A diverse audience of community leaders, advocates and residents filled The Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics on Sept. 23 to discuss the rapid changes happening in the Mission.
The forum was moderated by Rose Aguilar, host of “Have Your Say” on FM 91.7 KALW, with a panel of community and merchant organizations from the Mission, as well as members of City Hall, who spoke about the ongoing displacement of long-term residents and businesses.
“San Francisco now has the highest rent in the country, beating New York City. Recent statistics show someone would need at least five minimum wage jobs to afford living here,” said Aguilar: her words were met with a collective sigh of the audience. “Last week at the free clothing giveaway at the St. Anthony’s Foundation, they told me demand from homeless families is up 30 percent.”
District 9 Supervisor David Campos said that “City Hall is largely responsible for what is happening. This development is for some people, but many are left out. We’re at a crossroads of who we are as a city.”
Laura Guzman, executive director of homeless non-profit Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, said: “the Mission is starting to look ugly, and I’m not talking about these huge condos they’re building. We shouldn’t be seeing this level of poverty in the City, it is criminal.”
Gabriel Medina, of Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), spoke about the challenges created by tech jobs coming to the city as multi-billion dollar companies like Twitter and Facebook move in.
“78 percent of students in San Francisco are students of color, but only 5 percent of coders are black and Latino. Are these new jobs going to go to people who grew up here? No, not really,” Medina said.
Medina also described how the business climate is being disrupted by companies that can afford triple rents, edging out legacy businesses that are passed down for generations.
Erick Arguello of Lower 24th Street Merchants and Neighbors Association, mentioned three recent Ellis Act related evictions, two near Harrison Street and the other by Utah Street. “Evicting residents is hurting local businesses, who rely on local families to patronize them,” he said.
Oscar Grande of People Organizing to Demand Economic and Environmental Rights (PODER) spoke about making surplus public land an asset to the community. “It’s our right to reclaim this land, if not, it goes to the highest bidder,” he said. “Where else will we get respite from this urban grind?”