Holiday Door Clay Street
PHAN Winter Newsletter
Slow Streets in Presidio Heights
Street & Sewer Line Repair
Sacramento Street Holiday Windows
BUY LOCAL!
November 30, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

As we ease into the holidays and tick down the days until this very strange year is over, we hope that you and those you love are well. Living in a lovely neighborhood like this one makes sheltering in place less of a hardship, but the year has been a tough one nevertheless.

One thing on our minds is the crisis facing our local businesses. Retail and restaurants are the beating heart of any neighborhood, and as the pandemic grinds on with little to no economic relief in sight, our fellow business owners need our support. As you tick down your holiday shopping list, please consider popping into a store on Sacramento Street, many of which have websites and curbside pickup. If you're sick of cooking, consider takeout from a neighborhood restaurant or enjoy a meal out where miracle of miracles, someone brings you a plate of delicious food on a dish that you don't have to clean yourself. (And make sure to follow all the mask protocols to keep staff safe while you're dining!)

If we want our neighborhood to remain vibrant, we will need to help the businesses that are working so hard to stay afloat. We've all seen the empty storefronts, and this latest round of curfew rules may further cut into business. Please check out our website, www.phansf.org, for a list of local businesses and please, if you can, BUY LOCAL.

And if you have a moment, please consider supporting PHAN. We are an all-volunteer neighborhood association, and we rely on annual dues from members to pay for our website, mailings, and neighborhood events, among other costs. Our influence at City Hall as a neighborhood association comes from the number of dues-paying members we have, and we purposefully keep our annual dues low for this reason.

If you live in the neighborhood, please take the time to pay your annual dues of $40 with PayPal or by sending a check to PHAN, P.O. Box 29503, SF, CA 94129. And if you can forward this email to your neighbor, we would be most obliged as we were not able to do our regular membership leaflet drop due to the pandemic. Thank you!

As always, feel free to reach out to us by emailing us at info@phansf.org. We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season.

Be well! Be safe!


Presidio Heights Association of Neighbors (PHAN)
Latest Rules from Department of Health; Low Covid-19 Infection Rate in Presidio Heights
As the city returns to the purple tier, you can go to this DPH page for an easy to navigate list of what is allowed or not allowed under the latest set of orders from City Hall.

Also, you can find the latest about Covid-19 cases in the neighborhood on the DPH site. As of November 23, 2020, in census tract 133, which covers an area between Pacific and California, and Arguello and Lyon, there were 16 new coronavirus cases among 4,729 residents during the last 30 days. This rate is among the lowest in the city. (The city's data table (left) includes Laurel Heights and parts of Lower Pacific Heights in its definition of Presidio Heights for an overall case count of 54 cases in the last 30 days, which makes it among the highest new case rates).

You can review the data here on the SF Department of Health website.
The Slow Streets of San Francisco:
Clay Street Designated Slow Street
By now, it's old news but in October, SFMTA's Slow Streets program came to Presidio Heights with the introduction of Clay Street to the program. Clay Street is designated a "Slow Street" from Arguello to Steiner. Due to a shortage of signs, not all intersections of Clay Street are marked.

According to SFMTA, "There is no change to parking or resident access with these street restrictions. Local vehicle traffic will continue to be accommodated on all Slow Streets, and no changes to disabled parking are proposed. Due to other public safety staffing commitments, these streets are designed to be self-enforcing."

Note the self-enforcing aspect of the program, and please use your common sense as you navigate the street. We all still need to share the road, and with increased vehicle traffic on Washington and Sacramento Streets, it's important for all of us, whether biking, walking, running or driving, to pay attention.

According to SFMTA Director Jeff Tumlin, Slow Streets in the most popular transportation program ever rolled out by the city. A recent survey of the Lake Street Slow Street Program bears that out and, you can read more about survey results here. The city plans to do further surveys of Slow Streets, and if you have feedback you wish to share, email slowstreets@sfmta.com or send a message via Twitter to @SFMTA_Muni.
Will This Road Construction Ever End?
Shortly before the city shut down for Covid-19, and just in time for people working from home and students zooming to school, the city embarked on Public Works Renovation Project No. 38, a sewer line and street excavation project affecting:

  • Jackson Street, Cherry Street to Presidio Ave.
  • Laurel Street, Pacific to Mayfair Drive  
  • Sacramento Street, Arguello Blvd. to Presidio Ave.  
  • Spruce Street, Pacific to Mayfair Drive
  • Locust Street, Jackson to Clay

According to DPW, "Work will consist of: sewer main replacement, ADA curb ramp construction, street base repairs and pavement renovation, including roadway grinding and paving. traffic control and all associated work. Sewer work will involve some street excavation to install new utilities and will be followed by pavement renovation (i.e. grinding and paving) activity once all utility work is complete. No interruption of sewer service is expected during construction. There may be a delay between utility work and final roadway renovation activity."

The work was meant to be completed by September 2020, but since it's 2020, AND we're in a pandemic, AND this is San Francisco where construction seems to take forever, there are delays with repaving and the Spruce and Locust sewer replacement may go into 2021. Residents with questions, thoughts, and/or complaints can reach out to the Victor Godinez, the project manager with Esquivel Grading, the company doing this work. His number is 415-568-5700 and after hours, 415-354-4870. At DPW, you can reach out to Grace Moore, grace.moore@sfdpw.org or 415-558-5282.
Sacramento Street Holiday Window Contest
This year, the Sacramento Street Merchants Association is hosting a Holiday Window Decoration Contest. If you can't make it downtown to Union Square, which seems mostly boarded up, or if you're missing the dazzling store windows of Fifth Avenue in New York City, a stroll down Sacramento Street might do the trick. From December 9th to 25th, you can vote for your favorite window by clicking on the QR code in a participating shop's window or by going to sacramentostreetsf.com.

Spearheaded by Ken Griffin, the new owner of Button Down, the contest will add some much needed cheer to the Sacramento Street corridor. Merchants participating in the contest include: Susan/The Grocery Store, Tracy Simmons Design, Acuity Vision Optometry Boutique, Beau Beauty Bar & Barbershop, Button Down, Allison Caccoma Decoration, Found by Maja, Hudson Grace, Sue Fisher King, The Bar Code, Alys Grace, FLEUR*T, betty lin, mr. lin, Katharine Webster Inc. Landscape Design and Bright on Presidio.

Participating retailers will also have a "Shop Local" tote available at their stores. So take a stroll down Sacramento Street and beyond to enjoy the holiday windows and vote for your favorite. If this takes off, it will hopefully be an annual event that brings more shoppers to the neighborhood.
Offering A Helping Hand...
During the holiday season, there are many organizations seeking help for those in need. If you have a cause that you'd like to include in this list, please reach out to info@phansf.org.

Where you can volunteer:

  • Helping older, vulnerable adults: The City and Shanti Project have joined forces to field volunteers for reach out to older adults who cannot leave their homes. More information can be found here.
  • SF & Marin Food Bank: Needs volunteers at their warehouse and their pop-up pantries which are providing food at various public schools around the city. Learn more here.
  • Meals on Wheels: Is in acute need for volunteer help. Go to their website to learn more.
  • Project Open Hand: Also is seeking volunteers to help prepare and distribute meals. Find out more here.
  • Giving Blood: A shortage of blood is becoming a larger problem, and medical professionals state that blood donation can be done safely. Check the Red Cross and Vitalant websites.
  • Donating Masks: If you have equipment that you believe would be helpful to healthcare workers, this website will help you find a donation site.

Where to donate:

There are no shortage of worthy causes during this crisis. From nonprofits to restaurants to schools, there are many ways to help out. Here are a few options that have a neighborhood focus:

  • Lunches for public school students: SFUSD is soliciting donations to support its effort to provide meals to students during the school closure which has been extended to May 1. More information can be found here.
  • Covid-19 Relief Funds: The City has set up a fund to assist nonprofits, small businesses, individuals and families. More information can be found here.

If you know of other efforts to volunteer or support causes with a neighborhood impact, please email us at info@phansf.org, and we will share that information in a future newsletter.
Parking Enforcement Reminders
It's probably no surprise that parking enforcement has returned. Active parking enforcement includes:

  • Street cleaning
  • All “No Stopping” or “No Parking” zones
  • Posted construction zones
  • Towing where indicated on posted signs and Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes
  • Parking in bike or transit lanes
  • Blocked driveways
  • Double parking
  • Parking on sidewalks
  • Fire hydrant zones
  • Red, yellow and green zones
  • White passenger loading zones, except in front of schools while they are out of session
  • Parking meters and all time-limited parking (e.g., 1-hour, 2-hour, etc.) where there are no meters
  • Residential Permit Parking (RPP) permits. One Day Permits set to expire on December 31, 2020 will be valid through June 30, 2021.

For more information about traffic enforcement and MUNI schedules, go to the SFMTA website which has specific information related to Covid-19 transportation schedules and protocols.
Helpful Websites & Resources

Here are a few websites we have found helpful to keep up with coronavirus information:
 

Forward This Newsletter!
Join PHAN! We Need Your Support!
As noted above, if you aren't yet a member of PHAN or want to pay your annual dues, it's easy. Go to our website www.phansf.org to pay via PayPal or send a check to PHAN at P.O. Box 29503, San Francisco, CA 94129. Thank you!

Tips? Comments? Questions? Concerns?
You can reach out to PHAN by emailing info@phansf.org. Let us know what we should include in future newsletters, send us comments, suggestions or corrections. We are not the NYT, but we do our best to get it right and are open to suggestions!