From ‘The Ingleside Light’ May 2014 article by Elisabetta Silvestro
Many people call him Mayor of Ocean Avenue.
Al Harris, 75, has been part of the Ingleside community for four decades, and actively working toward positive changes in the neigthborhood for more han half of that time.
“That’s my way to give back,” he said. “Everybody should be involved.”
Originally from San Bernardino, he moved to San Francisco 50 years ago and worked as a community organizer at the OMI Family Resource Center.
Now retired, he volunteers for nine community organizations, including OMI Neighbors In Action and the District 11 Council.
“I’ve seen a big change in this neighborhood. I’ve seen it go up and down,” he said. “It went down in the 80s. There was a lot of drug dealing, robberies, break-ins.”
He started attending community meetings in 1992 with his wife Mary Harris to help Minnie and Lovie Ward who were trying to take back Ocean View Park from the drug dealers.
“We thought it was pretty good what they were doing and we just kept going from there,” he said.
Mary Harris, 64, is very active in the community. She is the president of OMI Neighbors In Action and the District 11 Council and volunteers for a dozen other organizations. She also works as a nanny.
“We don’t have a lot of money, but we have time,” she said.
Mary Harris advocated for the building of a new school, a new library and, together with her husband, for the renovation of the Ocean View Park and Recreation Center.
“People trust my husband and me because we’ve been so faithful for all these years,” she said. “Over 20 years of working to get stuff.”
Al Harris was one of the founders of the Ocean Avenue Revitalization Collaborative in 2000.
“We would meet every month, clean the streets, clean out graffiti,” he said.
Eventually they were able to hire a person to advocate for them and organize their efforts with other community organizations which led to the formation of a Community Benefit District in 2010.
Things got done absolutely better, Al Harris said.
In recent years through, with rents going up, things have been changing again.
“I’ve seen a lot of the people that lived here before have moved. A lot of new people moved in, a lot of immigrants,” he said. “The Asian community here has really swelled in the last 10 years.
The African-American community in Ingleside used to be a lot stronger, he said, and it has been declining over the last 10 years as many people moved to Oakland and other East Bay cities where rents are cheaper.
Al Harris often works closely with the police department to address issues in District 11-public safety in particular. He is part of the Citizens Advisory Board that meets every month with the Taraval Police District Capt. Curtis Lum.
The board, including Al Harris, help the Captain gauge the community’s priorities, Lum said. “[Al Harris] is very supportive of the police department.”
“I would like for us to be one of the safest neighborhoods in the city,” Al Harris said.
At the moment, Al Harris is focused on pedestrian safety.
“Al is acutely attuned to the need for community participation, especially in the OMI.” Dan Weaver, Ocean Avenue Association executive director, said. “The OMI community is not well organized to address ongoing public issues. He knows this and is always trying to increase participation.”
Al Harris hopes the future of the neighborhood will see even more revitalization, with a nice mix of different businesses.
“At one time we were overloaded with hair salons and barber shops,” he said, laughing.
Al Harris would like Ocean Avenue to become a more vibrant commercial quarter and is satisfied with the neighborhood finally getting a bank and a Whole Foods grocery store.
“My husband and I, we have lots of awards and it means nothing to me. That’s not why we do it. I tell my husband I want my children to be proud of us, and I want our children to be the next generation,” Mary Harris said. “Volunteer. Give back to your community.”
Al and Mary Harris are happy that their children are following in their footsteps.
“They definitely taught me to have a voice,” Julie Harris, 32, said, and not to remain silent when she sees an injustice.
And the Harris family intends to continue living in Ingleside, where they’ve put down roots and invested so much time.
“I like it because of the people. I like it because of its location, close to the freeway, and transportation is excellent,” he said.