In late February, San Francisco YIMBY endorsed the appointed District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong in the June supervisor’s race, calling him a “pro-housing champion” for supporting Mayor Daniel Lurie’s upzoning plan.
The pro-housing group urged San Franciscans to celebrate Wong’s campaign headquarters opening, and its members went out doorknocking for him on Irving Street and near McCoppin Square just last weekend.
But now, the YIMBYs are publicly chastising their endorsed candidate, objecting to his position on toxins near one affordable housing project at 2550 Irving St. and his stance on another at 1234 Great Highway in the Outer Sunset.
“His decision to create an inflammatory, NIMBY petition purporting risks to public health is based on scientifically unfounded claims that were thoroughly disproven during the permitting process,” read a statement from SF YIMBY obtained by Mission Local.
The chapter urged the supervisor to withdraw his petition on 2550 Irving St. and fully support the project at 1234 Great Highway. If things get more heinous, said Dane Willette, a lead at the chapter, rescinding the endorsement could be on the table, but so far the chapter is still “comfortable” with its choice.
The statement expressing disappointment with Wong referred to his move last week to circulate a petition calling for “a complete cleanup of toxic vapors” beneath a block of Irving Street between 26th and 27th avenues, where tenants will move this week into the affordable housing project at 2550 Irving St.
While the developer and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control said they’ve installed a Vapor Intrusion Mitigation System (VIMS), essentially a barrier between the site’s foundation and the building to mediate the toxic vapors, Wong and a Sunset neighborhood group want more thorough testing and cleaning on and around the site.
The petition for “a comprehensive cleanup” was spearheaded by the Mid-Sunset Neighborhood Association, a group that has consistently moved to stop the project from breaking ground since 2021, citing inadequate monitoring of toxins.
The goal, Wong wrote, is to ask the developer, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and other stakeholders to “fund and support a comprehensive cleanup plan for the entire neighborhood.”
The Mid-Sunset group has filed a lawsuit and several appeals to stop the development and asked for a complete soil cleanup to remove PCE, a chemical used by dry cleaning businesses that may increase risks of cancer at high concentrations
The developer and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control said they have conducted extensive tests — though not the tests that the neighborhood group requested — and created a barrier between the soil and the building to keep out toxic vapors on site.
But those measures, Wong wrote in a statement, were only meant to protect residents of the building, but “neighbors in the surrounding affected areas remain concerned” and want “more than a narrow, site-only response.”
With the project already built, Wong wrote, “we should do more than satisfying what is technically required to clean up contamination.”
A weak answer on 1234 Great Highway
SF YIMBY is also disappointed at Wong’s position on a proposed senior affordable housing project at 1234 Great Highway in the Outer Sunset, which stalled due to funding challenges. Wong, when asked by Mission Local if he would move the project forward, cited residents’ concerns over the formerly homeless population who may move into the project. The ambiguity wasn’t encouraging to the YIMBYs, who wanted an enthusiastic yes.
“We expect better from a city supervisor than peddling NIMBY conspiracy theories and opposing affordable housing projects in his district,” the YIMBY statement continued.
When the SF YIMBY chapter was making its endorsements, the members voted firmly to endorse Wong, Willette said. None of the declared District 4 candidates have a huge pro-housing record to run on, and Wong, uniquely, supported the upzoning plan — a big factor in the endorsement decision.
But at the time, the Irving project was not on people’s minds. “To see it pop up again, especially from Wong, was a shock,” Willette said.
Wong circulating the petition “disrupted our discussions in terms of how much more to push the candidates,” he said. The June elections in District 2 and District 4 are of higher priority for the YIMBYs. They are facing a similar dilemma in District 2, where Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, who supported the upzoning plan and won the chapter’s endorsement, is opposing the Marina Safeway development.
“We are a big constituency,” said Willette. “We hope that for Wong, being pro-housing is not just for election chances but for the future of our city.”
Willette, however, said he will continue canvassing for Wong.
“We do stand by Wong. We still believe he’s the best and most pro-housing candidate in District 4,” he said. “That could change if more things come out. But we are still confident.”