{"id":30395,"date":"2023-12-06T11:51:18","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=30395"},"modified":"2023-12-06T11:51:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:51:19","slug":"city-teams-keep-vendors-away-from-16th-and-24th-street-bart-plazas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/12\/06\/city-teams-keep-vendors-away-from-16th-and-24th-street-bart-plazas\/","title":{"rendered":"City teams keep vendors away from 16th and 24th street BART plazas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0LYDIA CH\u00c1VEZ<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0XUEER LU<\/a><\/strong> DECEMBER 5, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

24th Street Plaza 12:56 p.m Dec 3. Photo by Lydia Ch\u00e1vez<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the week since a ban on vending went into effect, the 16th and 24th Street BART plazas remain free of vendors \u2014 as long as the tag teams consisting of two police officers and two Public Works staff are present. The teams move along any vendors that have gathered in the morning and for the first time in months, the plazas have been clear for most of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s less clear is what happened to the 100 or so vendors who formed an association to oppose or delay the vending ban. A few are on side streets not covered by the ban. Even fewer are in the two sanctioned sites the city has rented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those at 2137 Mission St. \u2014 meant to accommodate 43 vendors, but rarely attracting more than eight during this first week \u2014 are frustrated by the lack of customers and sales. Papel picado hangs from the ceiling, and a stuffed reindeer greets visitors at the door, but the taped-off empty vending spots make the space feel like a party that has yet to begin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are no people,\u201d said Maria, who has staffed her stall of toiletries and lingerie since Nov. 27, when the ban began and the site opened. \u201cThey\u2019re out there on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At times, Maria and her fellow vendors go out to the sidewalk to encourage pedestrians, but those efforts have not made much difference. On Sunday, she had sold only $30 worth of merchandise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maneul Solero, another vendor inside, had only sold three items, and those, he said, were purchased by a city supervisor who stopped in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard anything about assistance,\u201d he said, except that there might be some for women with children. \u201cAnd men don\u2019t have children?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city is paying $100,000 in rent for vendors to use 2137 Mission St. during the 90-day ban. It is clean and well-kept, but simply lacks activity \u2014 and vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n