While City and Neighborhood politics seem to be in a clash of sorts these days making it even more challenging for neighbors to often obtain answers and insights on issues impacting their neighborhood, it’s good to revisit the critical role of Neighborhood Advocacy. We recently stumbled on this great read by Michigan State and believe it encapsulates many key points … Read post
It appears the ball was dropped with respect to communications outreach; there’s been expressed surprise and upset by community members about lack of details and notice about this project.
Here’s our email to Bob Barnwell who continues to dismiss our public safety efforts in Hayes Valley while calling himself the Chair of the Hayes Valley Public Safety Committee when in fact he’s the chair of the HVNA (Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association) committee. Kinda confusing, we know (you can read more about this here). It’s not the first time we’ve … Read post
At the start of the Pandemic the HVNA Communications Committee Chairs were functioning on an island on their own, shut out from the HVNA board, dis-included from information and we’re used as a scapegoat at community meetings when the public pointed to the lack of community outreach by the HVNA. Although we thought about writing this post for quite some … Read post
Fidel Joshua was the Hayes Valley Clubhouse Playground Director for years before it was closed to public community use due to the rebuild. (More on that later…). He is a security guard at the San Francisco Main Library. Recently he was a victim of a dog attack. We checked in with him recently…. here’s what he said about his condition: … Read post
Unfortunately in less than a week’s time the new garbage bins at Patricia’s Green have busted locks, doors exposed and ongoing trash and debris overflow. It’s not a pretty sight and many of you have been inquiring. We’ve been in communication with SFPW and they too are dismayed by the current conditions. They’ve explained that they have reached out to … Read post
We’re sharing our recent correspondence to the Board of Supevisors Planning Department and some of our positions on this matter. We recognize taking a position is often fraught with apprehension, but we believe it’s critical for the health of civic dialogue, advocacy and the right to redress. Dear Board Members. We are writing in support of the proposed vacancy tax … Read post
The year leading up to the 2020 HVNA (Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association) Election was a doozy in large part because past President (Gail Baugh) was still calling the shots while the new president (Craig Hamburg) stepped into the role. 2019 also marked the year of the District 5 supervisor campaign. The following contentious issues arose during the 2019 board year: … Read post
It is increasingly evident that justification for the Shared Street Closure on Hayes Street has run its course. The program, hastily enacted under emergency policy, has not been subject to community review since its initial roll out in August of 2020. This lack of process has allowed the permittee, HVNA (Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association), to control the closure without input … Read post
Hayes Valley Shared Streets Closure causes Chaos on Hayes and Octavia Is this the best we can do to achieve environmental justice. What about noise & air pollution?