Renovation of a library in San Francisco, California. Conceptual plans call for the renovation of a library.

Ocean View Branch Project Project is in City and County of San Francisco - Building Inspection capital budget fy 2026-2035CIP _______________________________________________________________________________________________ San Francisco legislators are trying to pressure Mayor London Breed's administration to move forward with plans to build a library at a specific location on the southwest side of the city, a project that Supervisor Ahsha Safai has accused Breed of blocking because he's challenging her reelection bid. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed an ordinance that directs the city to "prioritize" city-owned open space at Brotherhood Way and Orizaba Avenue for the development of a library serving the Oceanview, Merced Heights, Ingleside and Lakeview neighborhoods. City officials started considering that site years ago as a possible spot to construct a replacement for an existing library on Randolph Street that Safai said is far too small to properly serve the community. But Safai, whose district includes the proposed library site, said last month that he was dismayed to learn that Breed's administration had begun to consider other locations for the project. He told the Chronicle at the time that he suspected Breed might be "trying to punish the community" because she was angered by his "challenge to her position as mayor." ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Breed's office has denied that claim. At a Dec. 12 public question-and-answer session with supervisors, Breed said there wasn't enough community agreement on the proposed new location and that she also had concerns about the cost of building on the originally planned site, especially in light of the city's budget challenges. Safai said supervisors had already put some funding for the library project on reserve. At Tuesday's board meeting, Safai told his colleagues that the project has "undoubtedly grown in cost and size" in recent years, "but it's a solvable problem." "There is no alternative site," he said. The current neighborhood library branch on Randolph Street is so small that schoolchildren who use it sometimes had to do so in shifts, community members have said. A new facility could more than double the size of the current building. Safai's ordinance passed on an 8-3 vote after he watered down language that would have required the city to build any new library in the area at the open space along Brotherhood Way and Orizaba Avenue. The amended version of the ordinance requires only that the city make that location a priority. Supervisors Myrna Melgar, Rafael Mandelman and Matt Dorsey voted no. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad "Contrary to the assertions of some, there's no consensus that this proposed location is the best location," Melgar said. Her district borders the site. In a statement after the vote, Jeff Cretan, a spokesperson for Breed, did not commit to pursuing the project at the location sought by Safai's legislation. "The Mayor is going to continue to work with the community to identify a site that works best for a future library," he said. ____________________ https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/sf-2024-mayoral-election-breed-safai-fight-18549742.php San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai is accusing Mayor London Breed of putting the brakes on plans to build a new library in his district because he is challenging her for mayor next year. Safai on Tuesday publicly asked Breed about the city's intention for the Ocean View branch of the San Francisco Public Library system, which is currently located on Randolph Way. Officials for the past several years had been looking to build a newer and larger library branch nearby on city-owned land at Brotherhood Way and Orizaba Avenue, but Safai said Breed's administration is no longer advancing the project at that site and is now examining other possible locations, frustrating him and community members. Breed told Safai during her monthly question-and-answer session with the Board of Supervisors that the city has good reasons for not moving forward with the Brotherhood Way site. There's not enough community consensus and it's too expensive at a time when the city faces a huge budget deficit and needs to constrain spending, she said. But Safai said the community is on board with the Brotherhood Way site. He told the Chronicle he suspects a different motivation might be to blame: The fact that he is running for mayor next year against Breed. "It just feels like retribution," Safai said in an interview. "It feels like she's trying to punish the community because she's angry at my challenge to her position as mayor." San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai is accusing Mayor London Breed of putting the brakes on plans to build a new library in his district because he is challenging her for mayor next year. San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai is accusing Mayor London Breed of putting the brakes on plans to build a new library in his district because he is challenging her for mayor next year. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle 2021 Breed spokesperson Jeff Cretan firmly denied that the mayor's race had anything to do with the administration's position on the Ocean View library project. "That's wrong," he said in a text message. "This is about the project and the community, not about any elected official. We are continuing to work on a proposal that works best for the community and the city." ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad At Tuesday's board meeting, Safai said District 11 -- which includes the Excelsior and Ocean View neighborhoods -- has the city's highest concentration of young children, families and seniors aging in place. But he said the Ocean View library branch, which was constructed "very quickly" 23 years ago under former Mayor Willie Brown, is the smallest outpost in the city library system. Safai said at the meeting that elementary school children "must enter the library in shifts, otherwise it would be too crowded." "This is an absolute disservice to our children and youth," he said. Breed maintained that the Brotherhood Way location simply wasn't a feasible place to build a new library right now. "There isn't enough money. There isn't consensus on whether or not this is the appropriate location," Breed said at the meeting. "Not to mention, I think in light of where we are with a significant budget deficit, we need to start thinking about how we are going to start cutting costs on issues that impact our overall spending in San Francisco. We have spent a lot of money during good times and have enjoyed good times in order to do major projects of this magnitude, but in light of our upcoming budget deficit, we are going to have to reevaluate and rethink projects that have not already started and think about other ways to get those projects done." ________________ LIB Ocean View Branch Project Fiscal Year: 2023-2024 *Project information has been obtained through a public capital improvement plan (CIP). A CIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the CIP often evolves based on funding availability and the project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.