Editor:

I believe I saw an article in the Richmond Review about Park Presidio Boulevard,

near Geary Boulevard, needing to be cleaned up and landscaped,

which I don’t see anything wrong with.

What I do think needs work are the islands dividing Geary Boulevard, from about

Arguello Boulevard to 33rd Avenue, but mostly between 20th and 29th avenues,

where lots of tall, brown weeds are growing. These should be replaced with

Rose of Sharon bushes or other nice shrubs, like the ones on other parts of Geary.

Linda Lewin

Editor:

In response to your excellent article about the Geary Boulevard and Park Presidio

Boulevard proposal being panned – the neighbors know better than the planners.

As you may or may not remember, Park Presidio Neighbors developed a Master Plan

for Park Presidio Boulevard, which was presented to then-SF Mayor Gavin Newsom and

very well received by the SF Recreation and Park Department. The issue was funding.

In the Master Plan, it called for the intersection to be decorated with tiles created by local

school children. This would add color; involve the neighborhood; and, above all, address

the wear and tear and damage done by foot traffic and other sources at that intersection.

Aryeh Weinberg is very correct and the SF Department of Public Works (DPW) is naive if

it thinks planted flowers in that area will survive. That is not to say that it’s not a good

idea to beautify that major intersection, but DPW should get hold of the Master Plan and

see how they can at least be looking longer term in their use of city funds.

Suzanne Tucker

Editor:

The gentrification crisis in San Francisco has not quelled; greed has run rampant and

tenants are dealing with the repercussions.

Since 2014, the Rent Board’s Annual Statistical Report details more than 6,000

evictions, a conservative estimate because it does not capture the evictions that have not

been reported to the Rent Board.

On the west side, for the fiscal year of 2015-2016, the Richmond has seen the second

highest number of Ellis Act petitions, pre-buyout declarations and wrongful eviction

reports. The Sunset and Richmond have the highest numbers of OMIs, coming in first

and second respectively.

For these reasons, the Anti- Displacement Coalition of San Francisco, a coalition of more

than 15 organizations that tackle the problem of housing and gentrification,

hosted another round of tenant conventions throughout the City. This time, we decided

to focus on the problem of speculation. And for the first time, there was a tenant

convention specifically for the west side.

The insights that came out of the west side tenant convention were invaluable.

We learned that tenants on the west side share similar values and needs.

We learned that tenants want to build more affordable housing, to have

more navigation centers, to defend small businesses, and to protect the

most vulnerable – and all in our backyard.

Lastly, the most valuable insight – tenants on the west side are powerful

and we are becoming organized. Tenants are coming together and asserting our power.

Cynthia Fong

SF Housing Rights Committee