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Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi's come out swinging at the lackadaisical response from Mayor Gavin Newsom on the state of Golden Gate Park, after public outcry that the city was more concerned about two dogs getting bitten by a coyote than it's been about the public safety and cleanliness issues created by homeless encampments and rampant IV drug use. (While Golden Gate Park isn't in any particular district is is District 1 (see comment), Ross's District 5 borders the park's southeastern half.)
Mirkarimi says that Newsom's office has consistently ignored his and his constituents' requests to devote more resources to cleaning up the park, despite Newsom's promises back in September, after a trip to New York, that he'd make Golden Gate Park look more like Central Park (which really is lovely).
Mayor Newsom simply closed the door on his Lincoln Town Car when reporters asked him questions about it. His staffs says they've been trying to clean up the park, but ran out of money and the weather was bad. Also, the dog ate their homework. The new city budget has more money for park patrols, though, and Newsom's staff promise it'll be better soon. We'll see.
Speaking of Newsom promises, in the same Chron, Newsom's people also promised more cops downtown after all the shootings near Powell Street the other day. We'll see if that happens too. (Hey, we should really start a promises watch here on SFist! Any local political promises you've been waiting to see follow-through on?)
Picture of Gavin Newsom meeting a homeless man in Golden Gate Park in 2006, from the Examiner.
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great to see the majority of folks are finally fed up with the homeless. i think it's time to bring back frank jordan's controversial but very effective matrix program.
quick summary:
the matrix program allowed the powers that be to round up and incarcerate the homeless for periods of up to 72 hours. they were detoxed and sorted out, drug users/alcoholics from the true criminals. after sorting them they could be put into the right program.
after a few days in jail, i doubt these hippies thinking its fun to camp in and destroy our parks will return.
and i say good riddance!
you know, if there were biohazard buckets there for the needles, then it'd be a lot easier (and safer) to roust these people from their encampments, whatever your opinion of what should happen to them.
people are always going to do drugs, you may as well attempt to reduce the danger to others. absolute, strict enforcement will never completely eradicate the problem.
The real problem is the lack of true solutions, in the form of housing and real services to everyone who needs them. We should not be asking ourselves, “How do we stop people from setting up camps, or sleeping in the Park after hours?” but, “Why someone is sleeping in the park?”
In 2001, Mayor Willie Brown attempted to tackle the homelessness issue by recruiting Oakland PD and using a helicopter to search for encampments. In 2006, Mayor Newsom used a different approach: the use of SFPD, DPW, and the Homeless Outreach Team to kick every one out of the park who “looked” homeless. What makes someone “look” homeless?
When you happen to fall into the category of being poor or homeless, there is an element of illusion that nobody cares. When you are turned away from shelters due to full capacity, one may finds oneself in violation of the law if one happens to lay down in the park, or on the sidewalk.
How is it that the current administration is not responding to the needs of the ones who need help the most? According to the Mayor’s Office, a new court system will address the “quality of life” citations that are routinely dismissed in regular traffic court.
It’s mind-boggling that when the City has passed its largest budget ever, the treatment programs that help people get out of their addictions were dramatically cut under the Mayor’s proposal. If it wasn’t for the Board of Supervisors restoration of $27 million in cuts to those services under the Mayor’s proposal, we would be talking today of even less places for addicts to go and get treated.
One reason that these tickets are being dismissed could be that when you are poor and living on the streets, you have no alternative but to find a place where you can feel safe. Also, if a case is dismissed is because after hearing the arguments presented by the police and the DA, and the arguments of the defendant, a judge finds that the case has no merit. This is called due process and it is a basic premise of how we operate as a modern, democratic society.
But according to the SFPD, sleeping in public places makes one a criminal. So does that mean that when you are poor and homeless in San Francisco, you are automatically a criminal just because you got turned away from a shelter and needed to find a place to sleep?
yes, start a promises watch. you want to do this. you feel the calling. it beckons you. it is your destiny
actually rita, ggp is in district 1, jake mcgoldrick.
huh, whaddya know! The district map I have at home says it's a no-man's land (since no one is supposed to be living there, I had always thought.) But I just checked the city charter and you're right, guest[5]. Edit forthcoming!
The real problem is that there are TOO MANY SOLUTIONS. That's what attracts these f**kers here in the first place. We should ask the smelly hippy which city they have come from then send them back there. We have got to stop being a tourist destination for these bastards. Half of Santa Cruz comes up to the Height every weekend to sell pot, mooch about and generally degrade the quality of life of everyone who comes in contact with them. These little f**kers need to have their selfish little fun some place else.
#3 please stop conflating the issues of housing with hardcore drug addicted and mentally ill homeless.
Again liberal city. We get what we deserve. These are our politics in action. For newbies this has been going on in San Francisco now for over 20 years
here's an old story about the matrix program from 94:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n17_v46/ai_15844134
the fact that Berkeley is even tired of the homeless gives me some hope that we might finally be at a point of intolerance
thank god!