By Jon Wurfl, SFFD NERT Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Coordinator

Editor’s note:  Jon Wurfl was at our February meeting, and wrote this article, which we received too late to be included in the March issue of the HANC Voice:

In the 1730s, fire was a constant threat to Philadelphia, then the nation's largest city. At 29, Benjamin Franklin proposed a solution through his Pennsylvania Gazette: create the first professional firefighting department. He also reminded citizens that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Franklin recommended households have leather firefighting buckets, chimney sweeps be certified, straw roofs be replaced with tile, and smoking be banned in fire-prone areas. City leaders acted, passing laws, improving standards, and distributing fire prevention tools. As a result, Philadelphia became one of the safest cities in the world. Similarly, we in San Francisco must take precautions to protect against both natural and human threats.

Awareness of the fundamentals of disaster preparedness can go a long way toward resilience when things go wrong.

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By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC President

On February 23, the Phoenix Project celebrated its one year anniversary.  The Phoenix Project's mission is “to illuminate the shadowy paths of dark money in San Francisco. “  So far, the project has issued three reports:  Volume I of The Phoenix Papers described “how the city’s wealthiest are using loopholes in tax and campaign finance law to hide millions of dollars in campaign contributions.” Volume II “exposed the biggest donors behind this conservative movement as well as their pet interests.”   Volume III explored “the impact the ‘Astroturf Network’ — a group that includes GrowSF, TogetherSF and Neighbors for a Better San Francisco — has had on local politics, how it operates, and its plans for the immediate future.”  All three reports can be downloaded for free at https://www.phoenixprojectnow.com/thephoenixpapers.  The Phoenix Project also has a blog (https://www.phoenixprojectnow.com/phoenix-review) that has printed stories with titles such as “San Francisco’s Right-Wing Tech Bros Go National,” “Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Astroturf Network,” and “The San Francisco Chronicle and the Astroturf Network.”

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By Calvin Welch, HANC Board

Our April 10^th  General Membership meeting will again address the impending MUNI service cuts directed by the SFMTA Board at its March 18^th meeting.  The vote was 3 to 2 to cut services instead of using reserve funds.  The City Attorney clarified that action requires four votes to be approved.  The cuts will most likely be finalized at the Board’s April 1 meeting and the results will be reported at our meeting on the 10^th.  The razor close 3-2 vote approved the proposed cuts to five lines as shown below:

• 5-Fulton would turn around at McAllister & Market/Civic Center weekdays; 5R Fulton Rapid would remain as-is

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By Tab Buckner, HANC Board

At their February 25th meeting, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors addressed Mayor Daniel Lurie’s request to terminate Max Carter-Oberstone’s remaining tenure on the Police Commission. His term was due to expire in April 2026. A mayor can request a removal from the Police Commission but approval from a majority of the Board of Supervisors is required. The mayor has not publicly explained why he wanted the exit and the commissioner stated that he was not invited to meet with the mayor.

Mr. Carter-Oberstone was appointed to the Police Commission by Mayor London Breed in 2021. He subsequently exhibited his independence by supporting Cindy Elias for commission president and publicly challenged Breed’s practice of requiring appointees to sign undated resignation letters. His work with many community members over a long stretch of time led to an SFPD policy revision to restrict use of pretext stops.

In February, the HANC Board voted unanimously to join many other community groups to endorse retaining Commissioner Carter-Oberstone for his qualifications, initiative, autonomy and commitment to public safety including Police Department reform.

The board chamber on February 25th was packed. Mr. Carter-Oberstone spoke first and reminded the supervisors of the Trump Administration’s executive over-reach and the dangers of extinguishing independent voices in government. The public comment period ran for more than 90 minutes. Only four individuals spoke in favor of the mayor’s request while scores of people expressed, often passionately, the importance of maintaining someone who was effective and not beholden to political rubber stamping. Several HANC members attended and urged the board to back the commissioner.

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Mine eyes have seen the horror of a meeting of the Board

Address them for two minutes, but you’ll likely be ignored

Before we even showed up, they already reached accord

This meeting’s dragging on.

The Board, the Board of Supervisors,

Deferring to the Mayor and his advisors

We need some fiery mobilizers

This meeting’s dragging on.

I came here for just one item, but they haven’t heard it yet

Supervisors walking in and out, it’s getting me upset

I’ve been here for three hours, it’s pretty near sunset

This meeting’s dragging on.

The Board, the Board of Supervisors,

Deferring to the Mayor and his advisors

We need some fiery mobilizers

This meeting’s dragging on.

This meeting's dragging on

Our February meeting began with a surprise visit from our new District 5 Supervisor, Bilal Mahmood, who took questions from the in-person and online audience.  There were more questions than we had time.  We will invite him back when we can devote more time to your questions.

The rest of the meeting was devoted to emergency preparedness and disaster response.  We heard from Captain Brandon Tom, who is the new NERT Coordinator.  NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team) is run by the San Francisco Fire Department.  It is the volunteer-run neighborhood-level response to disasters.  You are encouraged to take a NERT training, preferably to volunteer, but also just to prepare yourself and your household for a disaster.  The next NERT training nearest to us will be at USF, March 20 through April 22, 5:30 to 9:30 pm (some Thursday and some Tuesday nights).  More information about NERT training and other events is available on the calendar page of the NERT website:  https://sf-fire.org/nert/nert-calendar-meetings-trainings-events.  Links to a list of NERT neighborhood teams, disaster preparedness resources, and to other information can be found on the home page: https://sf-fire.org/nert.  NERT can also be contacted by telephone at 415-970-2022.

We also heard from Rick Ellis, from the City’s Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), which is part of the Department of Emergency Service.  ACS uses volunteers, mostly amateur radio operators, to allow first responders (and others) to communicate when there is no electricity, and cell phones become inoperable.  Mr. Siegel showed slides of many different types of radios being used in many different locations.  He encouraged us to get our amateur radio licenses, and said the exam is fairly easy—you can get training and take the exam on the same day.  Here’s the ACS page on the Amateur Radio License:  https://www.sf.gov/information--auxiliary-communications-service-exams-and-training.   More general information about ACS can be found here:  https://www.sf.gov/information--auxiliary-communications-service.

By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC President

We are in the midst of San Francisco’s budget process.  The projected shortfall in the City’s upcoming two-year budget is $840 million.  City departments (except for the Police Department) have been instructed to reduce their budgets by 15%, and a hiring freeze has been instituted (except for public safety).  This translates into a $210 million cut for Muni.

On February 1, Muni reduced the frequency of the 43, 38, and 24 lines.  We are looking at the possibility of much more drastic cuts this summer, including the suspension of the 6 and 21 lines.  Here is one scenario:

Proposed Service Changes

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By Calvin Welch, Housing and Land Use Chair

The Planning Commission voted unanimously to support the expansion of Gus's Community Market at 1530 Haight Street at its 27 February meeting..  This is the second expansion of the Market at the old pharmacy site, the first involving an Ethiopian restaurant. This, the second, at 1542 Haight, involves the old Haight Street Music store, which closed in 2020. Gus's re-located to the site from its original Haight Street location between Clayton and Cole in 1981.

The Board and General Membership of HANC supported the expansion.

The merger will add some 3,690 square feet to the Market creating a 10,548 square foot full service market.

 The application for the expansion describes the project as follows:

"The Project will provide for a fairly modest expansion, allowing for additional retail space in addition to storage space at the rear of the building... The Project proposes an interior change of use only, and does not affect landscaping, screening, open spaces, or parking areas... The Project will serve the neighborhood by allowing Gus’s to expand its grocery offering and inventory size. Due to the store’s large patronage and the limited number of other grocers in the area, the Project’s larger size will ensure that Gus’s Market both has the shelf-space and storage space necessary to accommodate both existing and growing local demand... The Project will also contribute to the longevity of a local employer that employs 52 people at this location, and will be able to make additional hires once the expansion is complete. "