Plazas at 24th Street Mission BART station fenced off over drug sales, illegal vendors
SAN FRANCISCO – Two busy plazas in San Francisco's Mission District has been fenced off in the hopes of deterring crime, slowing the sale of stolen goods, and supporting legal street vendors.
Supervisor Hillary Ronen requested BART fence off the plazas at the 24th Street and Mission station, in a way to clean up the area.
Via Twitter, Ronen said the area has become, "overrun by open-air drug markets & vendors selling stolen goods."
The fencing is a temporary solution as the city puts a new vendor permitting system into place, which is a part of the new ordinance designed to regulate street vending and slow the sales of stolen goods.
"It was getting to the point where there were just too many people in the plaza and too many things that were happening that were not healthy and suitable for our community," Susana Rojas, Executive Director of the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, told KPIX 5.
"We've been working with our vendors since March to make sure that we have them ready and permitted so that we can move forward with new legislation," Rojas went on to say.
Milagros Lopez, a legal vendor, says the temporary fencing is a relief.
"I like it because it's more safe for everybody," Lopez said. "I've seen many things here in many years."
Rojas said legal street vendors have played a role in the community for a long time, but there are others who make a living selling stolen goods.
Under the new rules, vendors will have to be able to show proof the items they're selling weren't stolen. The city's hope is it will support legal vendors while slowing the sale of stolen goods.
"A lot of people who don't understand the difference are mistaking these hard-working community members for people who are selling stolen goods," Rojas said. "We are hoping to continue to have our vendors be here because vending has been a part of the Mission community for a long time. Also, we're asking the city to provide solutions for the drug and other issues that are coming because people are being pushed out of different communities."
Officials said the fences will be up for two months.
"The plan is that we're going to be steam washing to remove all the graffiti and doing some hopefully – we don't have them yet – but hopefully we'll have some murals to make our plaza more community friendly," Rojas said. "Hopefully in 90 days, you guys are going to be able to see murals and beautiful things happening in the plaza, and we'll have a big party with music and our vendors being able to vend, and we'll welcome you all in the Mission community."
While the plazas are fenced off, the 24th and Mission BART station remains open and accessible.
