Latest news with #SunsetNightMarket
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
With San Francisco's Sunset Night Market canceled, small businesses start their own event
Smokin' D's BBQ started as a pop-up, but has expanded into its first brick-and-mortar storefront on Irving Street. Lareina Chu says the now-canceled Sunset Night Market, which brought in an estimated 20,000 people last year, was great for restaurants like hers, but a letdown for others. "They closed down the streets so early. The banks, dry cleaners, they all need car access. They closed down the streets at 8 a.m. and that affected their businesses," said Chu. Chu and other small businesses are now banding together to create a smaller event called Sunset After Dark, while addressing concerns from other merchants. "This iteration, we're making it a lot smaller and not closing the streets down until late afternoon, which allows for a quicker setup and still allows access to all those businesses," said Chu. Rob Aiavao, an organizer with the non-profit Dear Community that's putting on this event, wants it to be for the community and small businesses, without relying on any city funding. "With the cancellation of the Sunset Night Market, the merchants along Irving Street saw that there was a gap that needed to be filled. For them, it was how can we build up a community event that is grassroots?" said Aiavao. Angie Petitt of Sunset Mercantile, which canceled this year's market, says the decision was a funding and logistical issue. "There's nothing political about our decision to put a pause on it. We really wanted to iron out what works best and how this should look for the community. That takes time to iron out," said Petitt. Chu is focused on running her business and creating an event that helps her neighbors, too. "We're trying to work with everyone in the neighborhood so it's successful for everybody," said Chu. No politics, just food, community, and business. District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio previously posted on X that the Sunset Night Market was canceled "not because of lack of interest, but because the recall campaign poisoned local politics." On Friday, he told CBS News Bay Area, he's "supporting this community-led effort." Sunset After Dark will take place on Friday, Sept. 26, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Irving Street between 20th and 23rd Avenues.
San Francisco Chronicle
02-08-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sunset District group plans its own night market after bigger event canceled
Less than a month after organizers announced that the popular Sunset District summer night market would not return for its third year, a group of local businesses and community organizations have begun planning a smaller, one-night event with hopes of attracting a portion of the thousands of people who attended the neighborhood's past celebrations. The Sunset After Dark event will occupy three blocks on Irving Street on Sept. 26, offering a 'celebration of food, culture, small business and the incredible people who make the Sunset special,' said Rob Aiavao, a spokesperson for the event's organizing team, in a statement to the Chronicle. Applications for both food and non-food vendors are currently open. Organized by local advocacy group Dear Community and Sunset restaurant Smokin D's BBQ, the event was 'born out of a desire to bring neighbors together and support the local economy,' Aiavao said, adding that neighborhood residents, merchants and school partners are involved. While visitors may see familiar food vendors and activities at Sunset After Dark, the event is separate from the city-funded Sunset District Night Market, which has drawn thousands each year since its launch in 2023. Many expected the market to return to the neighborhood this summer, but event organizer Sunset Night Market Collaborative announced the celebration would not be back for its third year earlier this month. It is scheduled to return in 2026. The cancellation came amid political tension in the neighborhood, as some merchants in the area who back the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio reportedly said they no longer support the night market. Engardio has been a vocal supporter of the night market, but he is facing a tough battle for his political position after championing Proposition K, which proposed to close part of the Upper Great Highway to cars to create a park. City-wide voters passed the measure by 54%, but local residents on the west side were furious over the two-mile closure. The massive growth of the night market and its varied impact on local businesses have raised questions about the future of the event, said Angie Petitt, co-founder of Sunset Mercantile — a member of the Sunset Night Market Collaborative. While some restaurants and vendors near Irving Street flourished, others — like dry-cleaners and salons — saw significantly less business in the daytime, Petitt said. On top of crowd management and ensuring there was enough food and activities for attendees, a lot of questions were left unanswered after last year's night markets exploded in popularity. In the meantime, Petitt said she is glad to see that businesses and local organizations are collaborating on the Sunset After Dark event, and hopes to support them in the planning process. 'While the Sunset Night Market is currently on pause, Sunset After Dark provides a fresh opportunity for the community to reimagine what a shared public celebration can be,' Aiavao said. 'We're working to ensure that it's truly rooted in local voices, organized by and for the neighborhood.' Engardio said Friday that 'politics have no role in a night market.' For him, the fact that businesses and local organizations have proactively led plans for a smaller night market demonstrates that the event was always intended to support the community. 'The residents and the merchants of the Sunset love night markets,' he said. 'I look forward to doing whatever I can to support the night market.'
San Francisco Chronicle
29-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F.'s Great Highway recall fight begins: Did Joel Engardio mislead the Sunset?
The campaign to recall San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio kicked off canvassing efforts Saturday at McCoppin Square Park along Taraval Street in the Sunset District, one month after successfully triggering a special election set for Sept. 16. Armed with bright yellow pamphlets bearing Engardio's face and text in both English and Chinese that read 'He turned his back on the Sunset,' dozens of volunteers gathered to knock on doors and canvas their neighbors to vote for the recall. The trouble for Engardio, a moderate elected out of District 4 in 2022, started when he championed a ballot measure that would permanently remove cars from a 2-mile stretch of the city's westernmost coastal boulevard, the Upper Great Highway, in favor of opening a park. That measure, called Proposition K, passed with 55% of the citywide vote in the November election. But a majority of voters in westside precincts, where residents say they relied on the highway to drive around their neighborhood, rejected the measure. Engardio has defended the measure that converted the highway into what's now called 'Sunset Dunes Park,' arguing it was a democratic opportunity to restore access to the coast for all residents. He said he's been his district's 'champion' since day one, pointing to his support for restoring algebra to eighth grade, adding police beat patrols to Irving Street and creating the Sunset Night Market. The recall effort reflects not only the intense controversy over urban land use in San Francisco, but also the burgeoning political power of westside residents who feel their quality of life was harmed by what they perceive as a 'war on cars.' 'I've lived out here for years and I've never seen the Chinese community get so behind anything,' said Susan Chen, a 30-year Sunset resident and recall volunteer, at Saturday's canvassing effort. Meanwhile, Engardio's supporters have argued that recalls, funded by taxpayer money, are a waste of city resources, that it's undemocratic to vote out a supervisor based on a single issue and that the Sunset Dunes Park has had a minimal impact on congestion. A Chronicle data analysis of westside traffic data painted a complicated picture of how the highway closure has impacted traffic: Some commutes have become longer during rush hour as drivers are forced onto more congested alternative routes, especially Chain of Lakes Drive in Golden Gate Park. But some arteries showed no slowdowns at all. Engardio said he's worked with SFMTA to alleviate the traffic impact. Those interventions include adding dual left and right turn lanes and a traffic signal at a key intersection to ease congestion on Chain of Lakes Drive. Engardio's backers ramped up advertising and appealed for Mayor Daniel Lurie to support Engardio last week. Engardio has some high-profile supporters, including Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelmann, who posted on his X account Monday, 'Moderate SF Supervisor @JoelEngardio fixes potholes, supports small biz, brought back Algebra, and fights for what's right no matter how high the personal stakes.' Stoppelmann, who donated $175,000 to the 'Stand with Joel' anti-recall campaign, added that Lurie should back Engardio. Lurie has, so far, not taken a public stance on the recall effort against Engardio. If he is recalled, it will fall on Lurie to pick his replacement. 'This recall is wasteful and threatens to derail all the progress that's been made to tackle the city's biggest challenges,' said Joe Arellano, spokesperson for the Stop the Recall campaign, in a statement, adding that 'Joel will be out knocking on doors and earning votes, like a true public servant.' Arellano also called the recall effort 'GOP-backed,' pointing to an email sent out by the San Francisco Republican Party this week that encouraged followers to join Saturday's rally. Jamie Hughes, one of the lead organizers for the recall, said that the effort includes 'everybody from every ideology' and that the group tries 'to stay away from labels.' Hughes is an ally of former progressive San Francisco Board of Supervisors president Aaron Peskin. He said the recall campaign isn't coordinating with the Republican Party and argued that GOP support shows that the recall is drawing people from all sides of the political spectrum. That's because, in his words, 'Joel messed up.' Recall proponents said the recall isn't only about the Great Highway, but how Engardio's behavior during the past year showed what they consider to be a lack of transparency, accountability and representation. John Higgins, a Sunset resident, said he never even used the Great Highway and is not looking to reopen it, but he felt Engardio lied about his stance. He pointed to how Engardio, alongside four other city supervisors, submitted a proposal to place Proposition K on the ballot on June 18, 2024, the last possible day for them to do so. 'These are shady methods,' Higgins said. Many recall proponents said they were taken by surprise, only learning about Engardio's proposal through news articles, and were upset that Engardio never held town halls prior to placing the issue on the ballot. Many said they thought Engardio had lied to them because, in 2022, while campaigning against then-incumbent District 4 supervisor Gordon Mar, he had said he supported what was then the status quo of pedestrianizing the highway on weekends only. 'Had he told this district when he was running for supervisor that he was going to close down the Great Highway 24/7, he would never have been elected,' Chen said. Engardio rejected that characterization. He supported the status quo in 2022, he said, compared to the alternative at the time, which was a ballot measure to open the Great Highway to cars 24/7. He said he had told voters he didn't want to rule out the option of a permanent park in place of the highway when campaigning in 2022. He also posted on X, then known as Twitter, in December 2022, after being elected, 'I believe the future is a permanent oceanside park.' Those explanations ring hollow to Selena Chu, who had campaigned to elect Engardio in 2022, believing he supported the compromise of keeping the highway open to cars on weekdays. 'We felt our voice was heard and that's why we advocated for this person,' Chu, a recall organizer, said. 'It was a personal betrayal and it was also a betrayal to the community. This was a guy I had advocated for for two years.' As Chu walked down 22nd Avenue Saturday, a fellow Sunset resident, spotting Chu's Recall Engardio sign, started clapping. 'Everything he's done has been underhanded,' Gene Pulliam, who's lived in the Sunset for 60 years, said to Chu. 'He put the paperwork in the last week or something. That's just wrong.'
CBS News
01-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
San Francisco Muni ridership increases to 75% of pre-pandemic numbers
San Francisco's Muni ridership reached 158 million trips in 2024, edging ridership recovery up to 75 percent of pre-pandemic numbers, officials said Monday. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials and Mayor Daniel Lurie said the recent ridership numbers, which represent 13.5 million more trips than in 2023, show growing demand for public transit. "The increase in Muni ridership demonstrates that when we get the basics right on service delivery people will want to take public transit," Lurie said in a news release. Last year's ridership represents the highest volume of growth since the pandemic, with recovery at 75 percent of 2019 levels. Officials also said the agency received its highest customer ratings since 2021. The top routes showing the largest ridership gains included the T Third, 38R Geary Rapid, 49 Van Ness/Mission and N Judah. Muni officials said the agency's investment in frequent service, with arrivals every 10 minutes or less, played a key role in the gains. In addition, lines serving major events like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Portola Music Festival, and the Sunset Night Market, drew record ridership. Muni's recovery comes as the SFTMA faces short-term and long-term fiscal challenges, with a $50 million budget deficit starting this July growing to a $320 million deficit when federal and state one-time relief funds are exhausted by June 2026, according to a release from the mayor's office. More information on Muni service delivery data is available at .
