For years, the Hayes Street closure has been described as an “experiment.” But experiments are meant to teach us something — not divide a neighborhood or drain the lifeblood of its small businesses. After five years of trial and error, the lesson is clear: this hasn’t worked. It’s time to move past the talking points and start telling the truth … Read post
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, … Read post
San Francisco politics is increasingly run through PACs and nonprofits. They raise big checks, buy access, and dominate the headlines. But here’s the difference: 1. Who We Are vs. Who They Are 2. Access vs. Exclusion 3. Incentives vs. Consequences 4. Accountability vs. Escape 5. What We’re Not 6. What We Are
For three decades, the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA) has been treated by City Hall as the voice of our neighborhood. Agencies check the box by consulting HVNA, and politicians cite HVNA statements as if they reflect community consensus. But here’s the truth: HVNA doesn’t represent the diversity of Hayes Valley. Its board operates in a silo, behind closed doors. … Read post
A Neighborhood at a Crossroads It’s been a busy fall, winter, and spring. With summer upon us, we thought it best to take a pause and share some updates, especially as we’ve been fielding many questions in our ongoing conversations with neighbors. Had you asked us in 2020 what our community work would look like five years down the road, … Read post
It starts small. A closed street here. A community board there. An event permit that seems innocuous on its face. But step by step, a pattern emerges and if you’re not paying attention, you might miss how fast the foundation shifts beneath your neighborhood. Over the past five years, we’ve engaged in what should have been straightforward advocacy: asking for … Read post
With election day a few weeks away we wanted to share a few updates on initiatives that we’ve been busy advocating for which inevitably will drive our post election efforts. We believe it’s critical to share our discoveries and takeaways on issues that continue to shape our neighborhood — these matters impact both our quality of life and conditions to … Read post
As it’s a new year we want to provide a brief update on our current efforts/positions and outline our keystone advocacy focuses for 2024. We remain grateful for the opportunity to serve this community. While we are proud of our past 3 years efforts advocating for quality of life needs and equitable representation for Hayes Valley Proper residents and small … Read post
In June 2020 the encampment crisis was in full swing. Octavia Blvd and a number of locations around Hayes Valley were plagued with tents. There was a rat infestation occurring on and near Parcel R &S (Hayes Valley Art Works). We were in the beginning stages of COVID and concerns and nerves were on the rise. As mentioned in our … Read post
Richard made numerous attempts to attend the HVNA Public Safety Meeting last night. He was blocked repeatedly. While this is not the first case of such problematic behavior by the HVNA this occurrence comes on the heels of a major fire that occurred last week on Octavia. Richard as a community leader and HVNA member was eager to attend as … Read post