A storefront with blue and red tiled walls features a glass door and a neon sign reading "YOU NEED ART"; a fire extinguisher is mounted near a metal gate on the left.
6:04 p.m 6/19, west side of Mission Street. This may be the first day I have seen this area clear of drug users and cleaned up. Photo by Lydia Chávez


You can see all the 16th Street posts here. 

For the first time in months, the area on the west side of Mission Street in front of La Fenix at 1950 Mission St. was clear – in the morning and in the evening. It is virtually the first time I can remember not seeing a group of drug users hanging out in the nook near the You Need Art neon sign.

Vending and some drug use continued on the south end of Mission Street, but it was not as packed as it was on Wednesday evening.

Caledonia Street and Julian Avenue were clear. Wiese had a few people hanging out in the morning, but it was clear in the afternoon – although a group sat nearby on 16th Street. For the first time, I saw someone on Capp Street north of 16th Street, a stretch that has been clear for most of the last 100 days thanks to the vigilance of the Five Key security guards at the tiny cabins on Capp Street.

I looked at the last 100 days here. We will continue to check in.

Southwest Plaza and west Mission Street

For the second day in a row, the sidewalk was clear from 1950 Mission St. south. Families live at 1950 Mission St, known as La Fenix, and the vending and drug use have been tough on them.

  • Two police SUVs with flashing lights and a large mobile command van are parked in a public square near shops and pedestrians under a clear blue sky.
    11:15 a.m. southwest 16th Street Plaza. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A person lies on the sidewalk near a bicycle rack, with a parked silver car and a parking meter nearby; street art is visible on the wall in the background.
    11:14 a.m. west side of Mission Street Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • Three people stand and lean over bags on a sidewalk beside a tiled curb and a black wall with graffiti; one is covered in a red plaid blanket.
    11:15 a.m. west side 16th Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A man in a brown and black jacket lies on a tiled sidewalk beside a yellow wall and a metal gate in daylight.
    11:15 a.m. 16th Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • Three people walk on a sunny city sidewalk in front of a modern building with red, green, and blue columns and leafy plants on the wall.
    11:14 a.m. west side 16th Steert. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A person in a red shirt kneels on the sidewalk, head bowed, near a gated storefront and a metal barricade.
    11:20 a.m. 16th Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • People stand and walk along a littered city sidewalk, with a yellow and teal bicycle and several pedestrians in the foreground and background.
    6:04 p.m 6/19, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • City sidewalk scene with people gathered near a building, scattered trash on the ground, parked cars, and trees lining the street.
    6:04 p.m 6/19, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with scattered trash, several parked cars, and a group of people walking and talking near buildings on a sunny day.
    6:04 p.m 6/19, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A storefront with blue and red tiled walls features a glass door and a neon sign reading "YOU NEED ART"; a fire extinguisher is mounted near a metal gate on the left.
    6:04 p.m 6/19, west side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • City intersection with cars stopped at a traffic light, pedestrians crossing the street, and buildings in the background under a clear sky.
    6:03 p.m 6/19 southwest plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Northeast Plaza and east side of the street

Police officers and some DPW workers were on the northeast plaza in the morning and evening. They were fairly effective. “There were groups of people sitting at the plaza, there was no visible open-air drug use,” reported Jose Velazquez after taking photos in the morning. In the evening, the plaza was fairly clear, but vending continued on east Mission Street.

  • Two men in safety vests and a police officer stand next to a police car, talking to a man in a green hoodie on a sunny city street with palm trees and graffiti in the background.
    11:12 a.m. north east 16th Street Plaza. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A sunlit urban sidewalk with colorful graffiti on a wall, metal fencing, palm trees, and several people walking or standing in the scene.
    6:03 p.m. 6/19, northeast plaza, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A group of people gathers on a city sidewalk next to bags of belongings, with buildings, palm trees, and parked cars visible in the background.
    6:03 p.m 6/19, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Urban street scene with people standing and sitting near a bus stop, colorful graffiti on walls, palm trees, and clear blue sky.
    6:03 p.m 6/19, east side of Mission Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Caledonia Street

The security guard has made a difference here since April.

  • A narrow urban alleyway with a beige building on the left, graffiti-covered wall on the right, and a clear blue sky overhead.
    11:21 a.m. Caledonia Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A narrow, empty alleyway with litter scattered on the ground, graffiti on the right wall, and tan buildings on the left side.
    6:08 p.m. 6/19, Caledonia Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Julian Avenue

  • A city sidewalk runs alongside a beige building with parked cars and utility poles lining the street on a clear, sunny day.
    11:21 a.m. Julian Avenue west. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez
  • A city sidewalk next to parked cars and colorful buildings on a clear day, with some scattered litter on the ground.
    6:07 p.m. 6/19, Julian Avenue, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk lined with parked cars beside multi-story buildings on a clear, sunny day; a person walks in the distance.
    11:21 a.m. east Julian Avenue. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A city sidewalk runs alongside parked cars and a row of buildings under a clear blue sky.
    6:07 p.m. 6/19, Julian Avenue, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Wiese Street

  • A narrow city alley with yellow and green buildings, metal barricades, and people standing and walking in the sunlight.
    11:20 a.m. Wesie Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A narrow urban alley lined with metal barricades, yellow and green buildings, and a single person walking in the distance.
    6:07 p.m. 6/19, Wiese Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez

Capp Street

  • A city sidewalk with parked cars, a streetlamp, and a colorful graffiti mural covering the wall on the right side. Blue sky is visible above.
    11:10 a.m. Capp Street. Photo by Jose A. Velazquez.
  • A man sits on a sidewalk surrounded by bags, clothing, and personal items, with cars parked along the street in the background.
    6:02 p.m.. 6/19, Capp Street north of 16th Street,. Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • Two people stand on a sidewalk near a red car and a gray building; one wears a yellow hard hat and both appear to be working with tools or equipment at the base of a garage door.
    6:00 p.m.. 6/19, Capp Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A city sidewalk with parked cars, a dumpster, and several people sitting near a building in the background on a sunny day.
    6:01 p.m.. 6/19, Capp Street, Photo by Lydia Chávez
  • A person with a red and black backpack stands on a city sidewalk near a wall, while several people gather further down the street. Cars are parked along the curb.
    6:01 p.m.. 6/19, 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.

Reporting from Bayview-Hunters Point. I grew up on 24th and York Street and attended Buena Vista Elementary. As a teenager, I moved to Hunters Point and went to school in Potrero Hill. I'm currently a student at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. I've developed a toxic relationship with golf.

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6 Comments

  1. Reply

  2. I haven’t seen any improvement. There’s constantly trash in front of La Fénix Apartments (16th Street/ Mission) , and people using drugs are out there every day. Tenants especially children are forced to walk past this mess daily. It’s even worse on weekends.We need to see real action from both our elected officials and law enforcement. Community meetings and discussions about what’s being done are not enough. Actions speak louder than words!

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  4. Thanks for reporting

    This and many areas need services and law enforcement

    In fact , dpw workers and those few who do go out to offer services and shelters have been assaulted by addicts and homeless

    The missing link everywhere is law enforcement on the ground walking these areas 24/7.

    Bring back foot patrol and paddy wagons .

    Round up
    The criminals .

    We are so done with them harming themselves and others

    So selfish and entitled

    Take this crap off the streets .

    If people dont want police then they need to get out there themselves and stop the illegal activity

    I dont that element doing anything to help
    Really getting old this cat and mouse game

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  5. Why don’t you folks actually CLEAN the street?? No one needs your blow by blow reportage! We NEED clean streets!!!

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    1. Morticia,

      The Mission Local coverage keeps the pressure on the Mayor who foolishly promised to clean up the streets and stop the drug dealing at this BART stop.

      At 100 days I’d give him an ‘A’ for getting DPW to do their job and a usual ‘F’ for the cops who still won’t get out of their vehicles and walk a regular old fashioned Foot Patrol where the same officers come back to the same place and meet the people day after day and week after week and month after month and year after year.

      Like my dog and I do on our daily trash pick-up route backed by a solid supply of cleaning supplies but their central office refuses to give me an orange vest or a key to the plastic lock on the door of the concrete base that holds the plastic trash cans.

      And, let’s see the Mayor’s new ‘Acting’ Chief Yep (what’s with the 3 stars?) …

      Let’s see Lurie order single officer Foot Patrols for that area (bounded by 14th and 17th streets and Valencia and Mission) for one full week.

      go Niners !

      h.

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