SAN FRANCISCO, CA (KCBS Radio) – San Francisco city workers have removed boulders from a small residential street in the city’s Mission district that became the latest battleground over homelessness.
Neighbors have complained in the past about noise, filth and open drug deals in the homeless encampment that sprung up along the sidewalk.
“This situation was mostly actually a drug dealing situation right here on the corner,” says DPW Director Mohammed Nuru who says residents and the city do not want to punish the homeless. “Drug dealing is absolutely unacceptable, there’s no place for that.”
“We’ve had people actually come and push those rocks out onto the street which really has made it unsafe,” said Nuru.
While the city says it was not involved in installing the boulders, public works employees did replace several boulders on the sidewalk over the weekend after they were pushed into the street, blocking the road. The agency says as long as the boulders are not blocking the street and leave four feet of unobstructed space on the sidewalk, they do not violate any city ordinances.
Resident Pablo Serrano says he had no hand in the boulders but understands where his neighbors were coming from. “I can see the frustration amongst the neighbors because it’s – it’s aggravating just to see human feces and needles around. It’s unsafe for bringing your kids out and walking your dog.”
But not all of the neighbors support that idea and say intentional or not, the boulders show a lack of compassion for the homeless.
“I think it’s rude and I think that it is very – it’s people who have money and are like ‘we don’t want you near our house’” says neighbor Claire O’Toole.
Nuru says his agency will work with the residents to come up with another deterrent. “All the agencies – the police department, the health department all the agencies – we’re working together to try to solve this problem all over the city.”