It's been just over seven years since the city and a nascent business district decided that Rincon Hill needed some rebranding, and they tried to make "East Cut" happen. It never happened, and now Google and Apple Maps seem to agree.
What began as the Greater Rincon Hill Community Benefit District (CBD) morphed, two years in, to the East Cut CBD in 2017. And realtors and others started beating the drum for this new neighborhood designation that no one asked for. SFist immediately voiced an objection, and we assumed that this would just go away eventually like other neighborhood rebrands that failed to catch on (anyone remember SoCha?).
Now, as some Redditors have noticed, East Cut no longer appears as it previously, prominently did, as a neighborhood designation when you bring up a map of SF on Google Maps or Apple Maps. Nor, though, does Rincon Hill — but if you Google "Rincon Hill" it will still show you a map outline of the general area, west of the Embarcadero, northwest of Bryant Street, south of Folsom, east of Second. (The East Cut, as originally defined, was larger, and included a swath of SoMa up to Jessie Street.)
As SFGate notes, you can specifically search for "East Cut" on Apple Maps and it will appear, but it will disappear again if you just open the regular SF map.
The East Cut CBD still has a headquarters that appears on the map, and they still have a website. And one Redditor notes that there are still East Cut flags on streetlamp poles along Main Street — so it seems unlikely that the CBD has any intention of dropping the name anytime soon.
Because neighborhood residents pay a special assessment to fund the CBD, they technically footed the bill for the rebrand by a branding and marketing agency — to the tune of $68,000 about eight or nine years ago, as SFGate previously reported. (NBC Bay Area later surmised this was about $120 per resident.) And a survey of residents in 2018 found that about 90% of East Cut residents thought the East Cut name was dumb.
They are still benefiting from The Crossing at East Cut, the temporary activation of what was formerly the temporary Transbay bus terminal — a paved area bounded by Folsom, Howard, Beale, and Main Streets — that features two mini soccer fields, five pickleball courts, a beer garden, outdoor cinema, and regular food concessions and events.
The East Cut CBD has eight staffers listed on its website, and it is one of 15 CBDs in the city, which each operate as separate nonprofits.
We've reached out to the CBD for comment, and will update this piece if we hear back.
Update: A rep for the CBD, Uma Sakhalkar, gave us a statement saying they have no plans to further "market the name," but did not offer comment on its removal from the maps. "Our interest is in serving the community who uses and loves our vibrant, active, open spaces. We have over 12k residents (and growing) and office workers who are returning to the buildings in our neighborhood, and we are proud to provide a welcoming experience for all of them with a stellar Ambassador team, 600+ programs/events annually, and fast-moving plans for the biggest park in Downtown SF," Sakhalkar says.
Photo via East Cut CBD
