Diana’s Digest: Highlights of Supervisor Peskin’s January Newsletter

Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association President Diana Taylor has some highlights to share from Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s most recent newsletter to District 3 constituents. Click here if you’d like to subscribe.

A new white house helps SF: President Biden signed an Executive Order committing to 100% FEMA reimbursement for our Shelter In Place hotel rooms for the homeless through September, which will allow the city more time to identify permanent supportive housing for our homeless population.

Saving Chinatown: While every neighborhood across San Francisco has suffered as a result of the pandemic, Chinatown has been especially hard-hit, with national press sounding the alarm at its imminent extinction.

How We Can Help Support Chinatown

  • Order Take-out from Chinatown Restaurants – The Rose Pak Democratic Club has published a handy promotional guide on delicious restaurants who need your support. You just might find a new favorite dish!
  • Donate to the Chinatown Feed + Fuel Chinatown 2.0 – While the $2.5 million in emergency relief will help feed residents for eight weeks, fundraising continues to get them through the pandemic. Please help spread the word or donate here to extend the restaurant relief and food security program!

Right to Recover Program: The Right to Recover Program offers one-time financial support of $1,285 to those who need monetary resources in order to isolate after testing positive for COVID-19. The city recently announced an additional $6 million to ensure that essential workers don’t risk transmitting COVID-19 just because they can’t afford to miss work.

Get Vaccinated: The supply of the vaccine continues to be extremely scarce. Although the city has little control over the supply of the vaccine, officials are working diligently to create an infrastructure to quickly notify everyone with language and cultural competency as the vaccine becomes available.

Three high-volume vaccination sites are opening at City College of San Francisco’s main campus on Ocean Avenue, Moscone Center in SOMA, and SF Market in Bayview, which will serve anyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine regardless of health coverage. Smaller scale vaccination sites at clinics, community hubs, and mobile vaccination sites, are also on the pipeline to serve communities highly-impacted by COVID-19.

Check Your Vaccine Eligibility: To check your eligibility for the vaccine and get notifications for when you become eligible, please sign up at https://sf.gov/get-notified-when-youre-eligible-covid-19-vaccine

District 3 Safety Forum: Supervisor Peskin has asked Chief Bill Scott and District Attorney Chesa Boudin, in partnership with SF Safe, to host a District 3 public safety forum to update constituents and small businesses on the city’s strategy for addressing crime during COVID-19, as well as offer insights as to what we all can do to support neighborhood safety. The event is targeting the first week of February. Meanwhile, Supervisor Peskin’s office wants to hear from you if you have any questions for him or public safety officials. Please send email to Calvin Yan, so your inquiries can be included in the presentation.

Where to Get Your COVID-19 Vaccination

The Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association would like to make available what we know about COVID-19 vaccine appointments (information courtesy of our friends at NEXTVillage SF). Please contact your medical provider for questions about your eligibility or how to make an appointment. Stay well!

California Department of Public Health

Visit the CDPH COVID-19 vaccine website to learn more about the vaccine, the state vaccine distribution plan, and answers to many of the questions you may have about safety, availability, and how the vaccines work.

Sutter Health 

If you are a patient at Sutter Health, you can sign into your “My Health Online” account to try to make an appointment. You may need to check back a few times to find an available appointment. Or, you can call 844-987-6115 to make an appointment. They warn that there may be long wait times on the phone though. Click here to learn more about Sutter Health’s COVID-19 vaccine appointments.

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is in their first phase of vaccine distribution, which includes adults 65+. You can call 866-454-8855 to try to make an appointment. There is more detail about vaccine availability on the Kaiser website.

Get in the Holiday Spirit With World-Famous Light Art

Enjoy world-famous light art safely on the “Illuminate SF Light Art Trail,” presented by the San Francisco Travel Association in collaboration with local civic, arts and cultural partners. Now in its eighth year, the “Illuminate SF Festival of Light” celebrates over 40 dramatic, eco-friendly light art installations located throughout San Francisco. Across the city’s 49 square miles, there are 34 permanent light installations (four new this year), four temporary light installations, eight permanent light installations at SFO, and multiple lights in Golden Gate Park.

Click here for directions to follow the trail by foot and public transportation.

Click here for a guide to all of the installations and artists.

Printable Illuminate SF Light Art Trail Guide

Printable Illuminate SF Festival of Light Trail Map & Directions