Sitting beneath the high concrete ceiling in the historic Carnegie reading room at Mission Branch Public Library, about 30 residents of the neighborhood on Wednesday imagined what could make their beloved home-away-from-home a little bit better. A projection screen for movie night. More tables with computers and outlets. A recreational room for older people. And more bathrooms. Definitely more bathrooms....
For Luis Gutiérrez, the owner of La Reyna Bakery on 24th Street near Folsom Street, the decades-old ficus tree in front of his shop shields the rows of baked goods in his window from the sun and his customers from the rain. But on Jan. 5, the city posted a notice announcing it would remove the ficus and at least...
The Department of Public Works has installed $8,700 worth of boulders as a defense against homeless “re-encampment” underneath the tangle of freeway overpasses at Cesar Chavez and Potrero Avenue known as the Hairball. More boulders are on their way. “We put them in there to help deter re-encampment a bit and for aesthetics, just to change it up,” said Larry...
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an ordinance that prohibits so-called “chop shops” of bicycles and bicycle parts from operating on the city’s sidewalks. After a heated debate, the board voted 9-2 to approve the legislation. “This legislation is about clearing sidewalks and not having illegal businesses on sidewalks,” said Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, who sponsored the proposal....
Public Works crews, not police officers, would be the public servants issuing tickets to bike chop shop operators and clearing them off public right-of-ways under a completely revised proposal to combat the informal repair operations. After an overhaul that de-emphasizes the role of police, Supervisor Jeff Sheehy’s legislation to address bike chop shops will return to committee for further review. The...
Contractors began installing a permanent fence around the perimeter of McCoppin Hub last week, enacting plans, which date back to 2015, to close the public plaza at night. The fence is meant to put an end to the homeless population’s use of the hub for sleeping and alleged drug use by making it accessible during daytime hours only – a...
The removal of a homeless stronghold underneath the 101 Freeway that divides the northeastern Mission and Potrero Hill ended Tuesday with nearly all of its 53 residents accepting shelter. Aside from a few, some 43 campers accepted placement in the Mission’s Navigation Center at 1950 Mission St., said Sam Dodge, deputy director of the Department on Homelessness and Supportive Housing, which...
Police, outreach workers and the homeless residents of an encampment that had been targeted for resolution in a city-sanctioned process that was already underway were surprised when cleaning crews descended on the encampment at the crack of dawn on Thursday and, without warning, ordered its inhabitants to pack up and move. The 30 or so residents of the encampment –...
In response to a surge of complaint-driven sweeps of homeless encampments by city officials in recent months, advocates for the homeless are now organizing and training civilians to monitor and document the rampant encampment removals. On Wednesday, organizers with the Coalition on Homelessness conducted the city’s first ever “Sweeps Watch” training to coach some 40 residents in identifying and...
When the city arrives at an encampment, it often means the homeless residents will be moved on. But on Wednesday, city cleaning crews cleaned up the sidewalks on 14th and Mission streets and –although the encampment was visibly scaled down – the workers allowed most of the half-dozen or so tents and their residents to remain. The day’s interactions at the...
In a case of musical tents, evicted inhabitants of a 20-person encampment on Erie Street settled a street over, on Division Street last month, but on Tuesday – two weeks later – police targeted that camp on Division Street for an early morning clean-up. Now, many of the campers have returned to Erie Street. “They don’t want no one in...
The amount of “litter and grime” observed citywide dropped year to year, possibly due to improved response rates, three new street sweepers, and new mechanical sidewalk cleaners featuring steam cleaning units. The report also references the city’s Pit Stop program, which provides public toilets, syringe disposal, and pet waste bags – but perhaps most importantly, includes a staff to man the...
On Friday night in the pouring rain, Department of Public Works trucks cleared out trash near the homeless encampment where 45-year-old Luis Gongora was shot and killed by San Francisco police on Thursday, raising some fear among residents that the sweep was an attempt to scatter potential witnesses to the shooting. A Public Works spokesperson, however, said the trucks were not there to dismantle the...
Clenching his dog’s leash in one hand, Ortega Flowers’ voice trembled with frustration as he recounted an interaction he had with a police officer shortly before his tent was removed during a city cleanup of a homeless encampment on Shotwell Street. “They just took my tent. My dog’s food is in there, and his brush,” said Flowers, alleging that he had...
The city has no money for trees, according to the Department of Public Works. Property owners want that remedied and so does the department, but until that happens, Public Works will continue to transfer 24,000 city trees to make property owners liable for their care and any ensuing accidents. In its third year, the Tree Maintenance Transfer Plan, which transfers responsibility for...
