MossForDistrict10.com
"District 10 residents love their neighborhoods. They want a supervisor who is going to listen to their concerns, and fight for what they need."
—Steve Moss
On behalf of the U.S. Treasury Department, between '07 and '08 Steve traveled to Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, eight times, to consult with Ministry of Finance officials, hold workshops with governmental staff, and collaborate with other international financing agencies on policy reform efforts.
Viewpoints
+Full List of Publisher's View
August 2009
Publisher’s View: Conflict
Whenever a new park is being planned, or an old one renovated, conflict inevitably surfaces between those who want more space for (unleashed) dogs and those who want a larger dog-free area for their children to roam, with athletic playing field advocates occasionally getting into the mix. Tempers flared over the right size and place for the dog use area when Esprit Park was being remodeled a few years ago. Dog-lovers have fought efforts to replace the natural grass with artificial turf on the baseball diamond cum dog run above the Potrero Hill Recreation Center. And heated conversations are occurring over how best to accommodate dogs and families as part of a campaign to reclaim McKinley Square’s denuded grassy area and surrounding trails.
While the conflicts often turn on arguments about how damaging dogs can be to grass, or the political power of the dog lobby, they’re really driven by something much larger: a lack of green space, particularly in Southeast San Francisco. We’re nipping at each other because we’re increasingly feeling caged-in. And unless we act soon, it’s going to get worse.
Roughly a quarter of a million dogs and children share our seven by seven miles peninsula, with dogs making up the better half. The Dogpatch, Mission Bay, and Showplace Square neighborhoods are expected to house or employ tens of thousands of additional people, along with their pets, over the next two decades. Yet rather than creating the kind of vision that led to Golden Gate Park more than a century ago, current planning efforts mostly focus on turning a few wide streets into plazas and pocket parks. Unless we ratchet-up the public conversation to a completely different level, chances are by mid-century dogs, families, athletes, and the homeless will be stumbling over one another on small patches of grass wedged between (non-gasoline-powered) car-choked streets.
On a sunny weekend Dolores Park – outside of Golden Gate Park, the City’s premier urban space even with its patchy grass, unusable restrooms, and odd lack of logical pathways – attracts upwards of 10,000 hipsters, soccer players, kids, and dogs, all neatly ghettoized into their few hundred yards of paradise. Although Esprit Park serves a similar, if smaller, role, and there’s hope that significant open space will be created as part of Pier 70 redevelopment, Southeast San Francisco deserves multiple Dolores Parks.
Given current land use patterns, the most likely candidate to play that role is Jackson Park, combined with a public-private partnership to turn the fallowed Goodman Lumber site into a field-intensive sports complex. Jackson Park should be re-imaged as a larger open space that’s designed to meet the community’s future needs. The park should be extended onto Carolina Street, and, if a deal can be struck with the developer, include all or part of the lot to the west. One or both of the athletic fields, which mostly cater to sporting teams from outside the neighborhood, should be removed, to make way for larger play areas for local singles and families, pet-less or otherwise. Reserving more than half the park for use by athletes from throughout the Bay Area doesn’t makes sense in a community that needs more room to roam.
Although Lowe’s has an option to turn the Goodman Lumber site into another of its outlets, the national chain already has a store less than 10 miles away. Transforming this block into a multi-level sports complex, with athletic fields, indoor play spaces, ice skating rink, and pool, would be a better use for it then creating another overgrown hardware outlet. Since it’s dominated by light manufacturing uses, it’s a an appropriate area to place fields that cater to athletes that travel multiple miles to compete.
Well-resolved conflict, focused in the right direction, is the pathway to a better future. Rather than pitting our dogs and kids against each other, let’s join packs to create enough space for all of us. Politicians have a weak-spot for well-mannered canines and cute children. And if they’re not willing to play ball, our dogs and kids should be encouraged to vocalize together in a mighty howl.
Publisher’s View: Politics June Issue, 2010
Patronage politics is hurting San Francisco.
Publisher’s View: Dense May Issue, 2010
Higher density development in District 10 needs to be matched with increased investment in public infrastructure, including schools, transportation, and open space.
Publisher’s View: Schools April Issue, 2010
It's time to step-up in support of our public schools.
Publisher’s View: Nature March Issue, 2010
We need to recapture some of the sense of freedom and room to roam for our children, especially in urban areas.
Publisher’s View: Industrial Policy February Issue, 2010
In the current great recession, job creation is of central importance.
Publisher’s View: Community January Issue, 2010
Community is what makes San Francisco's neighborhoods such great places to live.
Publisher’s View: Rebuild December Issue, 2009
Public financing is needed to effectively rebuild public housing while creating essential community amenities.
Publisher’s View: Toxic Development November Issue, 2009
More needs to be done to address Southeast San Francisco's poor air quality.
Publisher’s View: Jobs October Issue, 2009
Job creation requires creative government policies that are neighborhood-focused.
Publisher’s View: Supervisor September Issue, 2009
Publishing a newspaper and running for supervisor requires a thoughtful approach to maintain journalistic integrity.
Publisher’s View: Dead Plant Walking May Issue, 2009
It's not needed, we don't want it: close the Potrero Power Plant now.
Publisher’s View: Care April Issue, 2009
Let's redirect energy subsidies for low-income families to make their, and our, lives better.
Publisher’s View: Yes We CanDecember Issue, 2008
Obama has made community organizing cool. What are you going to do about it?
Publisher’s View: Focused EnergyAugust Issue, 2008
Let's create a new, community-based energy system: organic energy.