On Monday, Oct. 26, Mayor Daniel Lurie, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and representatives from dozens of city agencies gathered at Moscone Center to listen to residents’ concerns and address them in person.
Tables were set up with staff members from a wide span of departments and agencies, including the San Francisco Fire Department, San Francisco Police Department, the district attorney’s office, the Recreation and Park Department, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, BART, the Department of Emergency Management, the Department of Public Health, the public defender’s office, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and community benefit districts such as SoMa West and Yerba Buena.
Although the focus was District 6, residents and business owners from across San Francisco showed up to talk with representatives, get information and hear the mayor, supervisor, and district attorney speak. The elected officials stayed after their speeches to take questions from the crowd, which numbered at least 300 throughout the evening.
District 6 covers the eastern and waterfront portions of San Francisco and encompasses troubled areas such as Mid-Market and South of Market. The illegal drug trade and other criminal activity flourish along Sixth and Seventh streets, in alleys such as Minna Street, and along Mission Street.
According to one homeowner, 10th Street has become particularly bad, with intense drug activity occurring day and night right outside his door. He stayed to talk with the mayor, which was the ultimate intention of the event.
Dorsey said it was set up to give people an opportunity to meet with elected officials and ensure their voices were heard. In his speech, he spoke about the need for better solutions and government-led initiatives to address residents’ concerns. He then introduced Mayor Lurie and turned the microphone over to him.
Within 30 seconds, however, a man in the back of the room began yelling about billionaires, Gaza, and blood money, demanding that his questions be answered.
“Sir, we’re not here for you,” Lurie responded.
The face-masked man continued his tirade before being gently escorted out of the venue. Shouts of “Free, free Palestine” soon faded into the distance. Aside from murmurs of annoyance and a few audible “shut ups,” there was little reaction from the crowd. They were there to get information about their neighborhoods, not to address international affairs.
Lurie then thanked the team at City Hall, from the SFPD to Julie Kirschbaum at the SFMTA, whom he credited with cutting $150 million in ongoing spending. He then praised Brooke Jenkins, who was standing next to him.
“We have a district attorney that is making sure we hold people accountable and protect people in this city. … There is so much hope and optimism that [we] haven’t seen in years,” Lurie said.
Still, he acknowledged that street conditions in South of Market neighborhoods were unacceptable, especially around bus stops and schools.
After Lurie finished his speech, Dorsey began introducing Jenkins for her portion. However, another protester (it was unclear whether he was the same man) interjected with a “Free Palestine” chant. The interruption lasted about 45 seconds before he, too, was encouraged to leave.
Jenkins took the microphone and acknowledged that much work remained to address the problems concentrated in the area. In fact, up until a couple of weeks earlier, she and her family had been a District 6 residents.
As a mother of two young children, Jenkins said she “knows what it means to have an environment and to raise them in an area that gives them the values that you want them to grow up learning. And to not expose them to things that you don’t want them to see, to have to explain.”
Jenkins said she understood that data from a year and a half earlier showed that stores in the district were still experiencing more theft than stores in any other area of the city.
“We have tried to convene those merchants, those businesses, to come together and figure out how to solve the problem for this district,” she said. “That is the same with drug use, that is the same with all sorts of issues. And so I want you to know that it is at the forefront of my mind, as well as everybody behind me, that we have a long way to go and there’s so much more work to be done.”
Jenkins concluded by assuring attendees that they had made incremental progress but “need to keep their foot on the gas.”
Although the open house provided an opportunity for people to ask questions and air grievances, one of the more interesting aspects of the community event was a table where attendees could share their ideas about how to improve Market Street. It was a chance to dream of vibrancy rather than blight.
Participants were invited to write down the types of retailers they would like to see open, using note cards pinned to a display depicting Market Street from the Ferry Building to 11th Street.
One sign read, “Anything that is not a smoke shop, liquor store or payday loans.” Suggestions included a grocery store; The Gap and Banana Republic; Pet Food Express; Crate & Barrel; Pottery Barn; Sur La Table; theaters and venues; outlet stores; a bookstore; independent artist shops; and a roller-skating rink.
A sign reading “Cars! This comes from an avid cyclist” was a fascinating addition.
There was no shortage of enthusiasm or anger. It seems evident that San Franciscans at large, and District 6 residents in particular, are eager for change. The reception given to elected officials and city employees was generally positive, but also wary.
As for the protesters, they just added a bit of spice to an otherwise orderly event.
