Category: Update

CSFN April Newsletter: April 2024 News
Linked on the front page: csfn.net

April-2024-NL
PDF Document · 3.8 MB

Download flyers re: Coastal Commission and Traffic Bills.

Lots of actions coming up this month.
Send any photos you have with the candidates for the May Newsletter (zrants)

This meeting is about SFMTA and our transportation problems.
Thanks for those of you who sent in questions and suggestions.
There is still time to add your issues to the list.
Or suggestions if you have any.

Register for the meetings. Invite anyone who is concerned about transportation.

Tuesday, April 16, 6:30 PM – Zoom
CSFN General Assembly Meeting Program: Transportion
Bob Feinbaum on Muni Trains (with Reso)
Up-zoning brings parking nightmares for residents.
Ask the candidates what they will do to protect us.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvf-6grT0tGtWqftDIQgyIUjo6rMfrelZf

Thursday, April 11, 2024, 6:30-8:30 PM – a live event Zoom
Christ Church Lutheran, 1090 Quintara Street
Sunset/Parkside District 4 Town Hall – Up-zoning Plans
Protect Neighborhoods, Support Merchants, Meet Housing Needs
Register – in person* Limited space of 125
Register – via Zoom

Download flyers re: Coastal Commission and Traffic Bills.

By Patrick Hope : sfexaminer – excerpt (includes audio track)

Some people say the post of mayor of San Francisco is one of the strongest of its kind in the nation; others insist it has been so hobbled by voter-approved restrictions that nobody could do the job effectively.

The question, central to the current mayor’s race, reflects the historic tug-of-war in San Francisco over how much authority should rest with The City’s elected chief executive versus other arms of city government — notably the Board of Supervisors — especially since 1996, when voters most recently approved a City Charter.

That was the year that the legendary Willie Brown began the first of his two controversial terms as mayor, a tenure that many cite today as an example of what a powerful and effective executive can be — but which rankled others who perceived a culture of corruption…(more)

By Han Li and Joel Umanzor : sfstandard – excerpt

San Francisco’s mayoral race officially entered a new era Saturday as longtime progressive leader Aaron Peskin joined the contest for the city’s top job.

Peskin, 59, president of the Board of Supervisors, formally kicked off his campaign at a rally in Chinatown’s Portsmouth Square, where throngs of his supporters—and a few dozen detractors—gathered.

“I am so deeply and sincerely grateful to have received the support I needed to recover and become sober,” Peskin, who previously sought treatment for alcoholism, said to a crowd of hundreds of supporters, “and it has inspired me to dedicate the next chapter of my life to the recovery of this city.”

“I believe San Francisco deserves a mature discussion, not a shouting match,” he added.

Prominent progressive leaders, including former mayor Art Agnos and former state legislators Mark Leno and Tom Ammiano, were among those who showed up to support Peskin, who is currently in his fourth—and final—term as supervisor. Also in attendance were local Chinatown leaders and hundreds of Chinese seniors led by Community Tenant Association.…(more)

RELATED:

Peskin Campaign Begins With Protest, Promises And a little love for police

By Garrett Leahy : sfstandard – excerpt

It’s as prime as prime San Francisco real estate can be: a bustling North Beach corner with views of Sts. Peter and Paul Church and Washington Square Park close to amazing restaurants, historic bars, cafes and a plethora of bakeries.

But it’s a grimy shell of its former self. The building at 659 Union St. is barely even a building at all. What’s left of it after two ravaging fires is essentially a brick exterior propped up by metal rods. So why is the space still empty?…

San Francisco Planning Chief of Staff Dan Sider said the developer needs to work with the city to get redevelopment plans fully approved. Demolishing the old brick walls is possible, Sider said, but it’s a lengthy process requiring Jurow to meet with the city, something he hasn’t done since November…

The demolition would require an environmental report and a public hearing at the Historic Preservation Commission, which takes at least 18 months and does not guarantee success, Sider said…

Jurow said he didn’t know he could tear down the old brick wall until The Standard passed on Sider’s comments. The developer said he would like any new exterior to fit the current style of the neighborhood…

The office of Supervisor Aaron Peskin, whose district includes North Beach, said it is working to make Jurow’s plans a reality.

“We’ve been working closely with the City Attorney, Planning Department and Project Sponsor on a Special Use District for this site, which would provide numerous exceptions for the developer to build the project that they’ve proposed,” a representative for Peskin said. “It is our understanding that the Planning Department has been waiting on critical information from the project sponsor that the Department and City Attorney requested some time ago, in order to facilitate the crafting of the [district]. We stand ready to move this forward whenever the project sponsor gets back to the city.”…(more)

By Randy Shaw : beyondchron – excerpt

Peskin Galvanizes SF’s Mayor’s Race (Updated April 4)

On Saturday, Aprill 6 Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin is announcing he is running for San Francisco mayor. I had long assumed this would happen.

San Francisco now has the most open mayor’s race since 1975.

There is no clear front runner.

Let me share by sharing my history with Aaron Peskin…(more)

By Annika Hom :missionlocal – excerpt

Supervisor’s anger follows series of Mission Local articles revealing squatters, deferred work, and failing habitability scores in public housing

Supervisor Shamann Walton Thursday ripped into the property manager overseeing troubled Potrero Hill and Sunnydale public housing, criticizing its explanations for mismanaged properties.

At a meeting Thursday, the Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee grilled management corporation Eugene Burger for recent incidents, such as squatters living in vacant units, mounting trash, deferred work orders and poor habitability scores, and a lethal fire…

But Walton was unsatisfied with the majority of management’s answers.

“Now I understand where the problem lies,” Walton said, feigning sudden enlightenment. “We think quality of service for residents is different than what Eugene Burger thinks” it is, he said.

“Everybody who is in the development working on properties, developer, contractor, Housing Authority, HOPE SF — you are all responsible for meeting residents’ needs, point blank,” Walton said sternly…

Supervisor Catherine Stefani also questioned the city agreements that pay Eugene Burger to run the sites: “I don’t understand why we continue to engage and ask people to do the work if they are not able to perform it,” she said…(more)

By Noah Baustin : sfstandard – excerpt

Richmond neighborhood resident David Jacoby was shocked Monday to discover that he and his neighbors had received $108 parking citations while their vehicles were sitting in their own driveways.

Their offense, according to the city, was blocking part of the sidewalk.

But Jacoby said that his Prius and the rest of the cars on his Second Avenue block were all parked exactly as they had been for the past decade, never before drawing the ire of parking enforcement.

“It seems a bit random and unwarranted and, frankly, unfair,” Jacoby said.

A few doors down, his neighbor Shari Johnston, also ticketed, was in disbelief that she was hit with a fine on her vehicle.

“It’s in our actual driveway that we pay for,” Johnston said…(more)

RELATED:

San Francisco invents new rules for ‘anti-homeless’ planters

SFMTA parking boss targeted minority neighborhoods, former deputy director alleges

Looks like the bosses need a new plan. When the permits to allow street furniture and planters come about, the issue of sitting down access is going to be a little hard to prove. More of this subject will be coming up soon now doubt. The next Mayor may have something to say about it. There is a long list of SFMTA employees who have filed complaints and those may expose even more problems in the department when new leadership takes over. These articles only show a tip of the iceberg.