Supervisors Allocate Funds To Greater Ingleside For Neighborhood Programs

The Ingleside Light's independent news relies on readers. Sign up for the weekly email newsletter or become a member.

The greater Ingleside’s district supervisors allocated funds for a variety of neighborhood projects, ranging from expanded youth programs to cultural community events, in the city’s upcoming budget.

Through the controversial add-back process, District 7 Supervisor Norman Yee and District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai each allocated funding for several projects in the neighborhood. The budget, to be finalized on Sept. 22, is subject to possible changes.

Yee directed $25,000 to the Recreation and Park Department for outdoor movie nights and family-friendly activities with two to occur at the Ingleside Library; $90,000 to the Department of Children, Youth and their Families for youth leadership and cultural events including Lunar New Year on Ocean Avenue; and an additional $94,224 to DCYF for youth programming on Ocean Avenue in Ingleside.

“We have preliminarily reached out to the YMCA about continuing their previous programming and wanted it specifically for activation of [Ingleside Library] public open space,” Yee’s offce told The Ingleside Light via email about the RPD funding. “However, we also put some flexibility into the funds to consider other spaces if needed, since it has been hard to predict what might happen during the pandemic.”

Yee said that he hopes the funds for youth programming on Ocean Avenue go toward expanding and augmenting that type of programming at Ingleside Presbyterian Church.

“This is my final budget and it isn’t everything we had hoped for,” Yee said in a statement. “Before the current crisis, we all had grander plans, but we have to meet the moment.”

Safai set aside $100,000 for the Department of Aging and Adult Services to provide a congregate daily meal program assisting seniors in the Lakeview/Ocean View-Merced Heights-Ingleside neighborhood and $25,000 toward the Public Utilities Commission for an architecture program for youth in the Excelsior and OMI.

Monica Chinchilla, legislative aide to Safai, said that while their office avoids specifying which organizations will receive funding, several meet the qualifications to administer programming.

Chinchilla named the I.T. Bookman Center as a nonprofit that seniors with a congregate meal program in the OMI, Youth Art Exchange as one that offers an architecture program for youth in the Excelsior and OMI; and James Denman Middle School Beacon Center as a program with a need for a transitional-aged youth case manager.

“We were faced with many hard choices as we are trying to balance a $1.7 billion deficit, but we are proud of the investment we have been able to make to our district and will work for more resources in years to come,” Safai said.

The proposed city budget can be viewed here.

Updated with comment from District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai’s office.