What’s happening in Hayes Valley isn’t just wrong it’s a warning of how far San Francisco’s governance has fallen.
Let’s be frank, this isn’t just about one ordinance — it’s about a deeper failure of representation in San Francisco. If anything comes from this debacle, let it be a wake-up call…one that forces us to confront what’s broken, and who’s being left out. From Lake Street to Valencia, the Upper Great Highway, Hayes Street and now the Entertainment Zone… the failures are stacking up. And we’re standing up to say: Enough.
The passage of the Hayes Valley Entertainment Zone ordinance advanced without public notice and over overwhelming community opposition marks the institutionalization of a broken process. We’re launching this petition to sound the alarm. This isn’t just about one block, or one neighborhood it’s about a citywide failure of representation. Hayes Valley is taking a stand to expose the root problem: when governance is reduced to a closed loop of insiders, public trust collapses. This model is unsustainable, and we’re calling for a sea change.
What began as a temporary street closure has now become a 20-block policy shift, pushed through behind closed doors by a narrow set of insiders. Residents, independent retailers, and small businesses were sidelined. Daily, our coalition continues to encounter neighbors and businesses who had no idea this was happening (testifying that they received no notice, no communication, and no opportunity to participate in a policy process).
It’s unconscionable what has happened here under a newly elected Supervisor who has chosen to work intimately with a nonprofit we’ve repeatedly identified as unrepresentative of Hayes Valley Proper. Agencies we’ve worked with for years (SFMTA, ISCOTT, Planning, and others) know we’ve been here engaged, organizing, communicating, and showing up; our efforts are part of the public record. At this point, it’s undeniable that we are a stakeholder force, and yet we have been deliberately excluded from conversations about major neighborhood policies, all while Bilal Mahmood remains at the helm. So when the announcement of Bilal Mahmood’s 20-block Entertainment Zone rollout arrived as a press stunt and when disclosures later revealed that HVNA (a nonprofit that actively campaigned for him) was not only informed, but central to the planning we have to call it what it is: a closed-door, insider-driven process where political access determines outcomes.
Though the ordinance has now been quietly signed into law on June 27 by Mayor Daniel Lurie, the fight is not over. We believe this moment must serve as a turning point one that forces a broader reckoning with how policy is made, who gets heard, and who gets left behind. Because the Entertainment Zone designation in Hayes Valley is just the latest symptom of this systemic failure, we are called on Mayor Daniel Lurie to veto this ordinance. After all, he campaigned on being an outsider someone who would challenge the status quo and restore trust in government. Here’s the test: in Hayes Valley, those who showed up, did the work, and built real community credibility were still sidelined… while those with political ties and financial leverage were brought in first. We’re not just excluded; we watched outcomes deliberately shaped to favor insiders – even as we’re the ones most impacted.
To stay the course without any acknowledgment of how broken this process has become would only further erode public trust. We are compelled to take this stand now, because we know what happens when these patterns go unchecked. If history is any guide, what’s coming next should deeply concern everyone who cares about fair, inclusive, and accountable government.
If this ordinance remains law, it will stand as proof that City Hall no longer sees value in public input and that governance in San Francisco is no longer working for the people it’s supposed to serve.
Add your name. Demand accountability. Help send a resounding message to 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place: this cannot continue.
This petition is directed to City Hall at large — the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, and every agency enabling a system that excludes real constituents.