Resolution Regarding MOHCD Grant Application
For Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District Meeting of March 20, 2019

Whereas the City of San Francisco’s Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) has issued a Request For Proposals regarding grants from the SoMa Community Stabilization Fund, as detailed here,

And whereas this RFP was issued on Monday, March 4, 2019, and Proposals are due for delivery to the City by no later than Monday, April 1, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.,

And whereas a number of these grants appear to be in alignment with the mission of the Cultural District, including (see page 7 of the linked file) a grant for Neighborhood Business Coordination in an amount up to $75,000, for funding of activities between 7/1/2019 and 6/30/2020, to provide the following services:

• Outreach to and assist neighborhood business groups, small businesses and community-based organizations of the SoMa community with:
  • Creating employment opportunities for SoMa residents and workers,
  • Generating connections between residents and the business community to achieve neighborhood cohesion, and
  • Creating institutional and interpersonal linkages between residents (including youth, ages 16-26), community-based organizations and the business community in SoMa to foster and create a culture of doing business that is inclusive of the local community.

And whereas it appears that such a grant, if obtained by the Cultural District, and if used as intended, with an approved specific focus on our Organization’s geographic and cultural targets, could significantly further the vision and mission of our organization,

And whereas any such proposal would require the support and approval by our fiscal sponsor, and would require that agent to become approved as a Bidder and Supplier to the city of San Francisco.  

It is proposed that the General Assembly of the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District, at their Meeting of March 20, 2019, authorize the creation of an Ad Hoc Grants Committee, and the appointment of a Committee chair, and authorize that committee to research and, if it proves advisable and feasible, prepare and submit a Grant Proposal to the MOHCD SoMa Stabilization Fund, and to take such additional steps as are necessary for the preparation of that Proposal, including discussions with our Fiscal Agent, the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance, which would act as the “lead agency” for the grant, to obtain their support and approval, and to facilitate their becoming certified as a City Supplier.  

Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District
SFMTA Folsom-Howard Streetscape Survey

Call to Action!

Help recognize the Leather & LGBTQ history and culture on Folsom and Howard streets. The city is redesigning the streetscape and sidewalks on Folsom and Howard Streets; this is your opportunity to have your voice heard.

Answer the city’s survey by this Friday, the 15th. The survey is here.

Leather and LGBTQ Pride flag themed crosswalks, bronze sidewalk markers at historic sites and pride flag themed sidewalks are among the possibilities! Similar elements already can be seen at the Leather History Walk on Ringold Alley.

To realize these elements on these storied streets, as many people as possible need to answer the city’s survey about the Folsom / Howard Streets project. Forward this to your friends, post it on your Facebook page, help get the word out.

Question 4 allows you to specify up to 6 locations and the element you’d like to see there. Possible elements include:

• Crosswalks in Leather Pride Flag Colors at: Folsom & 8th; Folsom & 9th; Folsom & 10th; Folsom & Dore
• Crosswalks in LGBTQ Pride Flag Colors at: Folsom & 11th; Folsom & 7th Street
• Bronze sidewalk markers at historical sites on Folsom: various historic locations
• Bronze sidewalk markers at historical sites on Howard: various historic locations
• Sidewalks with Leather Pride Flag Colors at: Folsom & Dore, Folsom & 9th, Folsom & 10th
• Sidewalks with Leather Pride Flag Colors at the Street Life Zones at: Folsom & 8th; Howard & 9th; Howard & Dore; Howard & 10thThe SFMTA has general information about the project which can be found here.

Detailed maps of the plans can be seen here and here.

Your views on traffic safety, lighting, plantings, bike and bus lanes, parking and traffic considerations, and the role of “street life zones” are all encouraged.

The survey closes on March 15, 2019, so act now!
The survey is here.

Thanks very much.

As you may know, the Land Use Committee of the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District is charged with organizing and advocating on behalf of our community priorities, both at public hearings and in discussions and negotiations with local project developers and community leaders.

We have created a brief survey, to help us begin to get a sense of where our organization’s members — and our community as a whole — want us to focus some of our efforts.

The survey is not scientific or binding upon the group.  It is intended to gather only general information and preferences, and get us all thinking about how we will deal with future challenges and opportunities..

The survey is anonymous, and will take only a few minutes to complete.  Please go to
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LCDlanduse2019 and share your thoughts and opinions with us.

Thanks very much.  The survey results will appear on this Web site soon.

 

You are cordially invited and encouraged to join any of  the active Committees of the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District:

• Outreach Committee, chaired by Steve Gaynes and David Hyman
• Governance Committee, chaired by Rand Hunt
• Land Use Committee, chaired by Dahn Van Laarz
• Finance Committee, chaired by Pat Collins, Lex King and Jonathan Schroder
• Legislative Committee, chaired by Bob Goldfarb

We also plan to have three “Stakeholder Committees”.

• Nightlife Committee
• Business Committee
• Organizations Committee

There will also be a Nominating Committee, to help us with the process of electing our first Board of Directors.

All of these committees will be active, important, and fun.  Special expertise and relevant experience and skills are welcome, but they are not required. What is more important is that you represent our community with common sense and a sincere desire to help.

Your time commitment need not be great — even just a couple of hours per month could be enough. But the role and responsibility you will have in guiding our group will be critically valuable, and much appreciated.

For these Committees– as for all our District’s work — getting a diverse cross-section of our kinky and queer communities to join in is important. Please help us make sure that we reflect and respond to your interests — as an individual, and as a representative of other trans folks, younger folks, non-binary folks, POCs, or any other element of our broad and beautiful L&LGBTQ spectrum.

You can join any of these Committees most easily by clicking on the words “update your preferences” at the very bottom of any “Mailchimp” email message you get from us.   If you are NOT currently receiving those emails, you can sign up at http://eepurl.com/djdUyf, and indicate your committee interests at the same time.  

You can also sign up for Committees at any of our open Community Meetings.  Or write to the our group’s Chairperson, Robert Goldfarb, for more information.

Notes

All our meetings are free and open to all.  Unless otherwise announced, our meetings are held at SF Catalyst, 1060 Folsom Street (between 6th and 7th Streets), San Francisco, CA 94103.

For most meetings, ASL interpreters and/or wheelchair access will be provided if requested at least two days in advance.  Please send requests to the Committee Chair, or LCD@hellobob.net.

Committee members are encouraged to sign up for an “@sflcd.org” email address.  You can choose to use this for actual email or not, but having the account will allow you to access Committee documents on our new Google Drive, and participate in Committee discussions using Google Hangouts Chat (“@Chat”).  To get an account, please write to Dahn@sflcd.org  and he will be in touch to get you set up.