by Randy Shaw on February 13, 2023 (BeyondChron.org)
East side of 300 block of Hyde
SF Must Permanently Close Drug Markets
Something shocking occurred in San Francisco last week: the Tenderloin’s largest open air drug market was cleared.
For over two years the 300 block of Hyde has been filled with trash and fifty plus dealers. No more.
300 Hyde was cleared for the entire week. The Tenderloin’s other large open drug market on the 600 block of Eddy was shut down on the south side (adjacent to the Hotel Phoenix); some dealers remained on the north side near Polk (the area was clear on Monday am).
Can the Tenderloin finally be free of the large open air drug markets wrecking small businesses and worsening the lives of residents and workers?
Here’s my assessment.
Business Community Pressure
Why did the SFPD finally crack down on open drug markets that have thrived for over two years? Three main reasons.
First, small businesses have power in San Francisco—if they are organized. Tenderloin businesses were not organized until last fall. That’s when the Tenderloin Business Coalition (TBC) emerged in response to businesses facing closure due to drug markets.
Many who signed the group’s petition to the mayor are working-class immigrants too busy keeping their businesses afloat to get politically engaged. But their desperate situation led them to finally speak out.
And speak out they did. First in Heather Knight’s December 16 column and then directly to Mayor Breed and Chief Scott when the TBC met with both on February 7.
I’ve been to a lot of meetings with San Francisco mayors over the past forty plus years. I have never heard more powerful and moving testimony than what the small businesspersons expressed to Mayor Breed last week.
It got very personal. And very emotional.
The sincerity of business owners came through. All were mystified as to why the city was not providing basic public safety protections in the Tenderloin. The mayor and chief heard these voices loud and clear.
Plans for a crackdown were in place before the mayor’s meeting. But the testimony solidified the city’s willingness to publicly commit not just to days of police disruption but months.
A Citywide Campaign
The second reason for the crackdown is that closing drug markets has become a citywide campaign. The crackdown began only days after the citywide group TogetherSF Action brought nearly 200 people together to address the crisis.
Kanishka Cheng, its Executive Director, says the group is “cautiously optimistic” about progress so far. Cheng told me, “These crackdowns show that the city is listening to us and paying attention to us. That means now is the time to keep building momentum, not say ‘Okay, great, all done!’ We have their ear. Our foot is on the gas. We are not letting up until these markets are closed for good and those suffering from addiction are getting access to abundant, high-quality recovery services.”
The politics of the issue have shifted. People see the crisis as impacting the entire city. Continuing the Tenderloin as a drug containment zone is no longer politically acceptable. Business, travel, neighborhood groups, and others understand that open drug markets imperil not just the Tenderloin’s future, but San Francisco’s.
Mayor Breed
Finally, the crackdown happened because Mayor Breed has been politically hurt by the crime and drug problems. We can blame complex factors but most voters believe the buck stops with the mayor.
Breed’s poll numbers have tanked due to public concern over open drug markets. And the mayor’s core base is the constituency most upset about the crisis. Her next election is less than two years away. Mayor Breed cannot face voters without closing the city’s drug markets.
As she expressed in last week’s State of the City speech and in many talks, Mayor Breed cares deeply about what is happening in the Tenderloin. She is enormously frustrated at the lack of progress in closing down drug markets. But for over two years her concern did not translate into a crackdown. Pressure from people she sees as close allies helped push the mayor to ensure that the SPFD would meaningfully disrupt drug markets.
Where Did the Dealers Go?
I get this question a lot. Here’s an easy response: maybe they returned to where they were before these drug markets opened.
That people can’t find the dealers is telling. It rebuts the common belief that closing drug markets simply pushes the problem only blocks away. Is the Tenderloin dealer free? No. Are there more dealers on the 700 block of Eddy than before the crackdown? Possibly. Are dealers still openly doing business at night? Yes, the crackdown has yet to change this.
But I am aware of no new major drug markets opening in the past week. The large drug markets at 7th and Market and Mission between 8th-9th Streets aren’t new. They and those in the Mission preceded this crackdown.
The big picture: there were were far fewer visible Tenderloin drug dealers last week than at any time in the past two years. And far more visible uniformed police. As in past Tenderloin crackdowns, clearing out drug blocks has not just moved the markets around the corner.
Will SFPD Withdraw Officers?
That’s what happened in the Tenderloin in 2009 (See “The Big Lie About Arresting Drug Dealers,” January 16, 2023). When a successful crackdown is followed by the police soon leaving, the dealers return.
Mayor Breed and Chief Scott were explicit at last week’s Tenderloin Business Coalition meeting that this crackdown had to last for months. Both stressed the need for consistency over time. Assistant Chief David Lazar, who designed the Disruption strategy, has also been clear that the crackdown will be sustainable.
Staffing, of course, is the challenge. The mayor is open to bringing in the National Guard if the city can’t add additional officers. Governor Newsom prefers using the California Highway Patrol. Both outside law enforcement agencies are available if needed.
Overtime Supplemental
The Mayor and SFPD want to solve this crisis in-house. They are backing a $25 million overtime supplemental to avoid the need for outside law enforcement. If any supervisor thinks that the SFPD can close down drug markets citywide without this funding they need to explain how.
D5 Supervisor Dean Preston repeatedly claims the police are wasting funds. But Preston has never publicly urged a police crackdown on Tenderloin drug dealers, despite representing the neighborhood. His opposition to overtime would be consistent with a supervisor who accepts drug markets staying open.
I don’t think most supervisors agree with Preston. And those who criticized my call for the National Guard as “militarizing” the Tenderloin should favor the overtime strategy to keep outside forces out.
Closing Tenderloin drug markets can be sustained. Open air drug markets citywide can also be closed.
A brighter future for San Francisco is possible. It remains a question of political will.
