by Randy Shaw on April 3, 2023 (BeyondChron.org)
Will Mayor Breed’s Letter to Feds Bring Action?
My two recent stories on open air drug markets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood—-“In SF, Open Drug Markets on Federal Land,” and “Why Doesn’t SF’s Health Department Stop Drug Dealers”—have not brought much action. In fact, Twitter has many photos showing the increased drug dealers around Seventh and Stevenson.
Why are San Francisco city government and the feds tolerating this?
I constantly get asked that question. I wish I could provide a rational answer.
TogetherSF Action is holding a meeting April 5 on the topic, “Does San Francisco Enable Drug Use?” I encourage those interested in ending open drug markets to attend. You might get some answers to the above question that adds to my take on the situation.
Mayor Breed Asks Help from Feds
City Hall and the feds are not responding to the out of control drug dealing at Seventh and Stevenson with the sense of urgency the crisis demands. That’s why it was encouraging that the mayor formally requested help from the new U.S. Attorney in a March 27 letter.
Mayor Breed pushed hard for the police supplemental. She has issued many press releases and spoken strongly at public events about closing drug markets.Now she has written a strong letter to federal prosecutors asking for help. The Mayor made it clear that she understands the terrible impacts open drug markets have on residents, small businesses, and on San Francisco’s recovery.
But at the end of the day it’s about results. People want to see action, not just hear words.
Dealers and users operate throughout SOMA west of 6th Street. The drug dealer/user/illegal vendor scene displaced from UN Plaza now freely operates at the Pelosi Federal Building on weekends. Some of the dealers/users displaced from around 8th Street have also moved to Stevenson.
Businesses at risk and facing closure around Seventh and Market have not wanted to go public. They expected city and federal action to happen.
But a recent meeting at the Oddfellows Building on Seventh and Stevenson exposed a lot of upset businesses. There are youth ballet classes in that building—parents aren’t happy about their kids having to walk by a drug market to reach class.
Some of San Francisco’s leading theaters—the Golden Gate, ACT-Strand and the Orpheum— bring SOMA’s drug markets to the attention of the larger public. This is not like Los Angeles where one can spend their entire life without seeing the problems on Skid Row.
There have been successes in other parts of the city. SFPD’s disruption strategy has closed the two big Tenderloin drug markets. UN Plaza has made major progress since my February 27 story (“San Francisco Must Close UN Plaza”).
But evening drug dealing on Golden Gate Avenue and around the corner on Larkin remains a huge problem. Drug activity on Eddy toward Van Ness has gotten worse. Drug users still fill too many Tenderloin sidewalks, particularly on Leavenworth.
Some dealers and illegal vendors displaced from UN Plaza have relocated to McAllister and Leavenworth, across the street from UC Law SF’s student dorms (formerly known as the Hastings Tower). That must be stopped.
Federal and State Assistance Needed
Mayor Breed may have felt that publicly requesting federal or state help would send a message that she is unable to solve the crisis. I don’t see it that way. The public wants Mayor Breed to demand the feds clear dealers and users from their property. The public also welcomes help from the state. I got a huge positive response for urging the mayor to ask Governor Newsom to send in the National Guard.
If it’s fine for the Governor to intervene to help solve San Francisco’s housing crisis, why can’t he help the city remove drug dealers? Placing National Guard or California Highway Patrol officers on every block with drug markets would make a huge difference—and score political points for the governor and mayor.
As it stands now, Mayor Breed risks losing re-election because voters do not feel she has kept the city safe. One can already foresee the political ads showing open air drug markets and disoriented drug users with the voice over asking: Does SF want another four years of this?
There’s no political downside to the mayor pushing the feds and the state to conduct a massive drug market crackdown. The upside is huge.
I see a lot of stories promoting “San Francisco is Back!” But I hear a lot of people saying they’ve never seen San Francisco so troubled. A lot of residents and small businesses are losing hope.
San Francisco will not come “back” until all open air drug markets are closed. Let’s all commit to making this happen in 2023.
Randy Shaw
Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s latest book is Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. He is the author of four prior books on activism, including The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. He is also the author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco
