Supervisor Ronen - January New 2020 Newsletter

 
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January 2020 

Dear Neighbors,

It's only the first month of 2020, and we have already celebrated an affordable housing groundbreaking, added a new Legacy Business, and are hard at work on much more in D9! We're also starting the year with some staffing changes; as we say good-bye to longtime Chief of Staff Carolyn Goossen, we're welcoming new Legislative Aide Santiago Lerma. We're hitting the new year running, and I don't plan to slow down!

To learn more about my efforts, please feel free to get in touch with my office anytime. You can also follow the real-time work of my office via Twitter and Facebook.

"Stay Over Program" Touted as a Success!
Photo via happening-here.blogspot.com

This month, the City Controller released a report evaluating the first year of the “Stay Over Program” at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School in the Mission, a first-of-its kind program offering emergency refuge for homeless families with children.

The report found that the program has been enormously successful in supporting families in need - particularly immigrant Spanish-speaking families with children in the public school system. The Stay Over Program came about after my office partnered with BVHM Principal Claudia Delarios Moran, her wonderful staff, and the parent community.

Through the skilled work of Dolores Street Community Services, we have been able to create a truly unique, culturally competent, and family-centered program. We have so much more work to do to solve family homelessness, including securing more long-term beds and permanent homes, but I am proud of our community for coming together to develop this unique response.

Fighting for Our Neighborhood Trees
The trees along 24th Street are a tremendous cultural, historical, and environmental asset for the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District and the City.

That is why I'm working alongside our community to ensure that we are promoting San Francisco’s resilience in the face of climate change instead of removing large numbers of trees from our urban canopy.

The Department of Public Works' Bureau of Urban Forestry (BUF), community members and organizations, and I are exploring ways to mitigate the proposed tree removal and balance the need for safe public walkways while preserving our cherished trees.

Affordable Housing Groundbreaking in the Mission
 
Nine days into 2020, our community broke ground on Casa de la Misión, 45 deeply affordable apartments for seniors who are currently homeless, the sixth 100% affordable building now under construction in the Mission!

Congratulations to Mission Neighborhood Centers and Mercy Housing for recognizing that seniors are struggling to stay in this community, responding in such a concrete way by building housing on this property, and their persistence in making this long-planned dream come true.

Bringing Diversity to Camp Mather
Photo via San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
When I visited Camp Mather with my family, I was surprised and saddened to see that the families who attend, for the most part, didn't reflect the diversity of San Francisco. I raised this issue with General Manager Phil Ginsburg and my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors last summer.

I am glad to report that with my advocacy, the Recreation and Parks Department has a new initiative to ensure that all San Francisco residents, regardless of income, can access the benefits of nature at Camp Mather, including free cabins and reserved spots for low-income families.

I look forward to seeing these meaningful changes being implemented. All families — regardless of class, language, or race — should have equal access to this San Francisco gem.

Saying Good-Bye to Carolyn Goossen and Introducing Santiago Lerma as the Newest Member of the D9 Team
Photo via Facebook
This month, we celebrated longtime Chief of Staff Carolyn Goossen, who, after six years in the District 9 office, is moving on to work on state and local criminal justice policy with the San Francisco Public Defender's Office.

Her leadership and skill has been essential in our work to close Juvenile Hall, create Mental Health SF, name Harvey Milk Terminal, require businesses to provide all-gender restrooms, and create the first-ever shelter for LGBTQ people without homes - Jazzie's Place, and the first-ever school stay over program for homeless students and their families. We will miss her dearly and wish her the best of luck in her exciting new role, where she will undoubtedly continue to be a champion for justice.
Photo via Santiago Lerma
We are excited to welcome Santiago Lerma, Bay Area native and longtime Mission resident, to our legislative team! Santiago comes to us from SEIU Local 2015 where, as their Political Coordinator, he was a strong voice for the nearly 2,500 homecare workers who live in D9. He also previously worked as the community liaison for the city’s first Navigation Center at 1950 Mission, helping steer hundreds of people off the street and into services and stable housing. Santiago holds a Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University School of Law. Welcome to the team, Santiago!

Adobe Books Joins D9 Legacy Business Registry
Photo via Mission Local
I nominated Adobe Books to join the Legacy Businesses registry in recognition of their irreplaceable presence in the Mission over the past 30 years, and I am so pleased that the Small Business Commission gave it their unanimous approval. Both at their original 16th Street location and in their current 24th Street home as a worker-cooperative, Adobe has offered affordable reads, hosted innumerable free readings and art shows, and kept its doors open to welcome authors, poets, thinkers, musicians, and of course, readers! What a treasure!

Welcoming our New District Attorney Chesa Boudin
Photo by Kevin Humes for the SF Examiner
San Francisco voters made a smart choice in electing Chesa Boudin to be our District Attorney. His vision of public safety and equitable justice that emphasizes redemption and healing makes me hopeful for our city, and I was honored to speak at his swearing in. As I said that evening, “We are proud to be the status quo’s worst nightmare. And the collective ‘we’ will make this city a place that takes action and implements big, bold exciting change.”

Honoring Buck Bagot
This month, I had the honor of shining a light on a true Bernal star, a community organizer extraordinaire, a lifelong fighter for civil rights, a passionate advocate for vulnerable people, and an all-round wonderful guy. Buck Bagot is a co-founder of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center (BHNC) and the Bernal Heights Democratic Club, on the frontlines of virtually every progressive cause in our City and our country for the last 50 years, Buck is truly a force of nature who has touched the lives of so many in the most powerful, positive, and indelible way. Congratulations, Buck! We love you!

Celebrating Jorge William Bermudez
Photo by Joanna Bermudez-Hernandez

It was my pleasure to honor Jorge William Bermudez, a longtime Mission resident, business owner of Rancho Grande Appliance on Bryant and Chavez, and "Superman of Appliance Repair" on the eve of his retirement.

Over the span of more than 20 years, Jorge earned the reputation of being the "kitchen doctor," because he was known to make house calls on Thanksgiving Day to fix broken ovens!  He gave back to the community, donating kitchen appliances to organizations like Mission Neighborhood Centers and Arriba Juntos. Thank you, Jorge, from all of us in the community!

Information on the Coronavirus
Public health authorities are carefully monitoring the situation and are taking action to protect the public. You can keep up to date on the Department of Public Health's page on the Coronavirus here.

The Department of Public Health has prepared fact sheets in English, Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish.

For information about travel to and from SFO, visit this page.

For up to date information, the public may visit SF72.org or the CDC webpage here.

COMMUNITY EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lunar New Year in the Portola!
Photo via Portola Family Connections
Join me in bringing in the Year of the Rat at Portola Family Connections! There will be games, raffles, arts and crafts, a photo booth, and lion dancers. Kids get free admission, and adults pay $2. More information here.

UCSF Free "Give Kids A Smile" Day

Community Clean Team Comes to D9!
Community Clean Team is San Francisco Public Works’ longest-running and largest volunteer program that keeps San Francisco beautiful through landscaping and gardening projects, graffiti removal and litter cleanup in our neighborhoods. Community Clean Team, in partnership with the Giant Sweep anti-litter campaign, needs your help to keep our city clean and green in 2020. Join and volunteer!

Share Your Thoughts with ConnectSF
Come share your thoughts at a ConnectSF public workshop. ConnectSF is a multi-agency collaborative process to build an effective, equitable, and sustainable transportation system for San Francisco’s future. Your input will be critical in helping identify project and policy concepts that will meet our needs in the coming decades.
 
Workshop 1:
Saturday, February 8, 2020
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM Park Branch Library
Community Room, 1833 Page St.

Workshop 2:
Thursday, February 13, 2020
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Mission Cultural Center, 2868 Mission St.

Please RSVP at https://connectsf.org/events/

Food will be provided. Interpretation will be provided in Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino. Not able to come to a workshop? You can take the ConnectSF online survey at https://connectsf.org/survey/.

Free Energy Fair
Photo via SF Dept of Energy
SF Environment is hosting a free Energy Fair on February 25 – get your energy questions answered by local experts, see live demos, and learn how to make your home healthier and more resilient! Enjoy complimentary refreshments while you explore interactive workshops, live demos, and exhibits to learn about the cutting-edge and cost-saving energy resources available to you. Raffle entry included with attendance – register now!

Help Add Sunday Streets to D9!
Sunday Streets wants to hear from you: Take the End of Season Survey to share your voice – plus, qualify to win great local prizes!

您的意見可幫助週日街的發展!

SFUSD Meetings on Student Assignment
SFUSD is developing a new policy for how elementary school students are assigned to public schools in San Francisco. This would be a big change and could impact what schools and programs families can choose to apply to. Family input is critical NOW and SFUSD especially wants to hear from families whose voices are not always included in the policy development process. They are hosting a series of 12 workshops throughout the City, and want to request your help in promoting them. Food, childcare, and interpretation will be provided at each event. Find out more here.

Water Pipeline Work in Our Neighborhood
Did you know that the Mission District has water pipelines dating back to 1870? To ensure that the Mission District continues to receive high quality water for another 150 years, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is completing water pipeline replacement projects throughout District 9. After crews disinfect and clean the new water pipelines, the final step is connecting individual properties to the new water pipelines. Completing this connection to the new water pipelines requires water service to be temporarily shut off.

SFPUC crews notify properties of water shut offs with a door hanger 24 to 48 hours in advance of the shut off. After the water connection is completed, water service will be restored. When water service is restored, the mix of any air that may have entered the pipeline combined with the re-pressurization of the water lines can sometimes cause sediment to kick up. As such, the SFPUC door hanger specifies that after a water shut off, property owners should NOT turn on any hot water first. Rather, property owners should begin by turning on the cold water at the plumbing outlet nearest to the street to avoid getting sedimentation into the house plumbing. The best place to do this is at a hose bib in a garage, front, side, or back of the house. Alternatively, if you have a bathtub, running only the cold water into the bath is another good option.

If sediment does kick up in your property’s plumbing, it may cause water discoloration. If your property ever experiences water discoloration or water odor, or you ever have any concerns about water quality, please file a 311 report immediately by calling 311 on your phone or visiting https://sf311.org. SFPUC water quality experts will respond to your inquiry, and if needed, complete water quality sampling and testing at your property. If you ever have questions about this process feel free to email the SFPUC at info@sfwater.org!

Share Your Thoughts About Sharing Rides with SFMTA
The SFMTA wants to hear from you about carpooling and shared rides in the city. 

This survey will inform the city’s future transportation planning decisions to encourage shared rides, which may include restriping existing traffic lanes to high occupancy vehicle carpool lanes and designating convenient drop-off curb locations for carpools and app-based shared rides.

Take the survey in any of the following languages:
For more information please visit the project webpage here.
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Got an upcoming event or opportunity to include in this newsletter? Email Jennifer.Li-D9@sfgov.org
 

Our mailing address is:
Hillary Ronen, District 9 Supervisor
 San Francisco City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 244
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689

 
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