The Saga of Neglected Sunset Boulevard’s Makeover
The closure at Ocean Beach may bring new focus to an embarrassing wasteland that was once a proud neighborhood feature
• • • • • • • • August 2025 • • • • • • • •
Maybe you’ve read in the Standard or seen posts by Supervisor Engardio, but here’s the “rest of the story” from a group of Sunset residents who have been working on this since 2018.
Some positive news and encouraging progress for Sunset Blvd. In 2018, a small group of neighbors began to push for the revitalization of Sunset Boulevard. That group eventually became known as The Friends of Sunset Blvd. We started lobbying former Supervisor Katy Tang to investigate why Sunset Boulevard was in such decrepit condition, and what could be done to fix it. Many emails ensued, including a visit by DPW head honcho and now discredited Department of Public Works (DPW) Director, Mohammad Nuru. DPW is the city department in charge of Sunset Blvd. Nuru came for an on-site visit and walkthrough with a group of neighbors. Not much happened.
Next, we approached Supervisor Gordon Mar with the same concerns. He held a community meeting at St. Ignatius High School to see what might be in the cards for our ailing Boulevard. Mar was able to secure almost $3 million to start working on repairing and replacing the ailing irrigation system and harness the new wastewater pipeline that runs down 36th Avenue as a new source of precious water that the Sunset had been denied due to droughts.
Although Supervisor Mar successfully secured the funds DPW said it needed to revitalize the Boulevard, the outcome was largely frustrating. Timelines for connecting the recycled water line to the Sunset’s system and irrigation pipeline repairs were unmet. The promise to hire gardeners was likewise never realized.”
The money was also to go towards landscaping maintenance. Mar also brought in interim DPW Director Carla Short to increase the gardening staff, which had dwindled to a single gardener to care for two miles of greenbelt.
Although Supervisor Mar successfully secured the funds DPW said it needed to revitalize the Boulevard, the outcome was largely frustrating. Timelines for connecting the recycled water line to the Sunset’s system and irrigation pipeline repairs were unmet. The promise to hire gardeners was likewise never realized.
Next up was new Supervisor Joel Engardio. He was enthusiastic about pushing for meaningful progress to return the street to its former glory. Like Mar, Supervisor Engardio was able to secure more money for the Boulevard and reiterate tentative, previous commitments from now DPW Supervisor Carla Short to hire more gardeners, fix the broken irrigation system, and hook up the wastewater pipeline to give the Boulevard a stable source of water and turn Sunset Boulevard green in the summer. Green is something we haven’t seen in decades.
But alas, those San Francisco bureaucratic gears are slow to turn, and progress seems to keep its glacial pace — until this year.
We interviewed mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie before the 2024 election to get his views on Sunset Boulevard’s condition and possible fixes. We met with him on the Boulevard, and he agreed that the best way to ensure a return to a greenspace was to change the jurisdictional ownership from DPW to Rec and Park. He opined that the lack of progress we’d been experiencing with DPW might be an unsolvable departmental philosophy problem.
In mid-February, we met again with now Mayor Lurie, who reiterated his commitment to the jurisdictional transfer of Sunset Boulevard from DPW to Rec and Park as the best way to ensure the Boulevard was properly cared for. But he had just been elected and had to investigate all the things the transfer would entail, especially given the uncertainty of the looming budget problems he knew San Francisco was to be facing.
Fast forward to now - progress in replacing the aging underground irrigation system has seen some advances — sprinklers have been slowly turned on here and there.
However, due to City Hall’s budgetary woes and other likely bureaucratic sticking points, Sunset Boulevard will not be transferred to Rec and Park’s control in the immediate future, as was promised. However, Mayor Lurie was able to put together a “collaborative partnership” between Rec and Park and DPW. Additionally, they have brought in an apprenticeship program to train new gardeners on Sunset Boulevard.
If you looked at the Boulevard a few months ago, it may not seem like much has been happening, and the money Supervisors Mar and Engardio secured didn’t create many visible improvements. But things have been happening, and we are hopeful that’s all about to change.
Hopefully, between the money secured from the State, money secured by Supervisors Mar and Engardio, new budgetary commitments from Mayor Lurie’s office, and the new partnership between Rec and Park and DPW, along with the new Apprenticeship Gardeners program, District 4 will eventually bring Sunset Boulevard back to its former glory, something Sunset residents can be proud of again!
Friends of Sunset Boulevard: We’re a group of neighbors who strive to support our city’s urban ecosystem and provide safe green spaces for residents to recreate along Sunset Boulevard. Join Us
August 2025
