Potrero View 2022: October

District 10 Residents Concerned About Crime, Homelessness

BY MATTHEW NAMY

San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 10 is located on the southeast corner of the 7 x 7 and includes significant overlap with the View’s readership. On November 8 incumbent Shamann Walton will face challenger Brian Adam in a race for the District 10 Supervisor seat.

The View asked D10 residents to identify the biggest challenges facing their community, how they feel about San Francisco, and whether Supervisor Walton has been doing a good job. From Bayview to Potrero Hill, several common themes emerged: residents are concerned about crime, street drug use, homelessness, and the ability to afford to live in San Francisco. The San Francisco Police Department is seen as being too passive. Walton is generally viewed favorably, but most interviewees weren’t familiar with his politics. With a few exceptions, San Franciscans are pessimistic about the City’s future.

Elliot, photographed while selling watermelons near the intersection of Shafter and Third streets, has been a Bayview resident for 51 years. He said that homelessness is the District’s big-

Neighborhoods Dotted with Public Spaces, Art

gest issue and thought that when larger tent encampments are dismantled, the occupants move into smaller pockets, which can lead to more theft. Elliot said he sees “a lot of stuff that 10 to 15 years ago the police wouldn’t allow.” He thought this “is a double-edged sword”. He commended a new police officer in the community who defused a traffic nuisance without resorting to tickets and fines, yet laughingly noted that “some guys see this and think, I’m gonna do what I want to do, cause they ain’t gonna do shit.”

John was sitting outside Farley’s Coffeehouse when the View caught up with him. He’s a 31-year Hill resident, but since retiring from teaching for the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) two years ago, he spends most of his time in the Sierra Nevada. John has a positive impression of Supervisor Walton, “but not much more to say.” He believes wrongdoing and homelessness

Proposed Bike Lane on 17th Street Hits Speed Bumps

BY REBEKAH MOAN

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has proposed a “Quick-Build Project” along 17th Street between Rhode Island and Mississippi streets that has local businesses saying, “not so fast.” Quick-Build Projects are intended to streamline delivery of safety improvements, in this case, development of a protected bike lane – consisting of physical barriers to separate bikes from vehicles using raised curbs, bollards, parking, or planter strips – between Potrero and Pennsylvania streets.

Cyclists support the project, at least those who took to Twitter to share their opinion. However, impacted businesses, such as music venue Bottom of the Hill, want more due diligence on the bike lane’s impact.

Bottom of the Hill co-owner Lynn Schwarz said that a protected bike lane would eliminate a large amount of parking without creating viable alternatives, which could potentially affect not only the club but numerous nearby businesses, such as Thee Parkside, Deluxe

As the Pandemic Wanes, Live Theaters Create New Scenes

BY DIVA HARSOOR

In Potrero Hill, where face masks are a rare sight, theater groups performing at Potrero Stage and elsewhere still speak of testing protocols, face coverings, and capacity restrictions.

“There are theaters that over and over and over have run through not just the understudy, but the understudy’s understudy’s understudy,” said Aldo Billingslea of the Juneteenth Theater Justice Project, one of nine companies performing at Potrero Stage through PlayGround’s Innovator Incubator program.

The “intimate” process of doing traditional theater carries with it a high risk

of Covid-19 transmission, Billingslea said. Given revenue losses from shuttering a show due to Covid-positive actors, he argued, these precautions are “not only healthy but prudent financially.”

Still, theaters that survived the pandemic have largely reopened, featuring plays that grapple with such topical themes as the virus horror show The Act of Care from PlayGround incubator’s The Chikahan Company, as well as lighter and more joyous fare following what Artistic Director Sahar Assaf of Golden Thread called “a really tough two years worldwide.”

FREE Serving the Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, Mission Bay and SOMA Neighborhoods Since 1970 OCTOBER 2022

are the District’s biggest challenges, noting that “crime was actually getting better, and then with the pandemic got

Elliot John

CONCERNS

BIKE LANE continues on page

A neighbor enjoys lunch on the penta-step in Dagget Park. Although the park is public, private developers built and maintain it; the nonprofit Friends of Dagget Park manages it.

Five 15-foot silver spheres created by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson are located on Chase Center’s east plaza. The spheres have mirrors facing inwards that create a tunnel effect when left uncovered.

PHOTOS: ODIN THIEN-AN MARIN

The wheel of democracy turns yet again, with the yummy, annoying, or satisfying responsibility to choose amongst a plethora of candidates and causes. The View’s ability to examine politicians and ballot initiatives has shrunk over the years, hobbled by fewer enthusiastic volunteers and diminishing advertising reviews. Still, we do our best, focusing on municipal propositions.

Proposition A, retirement benefit changes:  Introduced by Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, this measure would adjust supplemental cost-of-living benefits for municipal employees who retired before November 6, 1996, eliminating a requirement that the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System be fully funded based on its assets’ prior year market value. SFERS would adjust retirees’ base allowance to account for the supplemental payments they didn’t receive in five different years because of the full-funding requirement. Monthly supplemental payments would be capped at $200 for eligible retirees whose gross allowance exceeds $4,167 per month. The measure, which requires a simple majority to pass, confronts voters with a complicated math problem. Most of the impacted retirees are in their 70s or older. If their annual income is less than $50,000 – it many cases it’s more, as City staff often engaged in new employment after they retired – they could use a couple hundred extra bucks a month. On the other hand, pretty

much nobody but government employees receive dedicated pension payments. Still, why not be compassionate. Yes

Proposition B, street-cleaning department reversal:   Two years ago, San Francisco voters approved a different Proposition B, which directed the City to split the Pub lic Works department in two, creating a new street cleaning agency. Now, the Board of Supervi sors is concerned that an indepen dent street cleaning entity would cost too much and ac complish too little. Supervisor Aaron Pes kin proposed this measure to strangle the nascent Sanitation and Streets department in its cradle, while preserving two oversight commissions established under original Proposition B. The measure requires a simple majority to pass. San Francisco’s streets aren’t much cleaner than they were two years ago; their icky condition has cast a shadow over the City’s reputation worldwide. Nope

Proposition C, homeless department oversight: Safaí proposed this measure to create an oversight commission for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. With an annual

budget of roughly $700 million, HSH is the largest municipal agency that doesn’t have a supervising body. Though it’s done better recently, thanks mostly to an infusion of pandemic-related cash and skilled staff, HSH could use more talented minds worrying over how best to beneficially disrupt San Francisco’s homeless industrial complex. Proposition C needs a simple majority to pass. Yes

Propositions D and E, affordable housing:  These two bad boys, which seek to accelerate development of affordable housing, differ in a few ways, including the kinds of projects that’d qualify for expedited approval and whether supervisors retain control over approving municipal funds for 100 percent affordable projects. Supervisor Connie Chan sponsored E; Mayor London Breed advocates for D. It’s hard for a non-ballot attorney to slice through the thicket of legalize contained in each measure. The bottom line seems to be that D is more generous to developers and would likely induce more housing to be constructed; while E focuses on making sure that any housing built will actually be affordable. It’s tempting to tell the politicians to get their acts together and hash out one compromise proposal that’s good enough to bring to the voters. That’s what will do. Nope and Nope

Proposition F, library preservation fund: This measure would renew for 25 years an annual property tax set-aside of 2.5 cents per $100, the revenues from which would support library opera-

tions. It needs a simple majority to pass. Books may be obsolete, but libraries are the lingering heartbeat of civil society. Note that this and Proposition G restrict property tax funds to a specific purpose, which may not be great fiscal policy, unless it is. Yes!

Proposition G, student success fund:   Spearheaded by Supervisor Hillary Ronen, this measure would set aside up to $60 million annually in “excess” property tax revenues to support San Francisco public schools, with expenditures limited if the City faces a budget deficit. The money would pay for grants of up to $1 million a year to support students’ academic achievement or social or emotional wellness. According to the City Controller, “The proposed amendment is not in compliance with a non-binding, voter-adopted city policy regarding set-asides. The policy seeks to limit set-asides which reduce General Fund dollars that could otherwise be allocated by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors in the annual budget process.” In other words, like Proposition F, it strips the mayor and legislators of the ability to determine how best to spend these funds. The measure needs a simple majority to pass. Schools, of course, are every bit as important as libraries. Yes

Proposition H, Elections: If approved by a majority of voters, this measure would shift 2023 races for mayor, sheriff, district attorney, city attorney and treasurer to 2024 and every four years thereafter. Supervisor Dean Preston introduced it to boost turnout in local elections that’re currently held in oddnumbered years. Even year election turnout can be almost twice as odd ones.

best to beneficially disrupt San indus Proposi

ing:

Seems like a reasonable way to improve voter engagement. Yes

Propositions I and J, JFK Drive and Great Highway: The Board of Supervisors voted seven to four earlier this year to prohibit vehicles on 1.5 miles of John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park. Separately, the Great Highway along Ocean Beach has been car-free on weekends since August 2021. Proposition I, placed on the ballot by signature, would reverse the supervisors’ vote, closing JFK Drive only on holidays, Sundays and Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. between April and September. It’d also allow cars to traverse the Great Highway in both directions 24/7.

Proposition J, backed by Supervisors Myrna Melgar, RafaelMandelman, Matt Dorsey and Ronen, would affirm the supervisors’ JFK Drive vote, keeping the road car-free. Both measures need a simple majority to pass. Cars versus bicyclists and pedestrians? Tourists and museum visitors versus outdoor-minded locals? This battle of the pedals makes the View’s head hurt. No position

Proposition L, sales tax for transportation: Sponsored by Mandelman, this measure would extend for 30 years the City’s 0.5 percent sales tax, the associated revenues directed to transportation projects. The San Francisco Transportation Authority would be allowed to issue up to $1.19 billion in bonds to be repaid with tax proceeds. The measure needs a two-thirds majority vote to pass. Given lingering inflation, this doesn’t seem like the right time to continue to impose a regressive tax. No

Proposition M, vacancy tax:  Placed on the ballot by signature, this measure

HANDY NUMBERS

would impose a tax on vacant homes, ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 in its first year, depending on unit size, increasing to a maximum of $20,000 in later years. The tax would apply to empty units in buildings with three or more units if the unit in question is unoccupied for more than 182 days. An estimated 4,500 vacant units might be impacted by the tax. If they remain that way under the measure $38 million in annual revenue would be generated, dedicated to affordable housing purchases and rent subsidies for seniors and low-income people. The measure needs a simple majority to pass. It’s an interesting concept, but there may be non-nefarious reasons an owner wants to keep a unit vacant, and the tax seems quite high. No...?

Proposition N, Golden Gate Park’s underground garage:  Championed by Mayor Breed, this measure would allow the municipality to use public money to buy, operate or subsidize public parking in the Music Concourse Garage in Golden Gate Park. According to Breed, Proposition N would give local government more flexibility in how it manages and sets rates at the garage, which is largely vacant much of the year. A parking garage to mostly serve visitors to the nearby nonprofit museums doesn’t seem like something San Francisco taxpayers should subsidize. Perhaps the fine institutions that rely on this facility can raise philanthropic funds to support parking. No

Proposition O, City College parcel tax:  This measure would impose a tax on property, the revenues of which’d be dedicated to City College of San Francisco.  Placed on the ballot after supporters gathered enough signatures, the tax would raise roughly $43 million annually, with a 2023 rate of $150

District 10 Supervisor, 415.554.767 Shamann Walton shamann.walton@sfgov.org Recology 415.330.1300

San Francisco Animal Care and Control 415.554.6364

San Francisco Fire Department (non-emergency) 415.558.3200

San Francisco Police Department 671-2300; (tip line), 415.822.8147 Bayview Station (non-emergency) SFPDBayviewStation@sfgov.org

SFHOT/Homeless Outreach Team 311 or 415.734.4233

State Senator Scott Weiner 415.557.1300

for single-family homes, sunsetting in 2043. It needs a simple majority to pass. Education is important, but City College has repeatedly shown itself to be a failed institution, which should be merged with San Francisco State University. Fool me once…How many chances does a poorly performing institution get? No

Supervisor, District 6: #1 Matt Dorsey #2 Honey Mahogany

Supervisor, District 10: Shamann Walton

City College Board of Trustees:  Just don’t vote for an incumbent

Minority rule is embedded in American democracy. Each state has two U.S. Senators regardless of population. The electoral college has delivered a U.S. President who lost the popular vote five times. In San Francisco, Board of Supervisors tend to amass well less than 30,000 first choice votes, though the tally is increased by second, or even third, choices under ranked voting. Taken together, the six supervisors elected in 2020 collected fewer first choice votes than the mayor, who was elected in a low turnout year. It takes six of the 11 supes to pass legislation. Whether or not this matters depends on one’s perspective. It seems likely that minority rule encourages more extreme political positions, that do not reflect what most people want. And it gives life to more creative policies that advance ideas that the majority would otherwise suppress. Either way, it’s the nature of our democracy.

Without Publications to Populate them, Newsracks Disappear

BY JESSICA ZIMMER

In July, the San Francisco Department of Public Works (DPW) removed about 230 mostly unused news racks from throughout the City. According to Beth Rubenstein, DPW deputy director of policy and communications, the action was in response to a swell of complaints from 311 calls, City Supervisors and others that the racks were being used to store trash, drugs, and personal items.

About one-third of the 647 racks in the City will ultimately be taken away, leaving 60 ad-free news racks and 392 racks with ads. Bill Nagel, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, said his paper will place just 38 racks in the City.

The news racks were originally installed as part of a 2002 DPW contract with Clear Channel Outdoors to operate up to 1,000 fixed pedestal news racks, which expired this year. Clear Channel will continue to maintain news racks with ads on the back, most of which’re

in the Financial District. Clear Channel previously removed racks due to complaints that they caused sidewalk clutter and were used for trash, most notably 60 in 2016.

Clear Channel markets ad space on its news racks by featuring their locations near retail intersections and Bay Area Rapid Transit stations in “key enclaves,” including the Financial District, South-of-Market, Union Square, and Market Street. According to the company, the racks have a high exposure to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, with ads seen by a “90 percent white collar employee base.” Clear Channel charges $50 a year to rent a box in a rack.

DPW will continue to eliminate news racks located in the Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, and the Inner Richmond. None of the removed racks or those listed to be eradicated are in Southside San Francisco, though roughly a dozen are in the Mission.

The Potrero View hasn’t rented

Fire Strikes at The Double Play

The Double Play, located at 16th and Bryant streets, whose walls were crowded with a treasure of baseball memorabilia dating to when Seals Stadium sat across from it, caught fire last month, severely damaging the building and closing the bar.

The ground floor was totally lost, but no injuries were reported, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. The cause of the conflagration is unknown, but it apparently didn’t start in the kitchen.

The bar has been in business for

more than a century. Until 1959 Seals Stadium was across the street, now the Potrero Center mall. The ballpark, built in 1931, was home of the Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals, and, from 1958 to 1960, the San Francisco Giants.

Katie Hernandez, whose father Rafael Sr. has owned The Double Play Bar and Grill since 2009, is trying to raise $100,000 to help “rebuild my family’s dream” by reopening the restaurant and “pay employees while they are able to find another job as we work to rebuild.”

Clear Channel news racks for several years. The paper has roughly a dozen free standing racks it its readership area and distributes at The Good Life Grocery and other merchants.

“Media outlets are able to move to other ped-mounted newsracks in their area. There are still many left. If this isn’t desirable, they can put out a free standing one,” said Rubenstein.

Michael Durand, editor and publisher of Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon , responded to DPW’s action with a blog post sharing locations where readers could pick up his publications, at such places as libraries, coffee shops, bookstores, convenience stores. The Sunset Beacon added a rack at Great Wall Hardware, across the street from where a Clear Channel rack previously stood at the intersection of Taraval Street and 28th Avenue.

Other publications affected by the rack removal have long since launched web-based alternatives or identified other distribution sites. The Ingleside Light has a weekly email newsletter. Marina Times has a digital page identifying locations where readers can pick it up.

According to the San Francisco Better Streets Plan, news racks encourage economic development in commercial districts and activate space in the public right. Yet demand for racks has diminished as readers shifted to access

news online, with associated disruptions of print papers’ business model. The 2020 U.S. Census Bureau’s Service Annual Survey found that between 2002 and 2020 national newspaper revenue was cut in half, dropping from $46.2 billion to $22.1 billion. Periodical publishing, which includes magazines, declined by 41 percent, from $40.2 billion to $23.9 billion. Many communities have become “news deserts,” with local businesses and concerns receiving little or no coverage.

According to a 2018 study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, loss of newspapers can result in increases in municipal borrowing costs, a jump of five to 11 basis points following a paper’s closure. The two events are linked because local newspapers hold governments accountable.

Placement and repair of news racks is governed by the San Francisco Municipal Code, which requires that racks be in good repair. DPW has a news rack advisory committee, composed of newspaper distributors and concerned citizens appointed by DPW’s director.

The committee periodically meets to discuss policies and procedures and make recommendations on program needs.

Catalytic Converters Stolen from Under Police’s Noses

Four identifiably marked San Francisco Police Department vehicles had their catalytic converters surgically removed by thieves last month.

“On September 12, 2022, at approximately 1 p.m., a San Francisco Police Officer discovered a marked police truck parked in the area of 16th Street and De Haro Street had its catalytic converter stolen,” confirmed the SFPD media relations department. “The officer inspected other police vehicles and discovered that another marked police truck and two marked police vans also had their catalytic converters stolen.”

The theft occurred just outside the Special Operations Bureau building at 17th and De Haro, which houses the SWAT Team and Bomb Squad, and is surrounded by police vehicles. Along De Haro and at a Carolina Street parking lot entrance nearby signs note “police vehicles only.”

“The people engaging in this activ-

ity really don’t think much of the police if they think they can steal catalytic converters from the best of us,” said an SFPD officer.

Filching catalytic converters has become a cottage industry for thieves and recyclers who purchase the exhaust control devices to extract the rare metals contained within them. Aging Toyota Priuses are particularly popular targets.

Catalytic converter crime has become a kind of meme reflecting San Francisco’s inability to control its streets. Earlier this year a pair of Richmond District roommates watched a man sawing a catalytic converter off a car and called 911. The police declined to detain the suspect, handed him his tools, and directed him to the nearest bus stop.

Police sources didn’t seem optimistic that those who made off with the marked vehicles’ converters will be apprehended.

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Claudia Siegel, Realtor®

Certified Residential Specialist

| Senior Real Estate Specialist® 415.816.2811 | claudia.siegel@compass.com sfpotrerohillrealtor.com | @claudiasiegelsf

“She is truly exceptional at San Francisco real estate we could not recommend her more highly”

worse.” John’s been a victim of violent hate crime gay bashing near Mission Dolores, as well as an armed robbery at Bloom Saloon. While the incidents occurred many years ago, he still thinks misconduct has worsened, “crime is just terrible.” John follows criminal activity on Nextdoor.com, an online neighborhood forum.

Maia has been running a business in Bayview for the past three years and was having a drink with friends at the Laughing Monk Brewery when the View interviewed her. She said that “The Bayview has an incredible amount of neighborhood and community strength, but it does not get the infrastructure support it needs…simple services like street sweeping.” Her business makes deliveries throughout San Francisco, and she observed that other neighborhoods benefit from more resources. Currently, there’s an unhoused person living on the street next to her enterprise who is combative with Maia and

her staff. She’s been unable to resolve the situation despite calling 311, a nonemergency municipal service number, as well as the police, who told her that they can’t act until someone is physically harmed. “I shouldn’t have to put myself or staff at risk” Maia said. The police should be more helpful, going so far as to “take the time and call the additional service organizations themselves.” In spite of these challenges, Maia doesn’t want more police presence, “in a predominantly Black neighborhood, I don’t think that more cops is ever the answer.” A better solution would be a task force equipped to deal with each unique case. She’s proud that “SF is the City for aggressive liberal policies, social justice, climate awareness,” which is what brought her to the Bay Area.

Jorge , encountered at McClaren Park, a neighborhood in which he’s lived for 10 years, said affordability is a major issue for him and his wife. They both work full-time but “rent prices are going up, we get no type of help, and we cannot get an apartment.”

Rebecca and Greg are long-time Dogpatch residents and have lived on 22nd Street since 2005. “Dogpatch used to be much fewer people, more industrial, brownfields,” said Greg. Despite being keen voters in local elections, they’re not familiar or enthusiastic about Supervisor Walton. “He is a name and campaign poster,” remarked Greg. Safety is the biggest issue for Rebecca, “I’m so scared, I carry mace and a noise horn. Crime is random, blatant, and brazen.” Their apartment building has been subjected to multiple break-ins while residents were home in recent years. For Greg, “many things are headed in the wrong direction. There is a gigantic drug addiction and mental

health problem, wrapped up in a guise of homelessness,” He believes the City needs to “deal with the dealers and treat the addicts and cannot just let people do whatever they want…inclusivity and compassion are not incongruous with dealing with crime.” Rebecca, who owns a customer-facing business, quipped that her “clients’ liberalness is gone.” Traffic violations are another shared concern, particularly for Greg, who is an avid walker. ”I have had lots of close calls with cars. At Pennsylvania and 22nd drivers run right through the stop, and for whatever reason, it continues to happen.” They’re hoping for more traffic controls. Despite their issues with San Francisco, they have no plans to leave and don’t know where else they’d go.

Marchelle, a Bayview resident for 25 years, was working as a restroom monitor when the View spoke with her. She sees homelessness and affordability as the biggest issues and lamented the City’s poor use of funds, urging politicians to “stop spending $20,000 on garbage cans.” (Earlier this year the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved release of $427,500 to fund new trash can design and deployment, up to $20,000 for one prototype garbage can). She thinks that excessive background checks are preventing those released from prison from being able to find jobs. Marchelle believes crime is an issue but doesn’t see additional police as the answer, “the police do too much, arresting and sending people to jail. We do not want that, do not need that.” She’s pessimistic about San Francisco, “most definitely getting worse, doing pathetic. Need to offer more jobs, especially to past felons who have such a hard time getting employment.”

that it’s helped motivate his neighbors to do the same.

Jon, a 31-year District 10 resident who lives on Texas Street, moved to San Francisco “because the climate is great and because it was a liberal City. Now, I wonder where my tax dollars are going.” He sees wrongdoing as San Francisco’s biggest issue and has noticed an increase in crime over the past six to seven years. “I cannot point a finger at any one particular thing or person, but police enforcement is more lax,” Jon said. He’s neutral regarding Supervisor Walton but noted that “he seems to be concentrating more on the Bayview.” Jon applauded the transformation of an abandoned shipbuilding site into Crane Cove Park at the intersection of 18th and Illinois streets, “that’s nice and was a good thing.”

Carlos, a 20-year Bayview resident, was cleaning the front of his home near Palou and 22nd streets when he talked with the View. He always votes but isn’t familiar with Supervisor Walton. For him, the issues have largely remained the same for the past two decades: “crime, drugs, and cleanup…things were a little better 20 years ago. The City is not doing enough.” Carlos thinks that an increased police presence on Third Street would improve safety and lawfulness but emphasized that additional officers “should not be used to intimidate people. For me, that’s bad.” Carlos said he’s done his best to tidy up his home and street and noticed

Tony was enjoying Bayview KC Jones Playground near the home he’s lived in for the past five years when the View happened by. He supports Supervisor Walton, especially that “he was from the community and involved, not just an outsider grabbing power.” Safety is Tony’s top priority. He considers his neighborhood reasonably secure. “We have car break-ins but no shootings. I hear news that people are getting shot, but luckily I don’t see it.” Tony considers homelessness a safety issue, noting “I do not feel comfortable walking by homeless encampments with kids”. However, he recognized the challenges the issue poses, “Yes, I want my Mayor and Supervisor to figure out homelessness, but I understand that no City in 50 years has figured it out.” His two children were at the park with him, and he said that during the pandemic “we could not rely on SFUSD to get our children out of Zoom school.”

Bringing students back into the classroom was his family’s top priority; they’ve since moved their kids into private schools.

Tony is optimistic about San Francisco, “I have seen a lot of positives in 10 years being in the City.” However, while “SF is supposedly a world class city, Market Street is gross. It smells like pee and poo. If you want to attract tourism, you need to clean the City up.” Tony engages with local organizations and recently volunteered at a trash clean up organized by the Bayview Merchants Organization and Avenue Greenlight, alongside Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Walton, who “did a little picking up.”

Cole Valley resident, Chamisa , was playing with her two children in Dogpatch’s Woods Yard Park. She just

Maia

Rebecca and Greg

Tony

Chamisa

CONCERNS from previous page

secured American citizenship, with this November her first opportunity to vote. She believes “homelessness is the biggest problem, and maybe cleanliness,” and thinks these issues are getting worse. Chamisa spent a few years volunteering at a homeless shelter for teenagers in San Diego, and through the experience learned that “a lot of the homeless do not want to work,” and that in some cases “helping can be enabling.... It’s a tough issue.”

A 20-year Hill resident and female business owner who requested anonymity believes there’s been a growth in homelessness over the past five years. She attributes it to the warmer and drier weather, “climate change has made it easier to survive as a homeless person”. She thinks the City needs to do more cleaning, which is incompatible with the homeless population.

David was arriving at the Potrero Hill Playground with his family when the View interviewed him. As a father of two young children, public schooling is his biggest concern. He feels fortunate that his kids got into the elementary school they wanted. If they hadn’t drawn a suitable school, they would’ve left the City. (In contrast to many public-school districts around the nation, SFUSD doesn’t enroll students purely based on their home address but uses a student assignment policy, or lottery system, intended to best match school openings with family preference. The intent is to create more equitable enrollment). David said it’s a stressful process, with very meaningful consequences. He considers homelessness and public transport to be San Francisco’s major policy issues. Regarding crime, he “has not noticed things getting worse but has noticed people talking about things getting worse.”

Brian has been a Hill resident since 2012. His two daughters happily attend Starr King Elementary School, “we got a good outcome from the lottery.” Brian is enthusiastic about redevelopment of the Potrero Annex-Terrace residential complex across the street from Star King, which’ll provide mixed income housing and is part of the Hope SF redevelopment that’s been supported by every district supervisor since it was launched more than twenty years ago. “We are super

supportive of this work,” said Brian. “The old projects are super run down.”.

Share your thoughts about the issues facing San Francisco, how well Supervisor Walton is representing the District, your views on the police and cirme, what you feel about the City’s future, and what can be done about it: editor@potreroview.net or at surveymonkey.com/r/M9C3ZD9.

COMMUNITY | OCTOBER

history of design teaching from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s through essays, interviews, and primary materials. Geoff Kaplan has gathered a multigenerational group of theorists and practitioners to explore how the evolution of graphic design pedagogy can be placed within a conceptual and historical context. The Fall 2022 Design Lecture Series is available in person, and online. To attend inperson, advanced ticketing is required. To attend virtually, choose “Virtual Event Registration” when registering. 6 p.m. Free. California College of the Arts, 1111 Eighth Street. For more information and to register: https://bit.ly/designpedagogy

10/6/22 Thursday through 11/10/22 Thursday

10/7/22, 10/14/22, 10/21/22 Fridays

Food: Oktoberfest Beer & Comedy Festival

10/15/22 Saturday

Community: Potrero Hill Festival

10/2/22 Sunday

Health: Health & Wellness Sunday

Health & Wellness Sundays, presented by Kaiser Permanente, offers a holistic immersion into fitness sessions, live entertainment, a toddler gym with Power Play SF, the KP Sport Court, a wellness zone for kids to play, plus the Play Bus with SC30, Inc. Event is rain or shine. Free. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thrive City, 1 Warriors Way. For more information: https://bit.ly/kp-healthwellness

10/5/22 Wednesday

Design: After the Bauhaus, Before the Internet; A History of Graphic Design Pedagogy

With contributions by more than forty of the most influential voices in art, architecture, and design, After the Bauhaus, Before the Internet traces a

Art: Donald Bradford Lazarus, a biblical symbol of hope and rebirth, is at the core of Donald Bradford’s new body of work. Bradford revisits mythical narratives explored in the early years of his career with a fresh perspective. Themes include Icarus, Madame Butterfly, Jacob Wrestling and Irene, the Patron Saint of Nurses. Bradford paints from photographs and live models, who he views as collaborators, providing their own insight and energy. His friend and model, aptly named Irene, was first painted by Bradford in the 1980’s during the AIDS crisis. Now, using photos of her from 1985, Bradford revisits the theme of Irene in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Andrea Schwartz Gallery, 545 Fourth Street. For more information: www.asgallery. com or 415.495.2090.

An indoor/outdoor jubilee with two stages of comedy,food trucks, Oktoberfest-themed food along with half-off cans, and anexclusive lineup of Speakeasy beers available for $5. $10 to $20. 7 p.m. For more information: https://bit.ly/speakeasy-oktoberfest 10/14/22 Friday through 11/6/22 Sunday Theater: The Language of Wild Berries Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to plays about the Middle East, launches the U.S. premiere of The Language of Wild Berries by Iranian playwright Naghmeh Samini. Donya and Davood celebrate their wedding anniversary by traveling to the same seaside town where they spent their honeymoon. But on this trip, their 10th anniversary, an unknown young man follows them. Who is he? What does he want? Trying to solve the mystery throws Donya and Davood into a time warp recalling their past nine anniversary trips. They remember what they’ve forgotten. But will that be enough to save their marriage? $15 to $100. Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street. For more information and to purchase tickets: https:// goldenthread.org/

Celebrate community, with more than four blocks of magic, music, food, family, and fun! The Potrero Hill Festival benefits thePotrero Hill Neighborhood House, which provides services to those in need.A one-ofa-kind community event for all ages! 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 20th Street between Carolina and Missouri streets. For more information: https://potrerofestival. com/

10/15/22

Saturday

Film: Blankets & Blockbusters: Encanto B.Y.O. blanket for the Bay Area’s biggest big screen experience. Take in a family favorite outdoors, and explore the interactive kids zone featuring games, crafts and body art stations. Designed for all ages, each evening offers special guest giveaways, cinemainspired snacks and beverages, and much more. 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Free. Thrive City, 1 Warriors Way. For more information: https://bit.ly/thrivecityencanto

10/18/22

Tuesday

Employment: San Francisco Career Fair

Connect with employers in government, sales, retail, education,

Donald Bradford, Portrait of Irene Patron Saint of Nurses, 60 x 48 inches, oil on canvas, 2022. IMAGE: Courtesy of Andrea Schwartz Gallery

information technology, engineering, healthcare, financial services, management, manufacturing, customer service and other careers. Professional dress recommended. Bring an updated résumé. 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free. For more information and an opportunity to submit your résumé ahead of time: https://bit.ly/sf-jobfair

10/19/22

Wednesday

Community: Opening of the Skyline Terrace

Celebrate the opening of Skyline Terrace. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Free. Carolina Street between 22nd and 23rd streets. Event volunteers welcome! For more information contact carolinagreenspace@gmail.com or visit https://bit.ly/carolinagreen

10/22/22

Saturday

Cycling: Red Bull Bay Climb 2022

Back in the Bay for its sixth year, Red Bull Bay Climbfeatures the ultimate two-wheel battle. Brave competitors face a .32-mile sprint up vertical grades, the steepest topping out at 20.62 percent. 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Free to watch. De Haro and 18th streets. For more information: https:// bit.ly/redbull-race

10/22/22

Saturday & 10/23/22 Sunday

Art: Shipyard Open Studios

Nestled into historic Hunters Point

Naval Shipyard, Shipyard Open Studios features more than 120 artists. Talk to the artists and buy directly from them! Additional artists, sculptors and jewelers are opening their studios at nearby Islais Creek Studios. Ample parking with easy access to all six Shipyard buildings. Or use the Muni 19 or 15 buses. Musical entertainment and food vendors with Ujamaa Kitchen presenting emerging Bayview chefs. Free. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.

Hunters Point Shipyard, 451 Galvez Avenue. Islais Creek Studios, 1 Rankin Street. For more information: https:// bit.ly/hp-openstudios

10/23/22 Sunday

Music: Bryan Bielanski

Imagine Nirvana and the Beatles had a kid together, who became an acoustic rock singer-songwriter: that’s Bryan

For more information: https://bit.ly/ bryanbielanski

10/24/22 Monday

Health: Healthcare Design Panel

Experts from the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries will discuss what’s most important when designing for healthcare and how to work within the constraints of such a complex system. Justin Lokitz, Chair of the MBA in Design Strategy Program, will moderate a panel of experienced design experts from the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. The Fall 2022 Design Lecture Series will be available both in person, and online. To attend in-person, advanced ticketing is required. To attend virtually choose

“Virtual Event Registration” when registering. 6:45 p.m. Free. California College of the Arts, 1111 Eighth Street. For more information and to register: https://bit.ly/healthcare-design

10/30/22 Saturday

Halloween: Scary Stroll & Pet Parade

A spooky afternoon of costumed canines and disguised neighbors. Pet Parade starting at 3 p.m. Free. 18th Street, between Connecticut and Texas streets.

10/30/22 Saturday

Food: Sazon Latin Food Festival

A dozen different Latin food vendors will offer flavors from the Caribbean, Central and South America, with great music and drinks. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, 1195 Evans Avenue. For more information: https:// bit.ly/sazon-food

Bielanski. Inspired by rock greats like Tom Petty and REM, he has a distinct musical style and lyrics. 6 p.m. Simple Pleasures Café, 3434 Balboa Street.

Skyline Terrace. Happy gazanias, and some baby lupine and california poppies have begun to appear! PHOTO: Courtesy of Carolina Green Space

Contemporary Furniture for Sale in Potrero Hill

the activity happening to the east near the new stadium. And lastly, we love being neighbors with a creative institution like CCA and the young, ambitious energy that comes with that.”

Blu Dot’s move to 99 Missouri has substantially cleaned up the block. The property was transformed from a long vacant building to a 13,000 square feet store. Adjacent sidewalks were repoured; trees replanted. There’s a back patio to showcase outdoor collections and a parking lot.

to be a positive force in making the neighborhood a better place to be and live. We believe in the power of good design, and we’ve already transformed the corner of Missouri and 17th from a derelict, abandoned site that was a real sore spot for the neighborhood into a beautiful, new urban presence that we humbly suggest is pretty special,” said Blanks.

BY ODIN THIEN-AN MARIN

At the corner of 17th and Missouri streets a freshly renovated building showcases table sets and armchairs vended by Blu Dot San Francisco. With its design center in Minneapolis, Blu Dot Design and Manufacturing has stores in twelve cities throughout the world, including New York, Sydney, and Mexico City. The company brings products that won the 2018 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award to Potrero Hill.

Founded by Maurice Blanks, John Christakos, and Charlie Lazor in 1997, Blu Dot engages in the entire process of bringing products to customers, including development, manufacturing, and marketing.

“We strive for our products to be beautiful, practical, approachable, longlasting, and a little fun,” said Maurice Blanks, Chief Operating Officer. “We’re not about high luxury or obnoxious consumption. And I think our values sit nicely with the vibe that I get from our neighbors in Potrero Hill.”

Blu Dot’s first San Francisco store

opened in 2013. Located next to a cluster of Valencia Street restaurants, at 5,000 square feet it was the company’s largest at the time. It had its drawbacks, such as parking challenges. When the lease expired – a new owner purchased the property with the intention of converting it to a dispensary – Blu Dot decided to relocate to the Hill, to a building formerly occupied by Arch Art Supplies and Anthony’s Auto Body Shop.

“We hired the architect and launched into design in spring 2019,” said Blanks. “The first step in the City approval process was to get a Conditional Use Authorization because we were changing the use of one of the buildings. We were finally granted the CUA in March 2020, just as the City was shutting down due to the initial wave of COVID.”

“We liked being near the Design Center and some of the other furniture retailers to the west,” Blanks said. “But we also liked staking out our own ground to the east in a more residential neighborhood, where our customers live. We were also intrigued by all of

“We hope neighbors will see us as a living, breathing part of the neighborhood. We hope folks will stop in and say hello to our amazing, friendly staff. Store manager Jim Huff is indeed one of those characters who love to engage and meet new people and hear their stories; the type of person who gets nicknamed “The Mayor.” As for our role, we want

Behind the store, groundbreaking has begun at 901 16th Street after permits were issued for a $40 million renovation of the former Cor-O-Van warehouse property. The historic Judson-Pacific Murphy Corporation building and warehouses will be combined to become the new home of the San Francisco Wholesale Flower Market, with a parking structure slated to be added as well.

Blu Dot’s front entrance at 99 Missouri Street.

PHOTO: Odin Thien-An Marin

Jim Huff, Blu Dot San Francisco’s store manager, does a power pose for the photo.

PHOTO: Odin Thien-An Marin

Skateboards, JB’s Place, and the San Francisco Flower Mart, slated to open in 2024 with parking.

“The day that we are not able to provide parking to our bands, we will have to stop booking shows,” Schwarz said. “With all our touring bands, which keep us in business, we are contractually obligated to ensure parking, and the only other option in a neighborhood without any parking garages at all is to rent parking from the City at $310 a pop for 120 feet. This price tag is not sustainable on a nightly basis for any small business.”

Bottom of the Hill only uses a parking garage for larger tours with buses; shelling out for every band would heavily eat into the venue’s profits. The club hosts three bands a night, five to seven nights a week, with a minimum of one vehicle per band. Most touring groups have at least a van pulling a trailer, according to Schwarz.

“The side streets are pull-in spaces, where anything with a trailer cannot park, so without our parking along 17th Street and all the parking along Mississippi/17th Street already taken away to bike lanes, we would be out of options of how to get bands situated,” she said. “While we understand that loss of parking is a natural consequence of development, and that free parking is not our birthright, we still currently have ample parking at 5 p.m. when daytime businesses let out. It has gotten harder to park over the years, certainly, but the wholesale loss of parking along 17th Street as described by the plans we’ve seen will be a killer for us and many other local businesses.”

A protected bike lane would also affect deliveries. Commercial spots would need to be created to allow for distribution, further limiting street parking for staff and customers.

“Loading in kegs and cases through a protected bike lane seems more, and not less, dangerous for bicycles who would not expect to have to encounter anything at all entering their lane,” Schwarz added.

She and co-owners Tim Benetti, Ramona Downey, and Kathleen Owens launched a petition opposing the proposed bike lane on Change.org, which has garnered more than 1,400 signatures.

“I’m not convinced the protected bike lane is needed,” said Kepa Askenasy, a former cyclist and Potrero Hill resident who co-founded Save the Hill, which seeks to protect against overdevelopment. “If you look at the SFMTA’s own data, there are no injuries or deaths within the existing bike lane. Accidents mostly occur at intersections that the SFMTA isn’t addressing. They’re too quick on the draw and not addressing things they need to address.”

An SFMTA map, “Vision Zero High Injury Network,” identifies San Francisco street segments that have a high number of fatalities and severe injuries. The part of 17th Street where most fatalities and severe injuries occurred is in the Mission, not Potrero Hill.

“It’s not Martha’s Vineyard down here,” Askenasy said. “It’s the industrial buffer zone. It’s a wonderful place to live and thrive. If everyone is careful and respectful, the current bike path is more than sufficient.”

SFMTA spokesperson Stephen Chun emphasized that the agency hasn’t issued a formal proposal.

The project team “aims to holistically consider the needs of the various stakeholders in the neighborhood,”

Chun said. “Right now, we are developing an informational mailer in multiple languages and have been reaching out individually to businesses in the neighborhood to go over their individual needs prior to developing potential project design concepts. Once we have more concrete proposals to share, we plan to hold a public forum in late fall where we will solicit additional feedback.”

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton said he’s working with stakeholders on a plan and hopes to reach a suitable compromise. Possibilities that Bottom of the Hill would support would be to paint bike lanes green, install speed bumps, or create a protected bike lane but make 17th Street one-way so parking isn’t eliminated.

“We survived so many difficulties over the years, most recently being forced to close for 17 months during the pandemic,” Schwarz said. “We ask you to stand with us to make this project a common-sense project instead of a forced effort to improve SF’s green image at the expense of businesses.”

narratives, “one positive aspect, if I may, that happened due to the pandemic [was that it] allowed us to access even communities in the Middle East that usually won’t necessarily see our work.”

Golden Thread attracted artists and audiences from outside the Bay Area by incorporating a virtual component into their in-person event in honor of International Women’s Day.

“We would take a question from an audience member in the room,” said Assaf, “but then someone participating online would say something…it was challenging but so interesting to see that the two worlds could, you know, collide in a beautiful way.”

Others in the community have found pleasure and purpose in digital solutions. Kleinmann noted that while “there really is no substitute for the in-person performance,” the virtual experience of shows simulcast from Potrero Stage is in some ways better, with high-quality audio recorded directly from the theater’s sound system and a three-camera broadcast setup that can get close-ups of actors’ faces.

munity projects, working with formerly incarcerated Black men to develop their stories, among other endeavors. Afro Solo is a nomadic theater whose spring season will take place at Potrero Stage.

For Analog Theatre, dedicated to decolonizing the art physical theater, a form of storytelling based in physical movement, founders and mask enthusiasts Elissa Stebbins and Rebecca Pingree had to accept that virtual work would be “visually wildly different.”

“We tried some mask things on Zoom,” said Stebbins, “and it’s just, the masks don’t play, they just don’t work when you can’t see the full body.”

For the virtual Fringe Festival Analog offered a collaboration with Ely Sonny Orquiza of The Chikahan Company and Julius Rea of the Forum Collective “about what breaking the white supremacist structures in theater looks like in real time,” said Stebbins.

Undergirding many of these pandemic pivots is the theater community’s effort to change itself fundamentally in response to “what really is a civil rights movement,” in Stebbins’s words.

In a March 2021 View article, Herron shared that “There is a lot of talk about how this is a quiet reflective time for theaters. One of those reflections is to think about how to create more cultural equity and give voice to people who have been oppressed.”

Those reflections have spurred action, with various groups finding more equitable ways to structure festivals, collaborate with artists, and make work available to audiences.

Playwright incubator and theater community hub PlayGround SF, led by Kleinmann, crafted its upcoming Innovator’s Showcase, comprising the nine companies in PlayGround’s 2022 incubator cohort, to be curated by the artists themselves.

While some theaters report smaller audiences than pre-pandemic times, others, like Golden Thread and PlayGround incubator’s Analog Theatre, have cobbled together virtual and inperson viewers in numbers comparable to 2019 levels.

Following the murder of George Floyd, The Juneteenth Theater Justice Project, led by Billingslea, managed a “miracle” online collaboration. Theaters from throughout the West Coast worked together to bring to life Polar Bears, Black Boys, and Prairie Fringed Orchids, a comedic social commentary on, in Billingslea’s words, “gentrification and sexuality and Black Lives Matter and Karens and liberals and all sorts of stuff” by Vincent Durham. The reading reached 10,000 households and raised at least as many dollars in donations. Following Bay Area thespian Margo Hall’s counsel, the funds were donated to a collection of Black-led theaters.

“That collaboration was a home run out of the box,” said Billingslea.

Other local theaters, however, had to pivot to stay alive. Workarounds created by pandemic-era challenges have become crucial to their long-term strategy. Crowded Fire and Golden Thread, former and current resident companies respectively at Potrero Stage, plan to continue hosting online discussion shows.

“We love it,” said Crowded Fire’s Herron. “It’s a chance to have these artistic conversations in a distributed way that everyone has access to and it’s a chance to hire a lot of local artists.”

For Sahar Assaf of Golden Thread, a company focused on Middle Eastern

For Billingslea, this fusion can be transcendental. He remembers a scene in Shakespeare and the Zombie Plague of 1590 by Eric Hissom and Richard Henry, in which the three witches from Macbeth “were supposed to speak in unison; but there was this wild echo effect that was happening in Zoom. It made it so much more eerie, so much more spooky, this ethereal sound from the three weird sisters really really really worked in Zoom.”

Laughing, Billingslea remembers another play. For Abominable (or The Misappropriation of Beverly Onion by Forces Beyond Her Control) by Katie May, director Peter Kuo asked actors playing a couple talking in bed to turn their laptop cameras toward one another. The approach offered viewers “a wild sense of shifted perspective and intimacy at the same time.” By combining theater’s shared and ephemeral thrill with the flexibility of movie magic, the artists created something new, something like live cinematography.

This new mode of operation isn’t for everyone. Bethany Herron, Director of Management at Crowded Fire, said the company decided early on that making web shows neither suited them nor was in line with their mission. Instead, they leaned into community work, through Making Good Trouble, an antiracist facilitator program that trains artists for the many new jobs popping up in that area, and the Ignite Fund, a “particularly impactful” grant for designers and technicians, for which Crowded Fire is seeking new donors.

Thomas Simpson of Afro Solo, a company that produces solo acts by Black people not yet involved in theater, also dedicated himself to com-

“Some of them will do work premieres, some of them will do developmental stage readings, and they all figure out together what they need. It’s about creating new structures and that very much, by the way, came out of the Covid pandemic,” said Kleinmann. “Instead of having a larger theater decide what resources to offer and tell you what they’re willing to let you do, instead giving them the stage, giving them the resources of our theater and our technical staff and letting them curate a festival.”

PlayGround offers its shows at no cost, with a request for donations, and presents shows online and in-person with a mask requirement and proof of vaccination. Its increased artist compensation, setting an internal minimum wage of $20 an hour for all PlayGround personnel including performers, higher than San Francisco’s $16.99 per hour minimum wage.

“How sustainable it will be is obviously still out,” said Kleinmann. Their recent weekend-long FREE-PLAY FESTIVAL attracted “nearly 350 attendees, split evenly between in-person and online, contributing over $3,000 toward artist costs.”

PlayGround has garnered funding from diverse sources, including federal monies from the Shuttered Venues Operator Grant, Payroll Protection Program, and employee retention credits, as well as institutional grants, although Kleinmann expressed frustration with funders’ changing priorities.

“It’s been hard to fund the arts over the last five to 10 years,” said Kleinmann. “It’s not getting easier.”

Herron of Crowded Fire echoed the

THEATER from front page

(L-R) Steven Westdahl, Laura Espino, and Sean Garahan in Katie May’s A HISTORY OF FREAKS (May 13-June 15, 2019), part of the 23rd annual PlayGround Festival of New Works at Potrero Stage. PHOTO: Mellophoto.com

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Above: Dogpatch Paddle summer campers exit the water at Crane Cove Park. The park was completed in 2020 on the historic shipbuilding site of Union Iron Works and Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. Left: Afternoon rays fall on an empty bench facing west at Star King Open Space (SKOS) atop Potrero Hill. According to SKOS’ website, the land was transferred to community ownership in 1984 by Barratt Construction. Volunteers maintain the mostly native habitat.

‘Orbital’ (2021) by Jason Kelly Johnson, Nataly Gattegno and other artists catch the eye of fans leaving a basketball game in Mission Bay.

Why I Choose to Raise My Kids in San Francisco

BY JESSICA HOLMES

My husband, Kevin, and I choose to raise our kids, Olivia, nine, and Emma, six, in San Francisco and specifically Potrero Hill because we value access to natural spaces, engagement in public spaces, and community.

I love being able to walk down Connecticut Street and enjoy a spectacular meal or entertainment in the Hill, Mission, Mission Bay or Dogpatch.  I equally love being able to turn and walk another direction to enjoy natural, wild spaces at our beautiful recreation center or Starr King Open Space.  One of my favorite new additions is the waterfront access now available at Crane Cove Park and the future blue greenway that’ll provide a wonderful respite.

There’s always something fun to do in the neighborhood, whether it’s a playdate at our kids’ school, Daniel Webster Elementary, live music in a neighborhood plaza, or celebrating art, creativity or philanthropy at a block party or festival. I seldom plan weekend playdates for my kids as we tend to run into and see playmates organically. Even something as simple as opening the door and playing on our dead-end street typically results in a few kids passing by and joining for scooters and sidewalk chalk.

There’s something energizing and spontaneous about being in public spaces. Moments of connection that can’t be planned - a passersby visit with an elderly couple, a young adult and an

sentiment, adding that as emergency support streams dry up and other fields recover, the theater community continues to struggle.

“But the largest sector of support comes from individuals,” said Kleinmann. “We would rather have a bigger community each contributing 50 to 100 dollars a year [than] just one person who has to come up with a couple hundred thousand.”

Founded just a few months before the pandemic and until recently restricted from doing the playful body-driven theater at its core, Analog provides artists a paid platform for experimentation, offered free to audiences with a request for donations. Analog has managed to pay other artists for their work, including Fringe Festival collaborators Orquiza and Rea. A combination of grants – small compared to the federal and philanthropic endowments other companies received – fiscal sponsorships and individual donations, including from Stebbins and Pingree themselves, have carried Analog through what Pingree called a “wildly successful 2022.”

However, Pingree acknowledged, “it has been extremely expensive for me personally.” It’s about “immediately sharing whatever resources” she has and “not having this idea that I need to become some like very successful leader, and then once that’s done then I can turn around and make opportunities for somebody else.”

Pingree asserted that Analog can only be as equitable as the methods used to build it and is “convinced that it will work and convinced that we will be able to, because of those values, make it pay for itself at some point.” Until then, said Pingree, writing a budget in line with Analog Theatre’s mission “will also be a creative act.”

adorable dog, my kids befriending a young toddler, the connections that take root in being known and seen – and the knowledge exchanged.

Living in San Francisco for 13 years and having kids for nine of those years, I believe nothing makes parenting easier outside of building your community. While well intentioned family members or consumer media may tell you otherwise, a larger home or the newest tech-enabled smart gadget won’t make parenting easier long term. Seasons of a child’s life and their needs are constantly changing.

Living in my third residence in the neighborhood I can attest that every home footprint has pros and cons. What I can recommend is being in a location you love with enough space for your family and, if you can, leaving the neighborhood better for having been there. The children are looking to us adults as examples of how to live a meaningful, contented, adult life. I believe social responsibility, joy and connection to others is at the crux of it.

I hope that in sharing our stories we can make urban child raising more normalized, joyful, meaningful, and connected for fellow parents and for those who may be parents one day.

Connecticut Street resident Jessica

Holmes works in digital and experiential marketing. In her free time, she roller skates, enjoys pastries and serves on the PREFund.org Board of Directors, preferably all at the same time. “Why I Choose to Raise My Kids in San Francisco” is the brainchild of the Potrero Residents Education Fund, a

nonprofit committed to helping create a stronger, more vibrant San Francisco by ensuring that families from a diversity of income levels raise their children in the City. Submit your story to editor@ potreroview.net.

BY DENA WITKES Solution on page 14.

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Green Benefit District Fall Music Series – Free! The GBD and partner organizations are sponsoring free