#TheEastCut is San Francisco’s fastest-growing and most exciting neighborhood! We talked with The East Cut and got the scoop on this local effort to unite the Rincon Hill and Transbay areas under a new banner and identity befitting the neighborhood.

A little background on The East Cut…
The East Cut name is a local effort that unites the Rincon Hill, Folsom Street, and Transbay areas under a recognizable banner and identity befitting the neighborhood. The East Cut creates a sense of place and pride, while harkening back to when the community first became an important part of San Francisco. After the Gold Rush, Rincon Hill, one of the seven original hills of the City, was one of San Francisco’s most elegant and fashionable neighborhoods. Then in 1869, city planners decided to flatten the center of Rincon Hill along 2nd Street, creating the 2nd Street Cut. This unique part of San Francisco has experienced significant change and growth in the past few decades, including the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway, the densest concentration of new housing and commercial construction in the Bay Area, and the creation of thousands of new jobs. You can read more about the history here.

The East Cut CBD was created in 2016 and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works to advance neighborhood quality of life, enhance the public realm and reinforce the viability of the local economic base to make for a more connected community. The East Cut CBD neighborhood covers nearly 20 city blocks, from Mission to Harrison and Second to Steuart Streets. 

The East Cut was good enough to take the time to answer a few of our questions.

Can you summarize a few of the services The East Cut provides to the neighborhood?

Cleaning and Maintenance:
The East Cut CBD’s mission is to create a clean and safe environment for our community. The East Cut CBD’s crew provides daily cleaning and beautification, including sidewalk sweeping and power washing, graffiti abatement, topping off City trash cans, weeding tree basins and sidewalk cracks, and spot cleaning health hazards. These critical services go beyond baseline City services to ensure that The East Cut is an inviting and accessible neighborhood in which to live, work, and visit.

Security:
The #1 priority of The East Cut CBD is to ensure a safe environment for the more than 100,000 residents, employees and visitors who move through The East Cut every day. We are the only district in the City to offer 24/7 neighborhood security. Our patrol teams cover the entire CBD to deter crime and communicate with SFPD for effective, coordinated action.

Community Guides:
Along with our clean and safe teams, the CBD fields community guides who offer assistance and directions to locals and visitors. Operating as the “eyes and ears” of The East Cut, our guides connect individuals with key services, respond compassionately to calls for homeless outreach, and ensure that the district operates smoothly, fulfilling its mission to provide a safe and desirable neighborhood for all.

Parks and Greenspace:
The CBD is also charged with ensuring the vitality of our area’s extensive green spaces and maintains parks, rain gardens, sidewalk landscaping, and parklets throughout the neighborhood. In the next few years, The East Cut CBD also will add four new neighborhood parks to its operations, and partner with the Transbay Joint Powers Authority to operate and maintain the rooftop park above the new Salesforce Transit Center.

What is the easiest way to report a service request?

The East Cut street services & safety team is out sweeping the streets, picking up trash, removing graffiti, and keeping the neighborhood safe twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. All are encouraged to report an issue either by calling our 24 dispatch line at 415.543.8223, emailing us at dispatch@theeastcut.org, submitting on our website: theeastcut.org/make-a-service-request or Tweeting us at @ECdispatch.

What are some of the biggest accomplishments The East Cut has made so far?

Fiscal Year 2016-17 marked the first full year of operations for The East Cut Community Benefit District. The first priority of the district’s Board of Directors, staff, and community was to establish responsive, high-quality clean and safe services. We are proud to have achieved our current levels of service, and continually analyze the program to improve systems and make appropriate changes. To assist our clean team, we launched a pilot program of the Downtown Streets Team, which employs four homeless or formerly homeless people for one year. The members help clean and beautify the streets, and develop skills through the program that will help them find permanent employment. You can explore the FY16-17 annual report for more exciting information!

Another big success was the launch of the South Downtown Design + Activation (Soda) plan with the San Francisco Planning Department. The plan is to develop a design and activation plan for the streets, sidewalks and open spaces in The East Cut district. Since the plan’s kick-off in August, we have engaged over 1,000 residents and launched an online listening tool for those to engage with each other online. 

Can you share some exciting events you have planned for 2018?

Most of our events thus far has been focused on activating underutilized retail spaces within The East Cut with pop-up events, and we will continue doing so into 2018. Our monthly pop-up art + culture series “Third Fridays” will take place on the third Friday of the month through May. We will also continue holding outreach meetings and workshops for the South Downtown Design + Activation Plan. And of course we’re all looking forward to the imminent opening of the Salesforce Transit Center and its 5.4 acre rooftop park.

What distinguishes The East Cut from other neighborhoods in the City?

If you stroll around the East Cut neighborhood today, amid the hustle-bustle you’ll discover intimate public spaces featuring world-class public art along with surprise views of the Bay sparkling in the sunshine and the twinkling Bay Lights racing across the Bay Bridge at night. Where coffee once roasted in the Hills Brothers factory and seamen lugged goods from docked ships, we now have modern office towers that are home to some of the most innovative companies in the world. The East Cut is animated by a vibrant cosmopolitan spirit that celebrates the grand reward of urban living – constant motion and evolution, serendipitous encounters, unanticipated inspiration. The East Cut has evolved from a colorful and rich history to epitomize the dynamic future of San Francisco.

And in the near future, the East Cut district will be the most transit- rich and densest community in the history of San Francisco. With 2,700 new housing units in the pipeline, our district’s residential population will swell from 10,000 to 15,000+ neighbors by 2020. A large portion of these new units will have affordable options exceeding the city’s goals, creating one of the most diverse residential populations in the city.

List 3 ways residents can get involved in the neighborhood:

We’re thrilled with the level of engagement from our stakeholders, which is a testament to the excitement and investment local residents and businesses bring to the area. The best way to get involved and stay informed on upcoming events and engagement opportunities is to subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/c7Z_3j and to follow us on social media at facebook.com/theeastcut and Twitter and Instagram at @theeastcut. 

Describe The East Cut neighborhood in 3 words:

Dynamic, Layered, Cosmopolitan

Much like the City at large, the East Cut is animated by a vibrant cosmopolitan spirit that celebrates the grand reward of urban living – constant motion and evolution, serendipitous encounters, unanticipated inspiration. The East Cut has evolved from a colorful and rich history to epitomize the dynamic future of San Francisco.

Read more about the East Cut from the East Cut Community Benefit District on their website.

Sincerely Yours
Jasper is a convergence. Of structure and imagination. Of the classic and the eclectic. Of art and life. This 400-foot high-rise apartment building crowns San Francisco’s fabled Rincon Hill and stands as an iconic addition to the city skyline. It is a statement about elegance in a place where elegance actually means something. Be sure to follow Jasper on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Instagram as we share news and updates about our exciting new community.  #rentjasper It’s a heck of a place to call home.