds for Fillmore entrepreneurs, youth programming, food security, urban farming, outdoor music, and more. All of this is in addition to helping Fillmore community groups win significant investments through the City's Dreamkeeper Initiative.
- Funding for Buchanan Mall: Improvements to the Buchanan Mall are long overdue, and investing in the community-led effort to make Buchanan Mall shine has been a priority for my office. We successfully advocated for the Buchanan Mall to be included in the Health and Recovery Bond that passed last November, which included $2 million in dedicated funding to the Buchanan Mall. That funding is in addition to other Rec and Park funds, $4.8 million in state funding, District 5 Transportation Authority NTIP funds ($676,000) for pedestrian safety improvements at the intersections. The Buchanan Mall project is also currently under consideration for an additional $5.8 million grant through Proposition 68. The District 5 NTIP funding has produced pedestrian safety improvements (bulb outs, etc) at Buchanan and Golden Gate that are now completed ! As for the Buchanan/Turk bulb outs, the PUC has started sewer work, and the bulb outs will be installed in the new year. We appreciate all the community work and interdepartmental collaboration that is bringing resources to revitalizing the Buchanan Mall.
- Secured Community Ambassadors in D5: District 5 finally has community ambassadors, something promised but never delivered for years prior to our taking office. We view these helpful, visible, unarmed ambassadors – provided through the City’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs – as an important part of promoting public safety in our neighborhoods. We prioritized this in the budget process, and now ambassadors are hitting the streets in multiple D5 neighborhoods. Say "hi" next time you see one of our ambassadors!
- Secured $2.7 Million for Plaza East Emergency Repairs: In April, at the request of dozens of residents of Plaza East Apartments in the Fillmore, we held a hearing on the current housing conditions at Plaza East and the proposed plans for the property. Our hearing, as well as coverage from the San Francisco Public Press, brought increased attention to major issues, including leaking pipes, rotting floors, electrical fires, an outdated fire alarm system, inadequate ventilation that causes moisture and mold to build up in the units and pests. This pressure led the city to approve a $2.7 million loan to start emergency repairs. Our office continues to monitor progress and we are working to make sure any redevelopment plan is resident-led.
- Won Funding for Public Housing Organizers: Residents of public housing are all too often ignored and excluded from decisions impacting their homes. In the most recent budget cycle, we fought for funding for two experienced, full-time housing organizers to conduct outreach, education, and assist residents on their housing needs in City-owned or publicly-subsidized housing. These positions will help ensure these residents get the help they need.
- Rent Stabilization for Midtown Implemented: Last year we passed a groundbreaking law to bring rent control protections to the long-term residents at Midtown. It was a major victory for the predominantly black tenants who call Midtown home, many of whom have lived there for generations . We worked closely this year, both with city departments and Midtown residents, to make sure the law was fairly implemented, ensuring that residents who received unjust rent hikes were given rent credits, and to resolve the long-standing issues for those on rent strike.
- Advocated to Reduce Police Funding: At a time when so many political leaders have been quick to abandon promises for change following the murder of George Floyd, we held the line on policing. We voted against the increased police budget, introduced legislation to promote law enforcement records disclosure, challenged efforts to contract out City law enforcement to retail chains, and opposed the Mayor's plans to arrest unhoused people in the Tenderloin rather than using an emergency declaration to provide crucial life-saving services, long term housing, or the Compassionate Alternative Response Team.
- Commissioned Study of Municipal Bike Share: Bikeshare – a critical part of our green transportation infrastructure – is currently a private monopoly owned by Lyft. Earlier this year, working with advocates, I requested a report from the Budget and Legislative Analyst on what it would take for San Francisco to implement a successful municipal bike-share program . We expect that report to be released in January 2022, and we look forward to moving forward on this!
- Championed Slow Streets, Bike Lanes, and Car-Free JFK: Our office continued to lead on slow streets, protected bike lanes, and car-free JFK. Page Street in particular has been a model slow street, creating a safer walking and cycling environment, and offering safe connection from Hayes Valley to Golden Gate Park. We recently secured funding for the Page Slow Street project which will combine the emergency Page Slow Street measures created in response to COVID-19 and the Page Bikeway Pilot Project. We also supported making the Golden Gate slow street permanent, and launching a new slow street on Lyon! Meanwhile, along the Panhandle, our Fell Street Parking Protected bike lane has been a huge success, and we just got funding to move forward with a similar effort on Oak Street. Our office has also been clear: we want to expand options for safe pedestrian and bike travel, and that includes car-free JFK, an issue that will come before the board in the new year.
- Reducing Speeds for Bike and Pedestrian Safety: Our office has pushed the envelope when it comes to reducing vehicle speeds, including establishing reduced speed zones near senior housing around Geary and submitting a letter of support for California Assembly Bill 43 (Friedman). Before AB43, state law stood in the way of broader speed reduction efforts. Not any more! Thanks to AB43, we can finally lower speeds, first around commercial areas, and later in residential areas. Our office made sure MTA is prioritizing some of our D5 neighborhood commercial corridors for the first round of speed reductions. You will soon see the signs go up in the Haight, Fillmore and Hayes Valley, with Inner Sunset and Divisadero to follow later in 2022.
- Responded to Thousands of Constituents: We responded to over 3,500 constituent requests, emails, phone calls, and held office hours across the district. Our office also successfully got stop signs, trash cans, and trees for various neighborhoods, and we worked with the Department of Public Works to fix badly broken, long neglected Fillmore sidewalks. Sidewalk Socialism!
None of this happens without your engagement and without the hard work of the entire D5 team – Kyle Smeallie, Jennifer Bolen, Preston Kilgore, and Melissa Hernandez, as well as our former staff members, Avery Yu and Jen Snyder, and all of our fellows and volunteers. I’m grateful for this amazing team. We all appreciate the opportunity to continue serving District 5 and the residents of this City.
And with that, I wish you and yours the best possible New Years in these challenging times. Take a moment to celebrate what you have done this year as we move together into the year ahead. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or just need to connect.
Sincerely,
Dean Preston
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