The Castro has not been immune from our national economic woes. People have lost money in the markets. Homes are worth less than before. Tenants have been impacted when their buildings go into foreclosure. People have lost jobs, and others are concerned that they might. People are spending less, and our local small businesses are struggling, with some going out of business. As with all economic downturns, crime is up. And, both the city and the state are responding to massive budget deficits by slashing health care, infrastructure, and public safety spending.
It would be easy to throw our hands up and conclude that our neighborhood – the capital of LGBT America – is at the whim of larger economic forces and has no control over its destiny. Yet, while we cannot control everything that happens to the Castro economically, there are steps that we as a community can take to increase the neighborhood's vitality, now and in the future.
The Castro's various neighborhood associations are doing just that. We are blessed with various organizations whose mission is to enhance the vitality, safety, and strength of this amazing neighborhood. Following are just a few areas in which our neighborhood organizations are improving the Castro's economic vitality:
� Business attraction and retention : A thriving small business community is key to any neighborhood's success, and the Castro is no different. We have an amazing and diverse collection of small businesses, but many are struggling, and some have gone under, creating vacancies that reduce the neighborhood's vibrancy and that impact other businesses.
The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, the LGBT Community Center, and the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro are addressing this issue by implementing a business attraction program to match up potential commercial tenants with property owners and thus to reduce the number of vacancies. Of course, we need to do more to draw people into the Castro to support the businesses that are already here, but the business attraction program is a great first step.
And, new businesses do continue to come into the neighborhood. Various bars, restaurants, and retailers have opened in the past year. We need to welcome these businesses, shop there, and ensure that they stay in business.
� Neighborhood beautification and creation of open space: Beautiful and inviting neighborhoods attract businesses, tourists, shoppers, and residents. The Castro's various neighborhood associations are working to improve the appearance and physical presentation of the neighborhood to make it a more welcoming place. The CBD, with the support of MUMC, the Eureka Valley Promotion Association, and other organizations, is working to implement the Neighborhood Beautification and Safety Plan. Once implemented, the plan will result in wider sidewalks on Castro Street, increased pedestrian safety, the creation of a pedestrian plaza on 17th Street between Castro and Hartford, and changes to Harvey Milk Plaza to make it a true plaza. These changes, and others, will make the Castro more attractive for foot traffic and will create more vibrant public spaces. This, in turn, will lead to more commercial activity for the neighborhood's small businesses. Committed groups of neighbors also come together regularly to clean and improve our neighborhood parks, ensuring great parks even in the face of budget cuts at the Recreation and Park Department. Similarly, the CBD engages in regular sidewalk cleaning, even as the Department of Public Works has its budget reduced.
� Neighborhood safety: We live in an urban setting and will always have to deal with crime. However, we can make the neighborhood safer, even as the police budget is cut. Castro Community on Patrol, for more than two years, has been providing volunteer, community-based walking patrols several nights a week, with the goal of educating the community about safety issues and being "eyes and ears" when issues arise. And, several neighborhood groups are now taking a global look at safety in the neighborhood in order to have better coordination of resources and strategies. By engaging in smart community policing, we increase the neighborhood's vitality and economic potential.
� Smart growth: The Castro/Upper Market area is poised for significant population growth in coming years. With the new development envisioned in the recently adopted Market-Octavia Plan, our population may increase by as much as 10,000. Our neighborhood associations played a significant role in ensuring that the plan leads to smart growth that contributes to, rather than detract from, our quality of life. These new residents will be customers for local small businesses. We thus need to ensure that we have the right mix of businesses for this increased residential population. We also need to ensure that as the neighborhood's pace of development accelerates, we have sufficient public infrastructure, including sidewalks, open space, and public transportation, to accommodate the growth. For example, the Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association has done a tremendous job working with city government to adopt future enhancements of the Church and Duboce transit corridors to make them safer and better able to accommodate increased ridership.
These are just examples. Every day, our neighborhood associations are working as a safety net for the Castro's quality of life. We encourage everyone with a stake in the neighborhood to get involved.
Scott Wiener is president of the Eureka Valley Promotion Association, which is the neighborhood association for the Castro/Upper Market area (www.evpa.org). Steve Adams is president of Merchants of Upper Market and Castro (www.castromerchants.org). Dominic Campodonico is president of the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District (http://www.castrocbd.org).