Committee advances Little Italy Honor Walk plaques for North Beach

The Land Use and Transportation Committee on April 22 voted to forward to the Board a resolution authorizing placement of two commemorative plaques or statuary in North Beach as part of the San Francisco Little Italy Honor Walk Project.

Member Aaron Peskin moved to send the resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation; Vice Chair Dean Preston and Chair Mirna Melgar voted aye and the motion passed. The resolution directs the Department of Public Works to carry out installation at sites near Stockton & Union Street and Stockton & Filbert Street.

Peskin said the first two plaques will honor former Mayor George Moscone and Mariana Bertola, and he credited a coalition of Italian and Italian-American associations and the consul general of Italy for their role in forming the Little Italy Honor Walk Project. He also noted approvals from the Arts Commission and the Department of Public Works for the installations.

Nick Fagoni, vice president of the San Francisco Little Italy Honor Walk, told the committee the effort has taken years and that more than 10 Italian organizations have formed a nonprofit to manage the project; he said the project will include an app and a website to drive visitors to North Beach and benefit small businesses. An architect involved in the project, identified in the transcript as Simone Mazzeto, also thanked the supervisors for their support.

The committee’s positive recommendation moves the resolution to the full Board for final action.