Chamber, supervisor host forum to help small businesses

by Ed Moy

The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, along with the office of Supervisor Eric Mar, held a District 1 Neighborhood Merchants Summit on April 29. About 75 people turned out for the event, including numerous representatives from state, city and county agencies, neighborhood organizations, local merchant associations, police and city officials.

Highlighting the event, which was held at the Yet Wah Restaurant at 2140 Clement St., was a presentation from newly-elected Supervisor Mar, who also fielded questions from local business owners and residents.

Mar, who recently traveled to Washington with a contingent of SF board members, addressed several topics, including the City's nearly $500 million budget deficit's effects on neighborhood businesses, potential economic stimulus support for small business and ways to improve local commerce.

"I know that when I go outside of the neighborhood or outside of the City, it really impacts (local business owners)," Mar said. "It harms the businesses around them, too, and it sends a shock wave throughout the whole neighborhood. I want to work with you to really think about how I, as a consumer and supervisor, can help change the (economic climate)."

Following Mar's presentation, the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development representative Jennifer Matz gave an update on current city measures available to help local business owners.

According to Matz, among the key economic stimulus boosts will be several proposed new tax credits, incentives and rebates for business owners to encourage new hiring and equipment purchases. Additionally, new loan programs will be offered, ranging from $1 to $200,000, and federal grants will be offered.

"We want to remove barriers and troubleshoot as much as we can," Matz said. "There are more incentives available than most business owners are aware of."

During the SF Department of Public Works (DPW) presentation, the major issues of graffiti and litter were raised by several in attendance. One question asked was: "Why can't the city clean sidewalks in commercial corridors?"

Sandra Zuniga, a spokesperson for DPW, stated that budget cuts and reductions in staff have had a major effect on the department's services. She noted that there were 6,297 service requests between July of 2008 and April 28 of this year.

Currently, DPW has two programs to support community neighborhoods - Adopt-a-Street and Graffiti Watch. Since its creation four years ago, the Graffiti Watch program has provided paint, scrapers and supplies for residents to help remove stickers and graffiti around their neighborhoods. However, the program does not remove graffiti or stickers from private property, although owners can be fined if they don't remove it themselves within a set number of days.

A Graffiti Rewards Fund has been established by DPW in partnership with the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, Office of the Mayor, and San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). The fund rewards citizens with $250 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of graffiti vandals.

Addressing public safety concerns, Richmond Station Police Capt. Richard Corriea stated that he currently has about 100 officers to serve the 93,000 residents in the station's district. He also introduced local beat cop Eddie Woo and Homeless Outreach Officer Kevin Lee. According to Corriea, the biggest rise in incidents this year has been injury/accident reports, with 110 so far.

Another hot topic touched upon at the summit was lawsuits against local businesses claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The lawsuits have affected many "low-income, non-native, non-English speaking business owners."

Office of Small Business Assistance Spokesperson Regina Dick-Endrizzi stated that there have been many instances of intimidation where businesses are targeted for "drive-by lawsuits" with the objective of getting a quick settlement.

Also offering outreach services at the summit were representatives from SF SAFE, Sunset Scavenger, NorCal Waste Systems, AT&T, PG&E, Healthy San Francisco, Small Business Network SF, Workforce Development, SF Human Rights Commission, State Board of Equalization and the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement.

"We're urging business owners in the community to work with their supervisors and to stay engaged with the chamber," said Rob Black, the Chamber's director of public policy.

After the summit, Mar participated with SF Environment and PG&E representatives to walk the neighborhood offering local businesses free energy audits, as part of the Energy Watch Program, to help improve efficiency and save money on their utility bills.

For more information about PG&E and SF Environment energy watch programs, call (415) 355-3769 or go to www.sfenergywatch.org. For more information about city and county loans and grant programs, go to www.sfgov.org/moewd or www.sfgov.org/smallbusiness. More about SF Chamber of Commerce can be found at www.sfchamber.com. To learn about SF SAFE, go to www.sfsafe.org. Richmond residents can reach SFPD Homeless Outreach Officer Kevin Lee at (415) 525-2324 or call 911 in an emergency.