We are pleased to share that our petition has gained significant traction within our community. The overwhelming support and engagement from fellow community members have been inspiring. We believe it is essential to keep the momentum going and continue our efforts to raise awareness and advocate for our concerns.
To further amplify our cause, we are launching a series of stories from our West SoMa community. These stories will shed light on the lived experiences, challenges, and triumphs of individuals directly affected by the issues we are addressing in our petition. Through personal narratives, we aim to humanize the impact of these challenges and foster greater understanding and empathy.
By sharing these stories, we hope to galvanize even more support and generate meaningful dialogue within and beyond our community. We encourage everyone who has signed the petition to consider sharing their own experiences or stories related to the issues at hand.
Below is the story of a beloved new member of our community: Bay of Burma. For privacy reasons, we have removed the names but kept the rest of the story in its original form.
“Mayor Breed and Supervisor Dorsey,
I feel compelled to send this follow-up note (prior June 5th email) in stark opposition to the 1174 Folsom proposal.
This morning I received the below disheartening email from "Bay of Burma" restaurant owners. Please note this restaurant is literally located at the base of 1174 Folsom. The owners, Kay and Ryan, are amazingly talented and hard working immigrants from Myanmar. They poured their life savings into this small business. They spent over a year navigating the city's byzantine business permit process. They have done everything right. They represent everything right about San Francisco.
I will let the below "Bay of Burma" email speak for itself. At some point, SF elected officials need to represent the interest of its esteemed constituents. The current 1174 Folsom proposal is another step backwards. Let's start making steps forward.
Email from Bay of Burma:
Dear <name>,
I apologize for the delayed response to your message. I deeply appreciate the sincerity and determination with which you are advocating for me and the plight of our restaurant, Bay of Burma.
It pains me to reflect on the incredible journey of establishing this venture, only to confront such an unforeseen and daunting obstacle. As an immigrant, I battled numerous hardships to realize my dream. It took over six years of savings, careful design of the interior and menu, and relentless hard work to build what we see today. This endeavor symbolizes not just a livelihood, but a dream for me and my partner.
Our hearts sank when we discovered that the building where we partially opened our restaurant may soon be transformed into a rehab center. This news triggered an emotional upheaval, as it threatens to undo all the labor and aspirations that have gone into this project. We support the need for rehab centers, understanding their societal importance. However, the way this has been handled by the city is deeply distressing. It's disheartening that we were neither notified about this project nor provided with an eviction notice or any fair compensation.
The timing of the hearing meeting is particularly challenging as we are stretched thin managing both our full-time jobs and the daily responsibilities of the restaurant. I regret that I was unable to attend these crucial meetings in person, but I trust that our concerns will be accurately represented.
The impact of this project on our neighborhood is concerning. Already, we've had negative experiences with drug abuse-related incidents, causing frequent disturbances, such as the homeless person just stole $10 tip that you gave to my employee on Saturday evening and ran away when my employee picked up the bags from the back ( even though there was a table with 3 customers inside at that time), and also a homeless person came in very aggressively and used the bathroom, shouted from the bathroom while my younger sister is serving alone at the front even though she explained the restroom is only for the customers, and etc. There is no doubt this proposal may even escalate these problems and adversely affect the neighborhood's overall ambiance as we can imagine.
Despite these challenges, your support and willingness to champion our cause have instilled a renewed sense of hope. I am very grateful for your advocacy and for highlighting our plight in your letter to Supervisor Dorsey and other city officials. Your recognition of the hardships faced by small business owners like us means more than words can express.
In light of these circumstances, we kindly request any advice or guidance you can provide on how best to address this issue. Your insights into navigating this situation would be invaluable to us as we strive to protect our business and the dream it represents.
Thank you once again,<name>, for your unwavering support and for understanding the essence of what Bay of Burma represents. As we face this challenging period, it is allies like you that provide the strength and inspiration to persevere.
Sincerely,
Kay