Heart of the Richmond

Last month, our police chief’s Small Business Advisory Board held its monthly meeting in the Richmond District, bringing together representatives from our City’s business districts and commercial corridors to discuss issues facing small businesses. I attended and discussed ways we can support our small businesses.

Assistant Chief David Lazar was there and reported on the work the police department is doing to ensure small businesses in San Francisco are protected, like the expansion of the retired police officer ambassadors who will now be assigned to Central Geary Boulevard in addition to Clement Street, as well as the installation of automated license plate readers at strategic intersections.

Our small businesses are the backbone of San Francisco’s economy, and we will do all we can to ensure they are able to thrive in our neighborhood. This is why, with summer quickly approaching, my team and I found new ways to highlight the amazing restaurants and shops that make the Richmond the coolest district in the City.

This summer we will be celebrating our neighborhood with community events like night markets and film festivals.

The District 1 office has been planning monthly family-friendly night markets in collaboration with the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants Association, the Community Youth Center, the Richmond YMCA and the Gum Moon/Asian Family Support Center. These markets will take place in June, July, August and September. Our first one is coming up Saturday, June 8, from 4 to 8 p.m., on Clement Street between 22nd and 25th avenues. Come out and enjoy an evening with delicious food from local restaurants, entertainment, games and great community. You can find more information and how to get involved at heartoftherichmonddistrictnightmarket.com.

Additionally, we are working with the San Francisco Theatre Foundation and the amazing team at the Balboa Theatre to bring film festivals to the Outer Richmond. The first will be from July 12 to 14 and feature films from the award-winning director Stephen Chow in partnership with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco. We are working on the schedule now but are excited to showcase some of my favorites like Kung Fu Hustle. We will also have festivals at the Balboa in September and December!

In addition to the night markets and film fests, we are organizing a summer ping pong tournament at the Richmond Recreation Center as well as a Pokémon Halloween festival on Clement. And, of course, we will have our annual Autumn Moon Festival in September, bringing together the community to celebrate the season and showcase our local businesses and vendors.

Stay tuned for more updates on our upcoming community events. If you want to meet me for “Boba with Connie” on a Friday afternoon and discuss your ideas about how we can make the Richmond a better place for our families, please email me and my team at ChanStaff@sfgov.org. Together we can support our small businesses and create new reasons to celebrate the Heart of the Richmond.

Connie Chan represents District 1 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She can be reached at 415-554-7410 or chanstaff@sfgov.org.