The Tenderloin Voice

Around two dozen Tenderloin residents were displaced by a fire that tore through the apartments at 675 O’Farrell St. in late May. The San Francisco Fire Department received multiple calls about the fire at 6:40 p.m. on May 22 and arrived quickly, getting it under control within 10 minutes, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. Nevertheless, tenants say none of them have been able to move back into any of the units.

The fight over San Francisco budget cuts is ongoing, and organizers are pressing legislators to restore funding for critical services and programs. Read on for the latest update on what’s endangered and how you can get involved. Some organizations serving Tenderloin residents have been spared the knife in recent weeks, but many are still facing budget reductions as part of legislators’ efforts to balance San Francisco’s deficit, estimated at $642 million over the next two years.

latest Protesters inside City Hall. Photos by Chad Church. A crowd was growing in front of the entrance to Room 200 in City Hall — San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office. Anya Worley-Ziegmann, the coordinator for the People’s Budget Coalition, addressed the throngs that stretched both ways down the halls, and ignited them into a booming chant. “We want the mayor!” they yelled, echoing through the building. But Lurie’s door remained shut, and the mayor did not emerge.

latest Noah, Daphne, and Laura. Photo by David I. Lewis. Hi neighbors! What an incredible month it’s been. Nearly 200 people rallied against cuts to the Tenderloin in the city’s proposed budget, many shared their funding priorities at Public Comment Day, and then huge swaths of the cuts to nonprofit organizations and programs were restored.

Something was missing in my life, and I couldn’t figure out what it was. It was a beautiful spring morning in April 2024, just like any other day, and I started reflecting. I got up every morning, went to work, had a circle of friends, a few commitments, and even enjoyed treating myself to nice vacations. But I was still feeling an emptiness inside. A spiritual void inside me that needed something to fill it. That day, I put my finger on the problem: I was about to turn 60 years old.

According to Anya Worley-Ziegmann, a budget wonk and coordinator with the People’s Budget Coalition, it’s going to take never-before-seen turnout and pressure to win back funding for essential services that are on the chopping block. "It's going to have to be unprecedented,” Worley-Ziegmann said at a town-hall-style meeting on June 5. Mayor Daniel Lurie released his full proposed budget for the city on June 1.

My father had a really rough life. And everything he accomplished, took a lot out of him. He never gave up, he kept moving forward. That means a lot to me — because I think I’m the same way. His name was Clarence Ezekiel Block and he was a Golden Gloves boxer, born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He moved to San Francisco in his early adulthood, and he lived in Bayview-Hunters Point. Everybody knew him. And he was very interesting.

Note: After a month away, the Tenderloin Voice is happy to be back! This week we resume publishing stories. There’s a lot of negativity going around these days, and good reasons for it, says Ray Orfiano. Homelessness, drug overdoses, the perennial housing affordability crisis, politics in general — it’s all quite depressing, he told me. He knows many people who feel that way. In recent months, the stressors escalated.

Nearly 200 Tenderloin residents, workers, and allies rallied on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday to demand that legislators find a way to restore funding slated to be cut from programs and services in the neighborhood. “We’re here today because the Tenderloin is facing proposed budget cuts that would hurt real people,” said Curtis Bradford, community organizing manager for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, a local housing provider. “We stand together, Tenderloin.

latest Tenderloin organizations are facing budget cuts — including Hospitality House, shown here outside their Sixth Street Self-Help Center, which is slated to lose funding. The cuts would weaken the city’s social safety net, says Executive Director Joe Wilson, right. Photo courtesy Hospitality House.