In a sliver of shade on Caledonia Street, beside the 3080 building, which sits tucked between 16th, Valencia, and Caledonia streets, Rohan Pandey sat quietly, eyes fixed on the garage door as it creaked open and a car pulled in.
It was 11:16 a.m. and Pandey, 19, was just two weeks into a security job that consists solely of watching this door. “Just making sure no one blocks the drive,” he said, glancing down Caledonia toward where it meets 15th Street.
At the far end of the block, five people lingered. “They just mind their own business,” said Pandey. It’s more of a problem at night, according to what he’s heard from the night-shift guard.
Pandey only works during the day, passing the baton as the sun goes down. In a few months, he’ll head to Sacramento to study cybersecurity. For now, Pandey is part of the quiet machinery trying to keep things orderly in the streets around the 16th Street BART Plazas: Watchful, polite, and largely unnoticed.
10:30 a.m. on Capp Street, a broken syringe lay on the sidewalk, scattered among other small pieces of trash. The street was quiet, with only the low hum of an idling box truck outside a nearby business. A line of about 15 people had formed outside the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center. Founded in 2002, MNRC offers free, bilingual, drop-in services for people seeking medical care, mental health support, shelter access, and employment assistance. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.10:37 a.m. At the southeast side of the 16th Street BART Plaza, the Mobile Command Unit remained, with no other SFPD vehicles present. One person sat on the plaza steps, soaking in the sun. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez. 11:10 a.m. Wiese Street was completely empty, with a small pile of trash beside the steel barricades that lined both sidewalks. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.12:29 p.m. On Julian Avenue, a folded blanket lay in front of the Kailash Hotel, where one person waited to be let in. An older man pushed a shopping cart filled with trash bags of recycled cans, with more bags tied to its sides. He rolled off in the direction of the 16th Street Plaza. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.12:48 p.m. At 15th and Caledonia streets, about 10 people lined up to receive free pet food from Full Belly Bus, a mobile pet care operation that parks there from noon to 1 p.m. every third Monday of the month. No appointments or reservations are needed, and pets are not required to be present. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.Rohan Pandey, 19, watches a garage door on Caledonia Street during his daytime shift, part of the quiet routine just beyond the 16th Street Plaza on Day 70 of the city’s crackdown. Photo by Gustavo Hernandez.
Gustavo Hernandez is a freelance photojournalist and videographer currently living in Excelsior District. He graduated in Fall 2024 with a double major in Journalism (Photojournalism) and BECA (Broadcasting and Electronic Communications Arts) from San Francisco State University. You can periodically catch him dodging potholes on his scooter and actively eating pho.
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Oh, the irony.