LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District

At the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District Community Meeting on August 21, 2019, nine individuals were elected as the initial Board of Directors, and Bob Goldfarb was elected President.  At the Board’s meeting, on August 24, 2019, the remaining officers were elected.  The full Board list is thus as follows:

• Bob Goldfarb (Bob.Goldfarb@sflcd), Three years, President
• Bob Brown (Bob.Brown@sflcd), Two years, Vice-President
• Eric See (Eric.See@sflcd), One year, Secretary
• York Ng (York.Ng@sflcd), Two years, Treasurer
• David Hyman (David.Hyman@sflcd), Three years
• Erik Will (Erik.Will@sflcd), Two years
• Gayle Rubin (Gayle.Rubin@sflcd), Three years
• Stephan Ferris (Stephan.Ferris@sflcd), One year
• Steve Gaynes (Steve.Gaynes@sflcd), One year

 

The Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District is looking for a small office in the SOMA area.  This would be a place of operations for staff and community leaders to work out of.   We are looking for: 

• 300-500 square feet
• 1-2 workstation setup
• ADA-compliant / wheelchair accessible
• Access to a conference or meeting room for our monthly Board meetings
• Some storage space
• It would be nice to have access to a kitchenette & bathroom
• Mailing address would be nice
• Location within (or near to) our Cultural District is important.  That is roughly bounded by Howard, 7th, Street, and Highways 101 and 80.  (The actual District map can be viewed here.)

We are hoping to find either a low-cost or donated space.  An otherwise vacant storefront would be ideal, as it would increase our visibility and accessibility by the local community.  We would be happy to look at subleases or coexisting with other organizations.  

If you have information about a possible location, or would like more information or to discuss, please contact land-use-chair@sflcd.org.

On August 18, 2019, Sunday Streets SOMA once again transformed Folsom Street from Essex to 10th Street into open pedestrian space, including a Leather Hub between 8th and 10th Streets where the Leather Community got to show off!

There were booths for the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance and our own Cultural District, music by Fingersnaps, a puppy mosh with the SF K9 Unit, a bondage demo by VIncent, books and toys from Wicked Grounds Kink Cafe and Boutique, ring-toss with the Golden Gate Guards, and, of course, the Victory Party for the new Mr. SF Leather 2020 and San Francisco Bootblack 2020, with cake and bubbly provided by the Leather Alliance.  It was a great way to end SF Leather Pride Weekend!

It might be easy for folks to confuse the new “SoMa West Community Benefit District” with our own Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District: they both serve roughly the same area within San Francisco, and they are both working to make that neighborhood safe, lively, and welcoming to residents and visitors.

So it is important for us to be clear and well-informed about the differences:  We don’t impose a tax on property owners and businesses; we don’t plan to power-wash the streets or hire safety patrols to supplement city services.  On the other hand, they don’t plan to help struggling BDSM performance artists keep their studios open, promote SOMA as a kinky vacation destination, or build a Leather Center.

But there is clearly a great deal of overlap in our interests.  So we are encouraging all members and friends of the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District to do a few things:

• Take a few minutes to fill out the Soma West CBD’s Initial Services survey. so that their priorities reflect yours;
• Subscribe to their newsletter here, so that you hear about their meetings and activities; and
• Consider serving on their Board of Directors, as a formal or informal representative of the Leather Community.  Full information and an application form can be found here.

Working with SoMa West CBD and other community-based Districts in the South of Market area is a priority for the Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District ; you can help with that important work.  Thanks!