“Tenderloin Buzz” is a recurring update on changes, tidbits and other news from the Tenderloin. Got news? Send us tips at tips@missionlocal.com.
We’ve been hearing for months that the “safe zone” for kids envisioned in the Tenderloin Community Action Plan’s “investment blueprint” last year is moving forward.
The idea is modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City, and the proposed zone covers over a dozen square blocks that have been identified as having a “high concentration of families, children, and youth services.” Plans include safety measures like expanded street cleaning, increased police presence, signage identifying the area, murals, and programs for kids.
Esan Looper of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District, who is involved in the planning stages, tells us the groups involved in planning the zone, which include the district attorney and the mayor’s office — are “in the process of aligning” on the finer details of the plan in meetings this month.
“We gotta get to brass tacks, [like] can we do all of that?” Looper said. “Once we know more we’ll be rolling it out to the community for their input.”
Sunday Streets’ kicks off in the Tenderloin this weekend once again, despite having its funding slashed by the Department of Public Health this spring. When the beloved event of 17 years was cut, private money started flooding in, including from once-Congressional hopeful Saikat Chakrabarti. Chakrabarti has promised to match donations up to 50,000 through the end of June — that fundraiser is still going.
That means five blocks of Ellis Street between Mason and Larkin will be shut to vehicle traffic for the afternoon, in line with the event’s ethos to reclaim car-congested streets in the name of health. We hear there will be a talent show and a lip sync battle, a drag queen will roast public figures, and the Exploratorium will host science and art activities.
The block party is on June 14 from noon to 4 p.m. Check out the event page, or sign up to volunteer.
Saigon Sandwich, one of the few treasured holdouts in this city where you can still get a bánh mì for $5.50, is opening a new location near Fisherman’s Wharf, as reported by the San Francisco Business Times.
The new location at Anchor’s Landing (alongside In-N-Out and the new Taco Bell Cantina) will serve alcoholic beverages such as soju cocktails, beer and wine — and they say they will keep their affordable prices.
City Attorney David Chiu filed a lawsuit against Golden Tiger LLC and its owner Adam La, for leaving residents of a 52-unit building 155 Hyde St. without power or other utilities for months after a June 2025 fire.
According to Chiu, Golden Tiger allowed residents to move back in and gave them butane-powered camping stoves to cook and heat water. The city stepped in, ordered the building vacated, and helped relocate 89 people in September.
Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival is back for Pride month, and there’s a Tenderloin connection — a screening of “Fire Within,” a documentary that follows four lives in the Tenderloin for a year: two support group facilitators at Glide Memorial Church, and two people struggling with addiction and homelessness.
The Roxie Theater will screen the film on June 22. For more details, click here.