Why We Document — And Why It Matters Now

For anyone new to our work, it may look unusual that neighbors have spent more than a year documenting the weekly conditions of a weekend street closure. But the truth is: we should never have had to. For nearly five years, the Hayes Street closure has operated under a patchwork of “temporary” permits that drifted further and further away from the program the City claimed to be running. Each phase told the same story: Different years. Different blocks.The same failures. …

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Parcel K “Community Board”: Why This Matters Now

A quick update on an issue we’ve raised for more than two years, one that has become newly relevant. On Parcel K, a bulletin board labeled a “community board” sits behind locked glass on City-owned land. In reality, only one neighborhood faction holds the key. They use the board to promote their initiatives, including messaging tied to the Hayes Street closure, while others are denied access and relegated to posting around the area, where their flyers are routinely removed by …

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Hayes Street Closure Permit Analysis

What Changed in the New Hayes Street Permit — and Why It Matters (New permit takes effect this Friday) Over the past few days we’ve taken a close look at SFMTA’s newly issued 2025–26 permit for the Hayes Street weekend closure. The rules differ dramatically from last year. Contrary to the perception that “nothing has changed,” the new permit introduces stricter safety requirements, higher operational demands, and new costs — all of which substantially reshape how the block must operate. …

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When Retweets Become ‘Incidents’: What the Permit Holder Reported to City Hall

A particular email has stood out during a recent record retrieval — not for what it proved, but for what it revealed. 1. The Hayes Street closure permit holder has been forwarding social-media posts about our account to the Supervisor as ‘incidents.’ On October 3, the permit holder sent an email chain titled “HVSafe barricade removal.” The message suggested there was some sort of tampering with cones or barricades. What was the evidence?Two public tweets.Tweets our account simply reposted.Tweets written …

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SFMTA Hearing Materials Debrief: What the Public Is Not Being Told

posted at 11 am Our team has reviewed SFMTA’s staff report and slide deck released ahead of next week’s SFMTA Board hearing. What is being shown publicly and what is being left out raises serious concerns about transparency, data integrity, and decision-making during one of the worst financial crises in the agency’s history. SFMTA now faces a $322 million budget deficit, has already cut $120 million in service and operations, and warns that its finances will worsen without major changes. …

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How SFMTA Manipulated Sales Tax Data on Hayes Street

posted at 9am SFMTA’s presentation hides the downturn on the closed 400 block by combining its sales tax data with two other blocks. Our team’s review shows that this approach was not a neutral analytic choice — it materially masked the harm and produced a misleading economic picture for the Board. This analysis explains how the data were combined and why it raises serious concerns about the integrity of SFMTA’s evaluation process for the closure renewal. What SFMTA Presented SFMTA …

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