July 9, 2025
Following up ahead of tomorrow’s hearing, we wanted to reiterate and expand on the concerns we’ve raised in this ongoing thread:
We’ve sent hundreds of letters since 2023. We’ve shown up at hearing after hearing… and still, it’s the same dog and pony show. We’re dragged back into the ISCOTT process – a process created to streamline permits for parades, festivals, and neighborhood celebrations – not to enable recurring for-profit street markets that destabilize business corridors — to defend Hayes Valley against yet another HW event.
Yes, we know we’re caught in a loophole. But maybe it’s time we ask the question no one at SFMTA seems willing to answer:
What would it cost you to deny Jimmy?
The answer: probably nothing. But for Hayes Valley, it would mean everything. It would finally give this neighborhood reason to believe the City still listens, in a place that has been sold off piece by piece. Hayes Valley has already been destabilized by a string of policy failures — the prolonged street closure, a rushed Entertainment Zone designation, and now recurring for-profit markets. Each layer adds more strain on the small businesses and residents who keep this neighborhood alive.
SFMTA, as an agency, has eroded any remaining trust. So we’re asking you directly:
Do you know how it feels to be stranded on an island?
Because that’s where you’ve left us … alone, forced to fight for a fair process in a system designed to ignore us.
Three dates were already too much. Deny this permit. Stop approving private profits at public expense, and start listening to the people who actually live and work here.
This correspondence has been edited for clarity and conciseness. Routine greetings, scheduling notes, and contact details have been omitted; the substance of the communication remains unchanged.