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New Castro welcome center opens amid fanfare
Vol. 53 • No. 17 • April 27-May 3, 2023
by John Ferrannini
Biden announces reelection bid by Cynthia Laird
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gift shop and welcome center pop-up has opened in the Castro – a bright spot in the San Francisco LGBTQ neighborhood hurt by a spate of business closures. Welcome Castro had a soft opening in the former Levi’s space at 525 Castro Street – which shuttered last year – on April 15. There will be a grand opening celebration featuring a ribbon-cutting April 27, from 4 to 7 p.m., according to a news release from the Castro Merchants Association. “There will be refreshments, drag queens, and a few surprise guests,” Robert Emmons, the store’s proprietor, told the Bay Area Reporter. “I believe the mayor is coming. I haven’t actually confirmed though.” The office of Mayor London Breed confirmed to the B.A.R. Monday that she’ll be attending. Terry Beswick, a gay man on the board of the merchants’ association who fought for city funding to the association and for Welcome Castro at the group’s membership meeting, stated that among the guests will be DJ Nico and drag queens Persia, Christina Ashton, and Olivia Hart will be on hand. “It’s been a trip working on this project, from applying for the city grant to opening the first shop,” Beswick stated to the B.A.R. “I’m excited to see what
C John Ferrannini
Robert Emmons of Welcome Castro explains the significance of an aerial map of upper Market Street. Welcome Castro is having a grand opening celebration April 27.
other shops we can help open, but for now the reward is in seeing the delighted customers coming into the very LGBTQ Welcome Castro. We’re helping to keep the Castro queer, and I think that’s good for everyone.” Emmons, a gay man, is the owner of SF Mercantile in the Haight. Welcome Castro was kick-started by a $50,000 grant from the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development to Castro
Merchants, which has not responded to a request for comment as of press time. Emmons had pledged up to 50% of his net proceeds to the merchants association for 10 months so that money can be used for “multiple additional pop-ups,” according to Beswick, It is hoped those ventures could become viable businesses in the neighborhood. The total grant from the city was for $100,000 See page 12 >>
Safety project along upper Market Street wraps up
by Matthew S. Bajko
Rick Gerharter
A contingent marched in last year’s San Francisco Pride parade.
B.A.R. planning special issues for Pride Month by John Ferrannini
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he Bay Area Reporter will be publishing special reports throughout all five Thursdays of this year’s Pride Month – including in a mammoth-sized issue days before the parade and celebration marking the 54th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. This year marks the 53rd San Francisco Pride parade, set for Sunday, June 25, on Market Street from the Embarcadero to Eighth Street near Civic Center, where the celebration will take place. In addition to the Pride parade, drag artist Juanita MORE! and Alex U. Inn will host their fourth annual People’s March, which started in See page 10 >>
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$10 million project aimed at improving pedestrian and bicycle safety along upper Market Street will be wrapping up in early May. It has also brought new lighting for the palm trees lining the roadway’s median. Work on the Upper Market Safety Project began last summer and was to have been largely finished in early December ahead of the busy holiday shopping season. A ribbon-cutting ceremony with Mayor London Breed also had been planned that month. But the event had to be scrapped due to issues with the control system for the tree lights and a series of storms that had battered the city delaying the roadway work. The unseasonably wet start to 2023 further interrupted the timeline for the project. Now, nearly all the work has been completed and just a few minor components are left to do. “We’re currently performing punch list work. That work should be complete within the next two weeks,” said Alex M. Murillo, the manager of public affairs and communications for construction at San Francisco Public Works. As of now, there is no date for a rescheduled ribbon-cutting ceremony with the mayor, city officials, and community leaders. “As far as a ribbon-cutting ceremony goes, we’ll circle back with invited speakers to determine availability and gauge interest. We’ll update everyone if a
Matthew S. Bajko
LED lights installed at the base of palm trees along upper Market Street are part of a safety project that is nearing completion.
new date is determined,” Murillo told the Bay Area Reporter earlier this month. The changes for one of the main arterial roadways through the city’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood are See page 13 >>
oming four years to the day after he announced his 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden on April 25 formally launched his 2024 reelection effort. The move Courtesy the campaign had been widely anticipated by political President Joe observers, who have Biden formally noted there is no announced other major Demo- his reelection crat seeking the campaign in a party’s presidential video address April 25. nomination. In a video released early Tuesday morning, Biden said, “Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy, stand up for our personal freedoms, and stand up for our right to vote and our civil rights. This is ours. Let’s finish the job.” See page 12 >>
SF supes ground ‘no-fly’ states list by Matthew S. Bajko
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an Francisco’s ban on taxpayer funded travel to states with anti-LGBTQ laws and doing business with companies headquartered in them is coming to an end. It is sure to add momentum to the push by state lawmakers to also end California’s travel ban policy to such states. As expected, the city’s Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 at its meeting Tuesday to repeal the policy known as 12X. First enacted in 2016 to cover states that enacted laws curtailing LGBTQ rights, it was expanded to also apply to states with restrictions on abortion access and voting. It led to the 12X policy covering 30 states, nearly two-thirds of the country. It also sparked a growing backlash to it, as detractors argued it wasn’t effective at promoting the city’s liberal values in other states. Instead, they argued 12X merely resulted in city contracts becoming more expensive due to fewer companies being able to bid on them. Mayor London Breed in late March signed into law a change to the policy that allowed for construction firms in the 30 states to once again bid on public contracts in the city. The supervisors had voted 7-4 for the change, signaling there was also support to scrap the entirety of 12X. Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman authored the ordinance to do just that, with Supervisors Ahsha Safaí of District 11, See page 10 >>
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