said when he introduced the measure, <\/a>only 39 buildings would be protected, and San Francisco currently only protects a little more than one percent of its structures as historic. In New York, that number is five percent.<\/p>\nGerard Koskovich, an architectural historian, noted:<\/p>\n
The \u201ctheme park\u201d slur is an expression of profound contempt for the historical significance of the Castro and notably its importance to international cultural heritage as perhaps the best-known gayborhood anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n
A theme park is an artificially conceived corporate entertainment zone. The Castro as a historic district is the opposite: a built environment elaborated over decades by countless individuals, organizations and small businesses and embodying the history of struggles for equality and social respect.<\/p>\n
In a city where only 1.5 percent of the parcels are officially landmarked, there\u2019s every reason to protect a small portion of the Castro from the YIMBY bulldozers. No one can reasonably argue that preserving the meaning and heritage of the neighborhood in this way impedes housing development.<\/p>\n
YIMBY violence sees every inch of every existing neighborhood as a blank space awaiting appropriation by predatory real-estate speculators and every current resident as an obstacle to corporate wealth extraction. It\u2019s up to all of us to say no thanks to their grim program.<\/p>\n
It would seem that the future of the Castro would be a major issue in the D8 supes race. But so far, two front runners aren\u2019t addressing it, much less calling out the Yimbys.<\/p>\n
Manny Yuketeil, who has the support of the mayor and the Democratic Party, declined to respond to my texts asking if he supports the Mandelman legislation. Gary McCoy, who has the support of SF Yimby, told me he\u2019s \u201cnot paying much attention\u201d to the historic preservation bill but said he\u2019s not in favor of \u201c2,500 arbitrary landmarks\u201d in the city. He said he would consider supporting some building landmarks in the Castro, but not parking lots. (Mandelman\u2019s legislation does not include any parking lots.)<\/p>\n
Michael Nguyen, who is challenging Yuketiel and McCoy, told me that he doesn\u2019t support everything Mandelman has done, but in this case, he\u2019s on board. Calling the Castro a theme park \u201cis homophobic,\u201d he told me, and said that the center of the LGBTQ+ movement needs to be protected from demolition.<\/p>\n
Sponsored link<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nMandelman told me he would stick to his remarks at the board, where he said that \u201cdespite some over-the-top\u201d comments by opponents, the city can meet its housing needs without destroying its history.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m surprised this has not become a more central issue in the D8 race. Other than the BAR, I don\u2019t think any local news media have covered it.<\/p>\n
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Is the birthplace of SF LGBTQ+ movement not worth protecting?<\/p>\n