By Jose Alonzo Velazquez • May 31, 2025
On Saturday afternoon, a group of about 50 people gathered in front of Nineteen21, a restaurant and lounge at 1701 Yosemite St. in the Bayview neighborhood for Walk The Block SF.
It was an event organized by SF Hip Hop, a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating the Bay Area’s contribution to the hip-hop music genre, locally and around the world.
Kamel Jacot-Bell of San Francisco, along with Alex Aquino, started SF Hip Hop a year ago. This was the first Walk The Block SF event in Bayview-Hunters Point. “We wanted to do something impactful in the community,” said Jacot-Bell. “We want to celebrate the neighborhood and support local businesses.”
Walk The Block promotes health awareness, safety, and unity in San Francisco neighborhoods. It’s an opportunity for people to get outside, get to know their neighbors and support local businesses in the area. The event Saturday stretched about a mile down Third Street. A mix of young and old participants made stops at local small businesses to shop, gather and socialize.
Mayor Daniel Lurie arrived around 1 p.m.; he listened to a rendition of “Lift Every Voice” by participants and joined in a group prayer before making the walk up Third Street. Lurie said he joined the walk to support the Bayview community.
“The energy on this walk, the leadership, this is what every community needs, and Bayview has it,” Lurie said. The mayor said that he enjoyed some good barbecue and sugar cookies during the community walk. He took one last group picture with organizers and participants at Third and Quesada streets before heading out.
The sugar cookies the mayor raved about are from Yvonne’s Southern Sweets at 5128 Third St. The owner, Yvonne Hines, is a lifelong resident; her grandparents moved here in the 1940s to work in the Hunters Point Shipyard.
“I’m able to represent my culture through my award-winning Southern sweets,” she said. “I’m around my people. I love it. I love the Bayview.” Hines’ small, warm bakery is adorned with awards and pictures of the Hines family with former mayors London Breed and Ed Lee.
Monique Hayes, the owner of Lets Eat BBQ & More, also got high praise from Mayor Lurie. Hayes opened the restaurant with her husband, “Mr. Lee,” in 2011. Hayes said that she took a break after the death of her husband in 2019, along with the ordeal of the COVID-19 pandemic. She reopened the restaurant on Valentine’s Day this year.
“It was our anniversary. I didn’t even realize it,” Hayes said with a smile. She said it’s been a roller coaster owning a business in the neighborhood.
“But I love my community. I love my people. We have to get people in the community to support community businesses,” said Hayes. She said she was hopeful that the Walk The Block SF event would help bring people together in the neighborhood.
Hayes, who has lived in here for the last 30 years, says she’s excited about the next generation of entrepreneurs coming from the neighborhood.
One of those entrepreneurs is Dontaye Ball. A neighborhood local, he is the owner of Gumbo Social on Third Street. He began his business as a pop-up side hustle and committed full-time after losing his job during the pandemic. Ball opened Gumbo Social’s brick-and-mortar restaurant at 5176 Third St. almost two years ago in his childhood neighborhood.
“It’s a place where, if you can capture the mind, soul and hearts of the community, folks will support you,” said Ball on his decision to open a business here.
Residents, activists and organizers took over the entire sidewalk on a sunny day in San Francisco. Among them was Kevin Epps, the executive editor of San Francisco Bayview newspaper and the filmmaker behind “Straight Outta Hunters Point.” Epps said that he hoped today’s event would introduce people to what Bayview Hunters Point truly is.
“What better way to be introduced to the community,” he said. “It’s not what you heard, or what is posted on the Citizen app. It’s really love out here.” The event culminated with a block party at the historic Bayview Opera House, with food, music and entertainment.
This was the second Walk The Block SF event. The first took place in the Fillmore. The organizers of SF Hip Hop plan to expand the event to more neighborhoods soon. Their next event will be the July 19, SF Hip Hop Festival at the Midway at 900 Marin St.
