Supervisor Ed Jew: Learning the Ropes at City Hall

I have met an amazing number of people in my first two months at City Hall. It all began with my official swearing-in on Jan. 8, when I was inundated for requests for tickets and could only get 10 passes.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano was kind enough to give me five of his, but I still had to face a lot of angry people who couldn't get in, and that was just my family! (I have a very large family.)

On the evening of the eighth, I hosted a community celebration at the United Irish Cultural Center and a great time was had by all. My friend Jan Yanehiro served as Mistress of Ceremonies, John Carlin started off the evening with a fine bagpipe performance, and Norman Young arranged for a performance by the visiting Shaolin Kung Fu Performance Team from China that was in town.

I can never thank all of you enough for your show of support and sincere good wishes on one of the happiest days of my life.

Street Trees Halted
I was no sooner sworn in than my office began receiving phone calls from Sunset homeowners who were furious that the city was planting trees in front of their houses without their permission. I found out that the mayor's office had ordered the "greening" of the Sunset between 24th and 28th avenues, and that contractors were instructed to plant trees at sites where designated by the City, not homeowners.

Notices were sent to designated property owners in advance, but many people with whom I spoke never received them. Not only were the tree placements raising legitimate concerns about sidewalk repairs necessitated by root growth, and the city's failure to maintain other trees planted in the same neighborhood, the City also made the mistake of ignoring the principles of feng shui when placing the trees, which was very upsetting to many Asian Americans.

Department of Public Works directors Fred Abadi and Mohammed Nuru have been very accommodating to my complaints about the street trees, and have halted the new plantings. A couple trees have even been removed and relocated to other sites after requests by homeowners. I am very grateful for their cooperation with my office.

Street trees can be wonderful assets when they are of the appropriate species and are sensitively placed, and can raise property values while adding to the beauty of any neighborhood. I am simply requesting that future tree placement plans be thoroughly vetted with the affected neighborhoods to be certain that these assets will be appreciated and properly maintained.

Pedestrian Safety
On the morning on Jan. 18, an 88-year-old Sunset resident for more than three decades, On Chan, was struck by a speeding motorist while crossing Lincoln Way at 30th Avenue. He was in a crosswalk. The motorist in the first traffic lane stopped for him but the motorist in the second traffic lane did not stop and hit him as he crossed the street.

He was rushed to SF General Hospital but passed away from his injuries that same afternoon.

Tragedies like this can be avoided if we all become more aware. If you are driving, look for pedestrians - they have the right of way. If you are a pedestrian, don't assume that drivers will stop just because you are in a crosswalk.

More Police on Duty
Finally, I'm pleased to report that Taraval Station has three more officers on duty this month, and by the first part of February will have one more. These four officers are assigned to Taraval as part of the department's "re-entry" program, whereby officers who have been off work for a specified length of time for a variety of reasons are trained for re-entry into the police force.

At my suggestion, Chief Heather Fong was kind enough to assign these four re-entry officers to Taraval Station, where Sunset residents will have the benefit of this additional police presence for the next six weeks. I am hopeful Fong will continue placing these re-entry officers at Taraval on a regular basis, at least until the SF Police Department can recruit and train enough new officers to bring the SFPD up to full strength across the City.

Ed Jew is a San Francisco Supervisor representing District 4.