{"id":237561,"date":"2026-03-26T13:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237561\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T13:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:58:10","slug":"muni-train-crashed-into-luries-rivian-costing-21k-plus-sunset-supe-angers-yimbys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237561\/","title":{"rendered":"Muni train crashed into Lurie\u2019s Rivian, costing $21K. Plus: Sunset supe angers YIMBYs"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is from Power Play, a twice-weekly newsletter rounding up the latest City Hall and local politics gossip. To sign up, visit The Standard\u2019s newsletter page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s \u201cTussle in the Tenderloin<\/a>\u201d this month raised eyebrows and questions about his propensity for hopping out of his vehicle<\/a> and mixing it up on the street. But another incident, in December, involving the mayor\u2019s security detail and suped-up black Rivian went quietly under the radar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That time, it wasn\u2019t people on the sidewalk who came to blows with Team Lurie but a historic, green San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency streetcar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Video (opens in new tab)<\/a> from Dec. 11, obtained by Power Play, shows Lurie\u2019s Rivian colliding with an F-Market & Wharves streetcar heading southbound on Market Street. The $134,000 electric vehicle (bought and donated to the city<\/a> by Lurie himself) stops abruptly at the intersection of Octavia Boulevard while turning on its police lights, attempting to make a U-turn at a prohibited left-turn intersection. The streetcar does not have time to stop and collides with the Rivian, pushing it a couple of feet to the left of the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Video of Muni streetcar striking Mayor Daniel Lurie\u2019s Rivian in December 2025. | Source: SFMTA<\/p>\n

The train operator reported that someone onboard was injured, according to SFMTA records; however, video shot from inside the streetcar doesn\u2019t appear to show anyone with a serious injury. A records request to the city attorney\u2019s office returned no accident-related injury claims against the city in connection with the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, what appeared to be a minor crash turned out to be a surprisingly expensive repair for the streetcar. (Welcome to San Francisco<\/a>.) For parts, paint, labor, and lost revenue to the SFMTA, the bill came to a whopping $21,438. That particular streetcar was built in 1946 in San Diego (opens in new tab)<\/a>, and the model is in use in few places around the world, meaning SFMTA machinists often have to build parts from scratch (opens in new tab)<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lurie\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment about whether he was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. The video doesn\u2019t show him exiting the Rivian after the incident; instead, an unidentified staffer holding what appears to be a blazer jumps out and crosses the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n

San Francisco Police Department policy states (opens in new tab)<\/a> that lights and sirens should be used \u201conly when an emergency response appears reasonably necessary to prevent serious injury to persons, whether or not a criminal offense is involved.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an unrelated incident, David Lazar, a former assistant SFPD chief, in an apparent violation of policy, used the lights on his unmarked police car to get around traffic during 2025\u2019s NBA All-Star Weekend, resulting in a crash (opens in new tab)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So what was the Rivian, driven by SFPD officer Noel Castro, doing with its lights on? SFPD spokesperson Mason Lee said only that it was \u201cfor a law enforcement purpose.\u201d He added, \u201cThe U-Turn was necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of injury to persons at the scene.\u201d Lee declined to provide additional details but said that an investigation had found that the streetcar operator was at fault for following the Rivian too closely.<\/p>\n

A streetcar operator who spoke anonymously with Power Play said they usually keep one train\u2019s length (about 60 feet) away from vehicles, and braking can depend on a host of factors, including street conditions and weather. \u2014 G.G. and J.F.R.<\/p>\n

Got tips? Send to us at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Marie Hurabiell sent a demand letter to KQED. | Camille Cohen\/The Standard<\/p>\n

WHERE\u2019S MY INVITE: After the embarrassing cancellation (opens in new tab)<\/a> of a gubernatorial debate by the University of Southern California (this writer\u2019s alma mater) because of the exclusion of some candidates, a San Francisco congressional candidate is pressuring a media organization over her exclusion from a debate stage.<\/p>\n

Political activist and former Trump appointee Marie Hurabiell has hired well-traveled election attorney Jim Sutton, who sent a letter (opens in new tab)<\/a> to KQED regarding her omission from an upcoming debate.<\/p>\n

In the letter, Sutton argues that KQED could be at risk of violating the law, noting that nonprofits must exercise caution when excluding candidates and ensure their selection criteria are neutral.<\/p>\n

\u201cChoosing which candidates may participate in a debate when other candidates may still decide to run \u2026 is by definition arbitrary and unreasonable,\u201d Sutton wrote.<\/p>\n

KQED had previously responded to Sutton that it set a Feb. 23 deadline for participants\u2019 qualification \u2014 a cutoff that came two days before Hurabiell announced her candidacy<\/a> \u2014 to allow sufficient time for production. The station claimed that adjusting the deadline for a specific candidate would be inequitable. Another requirement is that candidates must either raise $100,000 or receive contributions from 500 donors in their most recent filing, which was due at the end of 2025<\/a>. Peter Cavagnaro, KQED\u2019s communications director, confirmed Wednesday that the decision to exclude Hurabiell remains unchanged and that the organization is committed to a fair, transparent, and substantive event.<\/p>\n

Hurabiell said the campaign is filing a formal complaint to the Federal Election Commission.<\/p>\n

The debate is scheduled (opens in new tab)<\/a> for Tuesday evening and will feature the other candidates seeking to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi: Supervisor Connie Chan, former congressional staffer and software engineer Saikat Chakrabarti, and state Sen. Scott Wiener. \u2014 H.L.<\/p>\n

ON HER OWN: Speaking of Hurabiell, the self-described\u00a0 \u201ccommonsense\u201d candidate has done something nonsensical for an aspiring San Francisco politician: She turned down the chance to proclaim the rights of transgender people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A San Francisco Democratic Party proposal (opens in new tab)<\/a> to reaffirm the city as a sanctuary for transgender people, authored by local Dems Emma Hare, Peter Gallotta, and Eric Kingsbury, was dutifully endorsed by Wiener, Chakrabarti, and Chan.<\/p>\n

But not Hurabiell, who has been vocal on X about her anti-trans stance and told Power Play she is neutral on the measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely support defending the rights, safety, and dignity of all San Franciscans. That being said, it\u2019s well known I object to biological males accessing women\u2019s sports or spaces based on self-identification,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For years, Hurabiell has essentially denied the existence of transgender people in tweets we won\u2019t link to here. But such a stance puts her out of step with pretty much every other political player in town, including her close ally Lurie, whose campaign promised to support (opens in new tab)<\/a> trans youth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kingsbury noted that the candidate was out of step with local Dems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a party that agrees with her,\u201d he quipped. \u201cIt\u2019s not the Democratic one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SF Democratic Party will vote on the measure at Wednesday\u2019s regular meeting. It\u2019ll likely sail through.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31.\u00a0\u2014 J.F.R.<\/p>\n

SUNSET BETRAYAL: The San Francisco YIMBY party endorsed Supervisor Alan Wong for his June reelection bid after he supported a major upzoning effort<\/a> last year. Now the group feels betrayed.<\/p>\n

Wong has initiated a petition (opens in new tab)<\/a> calling for the cleanup of a toxic plume beneath the 2500 block of Irving Street, an effort that just happens to also target a controversial affordable housing project<\/a>. Wong and nearby residents say (opens in new tab)<\/a> toxic dry-cleaning chemicals \u2014 particularly perchloroethylene, or PCE \u2014 have been detected in the subsurface soil and in homes. But housing advocates see other dirty motives at work.<\/p>\n

In a scathing letter (opens in new tab)<\/a>, YIMBY blasted Wong\u2019s move as an inflammatory, NIMBY-driven petition, arguing that the alleged public health risks are based on claims that were thoroughly evaluated and disproved during the permitting process. The group also criticized Wong\u2019s decision to oppose a senior affordable housing project at 1234 Great Highway.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect better from a city supervisor than peddling NIMBY conspiracy theories and opposing affordable housing projects in his district,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n

It is a rare move for YIMBY to publicly rebuke one of its endorsed candidates, and the group could choose to withdraw its endorsement.<\/p>\n

Wong said in a statement that the project has already been built and that it is now more about addressing community concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there is documented evidence of chemical contamination in the surrounding neighborhood, it is understandable that neighbors want more than a narrow, site-only response,\u201d Wong said. \u2014 H.L.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This article is from Power Play, a twice-weekly newsletter rounding up the latest City Hall and local politics…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1752,636,101,103,102,104,106,105,5449,27669],"class_list":["post-237561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-congress","tag-daniel-lurie","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-sfmta","tag-sunset-district"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}