Long-awaited trashcans hit S.F. streets, Tenderloin gets a roadway mural, and more

Eight of the city’s custom-designed and pricy trash bins started hitting the streets last week, eight years after the design process kicked off in 2018. The Tenderloin’s first bin was installed by the Hibernia Bank, and others are now in North Beach, Potrero Hill, the Richmond, the Sunset, the Castro, the Mission, and the Forest Hill Extension area. 

Public Works spokesperson Rachel Gordon told Mission Local that the department is rolling the bins out in batches for now, to “see how they do” — checking that the graffiti wipes off easily and the locks to prevent rummaging all work as expected. We could have all 3,000 in place by summer. 

On Thursday, the Tenderloin bin had graffiti etched on it. Upon learning of this, Gordon immediately sent out a worker to wipe it clean.

“We are fully aware that there is going to be no perfect garbage can,” Gordon said, “but we are working toward a more perfect garbage can for San Francisco and the conditions we have here.” 

The Golden Gate Greenway will get a bit more color; the city awarded the St. Anthony Foundation a $150,000 neighborhood beautification grant to create a mural there. 

St. Anthony’s is partnering with public art collective 1AM Projects to develop a theme before putting paint to the ground by next year; the “community-led” mural is planned for the middle of the street, and will serve in lieu of closing the road to car traffic. 

The one-block “greenway” has hit many roadblocks, if you will, since its inception. It never became truly car-free, the city won’t allow the planting of new trees, and a once celebrated parklet had to be dismantled. The mural, expected last fall, was delayed, but we’re excited it’s coming along. 

The grant was one of 25 citywide but just two in the neighborhood; the other recipient was Glide Foundation, which will be launching “TL United,” a program to bring youth and residents together for a monthly cleanup. 

We’ve also learned that there is a new “Vision 2030” committee in the works. It’s the next iteration of “Vision 2020,” the Tenderloin People’s Congress’ highly successful list of community priorities that ultimately got city buy-in, and millions of dollars in funding for neighborhood projects. 

The large-scale community outreach was an impressive feat back in 2017, and the new congress is looking for participants. Contact the organizers to get involved. 

The neighborhood is bringing back “4 Corner Friday,” a monthly effort to “activate” the streets of the Tenderloin. To be held on the last Friday of the month, this mini-block party is an opportunity for residents to get out and hang with their neighbors on a street corner. 

The next one is coming up on April 24, and we know TNDC will be stationed at Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street.

Speaking of activations, Larkin Street, which recently got a huge influx of money from cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen, will host the first of a free street-event series on May 9. The series, “Live on Larkin,” launches with an Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month block party. 

Larkin Street is also now getting daily powerwashing service between Golden Gate Avenue and Post Street, according to the Tenderloin Community Benefit District’s operations director, Eric Rozell. 

And “safety stewards” have begun patrolling the corridor from 6:30 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. Once they’re fully trained, Rozell said, those hours will extend through the middle of the day. 

After a fire that displaced dozens of residents at 50 Golden Gate Ave. in December turned out to be a result of a lithium-ion battery explosion, Supervisor Bilal Mahmood introduced legislation last week to ban the sale of devices with uncertified lithium-ion batteries. Unregulated batteries can overheat and pose a fire risk. 

Battery explosions are causing a growing number of fires, and unregulated batteries can overheat and pose a fire risk. That risk is even higher in the Tenderloin, where older buildings often lack modern sprinkler systems. 

Skywatchers Ensemble, the Tenderloin’s own community arts collaborative, has a May 9 performance at the A.C.T. Strand Theater, where they have long sought to put on a show. 

The two showings are free for Tenderloin residents, and otherwise tickets are available on a sliding scale. 

Sarah Crowell of Dance Mission Theater co-created the performance, titled “Calling Us In: An Invitation to Joy,” which will involve song and dance and “raw storytelling.” 

Shavonne Wong, Skywatchers’ director of community care, told Mission Local that the organization has come a long way from its origins doing performances in the street and at BART stations.

For those who want to try the stage, the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival is putting on a one-hour cut of “Julius Caesar” at the main library branch on Saturday, with walk-on roles for volunteers.

What does this mean? How does it work? We’re not sure, but you should check it out.

If chatting it up with your local law enforcement sounds like your cup of tea, now’s your chance. The Tenderloin police station is hosting “Coffee with a Cop” on April 22 at 210 Golden Gate Ave. 

It will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and the station captain, Matt Sullivan, is expected to be there, as are free coffee and donuts.

Reggie and Maude’s, the new bar venture from the Outta Sight Pizza owners that Mission Local first reported, is looking a bit more real. The team posted a photo of co-owner Peter Dorrance holding the keys to the space earlier this month. 
Outta Sight has also expanded its reach beyond the Tenderloin yet again, with another announcement this week that its pizza is now available in the Mission at Bar Part Time.