Politics
San Francisco Supervisors Vote to Rename Cesar Chavez Street to Las Campesinas
San Francisco supervisors unanimously approved renaming Cesar Chavez Street to Las Campesinas, with a final vote expected next week. The change follows sexual assault allegations against the street's namesake reported by The New York Times.
San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to rename Cesar Chavez Street to Las Campesinas, advancing a proposal that began earlier this year after Mayor Daniel Lurie convened a working group to reconsider the street's name. The board is scheduled to take a final vote next week.
The effort was prompted by sexual assault allegations against Cesar Chavez reported by The New York Times. Chavez, the late labor leader and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, had long been honored in San Francisco, including with the street that runs through the Mission District and with a nearby elementary school that still bears his name.
The proposed new name, Las Campesinas, translates roughly to "the farmworker women," a shift that supporters say honors the contributions of women in the farmworker movement rather than a single individual.
If the final vote passes as expected, the change would affect addresses, signage, and wayfinding along the corridor, which serves as a major east-west route through the Mission and Bernal Heights neighborhoods. City departments would need to coordinate the logistics of the transition, including notifying residents and businesses.
The renaming debate has unfolded alongside other changes in the Mission District's commercial landscape. Radio Habana Social Club, a Cuban bar and restaurant that opened in 1998, will begin operating as a coffee shop during the day later this month under the name Radio Habana Cafe. Regulars Aziz Saeed and Sarah Zeidat, who are Yemeni and Palestinian respectively, plan to serve coffee, tea, pastries, and a Middle Eastern flatbread, with a soft opening planned for later this month and hours from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week.
Meanwhile, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts is holding a rummage sale on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2868 Mission St., as the institution prepares to vacate its city-owned building for a two-year renovation. The center closed earlier this year amid a financial crisis and is searching for a temporary home, with a community meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 6 to 8 p.m.
In other corridor news, The Drawing Room gallery is set to return to Mission Street at 2401 Mission St. in January, according to signs on the building, though owner Renée DeCarlo declined to share additional details. Square has vacated the former Lucca Ravioli space at 1100 Valencia St., which it had used as a community hub under a short-term lease. And Lahore Karahi & Pizza closed on Saturday after 28 years at 3083 16th St., with owners Aijaz Ghani and Mehjabeen Sheikh retiring, according to their son Shaheer Sheikh.