Day 32 of the 16th St. Plaza cleanup: ‘It’s like the Third World.’ 

Blue and white tarps covered the sidewalk on Mission Street Saturday afternoon,  starting at 15th  Street and stretching to the northeast plaza. Dozens of vendors sold clothing, shampoos, tool kits, and electronics.

The vending stayed along Mission Street and did not spill onto the plaza. 

Two police officers wearing blue gloves spoke briefly with a person sitting on the northeast plaza’s ledge and then walked away. 

The southwest plaza, where the mobile unit is parked,  was quiet and clean. Residents and visitors entered the BART station, basked in the sun, and looked down at their phones.

Monty Scott, a middle-aged city worker who has lived in San Francisco for 30 years and worked around the Mission District for 15 years, took a break near 16th Street with his young child in a stroller.

Scott reflected on how the area has changed.

 “I walk down the street and see people shooting up, people smoking crack,” he said. “I mean, it’s like Third World.”

Despite the ongoing cleanup efforts, he hasn’t seen lasting progress. 

 “I haven’t seen a change,” Scott said. “The police sweep in and clear the vendors, but two hours later it’s the same thing.”

Others told Mission Local this week that results had been mixed. 

The side streets appeared only moderately active. At 2:08 p.m., three people were on Wiese Street.  One person sat hunched over on  Caledonia Street and Julian Avenue was mostly quiet.. One individual lay on the sidewalk at the corner of 15th Street and Julian Avenue next to a shopping cart.

Capp Street at 2:26 p.m. had two individuals on the corner of 16th and Capp streets. One person was bent over while the other stood nearby.