05/13/25 At 10:30 a.m., a man slept on the east side on Capp Street under a blanket. Two officers from the Sheriff's Department walked up to the man, spoke to him briefly and left him alone. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.
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For almost 20 years, Guadalupe Macias has taken BART to 16th Street to work at her family’s bike shop, Don Rafa’s Cyclery, between Capp Street and South Van Ness Avenue.
In recent months, Macias said, police officers have been around more frequently since the SFPD mobile command unit arrived on the southwest 16th Street BART Plaza on March 12.
The police presence helped “just a little,” Macias said, but trash on the plazas still comes and goes. “In the morning it’s clean, and in the afternoon it’s back.”
Unhoused people are “always there” on Capp Street, before and after the increased police presence, Macias said. “It’s the same every day.” But they move around between Capp and Shotwell streets.
Walking around 16th Street, one could see troubled individuals moving around the neighborhood, carrying their backpacks, tote bags and suitcases, from one street to another. Residents have reported that since the crackdown two months ago, people have been pushed to the side streets.
For Macias, unhoused people with mental health issues bother her business sometimes, she said. They sometimes enter the store, take her hand sanitizer on the counter and mess around with her business cards. “I prefer to do nothing,” she said. “I try to be gentle and ask them ‘please leave.’”
In front of the bike shop, she sees human feces on the sidewalk “all the time” and she cleans them with water twice a week. “I do the same for about 20 years,” she said with a smile.
Today, there will be two community meetings about the issue. The first at 6:30 p.m., a community coffee outside the 16th and Valencia streets parklet, hosted by undisclosed neighbors. The second is a community conversation at Manny’s from 7:30 to 9 p.m., “inspired by Julian Ave. Neighbors,” according to the flyer.
Two community meetings will take place on May 13, 2025. 05/13/25 At 10:24 a.m., the northeast plaza was littered with cigarette boxes, empty glass bottles and candy wrappers near the bus stop. A police car and a city pickup truck were parked on the plaza. Around 10:45 a.m., two public works employees and officers were visible. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.05/13/25 At 10:21 a.m., the southwest plaza was mostly clean. Three officers stood near the bike racks. The SFPD mobile command unit and a police sedan were parked on the plaza. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.05/13/25 At 10:19 a.m. on Wiese Street, food packaging and flattened cardboard lay scattered on the streets. A woman carrying her belongings walked north to 15th Street, where about half a dozen people gathered. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.05/13/25 At 10:13 a.m., Caledonia Street was mostly empty. A pile of trash gathered on the east side of the alley. A few people gathered near 15th Street. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.05/13/25 At 10:15 a.m., on the east side of Julian Avenue, trash scattered, and someone’s belongings were piled against the wall. A worker was sweeping in front of the Kailash Hotel. About 25 minutes later, a woman carrying two backpacks and two tote bags, picked up stuff from the pile and walked north along Julian Avenue. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.05/13/25 At 10:15 a.m. on the west side of Julian Avenue, a man leaned against a blue recycling bin, eating from an almost empty bowl. The sidewalk was clean. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.05/13/25 At 10:27 a.m., trash was scattered on the west side of Capp Street, while someone’s belongings blocked part of the sidewalk. Two officers were talking to a couple of unhoused people, but then moved on. Photo by Junyao Yang on May 13, 2025.
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.
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Same shit, different day.