Effort to rebrand San Francisco neighborhood as 'The East Cut'
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - San Francisco may have a new neighborhood depending on who you ask. It's called "The East Cut" and includes the area where Salesforce Tower is, but it has many long-time residents asking, "Where is that?"
New York Times reported the so-called East Cut is included on Google Maps. It's little more than a year old and appears to include an area from Mission Street to the Bay Bridge and from Embarcadero to 2nd Street. %INLINE%
So who's behind all this? The East Cut dot org (theeastcut.org) is a Community Benefits District (CBD) and a non-profit corporation. According to their website, the group formed in 2015 as Greater Rincon Hill Community Benefit District.
San Francisco has 16 existing CBDs. They are also known as Business Improvement Districts with a goal of "improving quality of life." You may recall the recent story of 'Permit Betty' who was revealed to be an employee of a Yerba Buena Community Benefits District (YBCD) contractor and how she was fired for misrepresenting the YBCD.
In a YouTube video the theeastcut.org claims they aren't out to replace historic names for areas like Rincon Hill, but that their idea is to unify a number of neighborhoods under one name.
"Apparently from what I've read, the people didn't have a sense of identity. So, they kind of made this name up. But, as a city resident I personally always liked it as Rincon," said Dale Johnson of San Francisco.
Even the most San Francisco of San Franciscans didn't know where the neighborhood was.
"I have not heard of The East Cut," former Mayor Willie Brown said when asked if he was in the know.
A few people we asked did seem to know about the neighborhood and organizers from the CBD say the neighborhood is growing quickly, with an estimated 12,000 people living in The East Cut.
An elevated park, Salesforce Tower and The Millennium Tower are all landmarks in the area. The group says with an influx of new residents, new outdoor spaces and businesses, that it's time for a new identity.
Even those who aren't completely on board with the new name say the city is all about reinvention and is always evolving.
"That's what makes this such an incredible interesting city. A new neighborhood is about to be born called the East Cut. Maybe a supervisor will run from the East Cut," said Former Mayor Brown.