Tag: Bayview residents

As San Francisco Public Utilities Commission officials focus on developing a new property at Evans Avenue and Third Street in the Bayview, its facility at 1800 Oakdale Ave. sits in virtual suspense, putting in jeopardy the hard-won benefits intended to compensate for expanding sewage treatment facilities in the neighborhood since the 1970s. The handsome building at 1800 Oakdale, opened in 1987, exists only because community leaders demanded it be built in exchange for the community’s reluctant agreement to the City’s plan to treat 80 percent of San Francisco’s sewage in its Blackest neighborhood.

I met Gloria Berry a month ago as she was walking door to door campaigning in the Dogpatch for San Francisco Supervisor District 10 with Majeid Crawford, a resident of the Fillmore. I struck up a conversation with Gloria and Majeid regarding social justice and environmental justice, how they work together hand in hand and how we can achieve them by electing Gloria on Nov. 6. Housing the homeless is a high priority for Gloria, as are economic and environmental justice. Mighty House can help achieve all those goals.

When we last checked in with LaWanda Dickerson of U3Fit earlier this year, the fitness instructor and nutritionist was working with Bayview residents to help them get in shape and improve their health. Now, Dickerson has a new venture in the works: opening her own studio at 4646 Third St. in mid-September. The space was previously home to First Cup Coffee but has been empty since a 2015 fire. The U3Fit Meal Prep Fitness Studio will be part café, part fitness training facility.

On April 13, the ​SF Sounds​ newspaper made the mistake of publishing an article written by Sarah Burchard, entitled ​“Bring on the Bayview​.” From what we’ve gathered, Sarah Burchard is a white person who is not from San Francisco. ​As people born and raised in San Francisco and Bayview residents, we find Sarah’s article overtly ignorant and flat-out offensive. The article blatantly disrespects residents and our experiences in the current social, economic and political climate.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is proposing to relocate the Southeast Community Facility Commission building at 1800 Oakdale Ave., the decades-long home of the Southeast Campus of City College, to the corner of Third Street and Evans Avenue. On April 19, SFPUC hosted a Taco Tuesday for neighborhood residents to view two different proposals, plans for what the new Evans building could look like and another of a remodeled 1800 Oakdale Ave. building.

Over 25 years ago, the Southeast Greenhouses located at 1150 Phelps St., along with the adjacent Community Facility, were constructed to help offset the impact of the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant’s expansion. The goal was to bring economic and workforce development opportunities to Bayview residents by offering hands-on training and job opportunities through horticulture programming and other offerings.

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, dozens of long time Black San Francisco community residents – many whose families arrived generations ago – took over the Mayor’s Office demanding real solutions. Pastor Yul Dorn, ACCE member and Bayview resident facing eviction, was in attendance and spoke in front of 60-plus protesters crowded into Mayor Ed Lee’s office. ACCE provided a list of demands, also criticizing Ed Lee’s plan to rebuild public housing.

In the summer of 1963, the KQED Film Unit invited author James Baldwin to investigate racism in San Francisco. Baldwin agreed to be filmed while he scrutinized the liberal, cosmopolitan image projected by the city. Before “Take This Hammer” was televised, KQED’s Board of Directors insisted that 15 minutes of footage had to be removed, which some felt portrayed race relations in an overly negative way.

The Southeast Food Access Food Guardians, through the Healthy Eating Active Living Zone initiative funded by Kaiser Permanente, work with small businesses to increase access to fresh produce and healthy food for the Bayview community in an attempt to level the playing field for all Bayview residents. The Food Guardians hope to work with Bob’s or other small stores in the near future, if funding allows.

Join me in creating a San Francisco for all of us, not just the privileged few. Let’s work together to rebuild our communities, revitalize our economy and renew the hope in our youth. We can create thousands of living wage jobs for San Franciscans, expand local hire, create a city-owned bank, close corporate tax loopholes, provide free Muni for students and more.

Malcolm X, one of my heroes, believed that “[o]ur objective is complete freedom, justice and equality by any means necessary.” I am asking for your support in this election so that we can reach this objective together.