Peskin backs fund to help displaced vendors
Mayor Ed Lee has to be relieved that Super Bowl 50 went off as well as could be hoped for, given the criticism leading up to the event about its cost and impact on city services.
But wrangling over the money — both lost and gained — remains.
On Tuesday, Supervisor Aaron Peskin introduced legislation to create a $ 100,000 fund to compensate the street artists, food vendors, shoe shiners and other small- business owners who were displaced by Super Bowl City. The money would come from the city’s budget reserves.
Supervisor Scott Wiener also announced he has asked for legislation to be drafted that would prioritize Super Bowl revenues for moving homeless people living in tents off the streets.
Peskin’s legislation is in response to the 100 vendors who have permits to sell their wares at Justin Herman Plaza but were kept from that location during the run- up to the Super Bowl.
In their place behind a secure perimeter was a fantasyland for football fans that included a 40- foot dome with interactive games and two music stages that featured concerts by Alicia Keys and Chris Isaak, among others.
“The city has a moral obligation to compensate our own tenants that we kick to the curb,” Peskin said. “These are all folks who are living hand to mouth and have been a part of the fabric of Justin Herman Plaza for decades.”
The legislation, which Supervisor Jane Kim is co- sponsoring, does not include criteria for applying for money from the fund. Peskin said that would be fleshed out in future legislation.
Wiener’s proposed legislation is in its nascent stages. He said he wants to use revenue from the Super Bowl to move people off the streets and into shelters.
It’s not without controversy. Homeless advocates have characterized Wiener’s push to get the city to enforce a ban on tents in public spaces as inhumane and a “low blow to people struggling to survive.” Wiener hasn’t backed down. “The tent situation on our sidewalks is completely unacceptable,” he said Tuesday. “It’s inhumane, unsafe and unhealthy for the people living in the tents, and it’s unsafe and unhealthy for the surrounding neighborhoods.”
While there is no end of disagreement about the Super Bowl, spending money on dogs and cats has support across the ideological spectrum.
On Tuesday, Supervisor Katy Tang introduced legislation with eight co- sponsors to ensure that the city moves its Animal Care & Control facility to a modern, seismically safe location.
Tang introduced the ordinance after the mayor’s office removed $ 54 million in funding for a facility from a $ 350 million bond that will go before voters on the June ballot. The mayor’s office was concerned that keeping that money in the bond would send the wrong message at a time when San Francisco is facing a housing and homelessness crisis.
Tang’s legislation ensures the new facility will be built through certificates of participation, which rely on the city’s general fund to repay the debt. Funding the facility through certificates of participation will cost roughly $ 36 million more than if it had been paid for through the general fund bond, Tang said. But she said it’s worth it. “It is estimated we have more dogs than children in San Francisco. And people will do anything for their animals,” she said. “We need to make sure during an earthquake or any other natural disaster this building will hold up.”