Mission Hunan Restaurant, right across from 16th and Capp streets, is quiet at noon on Saturday. Only a few tables were occupied; a mom and daughter walked in, but only to look at the colorful fish in the aquarium.
Employees at the restaurant said they try to head straight to work and not linger on nearby streets. It’s better with the police around, said a worker in a green apron with a face mask.
“There are still homeless people, but they don’t gather as much,” she said in Mandarin.
She has worked at the restaurant for over 20 years. Conditions around the plazas have gotten worse in recent years, she said, and a lot of her old customers — many Latinos — have moved out of the Mission.
There are a lot of people with mental health issues around the restaurant, she said. One time a customer walked into the restaurant, and a random person hit him for no reason. Another worker, hearing that, nodded along.
The most noticeable change after the police mobile command unit showed up, she said, is that the vendors no longer set up shop on the sidewalk as much. But the number of people seemingly using drugs hasn’t changed much, she said.
“When the police are not around, it’s still the same.”
05/10/25 At 11:46 a.m., the northeast plaza is scattered with trash; some smashed orange peels gave off an unpleasant smell.05/10/25 At 11:46 a.m. on the northeast plaza, a man with curly hair and a venmo hoodie swept the plaza with a bristle broom, and gathered the trash in a cardboard box. 05/10/25 At 11:40 a.m., the southwest plaza is mostly clean; the voice of the preacher echoed through the speaker. The SFPD mobile command unit and a police car were parked on the plaza, but no officers were visible. Three people dragged their suitcases passing the plaza, moving west. 05/10/25 At 11:37 a.m., Wiese Street is more active than the other alleyways. About half a dozen people were hanging around on the street, and a white SUV slowly navigated the street, getting on the curb to pass. 05/10/25 At 11:30 a.m., Caledonia Street was relatively clean and empty. At the end of the alley, close to 15th street, a man hunched over and another stood next to his belongings. 05/10/25 At 11:35 a.m., Julian Avenue is also empty, but the sidewalk is covered in trash. 05/10/25 At 11:35 a.m., Julian Avenue is also empty, but the sidewalk is covered in trash. 05/10/25 At 11:52 a.m., Capp Street was also quiet. Someone sat in his wheelchair on the west side of the street, while a few people gathered around an abandoned couch on the east side.
Junyao covers San Francisco's Westside, from the Richmond to the Sunset. She moved to the Inner Sunset in 2023, after receiving her Master’s degree from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. You can find her skating at Golden Gate Park or getting a scoop at Hometown Creamery.
These photos must be taken right after a timed patrol or sweep. As someone who lives on this block and walks to and from bart every day, it never looks this clean during commuter times.
Clearly neighborhood merchants want police around as often as possible. I hope the city can afford that. But it would be good to keep the BART plaza, at least, safe. We hate to care about tourism, but in addition to residents, we need visitors to feel safe here.
The daily deterioration of neighborhoods and streets where people cannot come is evident here and other areas of the city . Their comes a time when we have to say that the behaviors that have been allowed to go on are not appropriate for the public sphere .
Open drug usage and sales is one of the main problems .
Where are the services including the countless taxpayer nonprofits ? Not one person from those groups is ever seen ? They should be out in force 24/7. Ineffective to date .
Police should be walking in pairs nonstop patrolling this area and other areas . Not inside patrol centers , cars or standing around .
The police setting up on the plaza is a waste of money and resources because they just sit there. They dont patrol. They don’t bother to even turn thier heads to see that the vendors and vagrants have just moved a half block down mission. The sfpd are lazy and are just there to get a check.
I’m in this area a few times a week. The northeast plaza actually looks pretty clean compared to what you said in the picture. I guess you haven’t really seen a trashed northeast bart plaza yet. But that side normally does have an odor since i don’t see them power wash there. They only wash the southwest side.
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These photos must be taken right after a timed patrol or sweep. As someone who lives on this block and walks to and from bart every day, it never looks this clean during commuter times.
Thank you for this story.
Clearly neighborhood merchants want police around as often as possible. I hope the city can afford that. But it would be good to keep the BART plaza, at least, safe. We hate to care about tourism, but in addition to residents, we need visitors to feel safe here.
The daily deterioration of neighborhoods and streets where people cannot come is evident here and other areas of the city . Their comes a time when we have to say that the behaviors that have been allowed to go on are not appropriate for the public sphere .
Open drug usage and sales is one of the main problems .
Where are the services including the countless taxpayer nonprofits ? Not one person from those groups is ever seen ? They should be out in force 24/7. Ineffective to date .
Police should be walking in pairs nonstop patrolling this area and other areas . Not inside patrol centers , cars or standing around .
“the northeast plaza is covered in trash”
Is this text matched with the right photo? The photo I see above this text shows a plaza that actually looks quite clean.
The police setting up on the plaza is a waste of money and resources because they just sit there. They dont patrol. They don’t bother to even turn thier heads to see that the vendors and vagrants have just moved a half block down mission. The sfpd are lazy and are just there to get a check.
I’m in this area a few times a week. The northeast plaza actually looks pretty clean compared to what you said in the picture. I guess you haven’t really seen a trashed northeast bart plaza yet. But that side normally does have an odor since i don’t see them power wash there. They only wash the southwest side.
Mission Hunan is emblematic of what I came to know and avoid as “Mission Chinese Food” long before Lung Shan.
They are still my go-to if I’m too lazy to make my own rice.