Mission street-vending ban: 3 days in, is it working?

During the first three days of the street-vending ban in the Mission Street corridor, police officers and workers from Public Works have been stationed at the plazas and patrolling the street, sometimes chasing after vendors selling stolen goods. 

At around 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, six vendors were already at the 24th Street BART plaza, selling an assortment of items: Dr. Pepper, Häagen-Dazs ice cream, Vaseline and charging cables. Around the same time at the 16th Street BART plaza, some 18 vendors had put out Axe body spray and Dove deodorant, a gallon container of laundry soap, and hand creams. One vendor had a single pair of sneakers for sale. 

Only the tamale and coffee vendors had carts. Otherwise, the vendors were ambulatory, selling out of duffel bags, rolling carts, backpacks, or putting out a few items on the sidewalk.

“I was at 16th, then the police came. So I got on a bus and came here,” said one of the vendors at the 24th Street BART plaza. 

Moments later, a voice in the crowd started shouting, “police coming, police coming!” Four vendors packed up, and were on their way. 

And so, the chase went on. 

To get a sense of how the street-vending ban is working, Mission Local began visiting the plazas on Monday, when the 90-day ban against street vending went into effect. It appears that the vendors come early, and then vanish with the arrival of the police and employees from the Department of Public Works. Unlike earlier efforts to control the vending, however, it appears that the city workers have a more permanent presence at the plazas. Generally, there have been three DPW employees at 24th Street, and four at 16th Street. Two officers assist the DPW workers at each plaza, and another team patrols Mission Street. 

“We’re just backup,” said one officer at 16th Street, who explained that the Department of Public Works is taking the lead in moving vendors along. 

In the afternoon on Wednesday, both BART plazas looked fairly clear. Rachel Gordon, director of policy and communications at DPW, said her staff is at the plazas from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. They had likely not arrived when we visited at 9:45 a.m., because her staff starts their shifts at the Mission Police Station. “We will not dispatch our inspectors without police backup,” Gordon wrote in an email. 

DPW, she explained, has three teams of two inspectors each, plus the police officers. “We know that as soon as the enforcement teams leave the plaza, folks will quickly arrive, often within minutes, to sell goods,” she wrote, adding that they are working to make sure the roving team covers a plaza when a team there goes on break.  

“This is Day 3 of the new operation, and we are making adjustments to best fill in any gaps that have emerged,” Gordon wrote. 

The only vendor on Mission Street between 16th and 21st streets was Wally, who had set up at 19th and Mission streets around 2:05 p.m. The 57-year-old had spread out his wares of used clothing, used pots and pans, and a few small cups of ramen noodles.  

Wally said he had heard of the street-vending ban, but he would not be there long. Street vending has been his side hustle for 10 years, he said,  and in a couple of hours, he could pocket anywhere from $20 to $100. 

When asked if he had seen the police, he said, “Not yet. I’m sure they’re gonna come.”

The city’s spaces for vendors

In the weeks before the ban, some 100 vendors organized against it, and it’s unclear where many have gone. Few are in the city’s two rented spaces. One, in the parking lot at 24th and Capp streets with room for nine vendors, had five. The other, at 2137 Mission St., with space for 43 vendors, had eight.  

The Capp Street site opened Tuesday, while the indoor site on Mission Street opened Monday.

At the 24th and Capp street site

“Yesterday, most of the vendors were here,” Filiberto Hernandez, a volunteer for Calle 24, a nonprofit helping with the site, said on Wednesday. “Not so much today, probably because of the rain.”

Vendors mostly chatted among themselves or just sat at their tables, waiting for shoppers to show up. 

Hilda Newmam, who has been living in the Mission for 35 years, was among the five vendors who showed up on Wednesday afternoon, selling her handcrafted sandals and purses.

“I used to sell a lot more,” Newman, who used to post up at 23rd and Mission streets, said in Spanish. 

The city has restricted vendors at 24th and Capp streets to handicraft sales. Newmam said she used to sell toys and stuffed animals. 

Joe Colmenares, an independent musician living in the Mission, was at the lot, acting as a DJ to attract shoppers. Colmenares will be at the lot for about a week. “We need to make more promotions and signs for the place,” Hernandez said. 

At the Mission Street site

El Tiangue, the indoor vending space at 2137 Mission St. between 17th and 18th streets, can host 43 vendors, but had only eight on Wednesday.  Juan Mendoza, who started selling in the space on Tuesday, said he still has sold “nada.”

Like others in the market, however, he said on Wednesday that  a few more people — just a few, he stressed _ had wandered in. And the site is pleasant, clean and dry.

Maria, another vendor at El Tiangue, who had not sold any of her perfumes or toiletries on Tuesday, said Wednesday that she had made $50. “At times, we go out to the street,” she said, to encourage pedestrians to come in. 

Manuel Soltero, 64, who was also inside said he used to make $100 to $150 a day working near 16th Street. So far, he has not made much money inside the market. Still, he is willing to keep giving it a try. 

“The city has to pay more attention in putting the news out,” Soltero said. 

Nearby, Franco Gonzalez, 70, agreed. He’s done little business selling his speakers and other electronics. 

“People are just learning about this place,” Gonzalez said.

We have been walking up and down Mission Street since Nov. 27 and documenting when and where vendors, police officers and Public Works staff show up. The maps below will be updated throughout the week, with stories to follow.

16th St. Mission BART Station Plaza

24th St. Mission BART Station Plaza