Tenderloin residents say ‘yes’ to store-curfew plan despite reservations

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Diana Enriquez, a Tenderloin resident who lives with her two small children and husband, doesn’t typically go out after 7 p.m. 

It’s primarily because she’s busy with the kids, she says, not because she’s afraid of the street conditions, or her block of Turk Street, which often draws unhoused people looking to sleep. But she does hear things from her window, like excessive noise and fights, that are concerning. 

“Many people are in the street at night, and the truth is that there is also a lot of noise, a lot of problems,” Enriquez said in Spanish. “Over there, they sell liquor, and [the people] start fighting in the night.” 

Enriquez lives at one end of what will be the “Tenderloin Public Safety Area,” the 20 square blocks where city leaders are seeking to close the many corner stores and smoke shops by midnight, as part of a new two-year pilot curfew program. 

Nearly half of the population in that area earns less than $20,000, and a third are seniors or live with disabilities. Meanwhile, crimes like assaults are reported at a far higher rate here, compared to the rest of the city.

The curfew program targets these businesses that, “in effect, facilitate the late night-time drug market by providing a lighted gathering point,” according to the legislation from Mayor London Breed, which will be voted on by the Board of Supervisors today. If the legislation passes, those stores will be required to close by midnight. It is unclear how many stores this will affect; on a single block of Leavenworth, Mission Local counted three late-night shops that will be forced to close early under the new curfew. 

Enriquez supports the plan, and many of the dozen residents Mission Local interviewed did, too. But many were surprised to learn that stores with state liquor licenses will be exempt from the curfew, and can remain open until 2 a.m. 

“That’s backwards,” said Abdul Malik Muhammad, a resident. “Those are the stores that should be shut down, I believe.” 

Muhammad and others also said that only certain stores are truly problematic. 

Even so, there is support for any stores being shut down. 

Shirley, a 23-year-old who lives with her boyfriend, said she doesn’t go to the shops after dark, because she doesn’t feel safe with the dozens of people who often gather outside certain late-night or 24-hour stores that sell torch lighters or other drug paraphernalia. 

“After, like, 7 [p.m.], I’m already inside the house,” she said, which is around when people start to gather in larger numbers. “Just be from work, straight to the house.”

On some nights, the entire sidewalk fills with people outside certain shops, like Plaza Snacks and Deli at 7th and McAllister streets. The store sells fresh produce, pastries, and other typical convenience-store goods. 

“No tobacco, no alcohol,” said Walie, one of the owners, on Monday afternoon as customers flowed in and out of the shop continuously. Still, the location seems to draw issues: Last week, a person was shot at that very store around 11:15 p.m. 

But Walie, like many business owners, said he doesn’t believe the curfew will change anything, and instead will just hurt his business. “That’s not gonna make any difference, I guarantee you. I’ve been here for 20 years. They just move them from one block to the next.” 

Leydi, a longtime neighborhood resident, said the curfew is worth trying, though she is unconvinced that it was a good plan, long-term. She has heard many fights, with drunks throwing bottles at cars, and said she believes alcohol is a big part of the problem. 

Gerardo, another resident, who also works for the Tenderloin Community Benefit district, said he knows of one smoke shop in particular that doesn’t pay for Recology service, and just leaves its garbage on the corner. 

When he’s on the job, Gerardo ends up having to clean up the mess. 

Others complained of bottles of urine, human feces and other waste collecting at these congregation points. 

“Some of the stores are like magnets, and they attract problems,” said Muhammad, accusing some store owners of price-gouging their low-income customers, and not giving back to or caring for the community. 

But still, other stores, while they may attract unhoused people and drug users congregate near it, serve as a lifeline for some. 

TL Market & Deli, at Turk and Leavenworth streets, is open 24 hours a day, and it’s in rough condition. Battered cases display cookies. An open tub of hard-boiled eggs sits next to a tub of pickles on the counter, among litter. In the back, a mouse can be seen scurrying to and fro. 

But when people enter, Abdullah, the man behind the counter, helps however he can. One woman requests change for her $20 bill in quarters; Abdullah starts counting coins. A man brings back a container of Morton’s salt he borrowed earlier. Another man purchases a snack and begins walking away, forgetting his change, and Abdullah calls after him. 

Shanique, the woman getting change, said she lives in the building across the street, and woke up hungry early Monday morning. She only had to cross the street to grab a snack. 

While she is not happy she will be losing the convenience of her corner market, like many others, she gave a tentative “yes” on the plan to close the stores at night. 

“Realistically, for our neighborhood, though? Yeah,” said Shanique, who blames her boyfriend’s addiction issues on having grown up surrounded by the conditions of the Tenderloin. “Of course, if all these stores didn’t stay open late, it wouldn’t be so much traffic later at night. Yeah, of course.” 

And lately, she has seen more people hanging out in the streets than ever before. 

Then again, Shanique said, “even [when] the stores are closed, they’re still there.”