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by Anna Morrow
"Over the last four years gentrification in the Mission
has gotten completely out of hand! .....now it’s time we
take things into our own hands! "
The emotionally charged words came from Lisa
Hernandez who told the crowd of mission residents,
artists, tenant advocates and recently homeless San
Franciscans, that her mother, a long time San Francisco
resident, had been forced out of her home by the
voracious appetite of the dot com dollar.
The crowd around 1660 Mission St. bursted into
cheering and clapping ; a rolling of Congo beats lifted up
into the air. The emcee of the protest, Oscar Grande of
PODER asked the crowd to raise their voices when they
felt compelled by one of the many speakers telling their
stories of eviction and/or gentrification. The target of the
angry voices were on the fifth floor of the large gray
concrete building at 1660 Mission st. A Mr. Gerald
Green Director of the San Francisco Planning
Department was concurrently presented with a letter from
five members of the Mission District Anti-Displacement
Coalition (MAC). The demands of the letter were:
1.Mr. Green and all staff members, including
senior staff members, attend a community
meeting scheduled for Wednesday June 28th, to
answer the demands of the community.
2.that zoning in the Mission be changed
immediately to protect our community from
further displacement
3.that there be no more development, including
pipeline projects, until permanent controls are in
place in the North East industrial zone and
protections are in place for the Mission Street
corridor and 24th Street corridor.
For the past four years, the Mission District as well
as other low income and working class multi-cultural,
immigrant, communities of color have borne the
brunt of gentrification caused by the booming
economy and un-checked development of live -work
lofts of high-tech multi -media offices. All parts of
our community, from small community serving
businesses to low income renters and non-profit
community based organizations, have been displaced.
The Planning department and commission have done
little to protect the most vulnerable residents,
businesses, and community based organizations. The
Department and Commission have blindly followed
the demands of powerful lobbyists and developers
and have overlooked the concerns of the low income
communities like the Mission.
As protesters raise their voices in sympathy and
solidarity to the stories being told by various speakers
it is clear that the plight of the Mission district is yet
another verse in
the song whose chorus is " Economic Boom For
Whom?????"
This is happening in the midst of a booming economy
that is increasing the gap between rich and poor, with
little if any response from city officials.
Last month the Planning Commission approved the
Bryant Square project despite the objections of
community residents. This 150,000 + square foot
project slated for 19th and Bryant streets would be
located right next to a residential area in the Mission.
Over 100 community members mobilized to oppose
the development believing that it would further
displace residents , erode community culture, and
increase traffic-- jeopardizing the safety of children,
seniors and families. Strong arguments made by the
community prompted a majority of Planning
Commissioners to agree that the project would cause
displacement and other problems in the
neighborhood. However the commission then
proceeded to approve the project by a 4 to 1 vote.
Like most of the people here today I represent one
generation of a multi generation San Francisco
family. I am sickened , saddened and outraged by the
careless handling of the our City’s destiny. The
essence of what makes San Francisco San Francisco,
the diversity which draws people from across the
globe, is being eroded and traded in favor of the
dollar. I am proud that we are here, taking a stand to
fight for what is rightly ours: the future of our lives
and communities, in our home - San Francisco. | 
