Last month I shared my positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Thank you to everyone who reached out to express your concern, support or good wishes for my health. I’m so grateful for your compassion. Luckily, my case has been minor, and I’m feeling good and doing well. My family tested negative, and after completing my two weeks of self-isolation, I’m symptom-free.

As we continue to ease public health restrictions and reopen more parts of our economy, we have to remember this pandemic is still with us and continue to take care to follow all public health guidance. District 4 has the lowest COVID case rate of the entire City, which speaks to our shared commitment to staying home when we can and wearing our masks and keeping our distance when we can’t.

More businesses have been reopening – including for limited indoor service – and we have to stay diligent as we take careful steps forward to reopen safely. The United States has now passed 200,000 people killed by the COVID-19 pandemic, an unspeakable and almost incomprehensible loss which demonstrates the importance of continuing to follow public health guidance. We’re able to reopen more services because of our City’s success in keeping our transmission rates low. But that success isn’t guaranteed, and it depends on each of us. I’m so proud of our neighborhood and our community. And we can’t become complacent – we need to renew our commitment, stay vigilant and support one another on the long road forward. Our shared health depends on it.

We’ve continued to support Shared Spaces in the Sunset, a new city program that adapts our curbs, sidewalks and streets to allow small businesses to continue to serve our communities in safer ways. Open-air dining and shopping in the Sunset has expanded, including:

• Beachside Taraval: Open-air market with local merchants and outdoor dining, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. every Sunday on Taraval between 46th and 47th avenues;

• Pop-Up Shopping on 20th: A sidewalk sale with local vendors and handmade crafts, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. every other Saturday on 20th Avenue between Vicente and Ulloa streets;

• Irving Shared Street: Outdoor dining by local restaurants, 3:30-11 p.m. every Thursday and Friday, and 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, on Irving between 19th and 20th avenues;

• Wawona Gates: Outdoor dining and drinks at the United Irish Cultural Center, 4-8 p.m. Fridays, 1-8 p.m. Saturdays, and 1-6:30 p.m. Sundays on Wawona Street between 44th and 45th avenues;

• Outer Sunset Farmers Market and Mercantile: Fresh produce from local farms and local goods from neighborhood businesses, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. every Sunday on 37th Avenue between Ortega and Quintara streets; 

• Individual businesses: Dozens of small businesses across the Sunset have their own curbside or sidewalk shared spaces. Check out http://www.sf.gov/shared-spaces or visit a commercial corridor near you.

And we’re very excited to announce that the Outer Sunset Farmers Market and Mercantile has expanded! The same market you know and love will more than double in size, extending to Quintara Street. This expanded footprint will allow more social distancing and more vendors and ensure we can spread out and safely shop for produce and locally made goods.

We worked closely with Sunset Mercantile and POPS for over a year to bring this market to our neighborhood, and it’s your support that has allowed us to grow it so quickly. 

So, let’s all shop small, shop local and stay #SunsetStrong.

In September, the Board of Supervisors finally passed the budget for the coming fiscal year. We faced tough choices and unprecedented challenges with this budget, with decreasing revenue and increasing needs for public services, and I’m proud of the tireless and careful work my colleagues and I have done to pass a balanced budget that preserves, protects, and in some cases expands critical services for our City and the Sunset, and reflects our values. 

Through the budget work and advocacy of our office, we’ve achieved continued funding for the District 4 mobile homeless outreach program we piloted last year, ensured our City College Sunset program will continue in 2021 and invested in restoring and expanding job training programs at City College. We increased maintenance funding for Sunset Boulevard. We also dedicated money to expand mental health services for Sunset youth, provided support for special-needs students in our neighborhood, and gave District 4-specific support for community violence prevention, public school parents, renters and more. We’re also making additional investments in community events in the Sunset, including the Farmers Market and Shared Spaces, and we’ve protected wages and benefits for essential city workers, including thousands of homecare workers here in the Sunset. 

This month, as the breadth and depth of evidence of public corruption amongst city officials continues to grow, I’ll be holding another hearing on public integrity to follow up on the investigations prompted by the criminal actions of former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru. These hearings allow us to have deeper discussions on the gaps in our laws and in public oversight that allowed corruption to fester and grow, and how to best address them and hold public officials accountable. 

This month, we’re also hosting a workshop for homeowners interested in building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and we’ll be announcing the launch of an ADU incentives pilot program in collaboration with the City’s Planning Department and ASIAN, Inc., available to District 4 homeowners. ADUs are an important tool for increasing affordable housing in our neighborhood quickly and effectively, with no zoning changes required. If you’re interested in the program or have any questions, reach out to our office at marstaff@sfgov.org or ASIAN, Inc. at adu@asianinc.org.

We have continued to hold regular District 4 Virtual Town Halls. Our most recent event focused on bikeshare in the Sunset. Our next town hall will focus on schools and families and the needs of parents and students during distance learning. To see all of our upcoming events, connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/d4gordonmar. 

Our office also has a booth at the Outer Sunset Farmers Market at the first market every month, so feel free to drop by with any questions, comments or concerns. And I have continued to hold virtual office hours every Friday afternoon. To schedule a meeting, or for any other reason, don’t hesitate to reach out at marstaff@sfgov.org. 

We hope you’re well and look forward to seeing you soon – in a mask, and at a distance. 

Gordon Mar represents District 4 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He can be reached at (415) 554-7460 or marstaff@sfgov.org.