A person with a plaid jacket stands next to a bicycle on a city sidewalk, with several others and scattered belongings nearby in front of a building.
6:08 p.m.. 6/09, Capp Street between 17th and 16th streets. Photo by Lydia Chávez.


You can see all the 16th Street posts here.

A Mission resident sent me a photo today of the scene on the west side of Mission Street Monday night; a reminder that I have to go out at least once in the evening.

On one side or another, the evening activity heats up. Retired SFPD Captain Al Casciato visited the Mission on Monday night and witnessed the scene. “There was a really big crowd, and I parked across the street.” He described watching the drug dealing and the desperation. He’s seen the latter in a brother who recovered.

The city, he said, needs “to take the people who are on the street off the street to detox, get cleaned up and then be allowed to make a decision of where they want to go … but if we just keep leaving them on the street, the way it is going to get solved is through death.”

A large group of people gathers at night on a city sidewalk in front of a mural-covered building, under streetlights and string lights.
9:30 p.m., 6/9/2025, east side of Mission Street. Photo by a Mission resident.

I visited this morning, drove by in the bus just after 2 p.m. and returned on foot after 6 p.m.

At 2 p.m., vendors were out on the west side of Mission Street, but the vending and most of the drug scene had moved across the street by 6 p.m.

The mobile unit on the southwest 16th Street BART Plaza moved out on Monday, but it was back in place by 2 p.m. Tuesday.

There were a fair number of glass and other pipes out, especially on Capp Street and later in the day on Mission Street.

Southwest 16th Street BART Plaza and west side of Mission Street

  • Urban street intersection with patterned crosswalks, people waiting at a bus stop, traffic lights, and buildings in the background on a cloudy day.
    9:23 a.m 6/10, southwest plaza. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A man sits on a bus near the window, looking outside at a street scene with people, a bus, and vendor tents visible through the glass.
    2:32 6/10 the mobile unit returned to the southwest plaza. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • People walk and sit along a city sidewalk lined with trees and a yellow building, with scattered litter visible on the ground.
    2:31 p.m 6/10, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Two people with backpacks and hats stand on a city sidewalk near scattered trash and a dark wall with graffiti.
    6:12 p.m 6/10, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A city sidewalk with blue and red tile borders, lined with trees and parked cars; a few pigeons are on the path, and a bus is visible in the street.
    6:12 p.m 6/10, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • People walk along a city sidewalk; a person with a wheelchair and belongings is on the left. Two electric scooters are parked by palm trees. Cars are parked along the street.
    6:12 p.m 6/10, west side of Mission Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Northeast Plaza and east side of Mission Street

  • Urban alley with wet pavement, metal railings, graffiti-covered wall on the right, and a person walking away on the left. Trees and buildings in the background.
    9:20 a.m.. 6/09, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • City street scene with people walking, a bus at a stop, colorful murals on building walls, and a palm tree lining the sidewalk.
    9:20 a.m 6/10, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A white utility truck is parked on a city sidewalk next to an elevator, with yellow caution tape blocking the area. A worker stands nearby and palm trees line the street.
    9:20 a.m.. 6/09, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A group of people stand and gather along a city sidewalk lined with graffiti walls, bags, and various belongings on the ground.
    6:11 p.m 6/10, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A group of people gather on a city sidewalk in front of a colorful mural and a gated entrance, with various items and backpacks on the ground.
    6:12 p.m 6/10, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Several people stand or sit with belongings and bicycles on a city sidewalk in front of a colorful mural and a wall with text in San Francisco.
    6:12 p.m 6/10, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • An outdoor urban plaza with gray paving, a few palm trees, blue lamp posts, graffiti-covered walls, and a signpost with a bench and a cart nearby.
    6:11 p.m. 6/09, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Caledonia Street

  • A narrow urban alley with cracked pavement, graffiti-covered wall on the right, beige building on the left, and two people standing in the distance.
    9:16 a.m. 6/10, Caledonia Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A narrow urban alleyway with cracked pavement, colorful graffiti on the right wall, and two people standing in the distance.
    9:16 a.m. 6/10, Caledonia Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A group of people are gathered on a graffiti-covered alleyway, with some kneeling on the ground and others standing nearby. The pavement is cracked and littered with debris.
    6:17 p.m. 6/10, Caledonia Street looking south from 15th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Narrow urban alleyway with walls and gates covered in colorful graffiti; a couple of people are visible in the distance.
    6:17 p.m. 6/10, Caledonia Street looking south from 15th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A narrow urban alleyway bordered by a building on the left and a colorful graffiti-covered wall on the right, with overcast sky and scattered trash bins in the distance.
    6:17 p.m. 6/10, Caledonia Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Julian Avenue and 15th Street

  • A city sidewalk with scattered debris and a few pigeons, bordered by parked cars and buildings on a cloudy day.
    9:17 a.m. 6/10, Julian Avenue. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A city sidewalk with metal grates and utility covers, bordered by parked cars on the left and buildings with storefront windows on the right.
    9:17 a.m. 6/10, 16th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A gray SUV and a white city utility truck are parked at a street corner in front of a beige building with colorful window displays.
    9:17 a.m. 6/10, Julian Avenue, The Department of Public Works. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A city sidewalk with tire marks, parked cars along the street, and buildings lining both sides on an overcast day.
    6:19 p.m. 6/10, Julian Avenue. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A mostly empty city sidewalk runs beside parked cars and apartment buildings, with a few pedestrians visible in the distance under overcast skies.
    6:16 p.m. 6/10, Julian Street looking south. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A person rides a bicycle on a tree-lined sidewalk next to a black iron fence and parked cars on a city street.
    6:16 p.m. 6/10, Julian Street looking south. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • 6:17 p.m.. 6/7, 15th Street looking west. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Wiese Street

  • A person stands on an urban alleyway with graffiti and barricades, holding a blanket beside a bag with belongings near a closed shop.
    9:18 a.m. 6/10, Wiese Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A narrow city street lined with metal barricades and graffiti-covered walls; several people are walking or standing on the sidewalk and road.
    6:20 p.m. 6/10, Wiese Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A narrow urban alley with several people sitting or standing along the sides, some belongings and litter scattered on the ground.
    6:16 p.m. 6/10, Wiese Street looking south from 15th Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.

Capp Street

  • A white car drives through a crosswalk at a city intersection with a red light overhead and pedestrians waiting to cross near 16th Street.
    9:21a.m. 6/09, Capp Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A man walks a small dog across a crosswalk at an intersection with a red traffic light; parked cars and a garbage truck are visible on the street.
    9:21a.m. 6/09, Capp Street. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A sidewalk scene with parked cars, a green utility box, a scooter, and trees in the background on an overcast day.
    9:21a.m. 6/09, Capp Street looking north from 16th street is generally clear. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • A person with a plaid jacket stands next to a bicycle on a city sidewalk, with several others and scattered belongings nearby in front of a building.
    6:08 p.m.. 6/09, Capp Street between 17th and 16th streets. Photo by Lydia Chávez.
  • Three people stand on a graffiti-covered sidewalk next to a wall, sorting through bags and items near a wheelchair; litter is scattered on the ground.
    6:09 p.m.. 6/09, Capp Street between 17th and 16th streets. 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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4 Comments

  1. Reply

  2. Deport the Honduran drug dealers. Not all Hondurans are dealing drugs and most are making the most of their lives here in S.F. I have seen the drug dealers training their younger siblings how to deal. It’s sad.

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  3. Thanks for reporting

    Tragic to see people harmed on the streets by drug dealers.

    Also the addicts took the the poison .

    It is a supply and demand problem.

    Until the drug supply is stopped the addicts will not stop using .

    Treatment is offered .
    I have seen persons offered this .

    They all refuse .

    It is not only the access and funding .

    An impaired individual will not go to treatment .
    They must be removed and placed in a detox center where they cannot access drugs .

    They will die if they dont stop.

    Expecting persons to go voluntarily is not happening .

    Tragic but true

    Look at the lack of improvement .

    People of sound mind cannot support or think it is ok to allow an addict to ingest a poison even one more time .

    That is inhumane and cruel.

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  4. day 98000, nothing has changed, stolen goods are still being sold, drug dealers and addicts are busy, more millions have been spent. When are we going to realize that we need a stronger approach to the problems? stop treating those people as victims of capitalism or whatever..at one point in your life it is your decision and only your decision. And those decisions/choices should lead to consequences. No more free phones, free drug paraphernalia, no more free services, no more free food, no more laxism from politicians and the police; let them realize SF is no longer a “good” city for them otherwise, in 2050, they will still be coming from…their red states where there is nothing in terms of social services.Compassion is one thing, being stupid is another one.

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