City Officials Promote Safety Ahead Of Ingleside's Lunar New Year Event

San Francisco leaders gathered in Ingleside Saturday afternoon to promote the neighborhood's annual Lunar New Year event and talk to business owners about public safety.

District 7 and 11 Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Chyanne Chen joined Police Chief Bill Scott for a Lunar New Year merchant walk, stopping by Chase Luck Bakery, Go Go 7, Sweet Cupz and several other businesses. Ingleside’s foot beat officer, Drewkai Butler, also joined the walk and was easily recognizable by several merchant owners.

Before the walk, the officials held a press conference inside Ingleside Community Center to speak about the Feb. 22 Lunar New Year event from noon to 3 p.m. at Unity Plaza. The first event took place six years ago at the community center.

“Every year it has grown bigger and bigger because it is also the recognition that on this side of town and the southwestern side of town,” Melgar said. “We have a very vibrant Chinese community and all other communities that want to support celebrating the New Year together and the wonderful cultural richness that is District 7 and 11.”

Chen said it was also important to celebrate and recognize Black History Month along with the Lunar New Year.

“I think this is significant, and it's also historically very important to recognize that Asian American and African American communities always work together to fight for our struggles,” Chen said.

During the merchant walk, city leaders met with Marilyn Lee, owner of Go Go 7 restaurant. Lee spoke to the media about the broken windows of her businesses, including the restaurant's entrance.

“They cut all the security cameras [and] the phone lines. It was terrible. And they took the cash register,” Lee said. She added that public safety remains an issue late at night when businesses are closed.

Chen, who was sworn into office last month, said break-ins continue to occur. However, she and her staff are working closely with the police captain and District 11 police community liaison, Sam Berenson.

Chen added that she is also working to increase the presence of community ambassadors in the district.

Last year at a public safety meeting, Melgar discussed securing public safety ambassadors for Ingleside as she did for West Portal.

Executive Director Christian Martin of the Ocean Avenue Association, which is in the process of renewal, said at the meeting that the renewal could lead to a larger budget that could pay for safety ambassadors.

“We want to do everything we can to make sure people feel safe,” Scott said “It's not just about the crime statistics. You all hear me all the time talking about whether we're up or down on crime that matters, but it's really how people feel that really matters.”