The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-2 on Tuesday to expand the Tenderloin’s late-night business curfew into parts of the South of Market neighborhood, extending a policy officials say helped reduce crime — even as social scientists caution that the data remains preliminary.
The ordinance requires certain businesses, including corner stores and smoke shops, to close between midnight and 5 a.m. The curfew was originally enacted in the Tenderloin in mid-2024 as part of a broader public safety effort in the neighborhood.
Supervisors backing the expansion argued that similar conditions in SoMa — like people buying, selling, and using drugs on the streets — warranted extending the curfew south of Market Street.
“I want to thank the businesses that are affected, many of whom I know aren’t thrilled with this, but understand that they’re being asked to sacrifice for the good of the neighborhood,” said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, SoMa’s representative and one of the ordinance’s co-sponsors. “I would also acknowledge that this is not a magic wand that solves everything. It’s only a partial strategy.”
City leaders in favor of expanding the policy have repeatedly pointed to an academic study by criminologists, citing findings that drug-related crime declined in the Tenderloin after the curfew began. Dorsey said Tuesday the study confirmed a drop in crime, with no displacement of crime to other neighborhoods.
But researchers have said it does not provide conclusive proof of the curfew’s impacts, which may include crime displacement. One of the study’s lead authors told Mission Local the research was a “first attempt” and “preliminary.” A sociologist cited in the study said, “I wouldn’t say this is proof that this policy should be expanded anywhere else.”
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who voted against the ordinance, described it as “a roundabout attempt to curb crime by shifting responsibility and financial loss onto small businesses.”
She expressed concern that the curfew would displace crime into the Mission District, which she represents. Already, Mayor Daniel Lurie and the city’s police chief have said police operations elsewhere in the city push crime into the Mission.
Fielder also questioned whether the San Francisco Police Department lacks the resources to target allegedly illegal activity that the city attorney’s office has connected to some late-night convenience stores.
“I’ll be in the mayor’s office with my constituents when crime picks up in the Mission,” she said.
Under the ordinance, businesses that violate the curfew may face fines of up to $1,000 per incident. The expansion is set to last 18 months.
Along with Fielder, District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton also voted against the ordinance. District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill was absent.