From the President’s Desk

Dear RHN Members and friends,

Please join me in gratitude for the many positive and joyful things we, as RHN members, can celebrate as we approach the end of 2021.

To begin, a very big thank you for being a member of RHN. Your support and participation make our neighborhood the special place we all treasure!

Next, cheers for the many volunteers who make RHN work. Our volunteers including our officers, directors, advisers, committee chairs devote countless hours to enhance our neighborhood.

And what would Russian Hill be without our wonderful local businesses? A big hurrah for them!

A few other accomplishments RHN can celebrate this season:

• Our Parks Committee held 12 events totaling 120 participants, over 300 volunteer hours and collecting 120 bags of compostable materials!
• Our Neighborhood Enhancement Committee organized three street sweeps which averaged about 24 volunteers, and 150 volunteer hours, bagging trash and leaves while enjoying each other’s company. It also submitted five petitions to DPW to obtain mechanical street sweeping on five blocks where none existed before.
• Our Safety Committee organized Zoom meetings to explore ways to create a safer neighborhood and worked closely with our local police stations to address safety concerns.
• Our Transportation Committee co-sponsored a Zoom meeting with SFCTA staff about future plans for congestion pricing in downtown SF and its possible impact on our neighborhood.
• Our Social Committee organized quarterly Zoom orientations for new members and found creative ways to bring members together despite the pandemic limitations, as did our Families Committee.
• Our Local Business Committee advocated for parklet legislation and the reduction and/or elimination of obstacles that burden new and existing businesses.
• Our Design Zoning Land Use (DZLU) committee reviewed, conducted site visits, and where appropriate, supported proposed projects within our boundaries.
• Our Communications Committee created monthly newsletters to keep you informed about RHN and community events and activities.
• We made donations to organizations that serve our community including Francisco Park Conservancy, Next Village, North Beach Citizens, Friends of the Library (for the North Beach Library), the Aquatic Park Senior Center, SF Safe, SFPD’s Central Station’s National Night Out and Yick Wo Elementary School.