Statements

Official statements published by Hayes Valley Safe on matters affecting the neighborhood, civic participation, public policy, and community governance. Statements represent our considered position on significant issues and are preserved as part of the public record.

A Community Should Never Come to This

A Statement on Civic Dialogue in Hayes Valley The following statement was prepared after an informational poster explaining the Hayes Street closure was intentionally torn down within hours of being placed on the public sidewalk. While prompted by that incident, the statement addresses broader questions of civic dialogue, public participation, and the condition of community discourse surrounding the Hayes Street closure. This statement was distributed to San Francisco agencies and public officials and is published here as part of the …

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Statement RE: How a “Temporary” Street Closure Became a Permanent Political Project

San Francisco’s Shared Spaces program was meant to help businesses recover. Instead, it’s been used to keep Hayes Street closed for nearly five years. What began as a temporary Shared Spaces closure on Hayes Street in 2020 should have ended years ago. By late 2023, SFMTA staff were prepared not to renew the permit — citing safety issues, merchant complaints, and the clear intent that Shared Spaces closures were never meant to be indefinite. That decision changed only after Supervisor …

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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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Statement Regarding HVNA’s Involvement in Campaign Against Supervisor Dean Preston

Last month we informed you that Jen Laska, current president of HVNA (Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association) is concurrently on the payroll of GrowSF, a political action committee. The HVNA’s involvement with a political action committee presents a serious conflict of interest and compromises its credibility as a community serving association. HVSafe believes representation at the community level is critical and must not be tainted by partisan politics or personal agendas. The association has used its name to promote the agendas …

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