HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE GATHERED in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, along with local elected leaders and members of the violence prevention and youth developmental organization United Playaz, to help celebrate the opening of the organization’s new community clubhouse.
The 3,200-square-foot facility owned by the nonprofit organization was acquired with the help of city, state and federal grants in 2022. Construction began last year.
Located at 1044 Howard St., between Sixth and Seventh streets, the building cost about $26 million to construct, according to United Playaz founder Rudy Valintino, who spoke on a small side street off Howard Street that was renamed United Playaz Way in 2024.
United Playaz was founded by Valintino in 1994 amid a spate of violence at Balboa High School and to fill a role in the community that he saw lacking after the shutdown of similar programs run by the organization Canon Kip, which now focuses mainly on supporting seniors.
United Playaz hosts a suite of community services from summer camps, youth tutoring and education, to violence prevention programs, gun buybacks, and adult re-entry programs for previously incarcerated individuals.
Mayor Daniel Lurie was scheduled to cut the ribbon at the new building, but opening speeches by more than 10 speakers ran long. He made remcrarks to the crowd but was gone by the time the ribbon was cut. He thanked Valintino, who many know as Rudy Corpus, for his decades of work with youth in the city.
“It is United Playaz and events like this and communities like this that give me hope and optimism that this city, when we work together, when we come together, when we are together, there is no stopping San Francisco,” Lurie told the crowd. He said United Playaz was an organization that “delivers on its word.”
Valintino played the master of ceremony role as a DJ played, introducing supporters, organizers, and a slate of speakers that included San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman Matt Haney, who formerly represented the neighborhood on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Haney and Wiener played a role in securing funding for the building’s overhaul and seismic work. A rooftop basketball court was funded by the Golden State Warriors and a rooftop mural was funded by the Golden State Valkyries.
“It’s going to change lives for the people, especially the kids, because this building is built strictly for literacy and it’s built for restorative justice for the people,” Valintino said. He encouraged anyone who supported the organization’s mission to volunteer with the group, donate, or participate in one of the organization’s community events.
In addition to the court, which features a single hoop and enough space for a three-point line and other activities, the second story has office space and a community meeting room.
The first floor has a large open floor community room on one side with a long bookshelf, chairs and study tables. Across the room are more tables and chairs for educational activities and a kitchenette.
It’s going to change lives for the people, especially the kids, because this building is built strictly for literacy and it’s built for restorative justice for the people.
Rudy Valintino, united playaz founder
The space will be used to support the organization’s community programs and can also be reserved for public use. It will also be the new home of the SoMa Youth Collaborative Summer Program, which is run by United Playaz and 20 partner organizations and serves about 300 children each summer, teaching them life skills, academic enrichment, workforce development, civic engagement, arts, sports, and more, according to the organization’s website.
The space will also support some of the educational programming of nearby community organization West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center, according to one of the organization’s volunteers, Elisha Barbaree, who attended the building’s opening.
Attendees of the ribbon cutting on Thursday wandered through on self-guided tours, some taking pictures in a photo area on the roof that had been setup with a greenscreen, other posing with the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy that the Warriors had brought along for fans.
‘A dream come true’
A Mister Softee truck was on hand to give out free ice cream and music blared in the alleyway and on the rooftop as gold, black and white balloons fluttered about in the wind.
Mattie Scott, a member of the San Francisco Police Commission who has been working with United Playaz for 25 years, said the building was “a dream come true.”
She praised Valintino’s work with the community, saying he had credibility because he had seen “both sides.” Valintino said in an interview that he had been incarcerated for involvement with drugs before he founded the organization. Part of United Playaz’s mission, he said, was to educate young people about the dangers of that lifestyle.
Lynn Westry, an attendee, said the organization was an important resource for people with shared experiences and that people who had experienced violence and loss were best equipped to help each other.
“If you don’t really understand the struggle, and experience the struggle firsthand, had not I lost a daughter, I would not have been able to really to do the work – I might have been able to do the work, but not with the empathy and sympathy, and being from the hood, I know the importance of that,” Westry said.
The building’s wraparound street mural features community members who have lost their lives to violence and other causes.
Omar Walker said he started volunteering with the group after he was released from prison in 2022 and said it had helped his re-entry. He called the new building “awesome” and said it will open its doors for community programing as soon as Monday, when 150 children will have reading lessons.
More information about United Playaz can be found on the organization’s website, unitedplayaz.org.