On behalf of the TLCBD Board of Directors & Staff

we wish you a happy and healthy 2020.

As we look back at 2019, we take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all of our neighbors—including property owners, merchants, residents, community and city partners—who have helped to make many of these milestone moments of 2019 a reality.

TLCBD Renewed with Resounding Support – A Moment to Refine our Vision & Core Values

The district’s property owners renewed their investment in our services for the benefit of everyone who lives, works, and visits the Tenderloin. Thank you!

We were beyond grateful for the overwhelming show of support at City Hall as community members shared personal stories about their connection to staff including Safe Passage Corner Captains and Clean Team. They talked about the difference we make in their daily lives and most of all their connection to the neighborhood.

Through the renewal, TLCBD Staff and Board worked to refine a key set of core values—Connection, Respect, Responsibility, and Courage—that will serve as the foundation of all we do for years to come.

TL Talk LIVE event introduces the TL Thrives Initiative, a formal response to the open drug market in the Tenderloin

Each of our quarterly TL Talk LIVE events are special in their own right, however, the one in March with District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney stood out as this was the introduction of TL Thrives, an initiative for addressing the harm caused as the result of the open air drug trade in the Tenderloin.

Following the event, Supervisor Matt Haney introduced legislation to enact a City Task Force in response to the issue of open drug markets in District 6. The City began accepting applications and filled Task Force seats with a mix of individuals with relevant expertise, direct experience, and others who have been deeply impacted as well as three appointees from the criminal justice system.

TLCBD will continue to work on this persistent issue in 2020.

Block Safety Groups Unite! 1st Annual Tenderloin Block Safety Day & Safety Trainings Begin

TLCBD believes Block Groups are an important component of building toward our greater vision of a vibrant community for ALL. In 2019, we formally began Block Safety trainings, facilitation, and other projects to support community members who are taking an active role in the neighborhood. In August, various Tenderloin Block Groups came together for the first TL Block Safety Day event. Click here for more information and photos from the event.

In 2020, we will continue to support Block Safety Groups, and their vision for “community pride through environmental design” with unique place-based projects. If you’re interested in connecting with your block safety group or starting your own, contact [email protected].

TLCBD Clean Team Expands ‘Micro Neighborhood’ Strategy to Entire District

In April, the TLCBD was able to transition the entire district into a micro neighborhood strategy for sidewalk sweeping, creating six geographic areas with a dedicated cleaner that would cover the route a minimum of three times in one day. 

This service will be supported through the assessment, but the initial test period in 2019 was established through the public and private support of SF OEWD, District 6 Supervisor’s Office, Hilton Hotels, Discretionary Award from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Tilden Hotel, PAE Consulting Engineers, and more. 

Tenderloin rallies for safer streets. From the Pedestrian Safety Outreach Campaign to Safe Streets for Seniors Day, safer sidewalks need to remain a top focus in 2020

While 2019 was a staggering year for traffic violence, the community came together to put an end to these tragedies. Through the collective efforts of the TL Traffic Safety Task Force, pedestrian safety rallies, and other community efforts, we’ve collectively pushed for the City to treat pedestrian safety as an urgent issue. Change is underway, including updated crosswalk and traffic signals in the Tenderloin. TLCBD began a Pedestrian Safety Outreach Campaign to build awareness around these changes. This year also marked the first Safe Streets for Seniors Day, co-organized by the Curry Senior Center and TLCBD.

A Year for Tenderloin Parks: Boeddeker Park Five Year Anniversary, Walk for Wellness & Sgt. John Macaulay and Turk + Hyde Mini park Groundbreaking

2019 marked the Boeddeker Five Year Anniversary since its transformation and saw a Groundbreaking Ceremony marking the commencement of future transformations at Turk + Hyde Mini Park and Sgt. John Macaulay Park. Both parks are scheduled to reopen in early 2020. The 2019 Walk for Wellness offered up a day for exploring our neighborhood green spaces.

In 2020, expect to see more projects which connect, activate, and implement improvements in our public spaces, along with the addition of the Director of Inviting Space position at TLCBD.

4 Corner Friday receives additional funding, leading to grants for neighborhood groups  

Every first Friday of the month is “Four Corner Friday!” when neighbors including community groups, merchants, and residents activate their corners, meet new people, and have fun. This year, with support from Twitter for Good, the community wide event saw new giveaway goodies, a passport/bingo component, branding for all participating groups as well as grants for neighborhood groups to fund everything from therapeutic massages to music, art projects, and more. The funding was also used to support the Tenderloin-wide Halloween Crawl. Find photos from past events and info on participating in the future here.

The Tenderloin Camera Program Expands

Through a significant grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, TLCBD was able to greatly expand the Camera Network, more than doubling the coverage area. The cameras are never monitored in real time and only used to gather footage in response to specific requests in accordance with our usage policies. The Tenderloin Camera Network was established to help improve the quality of life and safety in the Tenderloin.

TLCBD announces increased pressure washing service-from once a month to once a week

In December, TLCBD announced a dramatic increase to Tenderloin sidewalk pressure washing frequency-from once a month to once a week. TLCBD was joined by District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney, City agencies, and Tenderloin community members—including residents, merchants, and property owners—in welcoming the increased pressure washing program while calling on community and City to work together for a cleaner neighborhood. Find the full story, photos, press coverage, and weekly schedule here.

Note this schedule may be subject to change in 2020 as we get improve our work in the new TLCBD boundaries.

TLCBD leads ‘Love Our City’ Hospitality & Tourism Clean Up Day in the Tenderloin, including additional tree planting

This year’s citywide ‘Love Our City’ clean up event, organized by the City of San Francisco, Public Works, San Francisco Travel, and the Hotel Council, served as an opportunity for volunteers in the hospitality and tourism industry to engage with their neighbors and give back to the City. In the Tenderloin, the TLCBD led the effort by coordinating painting in Veterans Alley, cleaning, gardening at the SF Senior Center, and the planting of trees throughout the Tenderloin. Since late 2018 the TLCBD helped to bring over 30 trees to the neighborhood. Find photos from the ‘Love Our City’ event here.