Dear Friends,

In addition to what we’re reporting in our summer newsletter, I wanted to share a few more thoughts with those who know us best.

The Recession, Affordable Housing and TNDC

The current recession has greatly impacted TNDC, particularly in two respects.  The income of our residents has been reduced (see the Director’s Desk in the newsletter), and we have experienced diminished donations from individuals, foundations and corporations.

But the impact of the recession on TNDC goes deeper than the short term difficulties these factors are causing, with ominous implications for Tenderloin and San Francisco residents.  Five years ago, addressing the affordable housing crisis in San Francisco, the City moved aggressively to initiate new projects, especially for families.  However, while it could identify enough public funding to acquire these projects, the City could not at the time identify sufficient funds to begin construction.  Undeterred, San Francisco chose to take a calculated risk that more public money would materialize by the time construction was ready to begin.  Unfortunately, no additional affordable housing funds have appeared.  Proposition B, a local ballot measure that would have funded affordable housing in San Francisco, was defeated in November 2008.  Exacerbating the problem, the $2.3 billion in Proposition 1C State funding approved in 2006, which TNDC has successfully accessed over the past three years, has now been nearly depleted.

The absence of new City funding and the disappearance of State money, combined with the near-collapse of the low income housing tax credit equity market, has led potential investors who normally bust down the walls to participate in our projects to now say “sorry, no.”  With scant prospects for new City, State or Federal funding for affordable housing in the next three years, the implication for TNDC and the Tenderloin is dire.  Four high-rise family projects, totaling over 500 units, will be suspended indefinitely as we wait for new public sources of affordable housing financing.  Each will eventually be built, but the delay means that hundreds of families and literally thousands of people who might otherwise live in decent, safe, affordable housing will have to wait.

But Not All Is Doom and Gloom

Yet, TNDC continues to make a difference in the Tenderloin and beyond.

1. Fourteen children and youth just returned from New York City, where they visited six schools as a part of TNDC’s Tenderloin After-School Program’s annual College Tour.
2. We celebrated the opening of two new buildings, Arnett Watson Apartments and 990 Polk Street, with our partners Community Housing Partnership and Citizens Housing.  The latter garnered a coveted Golden Nugget Grand Award at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference.
3. We proudly celebrated our own Paul Sussman’s being named CFO of the Year in community service, awarded by the San Francisco Business Times and Larkin Street Youth Services.
4. Enterprise Community Partners has invited us to pilot a new “green retrofit” program to upgrade the energy efficiency of older, existing buildings.  We plan to participate, knowing that this will improve our own bottom line and help the environment, as well as assist other organizations who follow.
5. We were awarded $17 million by the State towards redeveloping the historic YMCA as housing for chronically homeless individuals and a ground-floor health and wellness clinic.
6. And speaking of history, we’re delighted to announce that the Tenderloin has been officially designated a historic district and placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Leadership in Times of Trouble

In these times, TNDC is needed more than ever.  Decent, safe, affordable housing lies at the heart of so many issues, and is the very foundation from which every one of us builds a good quality of life. TNDC levels the playing field; we give those who are struggling in circumstances of poverty a better chance at life success.  By providing this foundation, we can help people increase their odds of attending college, attaining a better job, saving money, staying healthy—indeed, of improving the quality of life for themselves and their families.

The late, great Jim Rouse once wrote:

“It takes a big goal, a big image, to energize people.  The rational image of what can be is the biggest power generator there is, and the least used.  We tend to settle for some small objectives, small goals, because they seem to be doable, instead of the big goals which are actually more doable because of the great support they generate…”

It is in that spirit that TNDC moves forward––not retrenching in fear, or downsizing our expectations, but aspiring to achieve real, significant and lasting change in people’s lives and in the life of the community.  Thank you for supporting that vision.

Sincerely,

Donald S. Falk
Executive Director