New Year. New Beginnings

I hope the start of the year has been a positive one for all of you.  We’ve had some exciting new announcements that I would like to share.

This year, I will be serving on the Board of Supervisors’ Budget & Finance Committee and the Government & Audit Oversight Committee.  I am looking forward to serving on these committees to ensure fiscal responsibility and accountability.  I am also pleased to announce that I will be the new Chair of the San Francisco Transportation Authority’s Vision Zero Committee.

We also had some new transitions in our office. As many of you know, after serving District 7 for over a decade, Olivia Scanlon moved on from our office last year to pursue a new opportunity at the SF Fire Department. While we were sad to see her go, we are excited for her new role. It is also bittersweet to announce that Matthias Mormino also transitioned from our office last month.  He will stay involved in my 2016 re-election campaign. Jen Low will continue serving in my office as my new chief-of-staff. It is now, with great pleasure, to formally announce two new Legislative Aides to my staff. I hope you will join me in welcoming them aboard!

Erica Maybaum    
Prior to joining Supervisor Yee’s office, Erica was the Coordinator of the San Francisco Child Care Planning and Advisory Council.  Erica’s past experience includes working as a legislative aide and as a legislative intern for Congresswoman Jackie Speier in Washington DC through the Panetta Institute on Public Policy.  Erica holds a Master in Social Work from San Francisco State, a certificate in nonprofit management from Chapman University, and a Bachelor degree in Sociology and Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara.

Jarlene Choy
Jarlene brings a background in economic development and education nonprofit to the role. Prior to joining my team, she worked on behalf of small business owners at the nonprofit, Pacific Community Ventures. She was responsible for connecting small business owners to advisers and loans, as well as cultivating external partnerships to drive greater economic opportunity in local communities. Her experience includes interning at the US Department of Labor in Washington DC and US Department of State in China. Jarlene has a Bachelors in International Politics and Geography from Penn State.

Here are the general staff assignments to help direct your requests:

Jen Low 
Jen.Low@sfgov.org  415.554.6521

• Housing and Land Use
• Public Safety
• Parks and Open Space
• Press/Media

Erica Maybaum
Erica.Maybaum@sfgov.org  415.554.6517

• Budget
• Participatory Budgeting·
• Pedestrian Safety/ Vision Zero
• Transportation
• Children, Youth, and Families

Jarlene Choy
Jarlene.Choy@sfgov.org  415.554.6519

• Scheduling Requests
• General Constituent Requests
• Small Businesses
• Seniors

Our new staff hit the ground running in 2016 and we are eager to continue serving you, our District 7 residents. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and my staff.

Warmest regards,

Norman

In mid-March District 7 residents will have the opportunity to vote on how $550,000 in Participatory Budgeting (PB) funding will be allocated to community proposals.  PB is a completely community driven process where D7 residents create ideas for projects, a Neighborhood Council made up residents from different neighborhoods in District 7 reviewed and ranked proposals, and in March residents will vote on which projects will be funded. This year proposals were focused on pedestrian safety, neighborhood services, culture, school, education, youth and small businesses.
Highlights

This is the 3rd year Supervisor Yee secured continued funding for the district community-driven Participatory Budgeting (PB) process. He’s also the only Supervisor of the Board to secure continued funding for this community-driven participatory budgeting process this year. The success of this program is in large part due to all of you–our residents and your high engagement and enthusiasm in submitting proposals.
Cast your vote in March!Are you a District 7 resident (ages 16+) interested in voting? Check out our newsletter next month for the link to vote!
For more info, e-mail Erica.Maybaum@sfgov.org or call 415-554-6516.
Your District. Your Ideas. Your Vote.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING DENSITY BONUS PROGRAM

The Affordable Housing Density Bonus Program (AHDBP) was introduced by the Mayor and Supervisor Katy Tang last fall. The Affordable Housing Density Bonus Program is an ordinance that intends to meet and surpass the state-mandated program to offer incentives for developers to build more affordable housing.  In the local proposal, if developers opt to build 30% affordable housing onsite, they will receive a “bonus”—the ability to build more units and add height to their building (up to additional two stories) in return.  Development projects that opt to build 100% affordable units would be allowed to build an additional three stories of residential units and receive priority processing. District 7 has a number of areas that would eligible for this program, including West Portal and parts of Taraval Street.  The Planning Department organized several meetings about this proposal, in which many community members have raised serious concerns. Supervisor Norman Yee has spoken with many District 7 residents about the program and its potential effects. He stated at the District 7 community meeting that he will not be supporting this program in its current form. Supervisor Yee’s article on this issue can be viewed here.

The Planning Commission intended to take action on the legislation in January, but continued the item to Thursday, February 25th at noon.  For more information on AHDBP, please visit the Planning Department website or contact CPC.AHBP@sfgov.org.

The preferred method to file a noise complaint is via their online complaint form. If the online complaint form is unreachable, you may file a noise complaint by email to sfo.noise@flysfo.com or by calling the noise complaint hotline at (650) 821-4736.

HAPPY 100TH ANNIVERSARY WEST PORTAL

Happy 100th Anniversary to the West Portal neighborhood! Thank you to all the West Portal Branch Library staff and other presenters for creating such a memorable community event on Feb. 6.__________________________________________________________________
We are so proud that District 7’s Hidden Garden Steps received aNeighborhood Empowerment Network award for Best Community Challenge Grant. This beautiful art installation was a labor of love and we should commend all the community members, volunteers, donors, and artists who brought this vision to reality.

CleanPowerSF is San Francisco’s Community Choice Aggregation program. Community Choice Aggregation is a State program that allows cities and counties to partner with their utility (PG&E) to deliver cleaner energy to residents and businesses. Under these programs, PG&E continues to maintain the power grid, respond to outages and send you your monthly bill (with CleanPowerSF charges replacing certain PG&E charges).

Why CleanPowerSF? 
Cleaner energy! It’s that simple. This is your chance to help save the environment right from the comfort of your home. CleanPowerSF will reduce your personal carbon footprint and will reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions. By aggregating San Francisco’s demand for energy, CleanPowerSF leverages this demand to generate and source cleaner energy that protects the environment and supports our local economy. CleanPowerSF will offer cost-effective, cleaner energy alternatives for your homes and businesses. Because CleanPowerSF is not-for-profit, ratepayer funds will be reinvested locally in energy efficiency programs and new renewable energy facilities.
CONSTRUCTION IMPROVEMENTS

Final Striping on Ocean Ave to begin early February!

Ocean Ave Improvements

• 23rd and 25th Ave
  • Stripe crosswalks across Ocean Ave
  • Stripe crosswalks across 23rd  and 25th Ave

• Clearfield Drive
  • Stripe crosswalks across Ocean Ave (existing 4-way STOP)

• Riverton Drive
  • Painted islands

• Everglade Drive
  • Stripe crosswalks across Ocean Ave (existing 4-way STOP)
• Havenside Drive
• Painted island
• Project-wide
  • Centerline
  • 6’ of Red Curb at  the nearside (approach) of access alleys

• 19th to Sunset
  •  Buffered Bike Lane

Cistern installation at 18th Ave & Moraga

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will begin the

installation of a cistern (underground water storage tank for firefighting) at the

intersection of 18th Avenue & Moraga Street. This project will provide an additional source of water for

firefighting for your neighborhood, particularly after an earthquake or other

disaster.

When: February 25, 2016–August 2016.

Impact:

18th Ave & Moraga Street –18th Ave on the south side of intersection will be

closed to through traffic during construction with traffic control on Moraga St.

Traffic will be detoured to a parallel street.

Contact:

Roberto Lopez, SFPUC at (415) 554-3286 / rlopez@sfwater.org. After hours:

SF Water Department at (415) 550-4911.

Sand Excavation for Erosion Protection between Lincoln and Highway 35, southbound

SFPUC identified chronic erosion problems which threaten our critical wastewater facilities located south of Sloat Boulevard at Ocean Beach. As a part of an inter-agency effort, we will be implementing erosion protection measures. The work will involve sand excavation at the northern part of Ocean Beach and sand placement south of Sloat Blvd. Crews will be transporting the sand by trucks along the O’Shaughnessy Seawall to south of Sloat and to the SF Zoo for storage.
When:  February 16th – April of 2016, weekdays from 6 am – 5 pm,

Impact: Some traffic detours going south between Lincoln and Highway 35, while northbound traffic and Muni bus lines will be unaffected.

Contact:

Jean Walsh, SFPUC at 415-554-3203 / JWalsh@sfwater.org or visit this page to learn more about the Ocean Beach Master Plan.

West Portal Ave/Quintara St, Water Main Sewer and Paving Project
Track-way paving
The track-way paving that was scheduled for this month has been postponed.  We do not have a schedule for when this work will take place or if it will be completed under this contract.   It is possible this work will be added at a later date in the coming year to another DPW or SFMTA contract with plans to  coordinate it with SFMTA’s Tunnel Improvements Project service shut downs.

Parking Lots
Claremont parking lot work is underway and should be almost complete.   We have plans weather permitting to pave both lots sometime toward the end of next week February 4-5^th 2016^t.

Curb-ramps
We are finishing up the last curb ramp brick-work at West Portal and Ulloa.

Water-main installation on 15^th Avenue (West Portal and Portola) -is pending , however once started, it should take approx. 1-week.

Contact: Dadisi Najib, DPW at 415-558-5281 / dadisi.najib@sfdpw.org. After Hours Emergency: Con- Quest Contractors Inc. at 415-206-0524 or 311.

L Taraval Improvements

The SFMTA is proposing pedestrian safety and transit improvements along the surface portion of the route to improve safety for people walking along Taraval and those getting on and off the train, while also increasing the reliability of the L.

For more info: http://muniforward.com/l/
Complete the feedback survey by 2/13 evening: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VKJDZYG

Community meeting: Come review our revised safety and Muni reliability proposals for Taraval Street on Feb. 17 at 6-7:30PM, Dianne Feinstein Elementary, 2550 25th Ave.
Sloat Blvd Pedestrian Safety Improvements
This project proposes to enhance pedestrian safety at existing marked crosswalks across uncontrolled intersections in San Francisco on Sloat Blvd. between 36th Avenue and 21st Avenue. Click here.

Contact: John Thomas at (415) 557-4668
19th Avenue/M Ocean View Project

The meeting questionnaire for the 19th Avenue/M Ocean View Project is now available! It can also be accessed on the project’s homepage– click on the green “Give your feedback” button and tell us what you think about the new alternative. The questionnaire will be available until 12:00pm on Tuesday, March 8.
(If above link is not working, cut and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2591763/19thavefeedback
Three more opportunities to hear a project update are upcoming:

• Tuesday, February 16, IT Bookman Community Center, 7-9pm
• Thursday, February 18, SFMTA Headquarters, 6-8pm
• Thursday, February 25, Waldorf High School, 6-8pm

For more info on all Dept of Public Works’ construction projects, click here.

For more info on all SFMTA current projects, click here.

PUBLIC SAFETY 

Our office is organizing a series of public safety meetings for District 7 residents.  We are concerned about the safety of our neighborhoods especially with the steady increase in property crimes citywide.

District 7 is represented by three police precincts:  Ingleside, Taraval, and Park stations.  We will be holding a training and public safety session with each precinct area. Please contact Jen.Low@sfgov.org or 415.554.6521 for more information.

Here are some tips to keep you and your neighborhood safe:

Auto Theft Prevention Tips

• If you have an older vehicle, consider securing with an anti-theft device, like a club. Older cars are being targeted because they are easier to break into. Additional safeguards may deter thieves.
• Do not leave anything valuable in your car.  It takes seconds to break into a vehicle. Don’t leave anything valuable in your car and make sure not to leave any items visible.
• File a police report if your car is broken into. While the crime may have already been committed, it is important to file a report. This helps officers detect trends and identify neighborhoods that need more attention.

Home Safety Tips

• Always report suspicious activity to SFPD (even after the crime already occurred) Please always share and report suspicious activity with the SF Police Department.  Try to offer as much information and details as possible so that the information can be used to help find suspects.
• Call 911 when there is a crime in progress or an emergency.  If you want to report someone suspicious that is not an immediate threat, you can also call the non-emergency line at 1-415-553-0123 (save this number on your phone).  Be as descriptive and specific as possible! Every tip helps.
• Active neighbors are the best deterrent. Have an organized way to contact neighbors to report crimes and suspicious activity.  Alarms, cameras, or even the perception of surveillance is also helpful in a neighborhood.
• Do not open doors to solicitors or strangers.  Always request official information. If solicitor is persistent or suspicious, call SFPD. City workers or utility workers will never ask to enter your home without prior authorization.

Through advocacy and mentorship, the San Francisco Court Appointed Special Advocate Program (SFCASA) empowers community members to stand up for a foster child and champion their rights in court.

SFCASA uses a strengths-based approach to create individualized advocacy plans tailored to the unique circumstances of each youth. Comprehensive court- and community-based advocacy covers the needs of the whole child and addresses areas vital to healthy youth development including; education, placement, health, independent living, and well-being.

SFCASA is actively recruiting volunteers that can commit to 18 months of advocate, of spending approximately 3-4 hours a week with their assigned youth.  If interested, please visit our website at sfcasa.org to sign-up for an information session.  Our next 6-week training starts May 3rd. 

We are excited to announce that the Community Challenge Grant Program (CCG) will make available more grant opportunities through our application process to neighborhood groups and community based organizations facilitating neighborhood beautification projects.  The CCG supports community revitalization by providing grant resources to community groups, businesses and non-profit organizations to make physical improvements to their neighborhoods. The CCG focuses on projects that directly engage residents and businesses in creating green spaces, gathering places, public art, and other neighborhood amenities by featuring and applying ecologically friendly amenities and practices.

The CCG continues its collaboration with the San Francisco Planning Department and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.  These partnerships and grant opportunities allow the CCG to expand resource availability.

SF Planning Department
1. Market Octavia and Eastern Neighborhood Area Plans Grant (MOEN):
Focus on greening, physical improvement, and public art projects on pubic-owned properties within the boundaries of Market Octavia and Eastern Neighborhood Area Plans.

2. Living Alley Program:
New this grant cycle, focus on projects that create “living alleys” which are safe, active, and sustainable public places within the Market Octavia boundary area.

SF Public Utilities Commission
3. Urban Watershed Stewardship Grant (WSG):
Focus on projects implementing green infrastructure, also known as Low Impact Design (LID) projects.

Spring 2016 Grant Cycle Timeline:
February 9^th:    CCG Grant Cycle Opens (All Guidelines and Applications are available on the website – www.sfgov.org/ccg)
March 18^th:     CCG Grant Cycle Closes (All Applications and Copies must be received No Later Than 5 PM)
April/May:       Review Process
Mid-June:        Awards Announced

If you have any questions or would like to discuss a potential project contact Lanita Henriquez, CCG Program Manager at (415) 554-4830 or email at lanita.henriquez@sfgov.org.

The Sweet Talk–by nutrition consultant, Andrea Thurston
Tuesday, February 16, 2016, 6:30 pm
West Portal, West Portal Children’s Area

Reading Help for Grades 1-5
Tuesday, February 16, 2016, 4:00 pm
Ingleside, Ingleside Meeting Room

Click here to find more free library events!Second Sunday on Feb. 14, 11am-10pm

Second Sundays has landed on Valentine’s Day this year, so we encourage you to bring your date or significant other to the library where the Dave Rocha Quartet will be performing a special jazz education performance and concert. Children are encouraged to attend this free all-ages performance. Details are here, along with the full Second Sundays lineup.

Come celebrate the opening of our new neighborhood playground at the West Portal Elementary Schoolyard Kick-off on Sat., Feb. 27, 11am-1pm.

For more info, click here.
Additionally, seniors can enjoy the Zoo FREE on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14th, when guest speaker Jason Jacobs, Director of Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona, will deliver a humorous, informative, and not-for-the-faint-of-heart presentation on the fascinating subject of animal mating habits – for mature audiences only. The talk will be at 2 pm in the Great Hall and is FREE for all Zoo guests.

To round out the month, seniors are invited to visit the Zoo FREE on Saturday, February 27th for International Polar Bear Day. Come watch our own Uulu, the oldest polar bear in captivity, fool around with frosty ice and snow in honor of his day.

Come Celebrate the Year of the Monkey

Activities from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
 

To commemorate the Year of the Monkey, the San Francisco Zoo is thrilled to host Lunar New Year entertainment for children of all ages. Come marvel at Chinese acrobatic performances, traditional Chinese lion and folk dancing, and much more. Make a take-home monkey craft near the entertainment stage. Go on a Zodiac Scavenger Hunt through the Zoo to learn fun facts about the animals found on the Chinese calendar; complete the Zodiac Scavenger Hunt and receive a lucky red envelope with a special surprise inside. Don’t forget to stop by the Primate Discovery Center to see all of our monkeys during this Year of Monkey Celebration!

Access to the celebration is free with paid admission to the Zoo. However, guests born in the Year of the Monkey (1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016) will receive free Zoo admission on that day.

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