Safety Committee

Against the daily backdrop of sidewalks overrun by the open-air drug market, used needles, and broken pipes, the Tenderloin has long been treated as a containment zone for lawlessness – illegal activity that has proven to be unacceptable in other neighborhoods across the city. Given the district’s fentanyl spread and overdose crisis, the Public Safety Committee is composed of residents who live in single room occupancy (S.R.O.) hotels across the Tenderloin, SoMa, and Mission districts who work closely with various city agencies to bring attention to safety issues within S.R.O hotels as well as outside of S.R.O hotels.

Planning Code – Tobacco Paraphernalia Establishments in North of Market SUD and Lower Polk Street NCD (March 2024)

Between 2022-2023, the North of Market Special Use District experienced an overconcentration of Tobacco Paraphernalia Establishments (TPEs) over various blocks of the Tenderloin that increasingly extended their retail hours 24/7, seven days a week. Though SFPD and law enforcement were able to make daytime progress in reducing drug dealing, many establishments allowed the open-air drug market to thrive during the dark hours of the night: thereby creating dangerous environments inside and outside each establishment. As San Francisco’s most diverse and largest working-class neighborhood with the highest population density of any area in the city and the most children per capita, the Safety Committee called on San Francisco’s Planning Department and Board of Supervisors’ Land Use Committee to restrict the proliferation of TPEs in the Tenderloin district. Wishing to move away from the proposed conditional use regulations that are difficult to enforce and too easy to evade, the Safety Committee urged support for an outright ban: that not only curbed the emergence of new general stores selling tobacco paraphernalia but eventually produces the over-time reduction in the overconcentration of stores selling drug products. Understanding that those establishments encourage illicit activities and the consumption of illegal drugs, the Safety Committee was hopeful to pave the path to welcome diverse retail services that contributed to a better quality of life and met the needs of their seniors and families living there, like fresh produce or affordable restaurants. After coordinating support from six (6) community-based organizations, securing their logos for the endorsement letter submitted to the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use Committee, and obtaining one hundred (100) signatures for CCSROC’s petition, the Public Safety Committee’s requests were approved unanimously: making new Tobacco Paraphernalia Establishments Not Permitted in the North of Market Special Use District.

Tenderloin Retail Hours Restriction Pilot Program (June 2024)

Understanding that an outright ban on novel Tobacco Paraphernalia Establishments (TPEs) was only one much-needed element of a broader solution, the Safety Committee eagerly embraced the opportunity to rally community support for Mayor London N. Breed’s proposed Tenderloin Retail Hours Restriction Pilot Program that would prohibit retail food and tobacco establishments in the ‘Tenderloin Public Safety Area’ from being open to the public during restricted hours, from 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Afterall, fences, users, and dealers gather and congregate in the proximity of retail businesses selling prepackaged food and tobacco products between late night and early morning to engage in drug use, drug sales, and illegal vending. Leaving behind trash, human waste, used needles, and sometimes even bullet casings in their wake, service workers and residents are confronted with threats to their health and safety. Finding the rate of narcotic offenses and serious crimes – shootings, assaults, homicide, rape, and robberies – to be significantly higher between 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. in the ‘Tenderloin Public Safety Area,’ the Police Department’s analysis of 2023 incident reports speak on the dangerous environment that residents and working people are forced to endure. In fact, many simply refuse to venture out into certain parts of the neighborhood when the sun goes down if they can help it. Unable to walk their dogs, go for a run, or enjoy eating out at a restaurant in the neighborhood after sunset without feelings of fear or insecurity, seniors and families must resign to their homes. Looking at the Tenderloin as an ecosystem, the Safety Committee felt that retail stores, whether knowingly or not, facilitate unlawful night markets by providing cheap goods, lighted gathering points, and cover from officers should they need it. Though the street-level, open-air drug market that plagues Tenderloin neighborhoods cannot be eliminated through one strategy alone, the Public Safety committee knew that Mayor Breed’s proposed Tenderloin Retail Hours Restriction Pilot Program was called for by the community and was supported by the community. After securing endorsements from ten (10) community-based organizations for the letter presented to the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use Committee, and collecting 520 signatures for CCSROC’s petition submitted to the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use Committee, the Public Safety Committee went to each hearing at City Hall and made their voice heard. On July 9, 2024, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave final and unanimous approval.

San Francisco’s District Attorney’s Office, Victim Services Division

Central City SRO Collaborative is proud to offer Community Office Hours at our office, 472 Ellis Street on Fridays between 9:00am-4:00pm. Please call (628) 652-4100 to make an appointment. Victim Services can assist with:

• Assessing community resources
  • Providing information on victim rights
  • Navigating the criminal justice system