Outside 1950 Mission St., the affordable-housing complex on the northwest corner of 16th and Mission streets, the sidewalk was packed.
Vendors laid out goods on a tarp. One was selling an ivory sculpture, another solicited customers to buy a LEGO set. A woman, pushing a baby stroller and holding her child’s hand, carefully navigated through the narrow space left for pedestrians to pass.
The police mobile-command unit and a police SUV were parked on the southwest plaza, but no officers were visible. Around 1 p.m., both plazas were clean, and the side streets were quiet, but the west side of Mission Street between 15th and 16th streets remained full of activity.
05/11/25 The west side of Mission Street, between 15th and 16th streets, is crowded with vendors on Sunday. Photo by Junyao Yang.
On Caledonia Street, a private security guard sat on a stool outside the garage of 3090 16th St., watching videos on his phone. Raz, who just started the gig a week ago, only comes to work on the weekends.
His job is to protect the building, and only that, he said. When people gather on Caledonia Street, “we just request them to not mess with the building.”
“I can’t interact with people around here,” he added. “We just look out for the building.”
Police officers come to the alley sometimes, he said, but he hasn’t seen them today. He suspects that the officers came in earlier in the morning. On Saturday, the officers stopped by every two to three hours, he said.
Sometimes the street gets crowded, he said with a shrug, other times it’s peaceful. At 1:30 p.m., two hours after his shift began, the alley was quiet.
05/11/25 At 1:16 p.m., the northeast 16th Street BART Plaza is scattered with trash, but relatively clean. People gathered on the plaza steps, sharing a pizza. Pedestrians passed by, holding roses for Mother’s Day. Photo by Junyao Yang.05/11/25 At 1:16 p.m., the northeast 16th Street BART Plaza is scattered with trash, but relatively clean. People gathered on the plaza steps, sharing a pizza. Pedestrians passed by, holding roses for Mother’s Day. Photo by Junyao Yang.05/11/25 At 1:11 p.m., the southwest 16th Street BART Plaza is clean. The SFPD mobile command unit and a police SUV were parked on the plaza, but no officers were visible. Photo by Junyao Yang.05/11/25 At 1:29 p.m., Wiese Street is mostly empty, with a few people hanging around. Photo by Junyao Yang.05/11/25 At 1:30 p.m., Caledonia Street is clean and quiet. A private security guard sat near the apartment building. Photo by Junyao Yang.05/11/25 At 1:29 p.m., Julian Avenue is empty on the east (and sunny) side. Half a dozen people gathered in front of the Gubbio Project near 15th Street. The street is clean. Photo by Junyao Yang.05/11/25 At 1:29 p.m., Julian Avenue is empty on the east (and sunny) side. Half a dozen people gathered in front of the Gubbio Project near 15th Street. The street is clean. Photo by Junyao Yang.05/11/25 At 1:20 p.m., a couple of men were hanging out on Capp Street. People’s belongings took up some space on the sidewalk: a suitcase, a blanket and mattress padding. Photo by Junyao Yang.
Junyao covers San Francisco's Westside, from the Richmond to the Sunset. She joined Mission Local in 2023 as a California Local News Fellow, after receiving her Master’s degree from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Junyao lives in the Inner Sunset. You can find her skating at Golden Gate Park or getting a scoop at Hometown Creamery.
Drug tourists as victims?
No doubt the city needs more services and law enforcement but the real victims are the residents and small business owners who live on these areas and have been neglected over the focus on helping and diverting funds and resources to the homeless , addicts and thugs .
Trying our best is not a good enough response .
Clean this city up.
The city has been trying for longer then we fought in WW2 and yet the drug dealers and addicts continue to loiter all day long and destroy everyones well being including theirs .
Our business on Valencia Street depends on patrons coming in from all over the Bay Area to attend shows. It really affects us when customers don’t feel safe using BART – especially because Uber and Lyft are prohibitively expensive alternatives for many. I really hope the situation can be brought under control so people of all ages feel comfortable walking to BART and crossing that plaza!
I had visitors from another country yesterday. We walked down Valencia Street and there were no junkies. We visited a couple of stores; they spent some money. We had a coffee and lingered. They LOVED it. They said they’d like to come back.
It’s really that simple. If we can get control of our streets again, we’ll get more visitors, which means more money for our local businesses, which means they stay open and keep employing people. It’s a virtuous cycle. Keep up the hard work, SFPD.
I am a homeowner on the northwest corner of 15th and Mission Streets, the very corner that this Mission Local article refers and I am tired of the vendors overcrowding the sidewalk and entrance outside of my building. It is not only an eye sore, it is a public safety issue as vendors not layout their items for sale, they leave garbage and drug use paraphernalia behind that local pedestrians and tourists can step and trip on. Giving people plenty reasons not to return to this neighborhood and even worse lawsuits. Newly elected Mayor Laurie maybe doing a good job in cleaning the infamous Tenderloin neighborhood however sweeping the problem over to the Mission neighborhood does not constitute a “good job” and leading me to regret my vote for Daniel Laurie.
“Crime is down everywhere in S.F. — except in these two neighborhoods [neither of which is the Mission]” – SF Chronicle
“Mystery in the Mission: Crime remains low as public drug use spikes” -SF Standard
But please, moar po-po overtimez cuz property valyuze!
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Drug tourists as victims?
No doubt the city needs more services and law enforcement but the real victims are the residents and small business owners who live on these areas and have been neglected over the focus on helping and diverting funds and resources to the homeless , addicts and thugs .
Trying our best is not a good enough response .
Clean this city up.
The city has been trying for longer then we fought in WW2 and yet the drug dealers and addicts continue to loiter all day long and destroy everyones well being including theirs .
There need to be criminal penalties for disorderly conduct on unlicensed sidewalk vending.
Our business on Valencia Street depends on patrons coming in from all over the Bay Area to attend shows. It really affects us when customers don’t feel safe using BART – especially because Uber and Lyft are prohibitively expensive alternatives for many. I really hope the situation can be brought under control so people of all ages feel comfortable walking to BART and crossing that plaza!
Same shit, different day.
Nothing is done – every weekend is the same or worse
So 110 days in (~) and we still have street vendors and drug use?
I’m shocked. Next you’ll tell me there’s still gambling dens and prostitution.
It’s as if… Lurie making promises doesn’t actually spin the Earth 90 degrees off axis…
I had visitors from another country yesterday. We walked down Valencia Street and there were no junkies. We visited a couple of stores; they spent some money. We had a coffee and lingered. They LOVED it. They said they’d like to come back.
It’s really that simple. If we can get control of our streets again, we’ll get more visitors, which means more money for our local businesses, which means they stay open and keep employing people. It’s a virtuous cycle. Keep up the hard work, SFPD.
I am a homeowner on the northwest corner of 15th and Mission Streets, the very corner that this Mission Local article refers and I am tired of the vendors overcrowding the sidewalk and entrance outside of my building. It is not only an eye sore, it is a public safety issue as vendors not layout their items for sale, they leave garbage and drug use paraphernalia behind that local pedestrians and tourists can step and trip on. Giving people plenty reasons not to return to this neighborhood and even worse lawsuits. Newly elected Mayor Laurie maybe doing a good job in cleaning the infamous Tenderloin neighborhood however sweeping the problem over to the Mission neighborhood does not constitute a “good job” and leading me to regret my vote for Daniel Laurie.
It is what it is.
And yet…
“Crime is down everywhere in S.F. — except in these two neighborhoods [neither of which is the Mission]” – SF Chronicle
“Mystery in the Mission: Crime remains low as public drug use spikes” -SF Standard
But please, moar po-po overtimez cuz property valyuze!