Redevelopment Agency Couldn't Jazz Up Fillmore
Audit shows insufficient oversight of spending and little effort to collect loan payments
Emmit Powell hesitated when he was asked to talk about the city of San Francisco’s efforts to promote his popular barbecue restaurant as the anchor of a showcase redevelopment project in the Fillmore district. The venture led to his financial ruin.
“I went through a lot there, and I don’t really want to go back into that situation,” said Powell, a onetime gospel singer, real estate investor and restaurateur. “It was devastating for me. I lost my business. I lost my home. I lost my property. I don’t want to blame them, because I don’t think it would do any good.”
For 30 years, Powell ran the popular barbecue joint Powell’s Place in Hayes Valley. The Fillmore neighborhood redevelopment project was closed in 2009, and today Powell’s former restaurant — and $360,000 in San Francisco Redevelopment Agency loans that he could not repay — exist only as line items in a new city controller’s audit.
The agency is being criticized for handing out millions of dollars without proper controls or even standards for evaluating whether grants and loans did any good, and then making inadequate efforts to collect loan payments.
The State Supreme Court this week gave Gov. Jerry Brown approval to shut down the state’s approximately 400 redevelopment agencies, a move that Brown said would free $1.7 billion to help reduce the state’s budget deficit. Civic leaders including mayors Ed Lee of San Francisco and Jean Quan of Oakland said the decision would destroy a program that revitalized some of the most blighted parts of their cities.
“Time and time again, San Francisco has demonstrated that when redevelopment is used to its fullest potential, it can deliver results,” Lee said on Dec. 29, citing the South of Market redevelopment projects Yerba Buena Gardens and Mission Bay as examples of successes.
But critics of the redevelopment agencies said they were little more than slush funds for city officials to spend on other projects or to dole out to political allies and friends. And the recent audit of the Fillmore redevelopment area by the city’s controller’s office concluded that there was virtually no oversight of the money.
Tiffany Bohee, who began as the redevelopment agency’s executive director in October, did not return several calls seeking comment, but she responded to the controller’s audit with a letter saying her agency had created systems to monitor spending and contract performance. She also wrote that she would produce a staff manual on making loans.
Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of San Francisco Planning and Urban Development, a nonprofit research firm, said redevelopment agencies had used many strategies. “Some of them worked, and some of them didn’t,” he said. “The same agency that made Mission Bay happen also gave out money to community groups in other areas without as much to show for that.”
The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency was created in 1948 to modernize parts of the city. The first and most famous of those efforts involved razing, and in some cases moving, hundreds of Fillmore-area Victorian row houses occupied by black families, and eliminating dozens of black-owned businesses just west of downtown San Francisco. The Fillmore Street jazz scene, which thrived in the 1940s, faded away.
Critics said the redevelopment agency’s Fillmore jazz district plan, established in 1995, was an attempt to make amends for those urban renewal efforts. They said that by the time the redevelopment program was closed in 2009, the agency had squandered millions of dollars in grants, loans, contracts and subcontracts, leaving behind a few high-rise condominium buildings, a neighborhood of empty storefronts and lingering resentments.
“This was the agency’s attempt to do penance for its past sins,” said Barbara Meskunas, who from 2005 to 2009 served on the Western Addition redevelopment area’s project area committee.
Nadja Adolf
Redevelopment has always been a slush fund to guarantee developer profits for projects that no sensible private investor would fund. Historically, redevelopment has specialized in condemning and stealing the homes of working people for the benefit of large development corporations and other political cronies.
In San Jose, the "downtown" redevelopment shuttered and destroyed dozens of businesses, almost all new immigrant Asian or Latino owned. Very few businesses displaced by redevelopment ever return to prosperity since they depended on an community destroyed by redevelopment.
In many areas redevelopment specializes in artificially building romantic versions of compact 1890s neighborhoods which quickly deteriorate because the features that make them allegedly "walkable" also make them extremely "robbable." The New Urbanism depends on "eyes on the street" for security and conveniently forgets that the housewives who comprised those "eyes on the street" no longer exist since most American women now work outside the house.
Stephanie Dalton
There is much I have to say about this.... 7.2 million dollars were given to Yoshis San Francisco - a total of 54.7 million dollars of SF Redevelopment loan money went into the Filmore District - with the observation I have been yelling about - there are virtually NO audits, controls or management over these funds.... The fact that these funds were given to create a JAZZ District - and not even as much as a penny has gone back to the local musicians - furious is the word - Ross Mirikarimi should be ashamed - he is a hustler for sure!
And as for Kaz Kajimura - this is not the fault of JAZZ - SFJAZZ is doing quite well with much less - Lincoln Center is doing just fine - you are a poor business man - who took advantage of a good thing - and blames everyone else for your failures except for yourself! In my little world of Urban Music Presents (www.urbanmusicpresents.com) I work with many small business owners and the small business musicians - the idea of two small businesses coming together is to boost each other up financially - clearly Kaz Kajimura - your only solution to lifes problems have been how much can you get, how much can you blame and how much can you yell and cuss! Yoshis has been cut throat with the local musician community and I speak from this as I presented 14 shows at Yoshis SF and 6 shows at Yoshis Oakland in 2011 - and I have received 100's of calls and emails regarding their practices in dealing with our local artists.
Yoshis isn't the only Fillmore District venue that has taken advantage of the trust of musicians - Rasselas - and owner Agonafaur is a HUGE participant in this offense! Kaz blames people not wanting to support jazz as the woes of Yoshis - the woes of Yoshis has to do with high ticket prices, ridiculously expensive food and cocktails - and 45 min sets for the big artists that rolls through - and then how you have treated the local musician community is shockingly poor -
As for my critics - what I have observed with you - you have not done anything to work with local artists are local businesses to cultivate a regular groove - you can come in with artists from Cuba and the Philipines and think Yoshis is wonderful - but try doing a Monday night 22 times in one year and have an average draw of 159 - and then be yelled at by the owner that I don't know what I am doing - give me a break! I am glad this is being finally realized - and I can only hope for the small venue businesses that remain in SF - who are struggling to get going - who want to support the local musician that they get even a fraction of the break Yoshis got - shame on Kaz Kajimura - time to retire! And shame on irresponsible lending - these funds should not ever have gone to a district for the sake of building up a district - but should have gone to responsible business ownership - God knows there are plenty of them out there who could have properly stewarded their business - Yoshis needs $15k a day to operate - that is what I call irresponsible -
Harmonia Balanza
You think Yoshi's is bad to local artists--you can add Rraz to the list too!
OldSarge
Back in THE DAY (late 40's, 50's, and early 60's), Fillmore was a multi racial community. Everyone that actually lived there knew each other, regardless of color. In fact I was in the first class of Ben Franklin Jr High School (Burl Toler was my gym teacher). Business was booming from Hayes St to Pine St on Fillmore, however, it was also known as 'the ghetto', or the 'black district'. I remember KC BBQ, the American Theater, the roller skating rink which was turned into a rock icon. I grew up with Jerry Garcia who incidently lived on Post St. When I returned from the Army I found the entire 'Western Addition' bulldozed' and new condos being build. I've always felt this was San Francisco's way of removing a black neighborhood where every got along well. No guns, only switchblades (smile), but hardly anyone got cut. They should have just went in and did rodent control, repaired some structures and streets, and left well enough alone. It WAS a happy place to live. Now I hear about millions of dollars being pumped into the area basically only to Asians who's domain used to be on upper Post St in Japan Town, and China Town. I'm now ashamed to say I ever lived in SF, but when I do, I stand proud that I was raised to be multi-racial and not bigoted as a lot are today. SF will NEVER see it's old glory of KDIA, KSAN, Uncle Tiny, Jumpin George. Those wishing to discuss THE DAY can email me at rich@richgreene.com. Hate mail will be ignored and sources considered. Bring back the ol'Filmo where I know the #22 still runs through it. I live in Kansas now - boring - and KC BBQ is way overrated. I'll take KC BBQ on Fillmore and Ellis anytime,or the Chicken Shack at O'Farrell and Steiner. I also walked Hamilton Playground before they built the 'new' pool. Remember the Friday night dances there? Now what did this have to do with spending millions to upgrade the district? Not much, but then it doesn't look like much has been done but move poor black's out of their homes and over to Marin City or elsewhere.
OldSarge
P.S. A few years ago I dropped in to the Hamilton Playground 'new' buildings to see what has changed. I was also one of the first kids to jump in that pool. When I went to the pool area I only saw Asians. Nothing against Asians, however, where were the white people, the black people, others? This kinda pissed me off. My old 'hood' wasn't 'my' hood anymore.
Michael Boyd
Redevelopment is/was a Mafia operation. Always was and always will be.
You can not have a system based on the bet that property values will always continue to rise without the checks and balance of elected oversight of billions of dollars of debt derived from property tax increment financing. And that's exactly what redevelopment is; it is based on the increase in property tax that is expected occur because of increased property valuation from the infusion of cash into redevelopment projects. But what happens when the money goes to "payola" or "pocket cash" instead? Your left with the misery of the Fillmore and Bay View Hunters Point we see today and throughout the SF bay area.
The problem in San Francisco is especially acute where this Mafia has existed for over fifty years leaving the City swimming in a sea of unsustainable debt that can never be paid back because the value on which this debt was supposed to be based isn't there. It is just a matter of time before this whole fraudcanoe collapses.
Maybe the Bay Citizen could do an expose on 50 years of redevelopment in SF, what where the so-called projects; who where the bought politicians, and who where the Mafia Dons/investors? Maybe it could lead to a book even...50 years is a long time you know.
marc os
Redevelopment always had the best dressed audiences of any commission in town, we're talking stylish in their finery.
I wonder why that might have been?
M L
The Fillmore was Japantown until the heinous internment of Japanese during WWII. The homes of citizens were seized from them and never returned. During the war the port of San Francisco (and Oakland, Richmond, etc.) boomed and the jobs generated demand for labor and a concurrent migration of people into the city. For blacks, the newly emptied Fillmore became the place to land.
By the 1960's some of the neighborhood had deteriorated into a slum (all romantic notions otherwise are just that) and as we all know, in the 60's cities just couldn't tear things down fast enough. People were relocated and in many cases relocated right back into large housing projects sprinkled throughout the Western Addition. The myth of some sort of diaspora are greatly exaggerated.
For the Japanese descended Americans, on the other hand, it was truly a crime what happened to them.
As for redevelopment agencies, I can only home their dismantling leads to the dismantling of their sisters: the other large, unwieldy and generally destructive mega-agencies that fell into fashion over the last decades -- the malevolent and demented SFMTA and SF Planning departments would be a great place to start.
Harmonia Balanza
Gee...lack of oversight, poor money management
at the Redevelopment Agency. So what else is new?
Funding is finally being cut because... duh ...people are getting hip
to the Redevelopment sleazies of the last 30 years.
Harmonia Balanza
P.S. And I live in the Fillmore...have talked to people
who grew up here back in the day...lots of resentment
among those who somehow managed to stay.
Redevelopment was a royal con, that's for sure.
And man, their buildings sure are UGGGGLLLLAYYY!
The money for buildings ended up on a number
of commissioners feet...and backs...and heads.
But citizens are dumb and apathetic and don't listen
to whistleblowers, so this is what they get.