The handful of people just passing through the southwest 24th Street BART plaza late Friday morning had to squint in the harsh sunlight.
Everyone stationary gravitated toward the shade of two covered bus stops, or the thin shadow cast by buildings along the south side of the plaza. A couple vendors propped up umbrellas over their folding tables and chairs.
City workers abounded: Community liaisons waited at the intersection. A Public Works employee compressed cardboard boxes to load into his truck. Another cleaner in an orange vest rinsed the plaza’s tiles with a hose.
Most people in and around the 24th Street plazas did not want to say anything that would be in the news — they kept to themselves and quietly enjoyed the weather.
There has been talk that increased policing around 16th Street would push drug activity onto 24th Street, one neighbor said. So far, though, he hasn’t seen it happen. In his opinion, the city has kept the area cleaner than ever.
One worker agreed that conditions were much worse eight blocks up the street. People over there use drugs because they have an illness, he said in Spanish.
It’s the community, he said when asked about the difference between the two plazas. “Here, everybody knows everybody.”
It all looks very Soviet,
Empty Town Squares ain’t San Francisco.
Build a stage in the deepest corner of each exit and put a bandstand atop and a Cop Box alongside with Vendor Assigned Spaces flowing from there to their perimeters on 16th street and Mission street.
With the big sign Ms. Van Neely photographed announcing this is all built on land stolen from the Ohlone tribe it would be nice to put an Ohlone casino in the Armory too but that’s for another rant.
Elect our Police Chief !!
go Niners !
h.