Bay Area Reporter - August 2, 2007
Seth Hemmelgarn

This Saturday, August 4, the area's residents will get a brief break. The sixth annual Positively Sixth Street community fair will host more than 30 agencies from fields including mental health, HIV, and low-income housing. There will also be a lot of free food, fun for kids, and dancing in the street.

"It's a really empowering experience, because [residents] do feel connected, even if it's just for a few hours," said Mark Ellinger, who lived in one of the neighborhood's many single-room occupancy hotels for almost six years and now volunteers with the fair. "That's a very big deal for Sixth Street." He referred to the area, which is in the city's South of Market District, as "one of the most neglected and stigmatized neighborhoods in town."

The fair started small but has grown into an event with two live music stages, hot dogs served by the San Francisco Police Department, free haircuts, and face painting and a bounce house for kids, among other activities. It's hoped the fair will draw as many as 2,000 people this year. Most of the people responsible for the event, including planners and entertainers, are from the neighborhood, and many are LGBT, organizers said.

Participation from local agencies is especially important because many people in the neighborhood are unaware of the help that's available to them, Ellinger said. Often, they don't have anybody to ask, or they are reluctant to deal with unfriendly bureaucrats, he added.

"I think [the fair] helps people to realize there are ways for them to improve themselves," said Michael Pacia, who lived on Sixth Street for several years and now a fair co-chair.

One change has been the increasing number of properties that offer help to tenants. For example, TODCO offers social workers and recreation specialists to its residents. Many buildings in the area have been renovated and brought up to safety code. Mike Grisso, a city project manager, said there are plans to build more affordable housing and encourage new businesses in the area, among other improvements.

Crime remains a problem. A map on the San Francisco Police Department's Web site shows there were several offenses related to drugs, theft, assault, robbery, burglary, and vandalism in the area in the last week in July.

However, Edney said police are doing more frequent foot patrols. Ellinger said the area is a "containment zone," where police tolerate criminal activity in hopes of keeping it from spreading. But he said since the fair started, when police do take action they are "making more of an attempt to differentiate between the criminals and the people who are just living there."

The fair is free and open to everyone. It takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Minna Alley at Sixth Street.

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