Mayor Breed: City Hall to reopen June 7; new Mid‑Market safety and ambassador plan announced

Mayor London Breed told the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on May 18 that City Hall will reopen to the public on June 7 and that she is proposing a community‑focused safety effort for the Mid‑Market corridor.

The mayor said the June 7 reopening will restore in‑person services at multiple City Hall offices — including the assessor’s office, the county clerk, the elections office, the office of small business, and the treasurer/tax collector — and that City Hall rotunda weddings and other in‑person interactions will resume. Board President Walton announced the board chambers would re‑open for members on June 15, with public comment to remain remote and office visits by appointment.

Breed described a Mid‑Market “vibrancy and safety plan” developed with neighborhood stakeholders that she said has two principal elements: more police officers walking beats and a nearly block‑by‑block deployment of community ambassadors from Urban Alchemy, running from UN Plaza to Holiday Plaza. “Sometimes that means making sure we have police officers walking the beats. Other times, it means having a friendly face who can help guide or give directions or help connect people with services,” the mayor said. She thanked UC Hastings and other stakeholders for helping to fund the initial effort and said she will request long‑term funding in the upcoming budget to sustain it.

Breed also highlighted the city’s Community Guardians program — part of the street violence intervention strategy — and said it is being ramped up in neighborhoods including Chinatown and the Tenderloin. She said the program is intended both to prevent violence and to build trust in communities most affected by street crime.

On victim services, Breed said there is no centralized citywide system to support survivors and that her proposed budget will invest in a centralized victim rights advocate with attention to language and cultural barriers, especially for the city’s Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities. “Survivors of crime continuously get left out of this equation…we will invest in victim services,” she said.

Why it matters: The announcements set concrete reopening dates for city services and signal budget priorities — ongoing funding for a blended approach of enforcement and street‑level engagement in Mid‑Market and increased, centralized victim services aimed at API survivors. Those budget requests will be subject to the city’s normal annual budget process.

What’s next: Breed said she will ask for long‑term funding for the Mid‑Market plan and for new victim‑services capacity in her proposed budget. The board and city departments will consider those requests during the budget process this spring and summer.

Attribution: Direct quotes above are from Mayor London Breed and Board President Walton during the May 18, 2021 Board of Supervisors meeting and are drawn from the official meeting transcript.

Ending: The mayor framed the reopening and the safety initiatives as part of a broader effort to restore vibrancy to neighborhoods and to make the city welcoming as San Francisco reopens after the pandemic.