WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AT OUR SECOND NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING OF 2025?

Dear Neighbors,

We held our second 2025 neighborhood meeting of the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association last Tuesday April 8 at the Harvey Milk Recreation Center.  I’m so grateful to the Center for opening up their space to us.
 
Thank you to all the members who participated in the meeting, especially our intrepid board who volunteer so many hours to help our neighborhood.  And it was great to see folks who were not yet members but joined after the meeting!  For all of you who could not make it, I want to share the evening’s highlights, including some links I promised to send the attending members that I hope are informative and useful.
 
As is our custom, we started with a ½ hour of wine, soda and snacks so everyone could re-connect and get to know each other.

I provided a few updates, including:

1. The tree planting project (including some stump removals) continues,  and DPW’s promises to keep us in the loop of the completion of their planting project.  I’ll update you all when I know the exact date. If anyone has an issue regarding plantings, do reach out to me at president@dtna.org and I’ll make sure to connect you to the right City folks.
2. CPMC continues to be responsive to our requests for beautifying the exterior of their campus.  A big shout out to DTNA board members Erik Honda and David Troup for leading the charge. CPMC has also replaced all three trees along Noe between Duboce and 14th that were vandalized.  They look beautiful.
3. I am so grateful for our community building events, like the recent Seed Swap which was led by the Friends of Slow Noe, and Wigglefest, led by Doug Thorogood and Patrick Waters.
4. The Land Use committee is looking into the new zoning map, which will have serious impact on our neighborhood.  The state requires more housing to be built near public transit hubs and the Mayor has released the plan for upzoning.  Please stay tuned for more on this very important issue from our Land Use committee.

There will be hearings at the Planning Commission where your voice can be heard on the issue of upzoning.  Check out: https://sfplanning.org/hearings-cpc-grid for more information as to which hearings will focus on upzoning.
 
Next up, Robert Reed, Public Relations Manager for Recology,  presented on the rate increase for garbage pick up, which they are proposing to San Francisco. You can read the slide show with all the details, attached here.  And you can reach out to Robert with any questions about this or anything Recology related at rreed@recology.com.

D8’s own Rafael Mandelman, the President of the Board of Supervisors, presented on the City’s billion dollar deficit. This will result in cuts to many programs, such as Urban Alchemy (which provides the Community Ambassadors), 15% cuts across the board in each City department; $350 million deficit at SFMTA, and so much more.
 
Supervisor Mandelman sees an improvement in encampments in the Castro and thinks the City still needs to work on mental health and substance abuse issues.
 
He then commented on the Mayor’s new proposed upzoning map to meet requirements under state law. It’s concentrated on major corridors, which includes high heights on the edges of the Triangle, including very tall and very dense housing at Safeway (if it ever gets developed). And lower but still tall (12-15 stories) west of Church on Market. He thinks it is necessary to provide needed housing, but it is also necessary to identify and preserve historic resources.
 
He celebrated the Castro Upper Market entertainment zone. During events, bars and restaurants can give to-go cups. Neighbors seem broadly supportive, but if you have questions, do reach out to his legislative aide Calvin Ho at calvin.ho@sfgov.org. 
 
Other topics covered include:

• Duboce Triangle Slow Street Study;
• EV curbside charging pilot;
• The need for better traffic enforcement, acknowledging that SFPD is down 500 officers;
• The need for another $20million to construct the Harvey Milk Plaza.  Senator Scott Weiner is working on it at the state level;
• LGBTQ Museum, which bought the Barry’s building, might not open until 2027; and
• Neighbor Tim Sheridon asked about congestion pricing and how that would impact an empty downtown.  Supervisor Mandelmen Rafael agreed that it’s not a good idea at the moment but says at some point it will be necessary to generate revenue for public transit. 

We pivoted away from the planned agenda, replacing the brainstorming with a conversation with Captain Jack Hart, Precinct Chief of the Park Station and Dave Burke Public Safety Liaison for D8. Jack has been three years at Park Station and is also now acting commander of 5 stations. At Park he has about 48 offices in contrast to 100 a few years ago.
 
He stressed that neighbors should not fear calling 911 in case of any kind of emergency, even if they are not sure of the seriousness of the situation.  Same goes for 311, especially when people experience encampments.  The City will then direct the issue to the right department.
 
Captain Hart Presented on some traffic data:

While citations do not totally encapsulate "traffic enforcement" (where it's impossible to measure accidents avoided or pedestrians/cyclists not hit due to an officer's presence in a parked vehicle monitoring an intersection or an officer advising a violator instead of citing them), 23 citations were written in the Park Station precinct in January, with 43% being "focused on the five" primary violations:  speeding; violating pedestrian right-of-way in a crosswalk; running red lights; running stop signs; and failing to yield while turning.  

In February, Park wrote 55 citations with 85% being "focused on the five." In March. Park officers wrote 115 traffic citations with 74 being "focused on the five"  for a total of 64%.

He thinks the support of the community to write citations and emails directing them to problem locations in the district have been efficient and effective and he continues to encourage that members of the neighborhood email him with any issues.  While the officer count is far below what it needs to be to cover our entire City, there is concerted effort in hiring and retaining officers, and becoming a motorcycle trained cop has become a lot easier, which aids in traffic enforcement and citations.

Captain Hart’s email address is jack.hart@sfgov.org.
Dave Burke’s email address is dave.burke@sfgov.org.
 
We went a little over, ending the meeting at 8:10, but I continue to be so inspired by the level of engagement everyone showed at our meeting, and I hope more of you can attend our next one on June 10 (click here for full meetings calendar).

The more we engage, the more we can get done to protect, improve and create joy in our beautiful neighborhood.  

If you have any questions, reach out to me at president@dtna.org.
 

Warmly,

Jonathan Moscone
President of the Board

WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AT OUR FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING OF 2025?

We held our first neighborhood meeting of the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association last Tuesday, February 11 at the Gazebo Room on the CPMC/Davies Campus.  And I am happy to report we kicked the year off with a lot of positive energy and engagement.

Thank you to 50+ members who participated in the meeting, and several folks who signed up for membership after the meeting. For you and all of you who could not make the meeting, I want to share the event highlights, including some links I promised to send that I hope are informative and useful.

After a lovely reception where neighbors (re)connected and engaged in color drawing on the hearts that board member Kimyn Braithwaite creates and decorates our neighborhood with, we began the meeting with a welcome to members, other neighbors, and some of our local businesses, notably Fisch & Flore, Chartreuse by Roje and The Academy.

I provided a few updates, including:

1. The City has approved the implementation of the Duboce Slow Streets Study, to be run by the SFMTA, which includes a holistic traffic and circulation study and a budgeted robust community engagement process, where all our voices will be heard. Read more about it here.

2. CMPC/Davies continues to green up its campus exterior and will continue to improve its visual relationship to the neighborhood.  They are also promising to have a permanent fix to mitigate the HVAC sound no later than June 30, 2025.

3. The Mayor has initiated a community affairs team to help track departmental progress in addressing resident and business needs throughout the city.  When you have an issue, concern or question to one of the City departments,  in addition to cc’ing our Supervisor’s office, you can also cc 2 members of the Community Affairs team, Moisés Garcia and Angelina Polselli.  They will help track the responsiveness of the departments as part of the Mayor’s promise for more accountability.   In addition, if you have a public safety concern, please reach out to D8’s public safety liaison from SFPD, Dave Burke.  You can find their contact information here.

D8’s own Rafael Mandelman, the newly elected President of the Board of Supervisors, spoke about the new administration and shared updates around:

• The timeline for the coming GLBT History Museum in the Tower Records (Barry’s) building, which was bought by the City and will take some time for it to go through the bureaucratic process towards becoming a reality.

• The establishment of parts of the Castro as one of the City’s entertainment zones, which when permitted, will allow people enjoying events such as the Castro Night Market, to carry alcohol between venues.

• The need for psych beds to address the problem he has long been focused on – untreated mental illness on our streets. 

• The timeline for the completion of the Harvey Milk Plaza on the corner of Market and Castro, which includes the need for more money beyond what the City and State have provided.

We then invited meeting participants to join breakout sessions to brainstorm ideas around the following four issues and opportunities:

1. Vision 2030, including Transportation Issues and Slow Streets.

2. Beautification

3. Community Events

4. Land Use

Our board will coalesce the brainstorm ideas and come back to the neighborhood at our April meeting with a game plan.  For those who could not attend but want to engage in any of these topics, please contact info@dtna.org so that our board members leading these committees can reach out to you.

I have to say I am so inspired by the level of engagement and enthusiasm everyone showed at our meeting, and I hope more of you can attend on April 8 (click here for full meetings calendar).

The more we engage, the more we can get done to create an even more beautiful and safe neighborhood!

If you have any questions, reach out to me at president@dtna.org.

Warmly,

Jonathan Moscone

President of the Board

By Erik Honda, Paige Rausser, and David Troup (DTNA Board members who live on Henry, Beaver, and 15th Streets)

A large and boisterous crowd of over fifty people turned out for our June General Meeting to hear from supervisor Rafael Mandelman and representatives from the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency (SFMTA) about proposed changes to the Noe Slow Street. MTA had placed flyers in the neighborhood about some proposed changes, along with a link to their website that described various proposals, but prior to this meeting had held no public discussions of the matter, so DTNA pressed them to comeand take questions. DTNA Vision 2030 co-chair Hans Galland explained that these changes were not initiated or pushed by DTNA – we supported Noe Slow Street during the pandemic but in response to neighbor surveys Vision 2030 has recently been focused on pedestrian danger and traffic flow problems at intersections on the north side of the Triangle – at Sanchez, Steiner and Duboce, and at 14th and Sanchez.

The MTA Representatives, transportation planner Julia Malmo and associate engineer Ellen Robinson, gave a history of the nineteen Slow Streets approved by the city starting in 2021, and the mandates the city has put in place to make those streets truly slow. The number of vehicles must not exceed 1,000 per day, and the average speed cannot top 15 mph. MTA clocked speeds and made vehicle counts on Noe Street, and while speeds 

were close to the goal (16 mph), average traffic was well over the goal (1,700 vehicles a day). As a result they looked at “volume management tools” – different forms of diversions to turn cars away from the Slow Street; you can see the options (a traffic diverter at 15

thto reduce northbound traffic, changing the loading zone there to a painted safety zone, and adding speed bumps between Beaver and 15th) athttps://www.sfmta.com/projects/noe-slow-street and settled on the traffic diverter option. Many attendees felt that this change would make Noe Streetonly marginally safer, while making surrounding blocks significantly less safe.

Neighbors expressed concerns that these changes will negatively affect traffic on other streets in the Triangle (primarily 15th, as cars will turn off Noe onto 15th) and suggested other options like allowing a left turn off Market onto Castro (since Castro is the major north/south artery in the area). MTA is still taking feedback (you can provide yours on the website above) and will hold a public hearing on the matter (you should be able to sign up to get a text or email about the meeting on the same website). Supervisor Mandelman also asked folks to reach out to him by emailing or calling his office. He is supportive of the Vision 2030 plan to reduce traffic speeds and increase pedestrian safety throughout the Triangle as a whole, and opined that MTA should be looking at the broader picture rather than focusing on single streets. DTNA concurs – at its July meeting the DTNA Board approved a resolution to ask MTA to consider the impacts of their implementation on the rest of the neighborhood before considering paths to move forward, and to consider the viability of an option which adds guidance signs to the current configuration of barriers. Stay tuned!

Solidcore, a national fitness chain, presented their plan for activating the retail space at the corner of 15th Street and Market that has been vacant for 10 years. They have a 10-year lease and are seeking conditional use permission for Formula One retail use of the space. The Board unanimously voted to support the project.

The Board also voted to support the landmarking of the Rainbow Flag at Harvey Milk Plaza.

WiggleFest was a success. Efforts at traffic calming on Steiner, Deboce at Sanchez & 14th Street, Noe at 14th Street, and crosswalks at Noe at Beaver & 15th Street are being pursued.

Board approved DTNA privacy statement and membership area map including one block beyond DTNA boundaries where neighbors are eligible for membership.

By Erik Honda, DTNA Editor

A healthy crowd of engaged neighbors showed up at Harvey Milk Rec Center for our August meeting to hear the results of the DTNA logo contest and to organize around traffic safety.

The logo contest was competitive, with sixteen different submissions from nine different artists, and resulted in some tough and closely contested votes both by the neighborhood and the Board. DTNA President Frank Tizedes announced and gave gift certificates to the winner and runner up, Annie Prowell and Alex Ron, and thanked all the contestants for their submissions. Frank also gave a special gift to our young (under 12) artists, he knows they will be ongoing contributors to the Triangle as they grow. To see the new logo check out our website, and also check out Prowell’s artist’s statement on page [insert page # here] of this newsletter.

Frank also made announcements about the long-delayed Bureau of Urban Forestry tree planting scheduled to begin soon in the Triangle, and celebrated the 50-plus volunteers we have gathered to water the trees. Thank you!!! He also encouraged folks to turn out for our now-monthly neighborhood cleanup days with Refuse Refuse, and to attend an upcoming meeting on densification of the neighborhood (see the cover story of our August/September newsletter).

Vision 2030 co-chair Hans Galland presented on our ongoing work on the Sanchez-Steiner corridor, and plans for our Sunday October 22 Wiggle Fest block party co-hosted with the SF Bicycle Coalition, which will temporarily close Steiner between Duboce and Waller to car traffic, so we can have some learn-to-ride-a-bike clinics, bike obstacle course, free bike repair, and other Bike Coalition swag and events. Mark your calendar!

Captain Jack Hart of Park Station wrapped up the meeting by reporting on his recent work to beef up traffic enforcement in the Triangle (see article on page 5 of our August/September newsletter). Hart credited the efforts of both Supervisor Mandelman’s office and DTNA to convince his folks to devote some of their limited resources to returning to enforcement after a collapse during the pandemic. Neighbors thanked Captain Hart for the visible presence of officers and enforcement, and several felt that it was making a difference already. Captain Hart should have statistics on which violations are happening and where coming soon, so stay tuned!

A draft Privacy Statement was reviewed. After final editing, the draft will be presented to the Board for approval in October. A 2024 Board Election subcommittee was appointed to oversee the election process, screen nominees, and be a resource for anyone seeking an elected position.

The DTNA Logo Contest winner was selected in August as well as other awardees.

The next Triangle Clean-Up is Sunday, October 15th, and a Wiggle Fest is being organized for Sunday, October 22^nd on Steiner between Duboce & Hermann.

Discussed status of tree plantings, addressing SF Housing Element and Triangle Upzoning, membership recruitment, Davies noise persisting despite recent mitigations, role of various DTNA outreach tools. See newsletter articles and dtna.org for details.

The April General Public Meeting will be filled with great opportunities for neighbors to get involved and help build a community that supports us all:

●      Logo Contest: Creating an identity and brand for the neighborhood

●      Help Plant Trees and expand the Duboce Triangle Tree Canopy

●      Install Sidewalk Gardens near your homes – Bureau of Urban Forestry

●      Sidewalk Garden Park Safety Repairs on Noe and Sanchez, Department of Public Works

●      DTNA’s Vision 2030 projects – Hans Galland Coordinator

○      Safer Sanchez/Duboce/Steiner intersection

○      Duboce Triangle Commons: Activation of retail/restaurant/social Noe at Market

●      SF Housing Element updates

●      Rescue SF: Supporting shelter and care for the most vulnerable

●       

Let’s meet up, have fun and work towards creating opportunities that build community. We need your optimism and energy to help make a difference.

At our March meeting the Board certified the 2023 Board Election Results and welcomed three new Board Members - Secretary David Troup, Director Corbin Muraro, Director Dennis Richards, and new DTNA News Editor, Erik Honda. The Board approved an organizing resolution which describes logistics of how the board will operate this year. Dennis Richards was appointed Land Use Chair.

The Board also discussed and approved expenditures for some updates to our web presence, and explored the possibility of seeking National Historic District recognition. In addition, we planned community workshops to take input on the city’s newly approved Housing Element, as well as other topics to address with neighbors at the April General Meeting.

Erik Honda, DTNA Secretary

At our February General Meeting your neighborhood organization announced the results of our Board election, and welcomed new Secretary David Troup, new editor Erik Honda, as well as new Board Members Dennis Richards and Corbin Muraro. We also got out in front of other neighborhoods in the city by being the first neighborhood association to have the Planning Department present on the just-approved Housing Element, which is San Francisco’s road map for how to guide and invest in housing, which this cycle includes a plan to add 85,000 new housing units to the city by 2030.

A thoughtful and energetic group of neighbors, along with Super- visor Mandelman, gathered at Harvey Milk Rec Center to hear Planning’s Joshua Switsky lay out the plan. He noted that San Fran- cisco was one of the few cities to have its plan approved by the state, and also that the penalty for not approving the plan this time were strong – the plan had to be approved to get state afford- able housing and transportation

funds, and there were non-financial penalties like losing control of zoning and planning if was not approved. He also noted that it was the first Housing Element to really focus on racial and social equity – as seen in the accompanying illustration, the legacy of racist redlining in the 1940s and 1950s is still with us in terms of the economic and racial segregation of our neighborhoods, and in the recent steep decline in the Black and Native American populations in many parts of the city, including our own.

Switsky showed statistics reveal- ing that almost all (95%) the affordable housing that has been built over the last ten years has been in on the on east side of the city, so this plan focuses on the west side – upzoning building heights along Geary Boulevard in the Richmond district for ex- ample. More germane to Duboce Triangle, the plan also focuses affordable housing in highly re- sourced neighborhoods close to transit, which certainly includes ours. He showed three possible maps the city is considering, and all involve increased building heights along Market Street, but less so in what he called the “interstitial” blocks, which is the rest of the Triangle. He congratulated

us on being the first neighbor- hood association to engage in the process, and encouraged folks to sign up to engage more – you can get on the email list to give input by going to www.sfhousingelement.org. He explained that the input process will continue for the rest of this year, with the final plan fleshed out by late 2023.

Switsky and Supervisor Mandelman then took a number of thoughtful questions from the audience, including questions about the design standards for the new buildings, city subsidies to get stalled developments to start construction, repurposing office buildings into housing, housing as racial reparations, our terrible city process for permitting new construction, vacant units in Triangle affordable housing, streetscape redesign, and green space (which is part of the plan). One neighbor asked how they can support more building in general. The answer to that, as Joshua and a DTNA Board member told him, is to stay involved and have your voice heard at DTNA Land Use and General Meetings, and at the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. So... see you all at those meetings! Our next General Meeting is April 11 – see you there.

Joshua Switzky from SF Planning Department discussed the newest SF Housing Element and how the focus on the new housing density program will focus on equity and inclusion. Supervisor Rafael  Mandelman shared his vision for 2023 and how the challenges of a smaller tax base may impact all of us.

See the SF Planning presentation on the Housing Element here.

Contact Frank Tizedes, DTNA President, or Dennis Richards, new DTNA Land Use Chair, if you have any questions.