Sunday Streets meets fundraising goal to host half-season of neighborhood street festivals

""It's kind of belittling because during the pandemic, we were the organization that was asked to do a lot of the very first street activations," said Patricia Barraza, expressing disappointment over funding cuts."

""The focus on downtown seems very limiting," said Sally Chen, criticizing the inequitable distribution of funds favoring downtown revitalization over neighborhood events."

""To have this stark difference between the amount of money that's getting poured into just one neighborhood or just one set of neighborhoods versus the rest of the city is, frankly, inequitable," Chen added."

"Chen mentioned that Sunday Streets can only guarantee three organized events this year due to uncertainties with the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency."

Sunday Streets has successfully raised $100,000 through donations, allowing them to hold a half-season in 2026 with events in Tenderloin, Bayview, and Excelsior. A second donor's matching funds may help recover the $215,758 lost from city funding. Despite this success, organizers express disappointment over the city's funding cuts, highlighting inequities in resource allocation favoring downtown revitalization over neighborhood events. Uncertainty remains regarding collaboration with the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency, affecting event planning and marketing efforts.

Read at Mission Local