By Patricia de Llano Colado (Director of Business Meeting, Opinno)
Pier 38 is home to over 150 employees and 40 small businesses. The space is vitally important — not just because current businesses, but Pier 38 generates over 20 *new* businesses a year in San Francisco. It is the home of multiple business incubators, a collaborative workspace to share ideas and experience, and generator of many new jobs. Instagram, 99 designs, True Ventures, Polaris Ventures are but a few of the companies at Pier 38.
On September 6th, the Port Authority issued notices to evict all tenants from Pier 38, due to safety issues. Most of these issues are easily correctable, and there are commitments from multiple Pier 38 businesses to repair issues.
On September 14th, a rally was organized, retweeted, Facebooked and made the news to @Pier38. Many small business owners spoke before the Board of Supervisors, to tell their story, and the impact of an eviction.
Recently, the Mayor’s Office, Fire Chief, Port Authority, D6 Supervisor Jane Kim, and D10 Supervisor Malia Cohen met with tenants at Pier 1 to discuss the issues involved.
We’ve also created a petition and your support is greatly appreciated here.
Editor’s note: Got a question for our guest blogger? Leave a message in the comments below.
About the guest blogger: Patricia de Llano Colado is the Director of Business Meetings (BM) at Opinno, Open Innovation, a Spanish incubator at Pier 38. She manages all BM operations in the US, helping international companies connect with VCs, angels, government organizations and business leaders within the Web, Mobile, Cleantech and Biotech industries. Patricia holds an MS in Telecom Engineering from the ETSIT Polytechnic University of Madrid as well as a postgraduate degree in Business Administration at UC Berkeley.
