Two hands hold tools to cut a lock submerged in a bowl of murky water on a concrete surface with scattered debris and leaves.
8:34 a.m. 8/24, Julian Avenue at 15th Street. Heating up coffee Photo by Lydia Chávez

The streets at or around the intersection of 16th and Mission streets were fairly clear all day Sunday — until the evening, when the east side of Mission Street became a crowded knot of vendors, adventurers and open drug users. 

But elsewhere, when I went out at 8 a.m.,  2 p.m. and 8 p.m., few drug users or homeless residents could be found. 

On some days when I’m out photographing the streets, different songs go through my head. For weeks, it was Billy Joel’s lyrics from “Goodnight Saigon:” The cat-and-mouse game played between American soldiers and the Viet Cong. 

That, sometimes, is what the dynamic can feel like on the street as city workers and police try to help, scatter or move the homeless, vendors and addicts.  All of the latter leave when there is a heavy official presence, but return after dark.

“They ruled the night.” That is true on the east side of Mission Street. They rule the night. 

But for most of today,  the song going through my head was “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” There weren’t many of the homeless, addicted or vendors out, and the crowds have been absent for weeks. It’s hard to know where the dozens I saw three months ago have disappeared to.  

I went up to 24th Street to check, as last weekend the plaza at 24th was packed with vendors while 16th Street remained clear. However, 24th Street on Sunday at 4 p.m. was clear. An San Francisco Police Department SUV was parked on the plaza. 

  • A man sits at a bus stop shelter while other people stand and wait nearby; trees and buildings are visible in the background.
    2:45p.m. 8/24, northeast 24th Street Plaza Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • People are gathered at a city street corner near a bus stop; some are sitting, others standing, with police officers and utility workers present. Trees and buildings are in the background.
    2:45p.m. 8/24, northeast 24th Street Plaza Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A group of people sit and stand at a city bus stop with a red canopy on a sunny day; trees and more pedestrians are visible in the background.
    2:45p.m. 8/24, northeast 24th Street Plaza Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city street intersection with pedestrians crossing, cars stopped at a red light, palm trees, and colorful murals on building walls.
    4:10 p.m. 8/24, northeast plaza at 24th Street Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A red car waits at a crosswalk on an urban street corner with pedestrians, palm trees, traffic lights, and storefronts in the background.
    4:10 p.m. 8/24, northeast plaza at 24th Street Photo by Lydia Chávez

I spoke with a few people on Julian Avenue this morning, where I saw a group of four just south of 15th Street, and another group of two just north of 15th Street.  

Mumblz sat up against a fence on Julian Avenue, wearing a hoodie over a sweatshirt that read, “Never mind the spider, here’s the slime.” She met her companion, Mugzy, this morning. 

Drug paraphernalia sat between them, but they were not using when I walked up to them just after 8 a.m. “I’ve been on the concrete for 13 years,” Mumblz said, or actually mumbled, making it clear how she picked up the nickname. 

The 38-year-old from Rock Creek, Ohio, said she was selling magazines door-to-door when the company went belly up while she was in San Francisco. 

The Homeless Outreach Team got her a temporary place to stay at the Mission Cabins near the corner of 16th and Mission streets, but she will be moving to a new place soon. The cabins will shut down in early September to prepare for the first phase of construction of an affordable-housing project. 

Mumblz is still using fentanyl and crack, she said. She’s been offered addiction services, but said, “You have to be ready for it.” Right now, she’s not yet there. Does she worry about the supply that she’s getting being tainted? “I have a person I go to,” she said. 

Right now, she’s concerned about a finger wound that’s bandaged and looks pretty nasty when she unwraps it. The folks from the nearby Gubbio Project won’t be in until Monday morning, and she’s hoping she can get it attended to then. 

Her friend, whom she met this morning, calls himself Mugzy, but I’m unsure if he made that up on the spot to play off of Mumblz. He’s wearing thick black glasses frames with no lenses and he’s speedy, talking about working for NASA, owning homes and concluding, “We are trying to figure this out.”

Just south of 15th Street on Julian Avenue, Richie, 44, wears a face mask that makes him look like a Mexican wrestler. He is heating up coffee with a torch, burning the edges of the paper cup. 

Richie said he likes the freedom of being on the street. “I don’t believe in our currency, our government or our standard of living and I am not going to pay some landlord over four times what he needs,” he said. 

He’s spent some time in jail, but got out in April, and said he’s “found more freedom being homeless in California than anywhere else.”

The police, he said, are decent here. “Just because we are on opposite sides,” he added, doesn’t mean they can’t be respectful toward one another. “I’m a gangster,” he said. “I want to be different.” 

I took photos of the same spot at three different times today, resulting in a lot of different photos. There were plenty of police and city workers out and about until 8 p.m. on the east side of Mission Street, and few people were loitering. Then things changed.

Southwest plaza

  • A white emergency response vehicle is parked near a bus stop on a busy city street with crosswalk markings and overhead power lines visible.
    8:09 a.m. 8/24, southwest plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person with a suitcase waits to cross a city street at a crosswalk with geometric patterns; traffic and buildings are in the background.
    2:05 p.m. 8/24, southwest plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • People stand at a street corner near a police vehicle and a yellow billboard reading "The modern cloud for ambitious startups" in an urban area at dusk.
    8:04 p.m. 8/24, southwest plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez

West side of Mission Street

  • A city sidewalk with a pedestrian crossing signal showing a red hand, metal railings, scattered trash, and graffiti on a building across the street.
    8:09 a.m. 8/24, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Two police officers stand near a barricade on a city sidewalk while several people, including two in safety vests, talk nearby under a cloudy sky.
    2:05 p.m. 8/24, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Two people stand on a city sidewalk near bags and belongings, with metal barricades and cars parked along the street. The scene appears cluttered and somewhat dirty.
    8:03 p.m. 8/24, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Northeast Plaza

  • Urban plaza with blue lamp posts, palm trees, people walking, a black bench, and colorful graffiti on a building in the background. The sky is overcast.
    8:09 a.m. 8/24, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Urban intersection with crosswalks, people waiting, palm trees, street art, traffic signals, and overhead wires under a partly cloudy sky.
    2:09 p.m. 8/24, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Street scene at dusk with people waiting at a bus stop, palm trees, graffiti-covered walls, traffic lights, and crosswalk markings visible.
    8:04 p.m. 8/24, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • People standing and sitting in an urban plaza at dusk, surrounded by streetlights, palm trees, and walls covered in colorful graffiti.
    8:04 p.m. 8/24, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Northeast plaza near the elevator and entrance

  • A mostly empty urban plaza with a few palm trees, scattered trash, and bedding on the ground beside a closed building on an overcast day.
    8:10 a.m. 8/24, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person in a wheelchair and another person sit by trees in an urban plaza with blue lamp posts, buildings, and a fenced area in the background.
    2:10 p.m. 8/24, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A group of people stands near a building at dusk in an urban plaza with trees, a painted fence, and scattered litter on the ground.
    8:05 p.m. 8/24, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez

East side of Mission Street

  • A mostly empty city sidewalk with a few trees, a red bus stop, some street art, and buildings on either side under an overcast sky.
    8:09a.m. 8/24, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with people walking, a colorful building on the right, a bus stop on the left, and palm trees lining the street under a partly cloudy sky.
    2:10 p.m. 8/24, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A group of people stand and gather on a city sidewalk near a colorful building at dusk, with trees, streetlights, and parked cars visible.
    8:04 p.m. 8/24, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A long line of people stands outside a graffiti-covered building near a bus stop and a brightly lit glass structure, with cars passing by on the street.
    8:04 p.m. 8/24, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Caledonia looking north from 16th Street

  • Narrow urban alleyway with graffiti on the right fence, a gated building on the left, and trees in the background under an overcast sky.
    7:07 a.m. 8/24, Caledonia Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow urban alleyway with colorful graffiti on a fence to the right and a beige building to the left, under a partly cloudy sky.
    2:02 p.m. 8/24, Caledonia Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow urban alley at dusk, bordered by a building on one side and a colorful graffiti-covered wall on the other, with a chain-link fence above the wall.
    8:02 p.m. 8/24, Caledonia Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Caledonia looking south from 15th Street

  • Narrow urban alley with graffiti on the walls, litter scattered on the ground, and buildings lining both sides under overcast skies.
    8:42 a.m. 8/24, Caledonia Street at 15th looking south toward 16th , Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow urban alleyway with graffiti-covered walls, scattered debris on the ground, and a person sitting on the right edge of the image.
    2:24 p.m. 8/24, Caledonia Street at 15th looking south toward 16th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow, dimly lit urban alleyway at dusk with graffiti on the walls, scattered litter on the ground, and buildings lined on both sides.
    8:16 p.m. 8/24, Caledonia at 15th looking toward 16th Street Photo by Lydia Chávez

Caledonia looking north from 15th Street

  • Narrow alleyway between two buildings, street art mural on the right, two parked cars, and a one way street sign visible.
    8:42 a.m. 8/24, Caledonia Street at 15th looking north toward 14th , Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow, dimly lit alleyway with cracked pavement, bordered by brick and wood buildings, leading to a brightly lit area in the distance.
    8:16 p.m. 8/24, Caledonia looking north toward 14th Street Photo by Lydia Chávez

West side of Mission Street looking north from 15th

  • A city sidewalk with palm trees, modern buildings, a "No Turns Except Muni" sign, a traffic signal, and some trash bags near the curb.
    8:15 a.m. 8/24, west side of Mission Street at 15th looking north toward 14th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk lined with palm trees, cars parked on the street, a few pedestrians walking, and modern buildings in the background.
    2:16 p.m. 8/24, west side of Mission Street at 15th looking north. Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A mostly empty city sidewalk at dusk with a few scattered pieces of litter, palm trees, parked cars, and buildings under streetlights.
    8:16 p.m. 8/24, west side of Mission Street at 15th looking north. Photo by Lydia Chávez

North side of 15th Street at Mission looking west

  • A city sidewalk next to a modern building, lined with parked cars, metal barricades, and power lines on a cloudy day.
    8:15 a.m. 8/24, north side of 15th Street looking toward Julian Avenue, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with metal barriers, a small tree, and two people walking in the distance near modern buildings.
    2:16 p.m. 8/24, 15th Street looking west toward Julian Avenue Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person walks down a city sidewalk at dusk while another person stands near a building entrance holding papers.
    8:09 p.m. 8/24, 15th Street at Mission looking west. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Julian Avenue mid block looking toward 14th Street

  • A colorful van is parked on a city street beside a sidewalk, near a fenced area with a tarp and a metal building; overcast sky overhead.
    8:18 a.m. 8/24, Julian Avenue, east side at mid block looking north toward 14th, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city street with parked cars, two people walking in the distance, and a large green screen draped over a fence on the right side of the sidewalk.
    2:20 p.m. 8/24, Julian Avenue mid block east side looking north toward 14h Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person rides a bicycle on a city sidewalk at dusk; a parked food truck and cars line the street to the left.
    8:12 p.m. 8/24, Julian Avenue mid block looking toward 14th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez

West Side of Julian Avenue looking south from 15th Street

  • A person kneels on a sidewalk near scattered belongings, with a yellow bicycle, a fence, and tents along a tree-lined street.
    8:16 a.m. 8/24, Julian Avenue, west side, looking at 15th looking south toward 16th, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk lined with trees, parked cars on the left, and a tall wooden fence on the right. A few people walk in the distance. Dry leaves are scattered on the ground.
    2:18 p.m. 8/24, Julian Avenue at 15th looking south toward 16th, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A dimly lit sidewalk lined with trees, parked cars on the left, and a building with a metal fence on the right, photographed at dusk.
    8:11 p.m. 8/24, Julian Avenue looking south from 15th Street Photo by Lydia Chávez

15th Street at Julian Avenue looking toward Valencia Street

  • A city sidewalk with trees, a fenced building on the left, a portable toilet, and construction tools on the right. A few people are visible in the background.
    2:18 p.m. 8/24, 15th Street looking west toward Valencia Street.Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person stands on a city sidewalk near a portable toilet and parked bicycles at dusk; trees and buildings line the street.
    8:11 p.m. 8/24, 15th Street looking west towrd Valencia Street Photo by Lydia Chávez

14th Street looking east from Julian Avenue

  • Sidewalk with curb ramp and yellow tactile paving beside a brick building; parked cars line the street under overcast skies.
    8:19 a.m. 8/24, 14th Street looking east toward Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with parked cars, a bus stop sign, a brick building, and two people walking away from the camera under a partly cloudy sky.
    2:21 p.m. 8/24, 14h Street at Julian AVenue looking east toward Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city street corner at dusk with cars parked along the sidewalk, streetlights on, and a large brick building on the right.
    8:13 p.m. 8/24, 14th Street looking toward 14th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Stevenson looking toward Duboce

  • A city street intersection with parked cars, buildings on the left, chain-link fences on the right, and utility poles with overhead wires on a cloudy day.
    8:19 a.m. 8/24, Stevenson at 14th Street looking north toward Duboce Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow urban street with parked cars along one side, bordered by buildings and a tall concrete wall, under a partly cloudy sky.
    2:21 p.m. 8/24, Stevenson at 14th Street looking north toward Duboce, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A quiet urban street at dusk with parked cars along both sides, a few people walking in the distance, and buildings lining the street.
    8:14 p.m. 8/24, Stevenson looking toward Duboce Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez

Wiese Street looking north from 16th Street

  • A narrow city alleyway with metal barricades on both sides, graffiti on walls, some litter on the ground, and an emergency vehicle with flashing lights in the distance.
    8:08 a.m. 8/24, Wiese Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow urban alleyway with metal barricades on both sides, yellow and green buildings, graffiti, and empty of people.
    2:04a.m. 8/24, Wiese Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A deserted urban alleyway at dusk, lined with metal barricades and flanked by yellow and teal walls with graffiti and broken windows.
    8:03 p.m. 8/24, Wiese Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Wiese Street looking south from 15th Street

  • Narrow urban alleyway lined with beige and yellow buildings, overhead wires, and empty sidewalks on a cloudy day.
    8:16 a.m. 8/24, Wiese Street looking toward 16th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow urban alley with beige buildings on both sides, some graffiti, a person walking away in the distance, and overhead utility wires crossing above.
    2:17 p.m. 8/24, Wiese Street looking south toward 16th from 15th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A narrow, empty alleyway between buildings at dusk, illuminated by several wall-mounted lights, with a gated area on the right side.
    8:10 p.m. 8/24, Wiese Street looking south from 15th Street Photo by Lydia Chávez

Capp Street looking south from 16th Street

  • Urban street scene with cars parked along the curb, a red traffic light, crosswalk, and graffiti on a red building under an overcast sky.
    8:11 a.m. 8/24, Capp Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person crosses a street at a crosswalk on an urban corner with traffic signals, parked cars, and graffiti on the building wall.
    2:11 p.m. 8/24, Capp Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city street intersection at dusk with a red traffic light, crosswalk lines, parked cars, and graffiti on a building wall.
    8:05 p.m. 8/24, Capp Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Capp Street looking north from 16th Street

  • A person lies on a city sidewalk covered with a blanket next to a cup and trash, near parked cars and graffiti-covered walls.
    8:11 a.m. 8/24, Capp Street, looking north toward 15th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with graffiti on the wall, parked cars along the street, and a utility box near the curb. Trees and buildings are visible in the background.
    2:11 p.m. 8/24, Capp Street looking north, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk at dusk with graffiti on the left wall, some litter on the ground, parked cars, and streetlights illuminating the scene.
    8:05 p.m. 8/24, Capp Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

15th Street at Capp looking west to Mission Street

  • A city sidewalk lined with parked cars, trees, and a building featuring a colorful mural; a bus is visible in the distance on the street.
    8:13 a.m. 8/24, 15th Street looking west toward Mission Street Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with scattered debris, mural-covered buildings, a tree, parked cars, and overhead power lines under a cloudy sky.
    2:13 p.m. 8/24, 15th Street looking toward Mission, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person with a shopping cart sits on a concrete bench near a building with murals, as cars are parked along an empty city street at dusk.
    8:05 p.m. 8/24, 15th Street loooking west toward Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

15th and Mission Street from different vantage points

  • Empty city street with yellow crosswalk lines, traffic lights showing red and "Don't Walk" signal, and a blue building on the corner under an overcast sky.
    8:14 a.m. 8/24, east side of Mission Street looking north toward 14th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Street intersection with traffic lights showing red, a blue and white building on the corner, crosswalks, cars stopped, and clear street signs visible.
    2:14 p.m. 8/24, east side of Mission Street at 15th looking north tward 14th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city street intersection at dusk with a yellow crosswalk, traffic lights, and modern buildings on both sides.
    8:08 p.m. 8/24, Mission Street looking north toward 15th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A pigeon walks on a tiled sidewalk next to a street lined with parked cars, trees, and buildings on a cloudy day.
    8:14 a.m. 8/24, east side of Mission Street looking south toward 16th Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person wearing a “Safety Solutions” vest stands on a city sidewalk, with several people walking and cars parked along the street.
    2:15 p.m. 8/24, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city street at dusk with modern apartment buildings, a crosswalk, parked cars, a bike rack, and two people standing on the sidewalk near a tree.
    8:08 p.m. 8/24, 15th Street looking west toward Mission 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.

Join the Conversation

7 Comments

  1. I live around the corner near 16/Capp. Please continue to report. On the weekend it was very busy at the northeast BART plaza, even during times when police were standing there. Our neighbors and I have seen an uptick of the drug action spilling onto our streets. There was a few incidents with people being violent. People refused to leave the entry to where I live and threatened us with harm. Then on late Friday afternoon, two people were fighting; one had a large aluminum baseball bat that he started swinging, saying he was going to kill. All of his belongings were on the Adair street in front of us. Several neighbors called 911 and alerted 5keys. The police came and went without doing much. The person with the bat was still there. Meanwhile there was a drug bust up the street next to the Marshall elementary school. A good idea is for the police to patrol not just the BART plazas, and not just Weise/Julian.

    +4
    0
    votes. Sign in to vote
    Reply

  2. While, I appreciate that 16th Street & Mission and 24th Street & Mission are getting all the attention, I would encourage your team to walk a block east, west, north and south of either of those intersections and report what you find.

    +3
    0
    votes. Sign in to vote
    Reply

  3. Why would Mumblz ever be “ready” when she keeps getting strung along with free lodging, health care and whatnot. 13 years of this, you can’t even blame her for this any longer.

    +4
    -2
    votes. Sign in to vote
    Reply

  4. Your photos of Caledonia north of 15th are a fantasy. It is a modern day shooting gallery with 5-20 people there all day every day cooking meth, getting high, making a mess, peeing, screaming, etc. it’s worse than it’s ever been. It was better with tents four years ago.

    +2
    -1
    votes. Sign in to vote
    Reply

  5. I see fewer people using drugs in the Mission these days, which is a vast improvement. I’m thinking part of the reduction is because of the people in the white vests from Ahsing Solutions. That said, I was walking on Taylor, north on Glide a couple of days ago and wow…lot’s of open drug use on the sidewalk there. I don’t know what the solution is but at least part of it should be cops patrolling known drug hot spots on foot. Keep up the good work on reporting!

    +2
    -1
    votes. Sign in to vote
    Reply

    1. Yes, props to the new white vest wearing nonprofit they’ve hired. I was skeptical at first, but they made hella difference. On the downside, the street scene apparently moved back to mid market and the ‘loin.

      +2
      -1
      votes. Sign in to vote
      Reply

  6. Thank you for continuing to report. Please widen your walk, a lot of the”flowers” are being pushed into the surrounding streets.

    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 *