The Country Club Influence in Hayes Valley

How HVNA Skirts Democracy to Push Its AgendaThe Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA) has been around for over 30 years. But today, what once billed itself as a neighborhood voice now acts more like a gatekeeping institution…one that leverages its nonprofit status and cozy ties to City Hall to push policies most residents never agreed to. Locals have a nickname for it: the country club. And it fits. A Nonprofit Acting Like a Shadow GovernmentHVNA is not a public agency. …

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Our Statement

The Hayes Valley Entertainment Zone: The Story is Unraveling San Franciscans deserve transparent governance, not a backroom deal disguised as community policy. To those of you who have stood with us – thank you. Please keep sharing this with neighbors, small business owners, and public safety and good governance advocates. Over the past several weeks, we have uncovered internal emails, planning notes, and meeting records that reveal a coordinated effort by Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and his staff to deliberately exclude …

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Operation Booze Zone: The Power Play Behind the Closure

Since news broke about the proposed “Entertainment Zone” in Hayes Valley aka the Booze Zone we’ve been fielding a lot of questions. So here’s a straight-up explanation of what’s going on, and who’s behind it. This didn’t come from the neighborhood. It came from HVNA leadership and a first-term Supervisor who seems more interested in celebrating with the street closure permit holder than responding to the rest of us. Hayes Valley Safe and the Hayes Valley Small Business Association were …

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From Public Space to Political Tool: The Parcel K Board Scandal

How a locked bulletin board reveals a long-standing pattern of exclusion in Hayes Valley. It was billed as a public resource: a new bulletin board installed on Parcel K in the heart of Hayes Valley, just steps from the now-controversial 400 block street closure. But like many recent “community” initiatives in the neighborhood, what was framed as public and inclusive quickly became private and controlled. In reality, the board is overseen by two interconnected organizations: the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association …

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Who Gets to Speak for Hayes Valley?

The small business perspective on the gatekeeping, intimidation, and broken politics behind the Hayes Street road block. When speaking up comes with consequences, staying quiet becomes a form of protection. That’s the reality for many small business owners in Hayes Valley who have been navigating the fallout of the prolonged Hayes Street closure. In Part 1, we explored the operational disruption, economic fallout, and emotional exhaustion caused by a closure that has destabilized the business corridor. But beyond what’s visible …

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Who Does a Supervisor Really Serve? Hayes Valley Deserves an Answer

In light of recent developments regarding the closure on Hayes Street, we’re answering the two top questions we ask and have been asked as of late:Who does a Supervisor really serve?And have you even talked to Bilal about the closure?Yes, we did. Once. It was a meeting that left the room stunned and the community even more demoralized. What follows is our statement, written by a coalition that has been raising concerns about the Hayes Street closure since 2020. This …

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Why We Keep Showing Up

A reflection on advocacy, frustration, and the failed policy behind the Hayes Street closure. We never imagined we’d have to fight this hard for fairness. Like many others, we simply cared about our neighborhood-its businesses, its streets, and the people who live and work here every day. But once the aim evolved to keeping the street closed, and the impacts on small businesses became impossible to ignore, we realized someone had to speak up. What followed wasn’t easy. We’ve spent …

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The Small Business Perspective on the Hayes Street Closure

An account from merchants navigating the fallout. What began as a temporary pandemic-era street closure has now stretched on for years, disrupting commerce, dividing the community, and placing growing pressure on the small businesses that helped build Hayes Valley in the first place.For many people, the weekend closure of the 400 block of Hayes Street looks like a feel-good policy. Fewer cars. More foot traffic. A celebration of neighborhood life. But for the businesses that actually operate on or near …

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Hayes Street Closure: Bad for Business Worse for the Planet

A Street Closure That Fails the Climate, the Community, and Common Sense You’ve probably heard the pitch: closing streets is good for the environment. Fewer cars, more walk-ability, climate wins. But here’s what actually happens when the 400 block of Hayes Street is closed and why it undermines the very goals it claims to support. Let’s be real: Hayes Valley has always had traffic. It’s a dense, active, mixed-use neighborhood. But the current closure is not business as usual, it’s …

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