Rent-Relief Payouts Lag Far Behind Requests

Featured in the San Francisco Public Press:

This is the latest snapshot of financial assistance to San Franciscans with rent debt, which we have been tracking on this page since February. We publish updated figures each week, except in weeks when new data is unavailable.

Less than a month before statewide eviction protections expire on June 30, close to 51% of requested funds for rent assistance in San Francisco had been paid out.  

Over 25,000 San Francisco households had asked for over $348 million in rent and utility assistance from both state and local COVID-19 rent relief programs as of the week of June 6, according to government figures. The amount requested declined 6.7% between April 11 and June 6 as the state continued to weed out ineligible applications. The state stopped taking applications on March 31, more than a year after it opened a financial aid program to cover housing debt incurred by tenants due to pandemic hardship. 

Households whose applications have been approved by June 30 can stay an eviction even if they have not received payment yet.  

California passed legislation to ensure all eligible households who applied by the March 31 deadline will receive funding. Recent budget proposals would earmark additional money for rent relief. 

More than $133 million in rent and utilities requested from the state program by San Franciscans has been denied as of the week of June 6. 

The following figures include San Francisco residents’ requests from California’s COVID-19 Rent Relief Program and San Francisco’s original Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which stopped taking applications in September 2021. It does not include requests from the city’s newest rent relief program, which began accepting applications April 1. 

In 2021, California received $5.2 billion for emergency rental assistance funds from the federal government. The state has since acquired nearly one out of every three dollars of federal reallocations of unused funds from other states, for a total of $198 million.  

Rent debt in San Francisco is estimated to be $173.6 million as of May 2022, according to the National Equity Atlas rent debt dashboard.  

Tenants who have previously applied to the program and are awaiting rent relief are protected from eviction through June 30 for rent due between April 2020 and April 2022 under AB 2179. Under the same bill, local eviction protections passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors in March were voided. Local governments are barred from enacting any new eviction protections that would take effect before July 1. 

In response to the state’s move to cease accepting applications, the city reopened its own rent relief program for tenants who are seeking funds for rent debt accumulated in April and beyond. So far, it has distributed $2.24 million in funds to 425 households, and residents who need help are encouraged to apply. 

Last Friday, the city said 2,942 households had applied for assistance through the new program. Because most applications were for future rent, the department doesn’t know the exact amount requested, according to an email response from Audrey Abadilla, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.  

In its previous rent relief program, San Francisco assisted over 3,200 applicants with $21.7 million in relief. An additional $283,093 in requests from 60 households are yet to be processed. 

The statewide eviction moratorium, protecting tenants who could not pay rent because of COVID-19 hardship, was originally scheduled to end Jan. 31, 2021, but lawmakers extended it twice. Following the moratorium’s final end date, Sept. 30, San Francisco tenants became vulnerable to eviction for nonpayment of rent if they had not paid at least 25% of the rents due in the preceding 13 months, as well as October’s rent. 

However, California lawmakers did create some protections for renters who were unable to pay back rent after the moratorium expired. Tenants who applied to the state’s rent relief program before the deadline and were waiting on relief were protected from eviction through March 2022. State lawmakers in late March extended those protections through June 30. 

Even though they may have been barred from evicting some tenants, starting in November 2021, landlords could sue tenants to obtain unpaid rent that was due from March 2020 through September 2021. If a landlord pursues the debt in small claims court, they and the tenant must represent themselves in the courtroom. 

Are you facing eviction? Call the Eviction Defense Collaborative at (415) 659-9184 or send an email to legal@evictiondefense.org as soon as possible. The organization advises that tenants respond within five days of being served with court papers to avoid the risk of a default judgment against them.

Is your landlord suing you to recover pandemic rent debt? Go here to read our guide on how small claims court works, and how to argue your side of the case.

Stern Grove Festival Returns With Too Short, Toro y Moi, Taj Mahal and More

Featured in the San Francisco Standard:

Last year’s Stern Grove Festival was cut short in an unpredictable, non-Covid way: A water main broke on Sloat Blvd. above the grounds, sending more than 700,000 gallons of water sloshing down into the verdant amphitheater and resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damage. 

The flood forced organizers to cancel the final show of the season: The Big Picnic with Tower of Power and Too $hort. For the uninitiated, The Big Picnic is the grand finale event of the fest, which also serves as the biggest fundraising effort of the year. 

There were challenges in re-opening the Grove for this year’s 85th Summer Concert Series, but thanks to a prodigious push, Stern Grove is ready to welcome back locals, beginning on June 12. The 10-concert slate, helmed by second year Director of Programming Stacey Horne, seems aimed at attracting younger audiences by peppering the classics with plenty of cutting-edge cool. This year’s lineup is also packed with local legends and rising Bay Area stars, which is sure to give the hometown crowd plenty to be proud of.

Read on for our breakdown of this year’s shows, which we’ve broken down into five categories. Into indie? Toro y Moi, Cold War Kids and Cat Power have you covered. Feeling bluesy? Taj Mahal is a national treasure who certainly knows his way around 12 bars. Looking to get lost in the jam? Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh is sure to take a few extended solos.

All the concerts are free, but reservations are required. You can snag a spot on the Stern Grove Festival website beginning 12 days before each show—Tuesdays at 2 p.m. The gates open at noon every Sunday and the concerts begin at 2 p.m. You can bring your own chairs, food and drinks. Additional details can be found at sterngrove.org.

 

 

Courtesy Stern Grove Festival

 

The Ultimate Cure For Last Year’s Fomo

Tower of Power and Too Short w/ DJ Shortkut | June 12

When this bill was announced last year, it seemed highly improbable: A ’70s era funk and soul revue from Oakland with one of the grittiest rappers in the Bay? OK. But in so many ways, it speaks to the diversity and vibrance of our local music scene. It’s a beautiful world when you can dance alongside your mom to “What Is Hip?” while also taking a puff off a blunt with your dad to “Blow The Whistle” in the same afternoon. We highly recommended arriving early to catch DJ Shortkut warming up the crowd on the decks. The Daly City native is one of the best selectors and turntablists out there. And if you weren’t able to reserve tickets to this one, the whole show will be live streamed for free here.

Toro y Moi w Hello Yello | June 19
Liz Phair w/ Madi Diaz | June 26
Cold War Kids w/ Geographer | July 3
Cat Power w/ SPELLLING | July 17

You can’t really describe just how thorough of an indie music slate this year’s Stern Grove Festival has put together without running down the entire list. These four shows almost serve to tell the story of independent rock in the past 25 years. Tracing the arc from Cat Power’s charming late-’90s folk and Liz Phair’s always-punishing licks through the anthemic alternative of Cold War Kids to the laid back electronic vibes of Toro y Moi, one can see how home production techniques have evolved over the last three decades, as indie musicians moved from four-track cassette consoles to the virtually limitless capabilities of laptops. All the while they’ve continuously incorporated an increasingly sophisticated suite of software tools, which they’ve deployed to buck the influence of major label malarkey.

Come to hear how Cat Power’s sound expanded digitally on 2012’s Sun and now maintains its influence on her latest Covers album of takes from Frank Ocean to Billie Holiday. Come to hear Geographer run through his scene-defining electropop. Come to discover the unapologetic theatrics of Oakland’s immensely talented SPELLLING and the emerging Madi Diaz’s gorgeous songwriting. And come to hear how Berkeley’s Toro y Moi is a retro psychedelic-minded vessel for the prevalent sounds of today.  

LeAnn Rimes and Amythyst Kiah | July 24

For over 20 years, LeAnn Rimes has been at the vanguard of the Nashville scene. Her radio-ready country music has exemplified the genre’s push into pop and she’s a bonafide star who will be in San Francisco to positively rock amongst the trees at Stern Grove. But it’s a very mindful bill that also features Amythyst Kiah, a Queer Black woman who is one of the brightest spots in the more inclusive new look of Americana music. An accomplished solo artist, Kiah is also part of the Our Native Daughters roots music supergroup with the equally decorated Rhiannon Giddens, Layla McCalla and Allison Russell; all Black women in the orbit of country music. Kiah’s presence is a refreshing one, and her stellar songs (like the Grammy nominated “Black Myself”) deserve your attention.

A Glorious Afternoon of Blues And Soul 

Taj Mahal w/ Monophonics | August 7

At 80-years-old, Taj Mahal is still one of the most incredible performers in the business. The Harlem-born guitarist has continued to shape what constitutes “contemporary” blues music through his unique fingerpicking style and tunes that trace the origins of American roots music out into the wider world—all the way up to his recently released “Get On Board” album with Ry Cooder of songbook interpretations of Piedmont Blues musicians Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Monophonics will have their blue-eyed San Francisco psychedelic soul on board to wrap a bow on this early August day. Led by vocalist Kelly Finnigan, their music has an instantly vintage feel and is unique to anything else you’ll hear born from the city.

Feel Like It’s Summer of Love Again

The Big Picnic With Phil Lesh And Friends w/ Midnight North | August 14

The bassist and founding member of the Grateful Dead, Lesh has been criss-crossing the country as of late with his Phil Lesh and Friends Tour. The “friends” who showed up to a recent Palo Alto show included Scott Metzger, Joe Russo, John Scofield, Benmont Tench and Lesh’s son, Grahame, who performed with his band, Midnight North. Expect Lesh and company play classics and rarities from the Dead and more. Only time will tell who joins Lesh on stage for this one, but this feels like nothing short of a triumphant ending to the 85th season at Stern Grove. In the meantime, you can find me praying for the well-being of all water mains along Sloat Blvd.

 

San Francisco Night Ministry's 2022 Summer Solstice Show

A message from our partner - the San Francisco Night Ministry's BIG Summer Solstice Show is taking place and you can buy tickets on this link. Details are also below:

2022 Summer Solstice Show

Sat, Jun 18th 2022 at 5:00 PM PDT · By San Francisco Night Ministry 

 

There will be individual packets of delicious appetizers and desserts, and a wonderful variety show plus a magician.  We recommend being vaccinated and boosted and wearing masks except when eating.  We will be following St. Mark's and San Francisco protocols.

We hope to raise lots of money and see you there. There will be a live-stream available for those who prefer to watch from home. The link will be on our website at www.sfnightministry.org at the time of the event.  There will also be a reverse auction and opportunities to donate online or with a check if you prefer.

Please spread the word to your friends and anyone who may want to be there or watch remotely.  

 

Finally do let the Night Ministry know if you would like to help that day in any way.  There will be lots to do from 2-4:30 pm.

 

 

To Breathe Life Into SF’s Moribund Downtown, Breed Proposes New Help for Small Businesses

Featured in the San Francisco Standard:

Mayor London Breed has spent much of the last few months making the case to lure San Francisco workers back to their offices and—by extension—reactivating the city’s struggling economic core, which has suffered throughout the pandemic. 

In line with those priorities, Breed announced a budget proposal on Tuesday that would include $48 million directed at supporting the economic recovery in areas that have endured a dearth of workers and foot traffic. That includes the city’s Downtown, as well as areas like Mission Bay, Union Square and Mid-Market. 

“It has been very clear to us that if we do not collectively really dig down and look at our economic core then we are really not going to recover as a city,” Kate Sofis, the Director of the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said at a Tuesday forum hosted by SPUR.

The mayor’s funding proposal includes $10 million in direct grants and loans to small businesses across the city, plus another $10.5 million for the City Core Recovery Fund, which aims to reactivate underused public spaces and vacant ground-floor retail spaces through improvement projects, events and pop-ups. 

More than 42% of San Francisco’s small businesses and 30% of its total employment are located within the area defined as the city’s economic core, according to data from the Controller’s Office. 

“(W)hile it’s clear we are all committed to adapting and thriving as part of our long-term recovery, our small businesses in these downtown areas cannot wait any longer,” Breed said in a statement. 

Mayor London Breed addresses the crowd at the new Google offices on the Embarcadero on April 27, 2022. | Camille Cohen/The Standard

The bulk of her proposed funding—$25.4 million over two years—will go toward the Mid-Market/Tenderloin Community-Based Safety Program, which relies on increased police patrols and staff from contractor Urban Alchemy to keep streets clean. 

If approved, this would nearly triple an $8.8 million grant the Mayor’s office used to kick off the initiative last year. (Urban Alchemy has been both hailed by residents as a much-needed solution to pressing public safety issues and criticized as an unlicensed security force operating with tacit city approval.) 

The budget proposal also includes $2 million to fund the orange-jacketed SF Welcome Ambassadors and a separate community ambassador program staffed by retired police officers. 

The additional funding is in line with a stated focus by Breed to respond to resident concerns about public safety. In a recent SF Standard Voter Poll, 65% of respondents said they feel less safe today than in 2019.

During a speech at a San Francisco Chamber of Commerce breakfast earlier this month, Breed tied public safety issues to the struggle in getting workers back to the office. She said she would seek additional funding in the budget for the police to help boost staffing levels on the force. 

“I’m tired of people saying they don’t feel safe coming to work,” Breed said. “People love this city—but that love is, of course, mixed with concern. They want to feel safe when they come to work. They want to feel safe when they walk to BART or leave the office to go to a restaurant or a bar.”

More than 450,000 people commuted to work in San Francisco before the pandemic. According to data from the key card entry company Kastle Systems, less than 35% of those office workers have returned. 

People walk the streets around Union Square on February 1, 2022. | Camille Cohen/The Standard

Changes in San Francisco residents’ work structure have had spillover impacts on city revenue sources like the business taxes and taxes tied to commercial real estate. Remote work has also choked the supply of customers for small businesses and service providers who used to rely on regular weekday foot traffic. 

Sales tax revenue has dropped citywide, with a particularly steep impact downtown. 

Andy Chun, founder of San Francisco’s Sidecar Hospitality group, which operates a number of bars Downtown, said new work patterns have meant a considerable dropoff in Friday business, previously a key revenue driver. 

“When you lose essentially your busiest day, while rents are still getting paid monthly based upon what we were doing in 2019, that’s not really a sustainable situation for most businesses,” Chun said at the SPUR forum. 

Robbie Silver, executive director of the Downtown SF Community Benefit District, said the key to long-term recovery lies in the area’s transformation from a business district to a neighborhood. 

“Can you imagine a time 30 years from now where you can actually live in this downtown historic core and be able to walk to a grocery store, walk to your local bar and restaurant and access these new public spaces that are there to enjoy?” Silver said. 

However, Silver added, short-term concerns are more pressing and rely on employers incentivizing workers to return.

“From a purely economic perspective, these restaurants, these retail shops that have relied on the nine-to-five workforce for decades, are just being devastated because of Covid,” Silver said. “We need bodies. We need people to come back to work.”

Kevin Truong can be reached at kevin@sfstandard.com.