A table displays boxes of assorted produce, including radishes and vegetables; two people stand behind the table, partially visible.
6:57 p.m. 7/2, southwest plaza. Photo by Jessica Blough.

The southwest 16th Street BART Plaza seemed sparser than recent days on Wednesday evening as the July fog rolled in and the temperature dropped. An evangelist in a flannel shirt read scripture into a megaphone. People loitering or occasionally doing drugs huddled in dispersed groups of two or three; I saw fewer than half a dozen pipes. 

On the northeast side, fewer than ten vendors set up small stations selling nail polish, shoes, candy and soda. In the southwest plaza, a group from Food Not Bombs set up folding tables and prepared to give away food and hygiene products to a line of about 20 people. One table held boxes of syringes and sanitary wipes. The other was piled with bananas, cookies and baguettes. 

Three BART workers and a public works employee agreed that the plaza was quieter than usual. But it would pick up later in the evening and early tomorrow morning, the public works employee said. He previously worked for Urban Alchemy in the Tenderloin and SOMA before getting this job. He said he often sees the same faces here as he did a year ago in a totally different part of the city.

The west side of Mission Street has been clearer during the week, but a group that gathers closer to 16th Street can disperse and regroup from hour to hour. Today followed that pattern. 

As it did today, on Monday and Tuesday, the action took place on the east side of Mission Street just north of the plaza. Every evening, a crowd gathered there and at times vendors stood on the northeast plaza to sell, oblivious to the mobile unit and police car parked on the southwest plaza.  

Southwest plaza and west side of Mission Street

  • Street view of parked cars, people walking on the sidewalk, and two buildings—one yellow, one gray—on an overcast day. Trees partially obscure the building fronts.
    6:34 p.m. 7/2, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • A city street with parked cars, a red bus lane, people gathered near a yellow apartment building, and a bus partially visible on the right.
    6:35 p.m. 7/2, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • A city sidewalk with parked cars, two people sitting on the ground with belongings, a man standing near a store entrance, and palm trees lining the street.
    6:41 p.m. 7/2, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • People wait near a red streetcar at an intersection in a city. Stores and parked cars line the opposite side of the street. The sky is partly cloudy.
    6:43 p.m. 7/2, southwest plaza. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • A table displays boxes of assorted produce, including radishes and vegetables; two people stand behind the table, partially visible.
    6:57 p.m. 7/2, southwest plaza. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • A table covered with cardboard boxes and paper bags, some containing loaves of bread, at an outdoor market or distribution event.
    6:57 p.m. 7/2, southwest plaza. Photo by Jessica Blough.

Northeast Plaza and east side of Mission Street

  • Two vendors sit on a sidewalk behind a display of assorted food items and household goods laid out on mats; a shopping cart is beside them.
    6:34 p.m. 7/2, northeast plaza. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • A busy city street scene with pedestrians crossing, a blue SUV and red bus stopped, palm trees, and buildings in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
    6:42 p.m. 7/2, northeast plaza. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • People stand and walk along a city sidewalk near buildings with colorful murals. Some are gathered in groups, and one person sits in a wheelchair.
    6:34 p.m. 7/2, northeast plaza. Photo by Jessica Blough.

Caledonia Street

A narrow urban alleyway with graffiti on a chain-link fence on the right and beige apartment buildings on the left under a cloudy sky.
6:45 p.m. 7/2, Caledonia Street. Photo by Jessica Blough.

Julian Avenue

  • A city street with parked cars along the curb, a few pedestrians on the sidewalk, and buildings lining both sides under a cloudy sky.
    6:44 p.m. 7/2, Julian Avenue. Photo by Jessica Blough.
  • A city sidewalk lined with parked cars and multi-story buildings on a cloudy day; a white plastic bag and dark clothing item lie on the ground.
    6:45 p.m. 7/2, Julian Avenue. Photo by Jessica Blough.

Wiese Street

A narrow urban alleyway with metal barricades along both sides, yellow and beige buildings, and a closed storefront with a partial "TAQUERIA" sign.
6:44 p.m. 7/2, Wiese Street. Photo by Jessica Blough.

Capp Street

People stand near a wall with graffiti art by a street corner, next to parked cars and a traffic signal at the intersection of 16th Street.
6:32 p.m. 7/2, Capp Street. Photo by Jessica Blough.

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Reporting from the Tenderloin. I'm a multimedia journalist based in San Francisco and getting my Master's degree in journalism at UC Berkeley. Earlier, I worked as an editor at Alta Journal and The Tufts Daily. I enjoy reading, reviewing books, teaching writing, hiking and rock climbing.

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.

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2 Comments

  1. You’re coming here at the wrong time. It was rife earlier today especially Mission from 16 up to 15th street. No room on the sidewalk by the muni bus station. I didn’t take a photo. Next time I go around the corner from my residence will take one and submit

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  2. Gimme some depth please,

    Captain Johanson ordered the permanent SFPD presence there but they did as bad a deployment as possible.

    No cops visible almost ever.

    An ML reporter noted that when they knocked on the door of the giant cop motor home that no one answered.

    I’m guessing SFPOA sandbagged her and now they have a station chief previously thought to be not trustworthy enough to testify in court.

    Let’s see Mission Local fight for this woman !!!

    go Niners !!

    h.

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