SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Mayor London Breed is cracking down on the Tenderloin’s night-time drug market.
The prime minister announced legislation on Tuesday that would ban the sale of prepackaged food and tobacco products between midnight and 5am.
The bill would focus on the area between O’Farrell and McAllister and from Polk to Jones. Jamari Hilliard said the area near the Civic Center Plaza was particularly bad.
“Once you step onto this street, this is where you can see all the important parts,” Hilliard said. “At night, it’s the Wild West. It’s crazy. Everyone is everywhere, selling something, buying something. It’s intense.”
Hilliard said hundreds of people were selling stolen goods or dealing and using illegal drugs after dark. He works as a social worker a few blocks away and shops at Plaza Snacks and Deli almost every day.
It’s one of the few shops open until late at night, so it gets very crowded at night.
“Yeah, I’ve seen that market before,” said Nestor Vasquez, a private security guard who works nearby. It’s usually open, but it’s packed with people.
Vazquez said the situation remains out of control despite San Francisco police and other private security personnel.
“There are hundreds of people and you can’t even walk,” Vazquez said. “The plaza is full. SFPD and troopers, we’re trying to do everything we can.”
He said many of the same people selling and dealing drugs will be at Plaza Snacks and Deli. Although this business only opened six months ago, it has become very popular due to its 24-hour availability.
The mayor’s office said late-night stores may be unintentionally contributing to the drug market.
“They’re just trying to blame businesses that stay open all night, but I don’t think that’s the problem,” one Plaza Snack and Deli owner said in response to the mayor’s bill. “Homelessness in San Francisco has been going on for more than 10 to 15 years.”
The owner, who declined to give his name, said most people who come into the store late at night just buy cereal and milk. He said they need to be open all the time if they want to pay their bills.
“Rent is so high in San Francisco that owners can’t afford to pay rent and their employees can’t make ends meet if they close early,” he said.
Jamal Ali runs a similar store a few doors down. He said the store now always closes by 10 p.m., but may close earlier if it feels unsafe.
“The situation has changed dramatically and has become a bit dangerous,” Ali said.
Ali would support the mayor’s bill if it becomes law.
“If it makes a difference in making businesses safer, I’m all for it,” he said.
Even those experiencing homelessness said they feel unsafe.
“It’s a pretty rough crowd,” said Tamara Ring, a homeless woman who sells shoes on the street. “I do feel unsafe. I’m not a normal-looking person around here, and I feel special and unsafe here.”
But Hilliard said he doesn’t think any legislation will make a difference.
“You can make any law you want,” he said. “These people are going to do whatever they want, and there’s no stopping them. Addicts, you can’t just make the rules and break them. They’re just going to go to another store there. You just go. You just don’t solve the problem.”
The mayor’s office said the goal of the initiative is to improve the health and well-being of people living in the Tenderloin, not to hurt small business owners.
The bill is part of Mayor Breed’s Drug Markets Agency Coordination Center effort, a multi-agency strategy to disrupt and dismantle outdoor drug markets. This effort is being led by law enforcement.
