Naming SFO terminal after Lee up in the air
The idea of renaming San Francisco airport’s International Terminal for the late Mayor Ed Lee is running into headwinds — and one reason is that some feel the honor should go to Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
“It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” said Chinese community activist David Ho.
With the Dec. 12 anniversary of Lee’s death in two days, a Chinatown vigil is planned to bring renewed attention to the idea of honoring the city’s first Asian American mayor by naming one of the airport’s
biggest terminals after him.
There is also a call to rename Chinatown’s Portsmouth Square, the former Justin Herman Plaza or even the city’s Harding Park golf club near Lake Merced after Lee, who was an avid golfer.
But it was the proposal to rename SFO’s International Terminal for Lee that earned the blessing of his widow, Anita Lee, and their daughters. The Chinese community quickly rallied around the proposal, submitting 20,000 signatures to the airport commission in support of the idea.
While not dismissing renaming the terminal out of hand, airport staff have suggested four alternatives, most notably renaming the building’s main check-in hall for Lee. Other ideas include a quiet reflection area in the back of the departure hall, a triangular landscaped area outside the building and a waiting spot outside of customs.
For years, however, there has been a reluctance to rename the terminal, in part because many feel that the honor should go to Feinstein, a former mayor who was a key figure in the airport’s development.
The deference to Feinstein was also one of the reasons why former Supervisor David Campos’ effort to get the entire airport named after gay rights icon Harvey Milk fell short.
Milk’s name instead went on the domestic terminal.
Still, Anni Chung, who sits on the renaming task force, tells us Lee’s backers are sticking to their guns.
“The community has been steadfast and consistent since day one that we would like the airport to rename the International Terminal after Ed,” Chung said. Street RX: They have become as much a part of the city streetscape as the homeless — drug dealers who sell hundreds of $10 bindles of cocaine, Fentanyl and heroin on Tenderloin and South of Market street corners while rolling in and out of jail.
On the night of Nov. 29, for example, a suspect known as Cena was arrested at the corner of Turk and Larkin streets with 237 bindles of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl. At the time of the bust, Cena was out of jail awaiting trial on an earlier arrest.
Another example is Carlos V., who was arrested for possession of 197 bindles of heroin, cocaine and meth on Nov. 18.
Like Cena, Carlos V. was awaiting trial for a previous drug arrest. He was also under court order to stay out of the Tenderloin.
Cena and Carlos V. account for two of the 288 arrests made by police since October under an ongoing surveillance operation designed to clean up downtown. Their arrests also count among the 600 drug dealing busts in the Tenderloin this year.
While the ultimate goal is to drive the dealers away, given the revolving door at the Hall of Justice, the suspects often are back on the streets within days.
But if they can’t get rid of them, the police can make the dealers’ lives as miserable as possible by seizing their product and cash. Police seized 1,072 bindles of heroin, cocaine, meth and fentanyl in the Tenderloin and South of Market from Oct. 2 to Nov 7.
“If we can, we will make a case and charge them,” said Police Chief Bill Scott. “If not, we can make it difficult for them.”
The renewed surveillance and “buy-bust” operations come after years of criticism that such programs unfairly singled out minorities and that they weren’t a long-term solution to the drug problem.
But with the election of Mayor London Breed, who has gotten an earful from residents fed up with the sordid street life, word has gone out to clean up the streets.
Breed said the goal is to bring the rights of suspected criminals and the rights of the general public back into balance.
While Breed said she supports treatment for drug users, “the fact is we can’t tolerate illegal behavior on our streets in any part of the city,” she said. “We will help those who need help, but law enforcement is out there doing their job.”
The change is already being felt in the courts.
“In October, we easily saw a doubling in the number of felony drug cases over any recent month, and it does seem to coincide with news that Mayor Breed is unhappy with the state of things,” said Danielle Harris, who heads the felony drug division in the Public Defender’s Office.
Harris said similar crackdowns have been tried before and have had little long-term impact.
“They go after the low-level dealers, and someone always takes their place,” Harris said.
Maybe, but Scott says he plans to keep up the pressure.
“People tend to take the easy route, and when we are doing what we are supposed to do as police, it makes it more difficult for them to do what they do.”
“So I think we win either way,” Scott said.
San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call 415-777-8815, or email matierandross@ sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross