MEDIA ADVISORY / REQUEST FOR ONSITE COVERAGE

 

Media Contact: David Perry & Associates

 (415) 693-0583 // cell: (415) 412-2496 // news@davidperry.com

 

WHO:                          Union Square Business Improvement District (BID) takes part in

 

WHAT:                        The Annual ““Clean Team” ” kick-off

 

WHEN:                        Saturday, February 5 -- beginning at 9am

 

WHERE:                      Hallidie Plaza (5th & Market Street)

 

IN ATTENDANCE:     Mayor Gavin Newsom

                                    DPW Director, Ed Lee

                                    DPW Deputy Director, Mohammed Nuru

                       

WEBSITE                    www.unionsquarebid.com

 

DETAIL: Union Square BID welcomes and will join the Community “Clean Team”  in the Annual “Clean Team”  Kickoff on Saturday, February 5 beginning at 9am.  This year the “Clean Team” kicks-off in District 6 to make it clean, green, and beautiful. Cleanup events will be going on throughout the district. All supplies are provided, and lunch is served after the event at noon.

 

“We're very excited that this year's kick-off will be held in District 6,” said Leigh Ann Baughman, Union Square BID Executive Director.  “Gathering at Hallidie Plaza is especially appropriate in light of the Hallidie Plaza design charrette that was held this past October and the new community consensus around improving this vital transportation and tourist crossroads.”

 

Mayor Newsom will join other city and community leaders to welcome a new year of “Clean Team” volunteer events.  Everyone is encouraged to come out and help clean up the district.  Residents also can contact the “Clean Team” regarding any neighborhood hotspots that need to be cleaned, or if you would like to organize a satellite cleanup site on one of these dates. 

 

The “Clean Team” -- a partnership of the San Francisco Clean City Coalition, the Department of Public Works, and the Recreation and Park Department -- cleans parks, schools, and neighborhoods of the city district by district.  Volunteers will meet at Hallidie Plaza (Market St. at 5th St.) and clean neighborhood streets, remove graffiti, weed sidewalks, and trim trees all over Downtown, South of Market, the Tenderloin, Civic Center, and the North Mission. 

 

District 6 residents can also take advantage of Sunset Scavenger's gigantic “three-debris” boxes.  Three large containers will be available for the recycling, composting, and dropping off of bulky items on Saturday, February 5th at Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling (900-7th Street at Berry).  The drop off event runs from 8am to noon, and residents may bring any large items (such as mattresses, yard waste, furniture, appliances, etc.) and drop them off free of charge.  Hazardous materials, such as paint, tires, motor oil, and batteries, are not accepted.

 

For more information regarding the volunteer events or the Gigantic 3 recycling program, please contact the “Clean Team” at (415) 552-9201 or log onto www.sfcleancity.com. 

 

The Union Square Business Improvement District (BID) is a 10-block area where property owners assess themselves to make their community cleaner, safer and more vibrant.  The BID assessment is used to purchase services that supplement those provided by the City. The Union Square BID contains 91 properties and is roughly bounded by Sutter Street to the North, Stockton and Grant Streets to the East, Market Street to the South and Cyril Magnin to the West. In 1994, California joined most states in the country and passed enabling legislation for property based business improvement districts (PBIDS). There are currently over 1,000 BIDS in the United States and Canada. 

 

A unique program of the Union Square BID are the BID“Ambassadors” -- a visible presence for safety and maintenance in the BID’s ten-square-block borders. Easily identifiable by their red and blue uniforms, the Ambassadors provide visitors and tourists with a variety of services including directions, transportation information, emergency response, and even help elderly shoppers with their bags as they cross San Francisco’s busy streets.   Also part of the Union Square BID’s success are the “TAGGers.” “TAGGers” (an acronym for Take Away Graffiti and Grime ) are the primary caretakers for Union Square and the whole BID district.   Every morning they sweep the sidewalks, pick-up and dispose of trash and debris, and remove graffiti from storefronts, buildings, area light poles and street furniture. Sidewalks are steam cleaned twice a month. 

 

For more information on the Union Square Business Improvement District, access their website at www.unionsquarebid.com, or call (415) 421-3135.