{"id":42428,"date":"2025-07-08T12:28:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=42428"},"modified":"2025-07-08T12:29:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T19:29:07","slug":"what-to-know-about-mystery-benches-popping-up-in-san-francisco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/08\/what-to-know-about-mystery-benches-popping-up-in-san-francisco\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about mystery benches popping up in San Francisco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Joe Rosato Jr.<\/a>\u00a0\u2022<\/strong> July 7, 2025\u00a0\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0nbcbayarea.com<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Image from SFBABC.0rg)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rogue Bay Area group is making waves by making benches in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Sarig didn\u2019t question the mysterious wooden bench that popped up at his bus stop on Mission Street in the city\u2019s Mission District. He simply sat on it and gave his tired dogs a rest \u2014 no questions asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating to stand and wait for the bus, a lot of times it takes twenty minutes for the bus to arrive,\u201d Sarig said scanning the street for his bus. \u201cSo it\u2019s pretty nice to sit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That seems to be the sentiment of the mysterious group that recently installed eight unsanctioned wooden bench at bus stops along key bus routes in the Mission District. The benches are loosely signed by their makers; a stencil indicates they\u2019re the work of the San Francisco Bay Bench Collective, a group with a proclaimed mission to build and install benches where the city has failed to provide them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty unbelievable to just decide to do without funding from the government or anything like that,\u201d observed Sarig, who took the news of the rogue benches sitting down. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bench collective\u2019s website provides detailed instructions on how the community can build and install its own benches. Attempts to contact group members for comment was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bench collective has already installed dozens of benches across the East Bay. The city of Richmond even passed legislation to legally permit their DIY installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the proliferation of benches in San Francisco apparently caught officials by surprise. Two of the benches were quickly removed after neighbors complained. But the remaining six have earned a sitting ovation for those stuck on the sidewalk waiting for busses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean if the city\u2019s not going to do anything about it, you\u2019ve got to do it yourself,\u201d said Riley Pfirrmann as she sat on one of the benches waiting for a bus at 16th and Bryant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesman with the City\u2019s Department of Public Works said the agency was aware of the benches, but expressed concern about the maintenance and liability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, the agency said it observed one bench already tagged with graffiti and wondered if the bench collective would be responsible for removing the vandalism? Beyond that it said it would be \u201cwilling to work with the bench sponsors on a path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near 16th and Bryant, Dawn Valadez gave a thumbs up to the group and its unsanctioned effort to give people a place to take a load off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many people with disabilities in our world and our community right now,\u201d Valadez said, \u201cand sometimes it\u2019s also just \u2014 I need a moment to breathe, like I need a moment to sit down and breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Joe Rosato Jr.\u00a0\u2022 July 7, 2025\u00a0\u2022\u00a0nbcbayarea.com (Image from SFBABC.0rg) A rogue Bay Area group is making waves by making benches in San Francisco. Ben Sarig didn\u2019t question the mysterious wooden bench that popped up at his bus stop on Mission Street in the city\u2019s Mission District. He simply sat on… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42428"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42428"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42431,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42428\/revisions\/42431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}