San Fran as a city is dead. Families and businesses are fleeing. They are being replaced by the homeless, the illegal aliens and the drug cartels and petty thieves. Does it really matter if the streets are ”reclaimed”? Oh, per the courts, the streets BELONG to the homeless.
““How come the city has the power to fine businesses for not power washing chewing gum off the sidewalks in front of their business and allow tents and public deification on the same sidewalks?” Tweet from @TotalRecallSF in response to CBS news story
San Francisco’s sidewalks are a mess.
Far too many are filled with trash, open air drug markets, and/or tents blocking passage. Last week’s Hayes Valley fire (cause still unknown) highlighted how encampments ignite fires across the city.
No city seeking to attract international tourists has unhealthy sidewalks like San Francisco. What should the city do?”
CAN SAN FRANCISCO RECLAIM ITS SIDEWALKS?
by Randy Shaw, BeyondChron, 8/7/23 https://beyondchron.org/can-san-francisco-reclaim-its-sidewalks/
DPW, DPH and Fire Dept Must Do More
“How come the city has the power to fine businesses for not power washing chewing gum off the sidewalks in front of their business and allow tents and public deification on the same sidewalks?” Tweet from @TotalRecallSF in response to CBS news story
San Francisco’s sidewalks are a mess.
Far too many are filled with trash, open air drug markets, and/or tents blocking passage. Last week’s Hayes Valley fire (cause still unknown) highlighted how encampments ignite fires across the city.
No city seeking to attract international tourists has unhealthy sidewalks like San Francisco. What should the city do?
It’s a challenging problem. One made worse by the legally dubious federal injunction temporarily enshrining a right to camp in San Francisco. Mayor Breed issued multiple tweets last Wednesday highlighting the obstacles.
But city agencies should still be doing a lot more. Here are some specifics.
Enforcing ADA Violations
The city’s power to clear tents is limited until the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal vacates the order allowing public camping. The appeal will be heard this month. I cannot imagine the order being upheld.
But the injunction does not stop the city from preventing tents from blocking wheelchair access on sidewalks. This is constantly happening, as photos on social media regularly show. The magistrate’s injunction does not override federal civil rights law. The city must stop allowing tents to violate the ADA.
City officials may feel that policing tent placements is not the best use of their time. But enforcement removes oversized tents that force pedestrians to walk in the street. These tents are commonly used for drug activities. They also generate sidewalk trash.
Removing these tents under the guise of federal law should be a priority.
Washing Down Sidewalks
Some may not want to hear this but San Francisco sidewalks have become less clean since Mohammed Nuru left DPW in a corruption scandal. Nuru was known as “Mr. Clean” for good reason. He kept sidewalks cleaner than any DPW leader in history.
Since Nuru’s departure DPW has been adrift. It’s Acting Director doesn’t want the permanent job. Last I heard it had 100 vacant positions. I’m told of bad morale among upper management.
DPW has allowed sidewalk trash to grow at unprecedented levels. I rarely see DPW cleaning Tenderloin sidewalks while under Nuru that was visible daily. Open food, needles and human waste are the norm. It’s a public health hazard. Not a good look for San Francisco.
Why aren’t DPW and DPH working together to aggressively clear this sidewalk public health hazard? A lot of people would like to know.
Fire Protection
I have followed encampments causing fires since a fire on the 400 block of Leavenworth completely burned out a commercial space. Fortunately, the fire did not displace tenants living above at 601 O’Farrell. What troubled me was that the city’s failure to permanently remove the encampment that started the fire. I was there last Thursday. It was filled with trash, tents and people openly using drugs. A future fire at the site will not be a surprise. Let’s hope it doesn’t displace the rent-controlled tenants living above.
The SF Fire Department is empowered to remove fire hazards. Why does it not use its powers to proactively protect residents and businesses from encampment fires?
The SFFD may see encampments as a police and social services issue. But its mindset must change. Encampments have become the main source of San Francisco fires. Campers need to keep warm on cold city nights and many cook in their tents.
It’s time for the SFFD to refocus its priorities.
Do Tents Inevitably Return?
Assuming the federal injunction is dissolved, does the city have the resources to permanently remove encampments?
In many areas the city has forced tents to relocate time and again. The city spends a lot of time clearing tents only for campers to return.
The problem is drug tourism.
Drug tourism creates an ongoing customer base for open air drug markets. Many come to San Francisco for its cheap and easy access to drugs. They refuse shelter because drugs are prohibited there. Tents facilitate using and selling drugs outside the eyes of law enforcement. It’s no mystery why campers keep coming back.
The city can’t reduce camping and permanently restore safety to its sidewalks without eliminating the reason many campers come to San Francisco. And that reason is easy access to drug dealers.
San Francisco must close its open air drug markets. The city won’t reclaim its sidewalks until then.
