SAN FRANCISCO — With all the talk about homelessness, drug addiction and “doom loops” in San Francisco, there is at least one very popular bright spot — the weekly farmers’ market at UN Plaza. Now, even that is facing unwelcome changes.

The elegant, brick-lined beauty of United Nations Plaza has changed in recent years. Now, most days, it has become a gathering place for the homeless and drug-addicted. Yet one day each week, the atmosphere changes, thanks to the Sunday farmers’ market.

“I mean, this market was founded on the principal that this was a food desert. There was no full-service grocery store and, from day one, we had a line of people in this neighborhood waiting to purchase fresh produce,” said Steve Pulliam, executive director of Heart of the City Farmers’ Market.

The presence of so many people discourages the troubled element from congregating and officials have taken notice. They asked if the market could operate seven days a week but, when that wasn’t possible, the city quietly developed a plan to move the farmers out. Instead, the plaza will soon contain a public recreation area for skateboarding and pickleball with Teqball courts and ping-pong and chess tables.

“What we’ve been told is that it is an experimental pilot project to try to improve conditions on UN Plaza ,” Pulliam said. “We’ve been told if it does not work, if it proves to be unsuccessful, they’ll put the bricks back and we can come back on the plaza. We have our doubts about that but that’s what we’ve been told.”

As for the farmers? They will be moved to the parking lot on Fulton Street across the street from UN Plaza, but they’re not happy about it. They say the space, which market customers currently use for parking, is smaller and will not allow the same size vendor tents or space for their work trucks.

That would make a difference for Morgan Hill farmer Tony Mellow. He’s been offering a variety of produce ever since the first day the market opened in 1981. He doesn’t see the equity in displacing the farmers because of the actions of others.

“Isn’t it normal to leave something that’s there, there?” Mellow asked. “And do it where they want us to go. Put their little park for skateboards and things over there.”

Customer Ramon Zaniba agrees. He thinks the city is looking for an easy way out, rather than dealing with the real problem.

“Why bring in a different element — a skatepark and so forth? Why not allow this to be as it is and help those that need the help instead of trying to move them to — nowhere?” Zaniba said.

The farmers are asking the public to speak out but they realize it’s probably a done deal. Demolition of a statue in the Fulton Street parking lot has already begun and farmer Ken Phan is trying to keep an open mind about the move.

“More customers? Maybe?  Maybe we might be more busy, who knows?” he said. “So, this could be pro and con. We’ll see. I don’t know yet.  For now, we’ll just have to go along and work together.”

Pulliam said that, even if the current farmers can squeeze into the new space, it will eliminate the possibility of growth, preventing the market from ever fully recovering from the pandemic. He said that when they decided not to fight the plan, the city portrayed them as being supportive of it. 

Pulliam said he will not be attending a public meeting on Monday because he doesn’t want to be seen as endorsing a plan that is being forced on them.

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As San Francisco parks officials plan to transform United Nations Plaza into a skateboarding and recreation haven, a longstanding farmers’ market will be relocating close by. Market leaders consider the move to be a “logistical nightmare.”

San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department first proposed a pilot project in July to make U.N. Plaza—currently considered the epicenter of the city’s open drug market and overdose crisis—safer and more inviting to residents.

READ MORE: Tiki Bars and Soul Food: Why You Should Visit San Francisco’s Most Infamous Neighborhood

If all goes to plan, the 150,000-square-foot plaza in the city’s Civic Center will begin construction in September to be transformed into a skate park and recreation space. Mirroring the work done in other major cities like Paris and Madrid, the space would include exercise equipment, chess and pingpong tables and daily programming, among other activities.

This means that the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market, which has operated at the plaza for 42 years, will also have to relocate Fulton Street between Larkin and Hyde streets starting Sept. 3.

“We are reluctantly moving because the city informs us it is necessary for the health of this community,” said Laura Brainin-Rodriguez, the farmers’ market’s board president. “We are doing everything in our power to make sure the services we provide to our low-income community aren’t negatively affected, so we can retain this essential community resource despite this enormous challenge.

The plaza transformation comes as part of the city Planning Department’s Civic Center Public Realm Plan, which aims to better unify the area around the Civic Center and City Hall with public spaces, cultural events and improved access to public transportation.

But on Tuesday, Heart of the City Farmers’ Market leaders said the construction has forced them to close earlier and have fewer vendors due to the space being “too small” for a safe load-out of vendor vehicles. They said the number of stall spaces available would prevent the market from returning to its pre-pandemic size.

“We lost 40% of our vendors due to conditions in the Civic Center as a result of the ongoing public health crisis, combined with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and devastating wildfires on small farming in California,” said Steve Pulliam, the farmers’ market’s executive director.

“Despite these enormous challenges, [Heart of the City] has begun to recover and continues to serve our community. But now, with this relocation, we are facing our biggest and most threatening challenge yet,” he added.

The market will now operate from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Sundays—it previously ran from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. Leaders cited concerns about decreased food access for the communities they serve.

“This will reduce the amount of produce the market can move into the surrounding extremely low-income and food insecure neighborhoods,” reads a press release from the farmers’ market.

Market officials also said the location is farther from the Civic Center BART Station, which makes it more difficult for people with limited mobility to access the market. They are also concerned about the reduced size of the stalls, where vendors will be able to safely park their cars and the lack of shade on Fulton Street.

“The current conditions on Fulton Street, just two weeks before the relocation, are very concerning,” Pulliam said. “We have been assured that the city will address these issues prior to our relocation. But I was out there this week, and unhoused individuals were still camping in the area.”

SF Rec and Parks officials said they believe the farmers’ market is a healthy and “joyous” park activity and said they have asked market leaders “many times over the years” to increase its presence in the plaza.

“Each time, they were unable to commit to more than their current two days a week,” SF Rec and Parks said in a statement. 

Parks officials also reaffirmed that there will be enough space on Fulton Street to accommodate all vendors, and there will be a wide array of city support available for the market. New accommodations include dedicated vendor and staff parking, overflow space on the Civic Center Plaza, free parking for customers, monitored loading zones and security assistance.

SF Rec and Parks added that crews will repave, re-landscape and install new safety bollards and directional signs on Fulton Street.

The department also said the new move could draw people in from the Asian Art Museum, the San Francisco Public Library’s main branch, the new University of California College of the Law, San Francisco campus housing and families using playgrounds at Civic Center Plaza.

“Though we know not every farmers market vendor is happy about moving across the street, we have heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from many other vendors, as well as customers, neighboring residents, schools and cultural institutions,” reads the department’s statement. “At the height of the season, the Heart of the City Farmers Market has 70 stalls, and its new location across the street can accommodate all of them. As the farmers market grows, it can expand in every direction.”

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July 4th – “Pancakes down!”

Given the circumstances, it felt like a disaster call. After waiting in a line that stretched through much of the plaza, a young man had dropped his plate of pancakes and sausages and spread the food across San Francisco Street.

Luckily, a crisis was averted: Kevin Southwick, a volunteer at the event, was just handing out another plate of food.

“Those are just pancakes,” Southwick said.

Southwick was an honorary “co-captain” at Pancakes on the Plaza, the revered Santa Fe tradition that brings thousands to the town square for a fundraiser breakfast on July 4, and has been handing out flapjacks since 7 a.m

A few more for an unlucky customer? You bet. The more the better. Literally.

As memories of the coronavirus pandemic begin to fade, Santa Fe continues to reconnect with old and cherished traditions: a morning pancake breakfast; Fireworks shows at night. Such was the case on Tuesday as thousands crowded downtown in bright sunshine that seemed to reflect the mood of the day. To that end, Southwick and others said Pancakes appeared to be busier in the Plaza than it had been in years past — even in the days before the pandemic.

Organized by the Rotary Club of Santa Fe, the event celebrated its 46th year in 2023. And while old traditions remain—from pancake makers to water suppliers to orange juice pourers, local volunteers are the cornerstone of the scene—progress is being made. Digital ticketing has brought a 21st-century flair to pancakes.

Rotarian Vic Brenneisen, who has volunteered with Pancakes on the Plaza since 1985, said he was “thrilled” with how this year’s event went. He added that expanded sales drove traffic (and consumption).

“I’ve always called it the best community event in Santa Fe,” Brenneisen said. “There’s a lot of people I see once a year, and it’s here.”

The Rotary Club celebrates its centenary in 2024. To mark the occasion, he sponsors approximately $500,000 in grants to the Santa Fe Children’s Museum and YouthWorks.

The story goes on

The Children’s Museum showcased their new Van of Enchantment, purchased by the Rotary Club for $160,000. The van will travel through northern New Mexico to offer science and humanities activities for youth as well as fresh produce.

On the plaza lawn, Jim Coogan and Tim Kilkenny sat eating plates of pancakes with their families. Santa Fe locals say they have been regular visitors to the event for more than 30 years, in part because it remains a familiar, family place.

“People are happy and there’s always a positive atmosphere,” Kilkenny said.

Coogan bounced his seven-month-old grandson Sebastian on his lap, noting, “Part of the fun is waiting in line for pancakes for an hour.”

The good spirits extended to Lincoln Avenue, where 112 vintage cars of all types lined the street for the Santa Fe Vintage Car Club’s annual show. The group has co-organized the event with Pancakes on the Plaza since 1980.

Visitors and participants each donated $1 to vote for their favorites. The money went to the local boys’ and girls’ club and to the Santa Fe Police Department’s annual Shop with a Cop events.

Stephanie Hubley, of Santa Fe, said she was there with her 7-year-old daughter Tina and friends to celebrate her birthday, which coincidentally falls on the 4th of July.

Hubley said celebrating Independence Day feels complicated given recent US Supreme Court rulings overturning precedents for LGBTQ+ protections and affirmative action, as well as last year’s ruling nullifying Roe v. Wade overruled.

Still, she said she’s excited about family events in Santa Fe and that friends and family are free to celebrate with her.

“Right now there are mixed feelings about celebrating the country,” she said. “But I’m trying to celebrate the promise and potential of our country … and my daughter likes pancakes.”

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It’s one of those days in San Francisco when the sun is inviting, the wind occasionally bites, and the northeast corner of 24th and Mission is buzzing with activity.

The BART place itself is surprisingly spotless on a mid-June Wednesday, with just a few people relaxing, smoking cigarettes or chatting with friends. But on the sidewalk, separated from the plaza by several feet of metal grating along the Mission Street side, the sidewalk is constantly packed with vendors offering their wares, and dozens of people buying and selling goods.

Though it was only the second day they were erected, the fences seemed to be making a difference: The often debris-filled plaza was strikingly clean that Wednesday afternoon, and remained nearly two hours after orange-robed community ambassadors left the area, strikingly clean their raids on Mission Street.

The sidewalk, on the other hand, was crowded, and most of the dozen or so vendors along Mission Street appeared to be working without a permit.

In a way, then, despite the sales permit allowed since September 2022, public works and police patrols, and the addition of a new community ambassador team that visits the plaza daily, the sidewalk next to the plaza borders on chaos. There are many illegal sellers, drug use persists and many who want to use the space still say they don’t feel safe.

“We’re not all the same,” said Nardo, 32, in Spanish. He sold electric razors and two baseball caps north of the plaza near El Farolito, where many vendors gather without permits to avoid the various city officials now patrolling the area. “Some of us are respectful, some aren’t.”

earn a living

Nardo, who is from Nicaragua, works as a cleaner at a hotel, but when he can’t get shifts he comes to the square to buy and resell whatever people bring that day.

“I know why it’s illegal,” he says. He doesn’t ask questions about where the products he resells come from. “But we want to earn a little more money for our rent, for our food.”

Aside from the few established vendors with permits, tables, and umbrellas, many vendors in the 24th and Mission don’t seem to care too much about what they’re selling.

Nearby, on a bench by the bus stop, a man is selling nuts, coffee, cigarettes and lighters on a tarpaulin. At the other end of the bench, a man lies curled up and passed out on the floor.

A few yards from Nardo, a woman leaning on a stroller is selling two boxes of Glad bags and two large packs of Peanut M&Ms, along with other miscellaneous items on a piece of cardboard while scrolling her phone. If you ask her to talk about what she’s doing here, she goes from friendly to hostile.

“People don’t trust; They think it could be something bad,” says Nardo. And he adds: “Some of them [them] are more aggressive, more violent.”

Often the crossing is a busy hub: people drop by, meet friends or browse the goods, which can vary greatly from day to day. The narrow sidewalk, clogged with vendors and other people, poses an obstacle for wheelchair users, seniors, and others with limited mobility.

A fenced off area prevents people from congregating near 24th Street Plaza. Photo by Eleni Balakrishnan

On Wednesday, a curious woman comes by with a newborn in her arms and goes shopping. She had never been to this BART place before but accompanied her brother who came to the mission to give back at a store.

Narcan, stolen goods, confiscations

For many, however, the influx of people at 24th and Mission over the past year or two has been unsustainable.

Authorized sellers say it is impossible for them to compete with the prices of unauthorized sellers, some of whom appear to be selling stolen goods. Other vendors fear the possibility of violence or theft of their goods.

Then there is the drug use. “They drop dead like flies,” said Roscoe Campos, who said he walked across the square after work. “You’ll go deaf to it.”

Across the street from the square, just inside the city gates in front of McDonald’s, a man dozed off sitting on a suitcase next to a tarp with clothes spread out. Two Latina women yelled “sorry” loudly and repeatedly before he finally came to and completed the sale.

The police, who have been frequently stationed at the square in recent months, can’t or don’t do much, officials at the square said. “They’re standing 20 feet from someone who smokes fentanyl … and they’re just worried about who’s selling it to them,” Campos said.

This Friday, traders were observed ignoring the fences and selling their wares. They dispersed when two officers pulled up in a squad car and began sauntering across the square.

And on Wednesday, June 21, vendors returned to both the sidewalk and the square.

24th street. BART Plaza on Wednesday June 21, 2023 at 10:30 am Photo by Lydia Chavez

Jessica Haner, who has worked at a booth in the plaza for about 10 years and is giving away free cell phones and tablets as part of the California LifeLine Program, said her husband administers Narcan, an anti-overdose medication, on or near it two or three times a week Place.

And although she believes the situation is chaotic and out of control, Haner said she’s seen city workers at times make things worse for those just trying to make a living.

“They literally just come up to you, grab your stuff and throw it in a bag … My jaw dropped,” Haner said. “I mean, a lot of it’s stolen, but not all of it!”

Enrique Arreola, who sells everything from household cleaning products to toiletries on a large white table, said in Spanish that he’s also used to being on the defensive – he’s been robbed and the police aren’t helping him when the value of the… stolen item is reduced item is so low. He knows the risks of street vending, but prefers to make his living independently.

While Nardo believed the new gates clearing the space would help keep the area cleaner than usual, Arreola, who is fenced off on the crowded sidewalk at his intended retail location, said he feared being trapped in an emergency become.

His wife had already missed work that week, concerned for her safety following recent particularly violent events.

City presence temporarily

Javier Chavez, 52, who has been coming to the square after work to relax and people-watch for a month now, said he likes the new fences. He believes they give a semblance of control.

But it’s unclear if that’s actually the case. As evening approaches and the community ambassadors, BART crisis response specialists and police are all gone, the square quickly fills up again: young people hang around, people selling three bottles of wine here, five cans of spray deodorant there.

It is generally calm and respectful, but things can change in an instant.

As I speak to Nardo, a fight nearly breaks out in front of us as a man refuses to stay to his right as he drives past another man rolling a bike and trailer. He yells and pushes the man on the bike. The two men line up to fight, and others nearby start screaming. I examine my surroundings and wonder which direction to go if necessary.

The confrontation subsided, but not always.

“They’re constant: Up to six, eight, ten fights a day I think. That’s the case anytime, anytime,” Arreola said. “Sometimes there’s a fight, other times they pull out guns.”

A few meters away, a man leans against a bus stop on his scooter, carefully sharpening a large knife.

The only thing that could help Arreola is constant surveillance, which he knows is unsustainable.

Amin, the manager of the Mi Pueblito Market grocery store a few yards away, has someone constantly watching the produce on display. Still, he estimates they lose an average of $20 to $30 in product every day.

He points to a nearby man holding a half-eaten apple, standing by the store’s fruit display. “He didn’t pay for it,” Amin said. “And I’m not going to tell him, ‘Hey, you didn’t pay for the apples.'”

Amin said he’s not sure what the solution is because he sees that the moment city workers move out, people are flooding the vacated area.

“They have to do something better,” he says.

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In the run-up to a rare open-air hearing on the city’s drug crisis, San Francisco authorities cleared and swept United Nations Plaza — normally a hotspot for drug use and petty crime — to set the stage for an unusual open-air hearing on the city’s drug crisis to prepare crisis.

Around 10 a.m. Tuesday, a group of more than two dozen people were busy street selling and using drugs near the east side of the square. An Urban Alchemy employee approached the crowd and told them they would have to move soon because the mayor was coming.

City worker Mason Newt pressure washers the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco ahead of a board of directors hearing scheduled for the area later Tuesday. | Benjamin Fanjoy for The Standard

The open-air oversight panel hearing — likely the first of its kind in the panel’s history — required the coordination of multiple departments and agencies working together to shoo away the plaza’s ordinary residents and disrupt the typical daily flow of drug sales and use.

Throughout the day, workers from Urban Alchemy and employees from the BART Police Department and the Recreation and Parks Department were regularly seen roaming the area while workers from the Public Works Department cleaned up the surrounding sidewalks.

“I’ll clean it up for the mayor,” said a public works sanitation worker, who asked not to be named because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the press.

In addition to the cleaners, the city spent $4,650 on media services and logistics to organize a broadcast of the hearing — all for a question-and-answer session that typically takes between 15 and 20 minutes of the board’s time .

United Nations Square appeared quiet just after noon on Tuesday, hours before the mayor and bosses began the scheduled question-and-answer session on the city’s drug crisis. | Garrett Leahy/The Standard

The mayor is expected to answer questions from CEO Aaron Peskin and others about the drug crisis; The Board will then take a break and meet at City Hall for the remainder of the session.

On Monday, Peskin sent a letter outlining his demands on Breed.

In the letter, Peskin called on the mayor to “establish a permanent emergency operations center that will coordinate on a daily basis all the many agencies and departments that can handle this crisis,” and called on her to coordinate multiple parties involved in stopping the public drug trade involved .

On Tuesday, the Department of Emergency Management confirmed a pilot program planned as part of Breed’s upcoming budget proposal that could allow enforcement of outdoor drug use laws.

City Hall employees place the board’s tablecloths on a table in front of the federal office building at UN Plaza. | Garrett Leahy/The Standard

About two hours before the mayor’s arrival, the UN Plaza was unusually quiet. The clean-up crews are gone and only a few people walked around without anyone visibly taking drugs. Just before 1 p.m., workers cordoned off an area in front of a federal office building at UN Plaza while others set up tables and chairs.

On Natoma and Minna streets near Seventh Street and in front of the San Francisco Federal Building, several people said they were evicted from the UN Plaza around 7 a.m. However, they said they knew nothing about the mayor’s appearance.

“I don’t know that the arrival of the mayor would change anything,” said Trevor Pearsoa. “They always move us around like this.”

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Every weekend in Oakland, chef Maria Elena Esquivel’s Mexican-American brunch spot Chica was packed. Tables at the small, 6-year-old shop were covered with plates full of Huevo’s rancheros and Esquivel’s popular chilaquiles — making Chica’s closure in September a surprise to many regulars.

“People really made an effort to come and eat with us even though we were in this very small cafe that was a bit out of the way,” Esquivel recalls.

After a short break, Esquivel is now ready to start the new chapter of her restaurant. The company reappears as Xica in San Francisco on Monday, March 6, where it’s taking over the expansive former home of Italian restaurant Il Fornaio near the Embarcadero. There, Esquivel will continue to offer their most popular brunch offerings, with their cheeky chilaquiles taking the lead.

The restaurant still reflects Esquivel’s Chicana upbringing, experiencing Mexican customs and dishes at home while also engaging with a diverse cultural landscape surrounding her home country of Oakland and the greater Bay Area. The brunch menu at the counter nods to this movement between cultures with dishes like pozole, chicken and waffles and eggs Benedict.

Owner and chef Maria Elena Esquivel makes chilaquiles in her new restaurant Xica. The dish is one of their most popular.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Coffee from Proyecto Díaz Cafe, a San Leandro-based micro-roaster that supplies seasonal batches of single-origin beans from Mexico, will be available during brunch and lunch hours. Special drinks include a Mazapan Latte and a Dirty Horchata.

In addition to brunch, Xica offers a lunch menu at the counter. Classic Mexican foods like tacos, quesadillas, and “mexi bowls” — filled with Mexican rice, beans, vegetables, and meat — which first drew people to the restaurant’s earliest version, will all be available.

The new restaurant lands on Levi’s Plaza, the 9.4-acre office campus home to 18 companies, including the headquarters of Levi Strauss & Co., which employs approximately 3,400 people. The surrounding park area was designed by the well-known landscape architect Lawrence Halprin.

The 5,000-square-foot restaurant, which is several times larger than their 20-seat Oakland restaurant, will seat a total of 130 in the main dining room, alfresco area, bar area and a private dining room. The 85-seat dining room features a large mural depicting several narrative and cultural scenes personally affecting Esquivel: her mother laughing with delight; a water goddess representing movement and power; a monarch butterfly flying from southern Mexico through an invisible border into the golden poppy fields of California.

The main dining room at the Xica in San Francisco, seating 85. The restaurant’s new location is much larger than its previous Oakland location.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

For Esquivel, moving to Battery Street is a homecoming. The restaurant started out in 2015 as a fast-casual chica out of a window on nearby Green Street, selling tacos, burritos, and mexi bowls that were popular with workers at the nearby square. It moved to the Oakland premises in 2016 and closed last fall in preparation for moving to the larger premises.

Esquivel plans to open slowly, beginning with a Monday-Friday schedule and ending with weekend service. Next comes dinner, which is served with full service. For its full bar, Xica will stock a selection of mezcal and tequila brands by women and Latinas like Yola Mezcal. Likewise, plans for wine offerings will focus on women and local winemakers.

“These are people who share our values. That’s huge for us,” said Esquivel.

Packing the new restaurant is a big challenge, but Esquivel hopes to make their new dining space as vibrant as their old Oakland location.

“We just want to make this space lively and inviting. We want you to feel at home,” said Esquivel.

Xica. 1265 Battery Street, Suite 100, San Francisco. Monday-Friday 10:00-14:30 Dinner and weekend hours coming soon. Xicasf.com

Reach Mario Cortez: mario.cortez@sfchronicle.com

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Stop runaway drug scene

San Francisco has to temporarily close UN Plaza. The drug dealers and traffickers in the UN Plaza are completely out of control. The entire square would be fenced off except for an opening at Hyde to access the Civic Center transit entrance. The Farmers Market would be temporarily relocated to the nearby Fulton Mall.

Does that sound drastic? It is what the circumstances call for. The closure of UN Plaza is imperative if San Francisco is to get its Civic Center, Mid-Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods back on track. A temporary closure gives those involved time to develop a viable plan for a space that hasn’t lived up to its potential in decades.

UN Plaza failed

UN Plaza is populated by drug dealers more than ever. And that says a lot, because the square has long since failed as a quality public space.

It’s a great spot when the Farmers Market is open. And the mid-market revival that began in 2011 brought ACT across the street and gave momentum to the plaza’s revitalization. Mayor Ed Lee tried to build on that energy by introducing food trucks, music and kids’ activities for robust Friday Night Markets.

But those times are over. And plans to transform UN Plaza have always lacked funding. Unlike Civic Center Park — where Parks Director Phil Ginsburg got a philanthropist to fund two children’s playgrounds and also open a café — UN Plaza never got the funding to make the plaza more welcoming.

COVID has devastated the middle class. Before the city’s disastrous decision to open a safe injection site in the area, the situation at UN Plaza was deteriorating. Known as the Linkage Center, UN Plaza made it more lawless than ever. San Francisco spent $22 million to encourage drug activity. The center killed prospects to attract new positive investment in and around the square.

Exhaust police resources

UN Plaza is a huge drain on police resources. Its closure allows police to focus on closing down the long-running drug market at 7th and Markt. The closure of the UN Plaza also frees up more officers to attack the 8th and Mission areas, two of whose open drug markets were recently shut down but require ongoing attention.

Where will the traders go?

Some fear displaced UN Plaza vendors will open shops in their neighborhoods. But as I recently wrote about the Tenderloin crackdown (“Can the Tenderloin crackdown be sustained?”), correctly performed disruption doesn’t move the dealers into adjacent blocks. The raid on Tenderloin has not resulted in the opening of new drug markets nearby.

The crackdown has cleared the two main drug markets at 600 Eddy (pictured above) and 300 Hyde for the vast majority of days. It has increased trading on Eddy’s 700 block, which has been a problem for a long time. It also increased dealers in the 300 block of Golden Gate after 8:30 p.m. — but that block had more than fifty night dealers before the raid.

The Tenderloin crackdown has shut down two major drug markets without dealers simply relocating to previously drug-free blocs. The same impact will likely entail the closure of the UN Plaza drug scene.

No excuse for inaction

It is an insult to residents, workers, businesses and others affected by UN Plaza to argue that the drug scene should remain there as a quasi-containment zone. It’s also foolhardy and destructive to the city’s economy.

If we want people to visit theaters, museums and other cultural events in the Mid-Market, Tenderloin or Civic Center, they must feel safe using transit at UN Plaza. That is not the case now. I suspect part of the reason the City of San Francisco has so many job openings is that people don’t want to take jobs that require the use of Civic Center transit stations.

A temporary fix

UN Plaza should remain closed pending a viable recovery plan. The smaller adjustments that have been pushed in the past — like the dog park and more food trucks — aren’t enough. Physical changes must be made to the space that discourage open-air drug dealing. The city must also promote a positive and active presence in the square’s office buildings; this is the key to its revival.

A UN Plaza mayoral board task force should have a year to come up with workable ideas. I’m usually critical of task forces because they become a substitute for action. But we need a process for stakeholder buy-in that creates an actionable plan.

The closure of the UN Plaza could bother some commuters. But those who access Civic Center BART and MUNI will appreciate not confronting drug dealers as they drive to their destinations.

Randy Shaw

Randy Shaw is editor of Beyond Chron and director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic in San Francisco, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s latest book is Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. He is the author of four previous books on activism, including The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. He is also the author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco

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SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — San Francisco has provided a rare look inside what is, in effect, the city’s first safe consumption site for drug users.

What opened as the Tenderloin Linkage Center in January has recently been renamed the Tenderloin Center. The city started with a six-month lease on the building in UN Plaza, a lease which now has been extended through the end of the year.

“The TLC or the Tenderloin Center has been the subject of a lot of questions and interest,” said Dr. Hillary Kunins with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

City officials know the site has been controversial so they invited the media to see inside this outreach clearinghouse.

“When folks come into the space, they are able to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner,” explained staff member Donna Hilliard. “We have snacks, we have water.”

The original purpose of the facility was to link people to services and that effort continues.

“We can let them know we have harm-reduction supplies,” Hilliard said. “But what we like to talk about a lot is the detox beds that are available.”

Making those connections has proved difficult, thus the “linkage” has been de-emphasized while principal focus is being placed on care.

“By no means are we backing away from a pathway to recovery and wellness,” Kunins said of the name change. “What we’re doing here is, very importantly, creating a space and stopping people from dying.”

Staff say that more than 80 overdoses have been reversed here and they are still trying to get more people into treatment.

Right outside the center, open-air drug use continues. Ending it was one of the mayor’s objectives when this center was announced late last year.

“We’re not just going to walk by and let someone who is using in broad daylight on the streets and not give them a choice between going to the location we’ve identified for them or going to jail,” Mayor London Breed said in Dec.

There may be more facilities like this in the future. The state is moving ahead with plans for official safe consumption sites and San Francisco would like to participate.

“So while this is new, for the moment, in San Francisco, we are working on many fronts to stop people dying of overdose,” Kunins said.

Wilson Walker

Wilson Walker joined KPIX 5 in July of 2007. His television career started at WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1999. There, he covered the departure of the Charlotte Hornets, The Rae Carruth case, and the devastating East Coast Ice Storm of 2002. He also spent three years in Sacramento with KCRA, covering California politics, the Hamid & Umer Hyat terrorism trial, and the Sacramento arena debate.

The post San Francisco provides media tour of Tenderloin Heart at U.N. Plaza appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

San Francisco de Mostazal Vehicle Weight Control Plaza / Bastias Cardemil Arquitectos

© Pablo Casals Aguirre

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https://www.archdaily.com/965742/san-francisco-de-mostazal-vehicle-weight-control-plaza-bastias-cardemil-arquitectos

• Area Area of ​​this architecture project

  Area :
  452 sqm

• Year Completion year of this architecture project

  
  years :
  
  

  2020

• Photographs

• Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project

  Manufacturers : Budnik, HunterDouglas, ZWCAD

© Pablo Casals Aguirre

Text description provided by the architects. The project is part of the third lane addition master plan of the 5 South Route, from Angostura to Rancagua, in central Chile. It is a complex of two identical buildings facing each other and towards the road, which has the purpose of controlling the weight of the freight vehicles traveling on the highway. Being a public investment gives the design of these infrastructures an additional responsibility. These are buildings that belong to all of us, so they must be conceived from the common good to maximize their investment, both from the point of view of the territory where they are located -since they will be part of the landscape for many years- , as well as from its operational and usage point of view, considering its sustainability and expected service life.

© Pablo Casals Aguirreaxo© Pablo Casals Aguirre

The greatest design challenge in this commission was to place a habitable building in direct relation to the busiest highway in Chile and to ensure high comfort standards in its interior. As an architectural response, and given the noisy and intense context associated with a highway, we proposed a first floor made of reinforced concrete. A solid block, closed and resistant, helps to isolate the noise and minimize the risks of intrusion. At this level we placed most of the rooms required – bathrooms, break rooms, administrative offices – which are arranged around interior courtyards, small gardens, and voids, allowing them to open up inwards, to naturally illuminate and ventilate, seeking to build an inner habitat, disengaging with the immediate context. The control room is proposed on a second level, inside the lightweight volume of a steel structure, with glass and metal panels cladding, intending to achieve contrast between both levels. This control room has been designed as an open interior, without partitions, with an unobstructed 360-degree view, to maximize visual control of the route, weighing scales, and vehicles that circulate around the building.

© Pablo Casals AguirrePlan – General© Pablo Casals AguirrePlan – First floor© Pablo Casals Aguirre

In order to connect both levels, two circulations were projected, one inside the building for the exclusive use of station operators, and another outside, which serves the offending drivers, who must go up to the control room to regularize their situation. This second staircase was treated as an expressive element of the building, to increase its exposure and visibility from the parking lot, guiding the user to the entrance.

© Pablo Casals Aguirre© Pablo Casals Aguirre

The post San Francisco de Mostazal Car Weight Management Plaza / Bastias Cardemil Arquitectos appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Hey everyone – Simone here with your weekend edition of the Healdsburg Daily. We’re sorry the newsletters were spotty this week! I make it up to you today with a jam-packed weekend events roundup that is sure to leave you in the holiday mood with a hangover. Here we go…

First your weekend weather:

• Friday: Fog in the morning, sun in the day and clouds in the night. High: 65 Low: 43.
• Saturday: Some more fog and clouds that turn into sun in the afternoon. High: 63 Low: 41.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny. High: 68 Low: 44.
• Monday: Partly cloudy and cooler. High: 59 Low: 41.

Air over Healdsburg:

This is what the air looked like over Healdsburg this morning. (Courtesy photo by Holly Wilson)

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Are you a local business owner or marketer in Healdsburg? We’d love to start by connecting local businesses to our great readers. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top 4 stories in Healdsburg today:

1. The transformation of Healdsburg Plaza is ongoing as we speak for that big “Merry Healdsburg Weekend” event starting tonight. The centerpiece of the event will be the lighting of a huge, living tree at the north end of the square around 6pm. There will also be a range of other family-friendly activities including photos with Santa, a demonstration of the “Grinch,” hot chocolate and desserts, etc. – all to the tune of the Healdsburg Chorus and a jazz quartet play Christmas music. According to the Tribune, “The festivities begin in the plaza at 5pm with a Hanukkah ceremony, followed by Christmas carols that will be in the plaza until around 6pm when Santa Claus arrives in a fire truck. Santa Claus will then help the city council with a Countdown to the lighting of the Plaza Christmas Tree“For the remainder of the weekend, downtown shops will have a street sale and the choir will perform a few times around town. (Facebook & Facebook & SoCoNews Healdsburg)
2. After years of searching, the Alexander Valley truffle farmer Seth Angerer and his loyal truffle dog Leo have found out what the Angerer family is claims to be “the first cultivated truffle found in the Alexander Valley”. Seth was reportedly “up and down his family’s hazelnut plantations in Geyserville” last week when he came across the “Sonoma County’s 5.03 ounce black melanosporum.” Says his father Fran: “We waited nine years and eight months, and we didn’t find anything. Every year we get discouraged. “Sonoma Magazine reports that” the truffle hunting season typically runs from January to March, so an early truffle in November was an especially exciting find for the angerers. The fact that Black truffles can cost up to $ 95 an ounce is just as exciting. “Read the full story here. (Sonoma Magazine)
3. The suggested 316 miles The Great Redwood Trail through Healdsburg is “one step closer” Become a reality “after receiving millions in new amounts from the state budget, according to the trail’s champion Mike McGuire, Healdsburg’s own Senator.” This is a turning point, “he says. The trail would run from Humboldt Bay to San Francisco Bay, much of it next to the SMART train tracks, and would use our recently completed Foss Creek Pathway for the Healdsburg route. “When the Great Redwood Trail is built, it will be the longest rail-to-trail in the United States,” says McGuire. “This trail passes through and near some of the most spectacular landscapes on earth, including ancient redwoods state parks and national forests. hills dotted with golden oaks, lush vineyards and of course on the banks of the Russian and eel rivers. “Click through to learn about the remaining hurdles before they become a reality. (Eureka Times standard)
4. did you know already Tour de France winner Cadel Evans ran in the Healdsburg Turkey Trot thanksgiving last week? From the PD’s pages: “Hiding among those who wear turkey hats made of felt is the guy disguised as a wine bottle (I see you press democrat, Matt Villano) 47 dogs, a goat and two cats, who stood up to run Healdsburg’s ever-festive turkey trot last week was a four-time Olympic and Tour de France winner. “Evans reportedly competed in four Olympics and won the Tour de France before retiring from cycling in 2015 finished sixth in the Healdsburg Turkey Trot. (Press Democrat; Paywall)

Today’s Healdsburg Daily is brought partly by our friends at Verizon. You are building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G will change life for you and your community – and to get access to this amazing technology – click here. And thank you, Verizon, for sponsoring this Healdsburg community resource!

Healdsburg picture of the day:

A recent sunset as seen from the At Home in Healdsburg vacation home on College Street. You can check it out here. (Courtesy photo by Kari Reston)

Would you like to see your local photo here? Submit it for review. Please confirm in the email that you own the rights to the photo and that Patch is authorized to republish it.

This weekend in Healdsburg:

Friday 3rd December

• City of Healdsburg Zone administrator Hearing (11 a.m.)
• Service for Geraldine Perrelli Holt in the Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist (2 p.m.)
• Healdsburg Hospital Stroke survivor Self-help group (3 pm-5pm)
• Pediatrics COVID-19 vaccination Clinic on the Fitch Mountain Campus of the Healdsburg Elementary School (3 p.m. – 6 p.m.)
• Sing Noël Holiday concert in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (5 pm-6.15pm)
• Happy Healdsburg weekend: Tree lighting ceremony, Photos with Santa Claus, hot chocolate, Menorah lighting, live music, Christmas movie and more below Healdsburg Plaza (5 pm-8pm)
• Max Vogel Live at Coyote Sonoma (7-10pm)

Saturday 4th December

• Healdsburg Running Company Saturday morning run: Annadel from Spring Lake, with Trail House Finish (8 a.m.)
• Healdsburg Saturday Farmers market, Feat. Christmas market (8: 30-12: 00)
• Hike & holiday wreath Making at Healdsburg Ridge Open Space Preserve (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.)
• “We are not moved”: Songs and stories about civil rights at the Bishops Ranch (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
• Clarice & Beau Marchais Pick-up party & tasting at Limerick Cellars (11: 00-15: 00)
• Italian “Christmas Markets” Christmas Market at Orsi Family Vineyards (11: 00-16: 00)
• Breakfast with Santa Claus in the French bakery Costeaux (9-11 a.m.)
• Alexander Valley Ladies Aid presents: Old Fashioned Christmas bazaar (10 AM)
• Holiday bazaar at Bacchus Landing (12 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
• Healdsburg vacation Gift pop-up at 248 collective (12 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
• Star book ornament Make a workshop at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts (1pm – 4pm)
• FRICTION Female vocal ensemble: Winter songs (13:00, 19:00)
• The big raven Costume sales (1 p.m.)
• Christmas party at the Jordan winery (1 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
• Healdsburg Choir Performs Christmas concert, singalongs in the Plaza Gazebo (2:00 p.m.)
• Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods Holiday auction & Volunteer Celebration (2 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
• Mimi & Gabe Pirard Live at Spicy Vines (3pm – 6pm)
• Sing Noël Holiday concert in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (5 pm-6.15pm)
• jazz series in the Spirit Bar of the Hotel Healdsburg: Greg Hester Trio (5 pm-8pm)
• Sparkling vacation Soiree in the Amista Vineyards (17: 30-19: 30)
• vacation Winegrowers’ dinner at Dry Creek Vineyard (5:30 pm-10pm)
• JOOSE Live at Coyote Sonoma (8-11pm)

Sunday 5th December

• Italian “Christmas Markets” Christmas Market at Orsi Family Vineyards (11: 00-16: 00)
• Holly Jolly 38th year Appreciation dinner for seniors at Villa Chanticleer (1.30 p.m.)
• “Dining with Strangers” 3-course candlelight dinner in the Secret place in Healdsburg (6 p.m.)
• vacation Make wreath at Rodney Strong Vineyard (2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.)
• Healdsburg Choir Christmas concert at THE 222 (7 p.m.)

Monday 6th December

• Healdsburg City council Meeting (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The North Bay Bohemian has the most comprehensive round-up we’ve ever seen all the ways to celebrate the Sonoma County’s holidays this season – including ice rinks, outdoor excursions, lots of theater, cool Christmas parties and much more. (North Bay Bohemian)
• Healdsburg Vanity Salon is moving from Vine Street Mall at 810 Healdsburg Avenue, near Sherman Street, starting January 1st. They will be closed the week before the move. Also: “Due to the serious impact of Covid on the tanning portion of our business, we will no longer offer UV tanning services,” say the owners. (Facebook)
• the best pumpkin-spice latte in the district in Healdsburg’s own Plank Coffee on Dry Creek Road, according to a “Sonoma Holiday Drink Smackdown” published in Sonoma Mag.
• If you are in the market for a Christmas tree, here is a list of some good farms in the Healdsburg area. (Healdsburg patch)
• Alexa Brooks from Healdsburg is featured in a Washington Post story Women named Alexa who changed their name due to the popular Amazon device. Down in Los Angeles, where she now goes to school at USC, she is known as Harlow Brooks. (The Washington Post)
• Did you know you can send an email? Letter to Santa Claus from the post office in Healdsburg? Here is how. (Healdsburg patch)
• The annual Senior dinner in the villa this year will take place in person next Sunday. And more volunteers are needed! (SoCoNews Healdsburg & Facebook)

From our sponsors – thank you for supporting local news!

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Events:

• Free Biz Owners / SideGig / Startup Automate Your Website – Increase Your Profits – Live Questions and Answers Friday at 3pm (December 3rd)
• The Wickhams: Christmas in Pemberley (December 3rd)
• Christmas Markets – Christmas Markets (December 4th)
• The Santa Rosa Ski Club invites skiers and snowboarders to the 72nd Warren Miller Ski Movie (December 4th)
• Add your event

Thank you for participating and informing. See you again in your inbox next week with another update! If you enjoy these newsletters, invite some of your friends and neighbors to read along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

– Simone Wilson

About Me: I was born and raised in Healdsburg, CA where I was the Editor of Healdsburg High School Hound’s Bark. Since then, I’ve worked as a local journalist for publications in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York City, and the Middle East. I am currently a Senior Product Manager for Patch.

Do you have a news tip or a suggestion for an upcoming Healdsburg Daily? Contact simone.wilson@patch.com at any time.

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