Two people in black outfits and white safety vests stand and smile on a city sidewalk next to parked cars and trees.
5:42 p.m. 7/5 Arleen and Michael Luong, owners of Ahsing Solutions on the west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez


You can see all the 16th Street posts here.

The west side of Mission Street remained clear of unpermitted vending and open drug use on Sunday, the first time in months that it has been clear on two consecutive weekend days. 

Saturdays and Sundays have been the heaviest days of unpermitted activities on Mission Street from 14th to 16th streets. While the city has succeeded in keeping the commercial corridor clear on a Saturday, it will usually revert on Sundays.   

Some groups moved on both days to the east side of Mission Street and the northeast plaza, but the change on the west side was notable, and the east side was nowhere near as packed with illegal activity as the west side has been.  

The difference appears to be the addition of an eight-member crew from Ahsing Solutions, a city-contracted company that started working in the area on Saturday, and is expected to stay for an undetermined period of time.  Ahsing had ample help on Saturday from the Department of Public Works and the San Francisco Police Department.

Santiago Lerma, the head of the Mission Street Team, said earlier today that the community safety and engagement team from Ahsing will work five to seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Also on hand Sunday: DPW workers throughout the day, and two police SUVs parked on the southwest plaza earlier in the afternoon. By 5:30 p.m. the cars were gone, and Mobile Unit Two had still not returned. It is unclear if it will.  

The side streets west of Mission were also fairly clear on Sunday, while Capp Street remained a gathering place. 

Michael Luong, the owner of Ahsing, which hires workers transitioning from jail or in recovery from addiction, was out late Sunday, and said they will be attending to the northeast plaza and Capp Street as well. 

Luong, his wife, Arleen, and other workers had to call 911 this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. after administering Narcan to someone in crisis on Wiese Street. 

“Every single one of us went to prison or struggled with an addiction,” said Arleen Luong, “so we know stigma.”  Keeping the area free of illegal activity, she added, is about “building relationships with the housed and unhoused.”

The neighborhood’s reception, Michael Luong said, has been great, with people opening their windows to wave and thank them.

Southwest plaza and west side of Mission Street

  • A busy urban intersection with pedestrians, cyclists, and people waiting at a bus stop; overhead wires and buildings are visible under a clear sky.
    12:52 p.m. 7/5 southwest plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Intersection with pedestrians crossing, traffic signals, power lines overhead, and buildings in the background on a sunny day.
    12:56 p.m. 7/5 southwest plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A man rides a bicycle on a city sidewalk while another man in a reflective vest stands near a building. Cars are parked along the street and pedestrians walk in the distance.
    5:36 p.m. 7/5 west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A man in a fluorescent safety vest stands on a city sidewalk, holding a phone and pushing a wheeled trash bin. Cars and buildings line the street.
    5:42 p.m. 7/5 west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with people walking, cars parked on the street, vendor tents, chairs, a stool, and a "No Parking" sign visible under trees.
    5:37 p.m. 7/5 west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city plaza with a few people walking and sitting, surrounded by buildings, trees, lamp posts, and murals under a clear blue sky.
    5:35 p.m. 7/5 southwest plaza. The first time in months the plaza has been without a police presence. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Northeast plaza and east side of Mission Street

  • Two street vendors sell various goods laid out on the sidewalk in a busy urban plaza, with people and graffiti-covered buildings in the background.
    12:53 p.m. 7/5 northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • People gather near a bus stop on a city street lined with graffiti-covered buildings and a colorful structure under a clear blue sky.
    12:52 p.m. 7/5 northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • People gather near colorful graffiti murals and palm trees on a sunny day at an urban street corner, with cars and buildings in the background.
    5:37 p.m. 7/5 east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • People gather around street vendors displaying various goods on the ground in an urban outdoor market setting with colorful murals in the background.
    5:38 p.m. 7/5 northeast plaza Photo by Lydia Chávez

Caledonia Street

A narrow urban alleyway with graffiti on the right wall, a beige building on the left, and litter scattered along the pavement.
5:53 p.m. 7/6, Caledonia Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Julian Avenue

  • A city sidewalk lined with parked cars and multi-story residential buildings on a clear day.
    5:52 p.m. 7/6, Julian Avenue, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk lined with parked cars on the left and storefronts on the right, with a few pedestrians visible in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.
    5:52 p.m. 7/6, Julian Avenue, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Wiese Street

A narrow urban alley with metal barricades lining both sides, yellow and blue buildings, and no people visible.
5:52 p.m. 7/6, Wiese Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Capp Street

A person in a red shirt crosses a street at a crosswalk in an urban area with buildings, cars, and a traffic light visible.
5:39 p.m. 7/5 Capp Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez

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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

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  2. Now you need to contact SFDPW :rachel.gordon@sfdpw.org to steam clean those sidewalks. Make the Mission shine again!

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