When we last checked in on the Upper Haight to see if the sidewalks were finally free from reclining nuisances, the Examiner made it seem like the idea of enforcing Proposition L was enough to start driving panhandling kids out of the neighborhood. Today, they backpedal slightly. Their lede paragraph:
Four months after voters approved the sit-lie ordinance, San Franciscans still await police enforcement. So some Haight Street merchants have taken matters into their own hands, which is working but provoking a backlash.
Backlash! Those kids who have nowhere better to be and nothing else to do have taken to spray painting messages like “We Will Prevail,” “Sit N Lie” and “No We Won’t Go” directly on the sidewalks and streets in the neighborhood - which is exactly the opposite of cleaning up the sidewalks. One local coffee shop manager even described the current climate between businesses and street kids as "us versus them." Meanwhile, temporary police chief Jeff Godown still says enforcement will begin "sometime this month" once his department can get the necessary multilingual educational materials printed up.
