SAN FRANCISCO — The dedication of Jeff Adachi Way is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 12 p.m. at the corner of Bryant and Gilbert streets in San Francisco.
There will be a short program followed by the unveiling of the street sign.
A number of elected officials, including Supervisor Matt Haney, whose district includes the street, and community leaders supported the renaming of the street following Adachi’s death in February 2019 at the age of 59.
Adachi was first elected head of the Public Defender’s Office in 2002 and began working there as an attorney in 1987.
Gilbert Street, which will be renamed between Bryant and Brannan, runs parallel to Seventh Street. For over 30 years, Adachi used the street to get to the Hall of Justice.
People who live and work on the street, and those who own property there, opposed the name change because of the expense and trouble of changing their addresses. The city compromised by not renaming the entire street, which is two blocks long.
“It is fitting tribute to Jeff’s legacy as a champion of justice and fairness to rename Gilbert Street in his honor,” Haney said last year. “In the future, countless attorneys will walk down Jeff Adachi Way and be reminded of his unrelenting commitment to justice, as they step into the Hall of Justice to further his legacy themselves.”
“Jeff Adachi dedicated his life to setting vulnerable people on the right path and championing criminal justice reform,” said Manohar Raju, who was appointed to replace Adachi. “He left an imprint on the neighborhood and communities of San Francisco, so it’s fitting that this city that he loved so much would name a street after him.”
Adachi is also remembered as a leader in the Japanese American Citizens League, Asian American Theater Company, Asian American Arts Foundation and other community organizations, as well as a documentary filmmaker.
The street was originally named after Edward Gilbert, who was a politician, soldier and journalist during the Gold Rush.