Editor:

I have been on the Geary Boulevard PAC Community Committee of the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project since 2017.  I have been a business owner on Geary Boulevard between 22nd and 23rd Avenues since 2013.

Prior to this, I developed and ran the Children’s Dance Program at the Richmond District YMCA for 13 years.

Before that, I ran a Dance Studio on Balboa Street for two years.

Before that, I was an Artist in Residence for SFUSD K/1st graders teaching 1000 kids a year for seven years

I have been a community advocate and volunteer for the safety and benefit for children the entire time.  Honesty is paramount in my career working with children. 

On Friday, I received a cryptic message from a former City Official that could instill fear into any Geary Boulevard merchant who did not understand this project.

On Aug. 14, a group of Geary merchants and supporters staged an event using a COFFIN on the sidewalk in front of my business. I was not asked permission; the landlord was not asked permission.  

The written announcement and subsequent information pages this group distributed to the very large group of media and merchants, distorted the Geary Boulevard Project plans.

I attempted several times to be a part of the agenda but was verbally dismissed by the leader which included a derogatory gesture. 

I am needed in Chicago during the important Aug. 15 Public Meeting and unable to attend. However, I would like this statement to be added to the minutes, if possible:

I am writing today to commend the work of the SFMTA Geary Improvement Project staff and protest the COFFIN event of Aug. 14 in front of my place of business.

I have observed and participated with these SFMTA employees of the Geary Boulevard Improvement Project for six years now. Without hesitation, they are the most transparent, sensible and sensitive folks I have ever worked with in all my years in the Richmond District. Every suggestion, question and criticism from the community was met with professionalism, honest interest and a sincere effort to explain the truth so that we citizens could make informed decisions.

I am also writing to protest the 11th-hour activities of this coffin event group. Their actions and printed materials were not to encourage intelligent discourse but to stir up citizens with inaccurate statements and threatening comments. 

It is disingenuous to raise the temperature with incomplete data and statements when each one of those merchants had multiple opportunities to voice their position and participate in the project in a civil process, as I had. Their hostility toward the mayor and the SFMTA directors turned this merchant awareness event into a political one.

Sincerely,

Marian Roth-Cramer, BA, MFA