Treasure Island Development Authority staff and community partners celebrated the opening of the first block of Cityside Park and reported several near-term community services and resident outreach efforts tied to island activation.

At the meeting, Chair Chen (board president) and other directors praised the park opening as "a gift to the city and the island," and credited landscape architects, the Arts Commission and the Treasure Island Arts Steering Committee for the park design and public art. Chair Chen noted the park uses native plantings and stormwater gardens and anticipated spring wildflowers when the rainy season returns.

Nella Gonzales, executive director of 1 Treasure Island, updated the board on community programming. "We are finalizing the program design and beginning the recruitment for our Treasure Island Community Ambassador program," Gonzales said. The ambassador program is a two-year, on-the-job training program the nonprofit described as targeting 80% island residents and 20% low-income San Franciscans for hire. Gonzales also announced that HealthRight 360 will operate a mobile medical clinic on island once a week beginning Oct. 23 to provide free medical services to residents.

The board heard that Off the Grid food trucks followed the park's opening and would continue to serve the park on Saturdays through Nov. 1, and that kayak and paddleboard rentals have been operating on Sundays at Clipper Cove and will continue through Nov. 2. TIDA staff said Fleet Week planning includes lane-closure permits, temporary restrooms and coordination with SFPD and SFMTA; the Blue Angels will not appear due to a federal government shutdown, though other performers are expected.

On housing and development updates, staff said the Behavioral Health Building (a partnership with DPH) will be advertised for construction in the week following the meeting, and that the development team for the planned senior building will host an informational session for island residents on Nov. 6. Staff also noted TIDA is awaiting a decision on an affordable housing and sustainable communities grant application for Building IC 4.3, which would affect financing for the senior building and related affordable units.

Board members emphasized the importance of tracking visitor counts and activation. TIDA staff said ferry operators had been running additional, larger vessels on Saturdays and had waived fares to ease boarding, which provided accessible service but limited precise ridership receipts for island counts.

Ending note: Directors thanked art and landscape teams and encouraged continued community programming and monitoring of park stewardship and visitor trends.