DHIA And Council Against Absentee Landlords

The Downtown Hayward Improvement Association (DHIA) gave a presentation to the City Council on March 17th and shared their frustration with long-vacant properties in Downtown Hayward. Marco Li Mandry and Nick Yoo, from NewCity America which facilitated the creation of the DHIA, highlighted the work of the DHIA and shared frustrations with long-vacant properties often expressed by the City Council. However, Mr. Li Mandry admitted that there was little that the DHIA could do to compel property owners to take on tenants—such power, he said, lies with the City Council.

Faith Ringgold Closure Comes To City Hall

Members of the community, with the assistance of parent and student advocate Araceli Orozco, took to public comment to protest the closure of the Faith Ringgold School of Arts and Science. Ms. Orozco recognized that the City did not have jurisdiction over HUSD. But as a part of Mayor Mark Salinas's Education City initiative, the speakers urged City Council to convince HUSD to not close Faith Ringgold.

The participants, holding handmade signs, alleged that the Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) was in violation of AB 1912. Proposed by Assemblymember Mia Bonta 2022, AB1912 outlines steps a school district must take to approve the closure of a school site when it is under "financial distress." However, according to the legislation:

“financial distress” means a school district with an emergency apportionment pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 41320)

Apportionment, according to Section 41320.2 of California Ed Code, is an emergency loan from the State of California. Therefore it is likely that AB 1912 does not apply to HUSD. They have not taken an emergency loan from the State of California, they have taken a short-term cash-flow loan from the Alameda County Board of Education which is on track to be repaid before the end of the fiscal year.

"I have been tracking the Faith Ringgold issue," Mayor Salinas said. "And I have been talking to the Superintendent and the School Board. We are certainly watching the process and making sure that the process is followed."

DHIA Pushes For More Homes Downtown

The Downtown Hayward Improvement Association (DHIA) is a Neighborhood Improvement District that covers most of Downtown—from City Center and Lincoln Landing to the Downtown Core, along D Street to the Downtown Hayward BART station. It includes over 230 parcels within its borders, most of which are businesses. Every building within DHIA pays an additional property tax fee which funds the DHIA and its activities. "This really is the heart of the City," said Marco Li Mandry.

According to their presentation, the DHIA has a FY 26 budget of just over $800,000 which helps fund street cleaning crews, a Public Relations team, and all the other activities the DHIA conducts. According to Mr. Li Mandry, the Sidewalk Operations, Beautification, and Order (SOBO) Committee is "defensive" while the District Identity and Streetscape Improvement (DISI) Committee is "offensive," and includes the contract with Olive Public Relations, which manages the DHIA social media presence.

Mr. Nick Woo said that 11 new businesses had opened in Downtown in the last year, but also said that Downtown events can be a challenge for them. "Some of our challenge was dealing with street closures," he said, as well as competition from food trucks. His aim going forward is to try to make sure that events don't disrupt daily business.

Other future initiatives include a Big Belly decorating contest for local artists and more local events. DHIA is partnering with West Coast Makers on upcoming events like Juneteenth, the Latin Jazz Festival, and proposed night markets in the Fall. They also want to host another Taste of Hayward event and expand it even more.

DHIA Developing Downtown

DHIA has a Land Use and Project Review Committee which reviews development projects, projects which Mr. Li Mandry was particularly excited about. "We believe that the more residents live in downtown," he said, "whether it be market rate or affordable, the better for all the businesses in downtown." He specifically pointed to the coming B and Main project which will be a 6 story mixed-use building with 30 residential units. Mr. Li Mandry was especially excited about parking lots. "[They] create opportunities not only for parking but also for mixed-use development," he said.

When that project came before the Planning Commission in 2024, Commissioners worried about parking, the shadows such a big building would cast, and the need for more commercial space with so much vacant downtown already. However, State law ultimately forced the Commission to approve the development—though it is unclear when the project will be finished.

Eventually, Mr. Li Mandry addressed the many vacant buildings Downtown. "There are some property owners that don't really care if they collect rent or not," he said. "We don't have a magic wand to make them suddenly realize that they should be generating revenue and filling their location."

Multiple members of the City Council agreed with the vacancy issue and asked Mr. Li Mandry if he was able to do something about it. He said he regularly sends information to owners but said that it's "an issue of trust." The DHIA has no enforcement powers to punish them, that's the City's purview, but he said he tries to motivate them. "We may want to talk about strengthening our definition of blight," Councilmember George Syrop said. "We really need folks to activate properties if they haven't."

Councilmember Syrop also expressed interest in improved parking enforcement, something Mr. Li Mandry said was coming in July of this year. "Business owners complain that employees park out front all day long," he said. "Without managed parking, it's going to be a problem." Councilmember Julie Roche believed that parking was mostly taken up by employees. Mr. Li Mandry suggested using the parking structures, but that employees need to feel safe leaving their car there all day.

Infrastructure Project Site Gets Facelift

The City of Hayward's Public Works Department unveiled a new dashboard for the Capital Improvement Program, using the ClearPoint platform that was first used in 2024 for the City's Strategic Plan. The new dashboard includes updates for over 100 different projects across 10 categories as of December of 2025. Each project can be found on the dashboard with a color-coded status and an estimated completion date.

The City Council celebrated the dashboard. "This is way more user-friendly and accessible to the public," Councilmember Angela Andrews said. Some began thinking of ways to make the information even more accessible. Councilmember George Syrop asked if the information could be combined with the Development Pipeline Map to have one map with all projects throughout the city in one place. "It kind of feels like a logical next step to me," he said. Councilmembers Julie Roche and Ray Bonilla agreed that it would be a very helpful change, if possible.

Public Works Director Alex Ameri supported the idea, but fell short of promising anything.