Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District December Update

December 2015

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Hello!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is over. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and you were able to spend time with family and friends. The winter holidays are now upon us! The trees on Market Street are lit with holiday lights and the CBD will be lighting the Jane Warner Plaza with tree lights and a wreath.

A lot is happening in the Castro beginning today:

Castro Holiday Tree Lighting -Tonight (November 30th) at 6 pm the Castro Merchants will hold the annual Holiday Tree lighting in front of the Bank of America at Castro & 18th Street. Donna Sachet will host the event and there will be holiday music by the LGBT Freedom Band, the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of S.F., and the SF Gay Men's Chorus. Santa and his elves will also drop by to say hi!

INSCRIBE on World AIDS Day, Tuesday December 1st - at 10am, George Kelly, long-time volunteer with the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy has organized a very special event bringing together the 4th & 5th grade students with long term AIDS survivors to inscribe the names of people on the sidewalk who have been lost to AIDS. INSCRIBE invites merchants, residents and visitors to share their memories and draw pictures, write names of those who have passed. Chalk will be provided. Click here, to read about the event on Hoodline.

Live! In The Castro - in December will feature

Mert Ozel Wednesday at 5 p.m. on 12/2 & 12/16 at 5:00 p.m., Jane Warner Plaza (Castro & Market).

Mert Ozel's music can be found here.

Jessica Jirsa - will be back to the Plaza with her plein air art on Saturday 12/5 at 11:00 a.m. in the Jane Warner Plaza (Castro & Market)

Menorah Lighting - December 9th at 6 pm Congregation Shar'ar Zahav will be holding a Menorah lighting in the Jane Warner Plaza. People are encouraged to bring your own menorah and participate in the lighting of the candles.

Santa Skivvies Run - December 13th, at the LOOKOUT (Market & Noe). The Santa Skivvies Run is one of San Francisco's most famous runs. It is a festive romp through the Castro benefitting the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Squareoling - Join the Western Star dancers for Square Dancing to holiday songs. December 13th, meet in Jane Warner Plaza at 2pm.

Castro Cares

Join your neighbors and merchants and donate to Castro Cares now!

Castro Cares funds homeless outreach workers and additional law enforcement dedicated to the Castro. For more information on Castro Cares visit the website at Castro Cares or call Andrea Aiello at 415-500-1181; email andrea@castrocbd.org.

The week of the December 21st, Castro Cares will be funding extra foot patrols in the form of SFPD Officers and Patrol Special Police in the Castro & Upper Market.

Castro CBD In The News

The Castro CBD's Executive Director, Andrea Aiello was recently featured in on Hoodline. Read more...

Happy Holidays!

Andrea

CBD Clean Team
Current Clean Team reports are available monthly on our website. The October report is HERE .

In one month, our Clean Team removed 81 instances of graffiti (painted) and 2530 stickers. Can you imagine what the cumulative effect would be after 1 year?

Walking through the district and spotting graffiti and trash? Call the CBD dispatch number 415-474-7536 to report graffiti or cleaning problems in the CBD footprint.

Upper Market Pedestrian Safety
The Castro CBD has been working with the SFMTA and the other neighborhood organizations in making pedestrian safety improvements on Upper Market. I'm sure you've all noticed the newly painted crossings and painted "bulb outs".
The SFMTA held a community workshop on November 18, 2015 to provide neighbors and local merchants with an opportunity to give input and propose solutions to better manage curb space in the Upper Market Street project area.
If you couldn't join but would like to give them feedback related to parking, loading, drop-off or other curb management concerns, please click here to access online survey form.

Castro/Upper Market CBD Meetings

Please see our website: www.castrocbd.org

for up to date information on the Castro CBD meeting schedule.

Finance Committee Meeting: Friday 12/4/15 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. 2355 Market St., Coldwell Banker
District Identity and Streetscape Improvement Committee Meeting: Monday 12/7/15 - 6 :00 - 7:30 p.m 2355 Market St., Coldwell Banke
Board of Directors Annual Meeting: Thursday 12/10/15 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. 501 Castro St., 2nd Floor (above the Bank of America)

All committee meetings are held at 2355 Market St.

All Castro / Upper Market Community Benefit District Meetings are open to the public with public comment taken at every meeting. The meeting agendas are posted on the CBD website 72 hours before every meeting.

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