Supervisor Preston has introduced a resolution in support of Senate Bill 1218, the Green New Deal for Public Housing, by Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The bill will provide economic empowerment opportunities in the United States through the modernization of public housing and will vastly improve the state of public housing while increasing the number of units available.

A new report issued today by the City’s Budget and Legislative Analyst reveals that San Francisco’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) provided $61.2 million worth of local rental assistance to 10,110 households from 2021 through March 2024. This is the first comprehensive report on the pandemic rent relief program. San Francisco had by far the largest local rent relief program of any city. 

At the Board of Supervisors GAO committee hearing on Thursday, Supervisor Dean Preston pressed the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and the Mayor's Office to explain delays in distributing $10 million for Single Room Occupancy (SRO) elevator repairs and urged them to expedite distribution of these funds. Supervisors Connie Chan and Ahsha Safai expressed frustrations about the delays as well.

In response to Governor Newsom’s slashing of funding for the crucial “Market Match” food program, District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston introduced a resolution today calling for restoration of the funds. The Governor’s proposed budget cuts $33.2 million from the three-year $35 million California Nutrition Incentive Program (CNIP) budget which includes Market Match. Under the Market Match program, state investments are matched by federal dollars for low-income people to buy fresh produce at farmers’ markets. Preston’s resolution is supported by a broad coalition of food access organizations, farmers markets, and groups serving the poor.

On Tuesday, April 16th, Supervisor Dean Preston introduced a resolution in support of expanding access to methadone statewide. The resolution would put the Board of Supervisors on record in support of Assembly Bill 2115 (Haney), which will allow clinics to dispense 72-hour doses of methadone when requested, removing significant barriers to treatment.

This afternoon, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Supervisor Preston’s resolution calling for the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA) to fully leverage the “Faircloth-to-RAD” option provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) to create up to 3,668 new deeply affordable rental units with a permanent federal subsidy in San Francisco. Responding to the resolution, SFHA and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development announced plans to complete a feasibility analysis to identify potential pilot projects to assess Faircloth to RAD opportunities for San Francisco, and to initiate applications this calendar year.

Earlier today, Supervisor Preston introduced the Neighborhood Grocery Protection Act, a legislative effort that is both old and new. The Act seeks to resurrect a 1984 law, passed by the Board of Supervisors but vetoed by Mayor Feinstein, that requires notification and community involvement when neighborhood-serving grocery stores close. 

Today, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in favor of bringing a full-service grocery store to the Tenderloin, declaring it an urgent priority. The resolution directs City departments to report on their efforts to date, potential sites, and any current plans to bring a much-needed grocery store to the Tenderloin without further delay.

In response to community concerns about the proliferation of smoke shops in the Tenderloin, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Supervisor Preston’s legislation to restrict the opening of new Tobacco Paraphernalia Establishments in the neighborhood.

With the city facing an affordable housing crisis and ambitious new state-mandated affordable housing targets, Supervisor Preston is introducing a resolution calling for the San Francisco Housing Authority to fully leverage the “Faircloth-to-RAD” option provided by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to create up to 3,668 new deeply affordable rental units with a permanent federal subsidy in San Francisco.

District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston today announced a resolution urging City departments to develop and implement a plan to bring a full-service grocery store to the Tenderloin. The highly-populated working-class neighborhood, which encompasses about 50 square blocks in the heart of the city, continues to lack a full-service grocery store, despite being identified by residents as a top community priority for decades.

The $2M grant from the US Department of Transportation will develop transportation and land use concept designs to connect the Japantown and Fillmore/Western Addition neighborhoods and promote community stabilization.

Earlier today, The Sacred Heart Parish Complex, a site dating back to the late 1800s, received landmark status. The site is situated in the heart of District 5 and consists of four contiguous lots bound by Fillmore, Fell, Webster, and Oak.

Mayor’s Administration delayed release of elevator repair funds inexplicably for over 600 days, finally relented and issued a Notice of Funding Availability a week ago, but still plans not to disburse funds for an estimated 8 more months

Today, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the renaming of Shannon Street, a mural-covered alley in the Tenderloin, to Veterans Alley.

As New State Requirements Compel City to Produce 46,000 Affordable Homes, Governor’s Budget Proposes $1.2 billion in cuts to Affordable Programs

As New State Requirements Compel City to Produce 46,000 Affordable Homes, Governor’s Budget Proposes $1.2 billion in cuts to Affordable Programs

The Four Pillars Strategy— founded on close interdepartmental collaboration— is proven to save lives, improve street conditions, prevent addiction, and connect people to treatment.

Proposal Mirrors Law Requiring Extended Notice, Community Meeting for Grocery Closures, Passed in 1984 and Vetoed by Mayor Feinstein

On the eve of a vote Supervisor Dean Preston’s resolution demanding Safeway reconsider and reverse its plan to close the Fillmore’s only full service grocery store in March, Safeway officials announced that they would stay open until January 2025.