Several people stand in line outside a store with "Ultra Mobile" and "Prepaid" banners on a city sidewalk, next to metal barricades and parked cars.
6:28 p.m. 6/11, northwest corner of 16th and Mission streets, Photo by Lydia Chávez


You can see all the 16th Street posts here.

The property manager at 3004 16th St., on the northwest corner of Mission Street, surveyed the dozen or so barricades she had purchased earlier. She planned to set them against the building to prevent users from slumping against the building to smoke or shoot up. 

“We’re just trying to be helpful,” said a man working on the setup. 

It was another grim evening on Mission Street. 

Earlier in the day, two police officers and two Department of Public Works employees patrolled the west and east sides of Mission Street, keeping vendors at bay and the streets clear. By the evening, two police cars and the mobile unit sat parked on the southwest plaza, and vending proceeded near the northeast plaza. 

A security guard near the plaza said the vending and other activity is still going on when he leaves at 11 p.m. Police, he said, are not the answer. People need help, he added. 

Open drug use by 6 p.m. is the norm on both sides of Mission Street, often accompanied by the vending of paltry items. On Wednesday evening, wart removal, razors, flip flops and grocery items were all for sale.  

One man on the east side of Mission Street sold a Kate Spade bag for $10 and another for $5.

Southwest 16th Street BART Plaza and the west side of Mission Street

  • A police mobile command vehicle is parked in an urban square with colorful railings and buildings in the background on a cloudy day.
    10:19 a.m. 6/11 southwest plaza. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • Two police officers and two people in yellow jackets stand at a city crosswalk, observing traffic and pedestrians on a cloudy day.
    10:19 a.m. 6/11 west side of Mission Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • Several people stand and walk on a city sidewalk next to a building, with bags and utility boxes nearby; trees and parked cars line the street.
    6:09 p.m 6/11, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A city sidewalk with scattered litter, parked cars, several people standing near a building, and a person walking a dog.
    6:09 p.m 6/11, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • People stand and walk along a city sidewalk with scattered litter, next to a building with glass doors and a large broken mirror on the ground. Cars are parked along the street.
    6:10 p.m 6/11, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Two people stand on a city sidewalk, focused on something in their hands. A backpack, a bicycle, and litter are visible nearby.
    6:10 p.m 6/11, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • People with carts and belongings gather on a city sidewalk near a colorful mural and a building entrance with a "No Smoking" sign.
    6:10 p.m 6/11, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A person carrying bags walks on a city sidewalk scattered with litter, with buildings, parked cars, and pedestrians in the background.
    6:10 p.m 6/11, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Northeast Plaza and the east side of Mission Street

  • Street view of a colorful graffiti mural on a long wall with several pedestrians walking by; parked car and tiled sidewalk in the foreground.
    10:18 a.m. 6/11 east side of Mission Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A group of people gathers on a city sidewalk near colorful murals and palm trees, with cars passing on the street in front.
    6:09 p.m. 6/11, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A gray backpack, two light gray handbags, a black duffle bag, orange sneakers, and a smartphone are placed on a sidewalk with scattered debris.
    6:11 p.m 6/11, east side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Various groceries, including Corn Flakes, canned food, vegetables, fruit, juice, and packaged items, displayed on a white cloth on a sidewalk.
    6:22 p.m 6/11, east side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Two people stand near a colorful chalk drawing on a sidewalk with various items on the ground; a shadow of a photographer is cast in the center.
    6:22 p.m 6/11, east side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Street scene with people walking past a vendor cart under a red umbrella; palm trees, murals, and various buildings in the background on a sunny day.
    6:25 p.m. 6/11, northeast plaza. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Caledonia Street

  • A narrow urban alley with graffiti on a fence to the right, beige apartment building to the left, and a person standing in the distance near a doorway.
    10:22 a.m. 6/11, Caledonia Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A narrow urban alleyway bordered by a building on the left and a graffiti-covered fence on the right, with trees and more buildings visible in the distance.
    6:07 p.m. 6/11, Caledonia Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Julian Avenue

  • A city sidewalk runs alongside a gray building. Parked cars line the street, and scattered litter is visible on the pavement.
    10:21 a.m. 6/11 west side of Julian Avenue. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A city sidewalk runs alongside parked cars and multi-story buildings on a sunny day. Two people are visible in the distance near the end of the block.
    6:07 p.m. 6/11, west side of Julian Avenue. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A city sidewalk with parked cars along the curb, a person sitting on the ground near a building, and overcast skies above.
    10:21 a.m. 6/11, east side of Julian Avenue. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A man sits against a building wall while another walks by; a woman stands near parked cars and an open suitcase on a city sidewalk, with a hotel sign visible ahead.
    6:07 p.m. 6/11, east side of Julian Avenue. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Wiese Street

  • A city street intersection with parked cars, a yellow taxi, and a building with a "Taqueria" sign on the right side. The sky is overcast.
    10:22 a.m. 6/11, Wiese Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez .
  • A narrow urban alley with graffiti-covered walls, metal barricades, scattered litter, and a few people in the distance under an overcast sky.
    10:23 a.m. 6/11, Weise Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A wheelchair sits unattended in the middle of a graffiti-covered alley lined with metal barricades.
    6:08 p.m. 6/11, Wiese Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Two people sit on a sidewalk next to a shopping cart filled with belongings outside a building with large windows and a blue SF Bay bag.
    6:08 p.m. 6/11, Wiese Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A man bends down in a narrow urban alley as three others stand nearby on the sidewalk; various items are scattered on the ground.
    6:13 p.m. 6/11, Wiese Street looking south from 15th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A narrow urban alleyway with metal barricades on both sides, yellow and gray buildings, and a few people and a parked scooter in the distance.
    6:30 p.m. 6/11, Wiese Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Capp Street

  • Street lined with parked cars, a graffiti-covered wall on the right, and a pedestrian crossing button on a pole in the foreground under a cloudy sky.
    10:11 a.m. 6/11, Capp Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A city street intersection with yellow crosswalk lines, a few cars, pedestrians crossing, and buildings on both sides under a partly cloudy sky.
    6:23 p.m.. 6/11, Capp Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • City sidewalk with graffiti on the curb, a pedestrian crossing button on a pole, parked cars along the street, and buildings in the background under clear skies.
    6:23 p.m.. 6/11, Capp Street looking north from 16th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Follow Us

Founder/Executive Editor. I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.

As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.

At ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.

Reporting from Bayview-Hunters Point. I grew up on 24th and York Street and attended Buena Vista Elementary. As a teenager, I moved to Hunters Point and went to school in Potrero Hill. I'm currently a student at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. I've developed a toxic relationship with golf.

Join the Conversation

2 Comments

  1. Private businesses are not allowed to just coopt public space for their own use. Your complicity in this is egregious.

    0
    0
    votes. Sign in to vote
    Reply

    1. Neither are the addicts that sit around or passed out on the street taking up public space for their own use. They litter and trash the place every single day 247. It is NOT OK and they need to move on

      0
      0
      votes. Sign in to vote
      Reply
Leave a comment
Please keep your comments short and civil. Do not leave multiple comments under multiple names on one article. We will zap comments that fail to adhere to these short and easy-to-follow rules.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *