In a move to reduce drug use, San Francisco may require retail shops to close early in the city’s Tenderloin district under a proposal that Mayor London Breed made April 23 to the Board of Supervisors.
Ms. Breed’s proposal would require the shops be closed between midnight and 5 a.m., especially for those selling tobacco products or late-night snacks like pre-packed food in the district, which is known for rampant drug use.
The legislation is the work stakeholders and those within the community who say such stores contribute to drug markets in the Tenderloin, according to the mayor’s office.
“This is an idea for the community, from the community. The drug markets happening at night in this neighborhood are unacceptable and must be met with increased law enforcement and new strategies,” Ms. Breed said.
The legislation would not apply to restaurants, bars, or event halls, but instead targets retail establishments such as corner stores and liquor stores between O’Farrell and McAllister streets and from Polk to Jones streets, officials said.
Violators would face fines of up to $1,000 for each hour they’re open past the curfew with no cap on the number of fines.
The Tenderloin district struggles with drug and gun crimes, making it difficult for the low-income and immigrant families living nearby to shop at their local stores, officials said. They added that recent efforts by various city departments to clear some of the daytime drug markets have seen progress, and they’re aiming for the same at night.
Members of the nonprofit Tenderloin Community Benefit District, which partners with the city to improve it, said they have begun to feel safer during the day and the legislation could bring about the same at night.
“The enhanced coordination we are seeing amongst city partners is yielding tangible results, especially in the daytime,” the nonprofit’s Executive Director Kate Robinson said in the press release, noting that she looks forward to nighttime improvements.
Resident Greg Johnson said he and other residents don’t dare venture out past 10 p.m. in the Tenderloin in its current state.
“There are pockets in the Tenderloin where stores who operate 24/7 are creating unsafe sidewalks in and around their location,” he said.
In May 2023, Ms. Breed launched the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center, operated by local, state, and federal agencies, aimed at dismantling the illegal drug markets in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods. Since it opened, the San Francisco Police Department has seized over 194 kilos of narcotics and arrested more than 10,000 people in the neighborhoods, according to the press release.
Police Chief Bill Scott said the legislation would help law enforcement efforts.
“This legislation will assist our hard-working officers in their work to hold drug dealers accountable and make the streets safer for everyone,” he said in the press release.
