January 22, 2025
Good morning ISCOTT and SFMTA:
We feel we’ve made significant strides over the last couple of years to drive home the critical issues with the Head West event in Hayes Valley and prefer to be hopeful that this year the tide may turn.
We view the sanctioned promotion of outside retail vendors as a direct threat on our small business operators. This event is run by a for profit business at our neighborhood expense. Each time this event occurs it results in direct financial loss to businesses in Hayes Valley. A major concern with what is happening here is that the same group (HVNA) who is the permit holder of the Hayes Street Closure is also a recipient of financial kickback’s from Head West; Head West is applying for 4 Sundays thereby extending the already harmful 2 day recurring street closure (Fridays and Saturdays). SFMTA ISCOTT admits it cannot adjudicate these specific concerns because it is beyond their purview and scope which underscores the need to escalate this matter.
Please do not approve this permit Thursday. Please extend the time to have this permit heard until 3/27/2025 which will allow us to convene with the new leadership so that a consensus on this matter can be had (per the recommendation put forth last summer by the Office of Small Business).
Thank you.
HVSafe