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Stuart Malcolm, a doctor with the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic, speaks with homeless people about the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Haight Ashbury area of San Francisco California on March 17, 2020.
There are no tourists anymore on San Francisco’s famously twisty and steep Lombard Street. The city’s landmark hotels and posh shops are closed up tight.
But one staple of San Francisco has become even more pronounced as the coronavirus pandemic chased everyone inside. Homeless people, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, are still sleeping on sidewalks and flap-to-flap in tents cluttered around downtown and other popular neighborhoods.
Their plight underscores the political infighting that has divided San Francisco leaders for years in tackling homelessness and housing, often with the same result — gridlock.
The Bay Area won national praise for ordering the earliest stay-home mandate in the country, but San Francisco Mayor London Breed now faces growing criticism from advocates and fellow city officials who say she hasn’t done enough to move homeless people into hotel rooms or even to enforce city rules on street camping in dense neighborhoods.
“The medical professionals are close to unanimous that hotels are the safest way to protect the un-housed and public health,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the Mission district. “We are sick and tired of the shifting excuses.”
Coronavirus Deaths in Your City and State — and Across the US
These charts use daily coronavirus death data from Johns Hopkins University to show the seven-day moving average of deaths at the city, state and country level.
The impact of coronavirus varies enormously in the United States from one place to another.
Source: Johns Hopkins University. Credit: Visuals by Amy O’Kruk/NBC, data analysis by Ron Campbell/NBC
Nearly eight weeks after the shut-down order, more than 1,000 homeless people have been moved into hotel rooms in the city, which the mayor calls a remarkable accomplishment despite “an incredible logistical challenge.”
About 1,700 hotel rooms remain empty, though, as Breed steadfastly refuses demands to house more of the city’s 8,000 homeless. The rooms are prioritized for front-line workers, homeless people recovering from COVID-19 or those who are older or have underlying health problems. Meanwhile, shelters have stopped admitting people because of spacing requirements and the city’s largest shelter was shut down after 106 people became infected with the virus.
San Francisco, which is both a city and a county, compares relatively well numbers-wise with other major California counties regarding rooms for the homeless. But political divisions in the compact city — the second-densest in the U.S. — have been amplified by the virus along with the mushrooming tents and rampant drug use on the streets.
Sprawling Los Angeles County, with 59,000 homeless people, has moved more than 1,400 into rooms; San Diego has done the same for about 500 of its 8,000 homeless.
In San Francisco, though, Breed has ignored an emergency legislative order from city lawmakers requiring her to acquire enough hotel rooms for all the homeless. She says that’s not realistic.
Last week, activists staged a “die-in” in front of Breed’s home, holding signs asking her to “love thy neighbor.” Frustrated advocacy groups and San Francisco supervisors have raised private money to move a handful of homeless people into hotels.
This week, a law school and others in the inner-city Tenderloin neighborhood sued San Francisco, saying neighborhood sidewalks are “unsanitary, unsafe, and often impassable,” with drug deals and tents blocking sidewalks. The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California put Breed on notice that it will sue over the issue if things don’t change.
Breed says outreach workers are doing their best. Some of the homeless who have mental health and addiction issues are challenging to help, she said. On Wednesday, she released a plan for the Tenderloin that includes providing clean water and a sanctioned “safe sleeping” site for tents.
“I get that everyone wants to see something different,” Breed said. “I want to see something different, but we’re not housekeepers, we’re not babysitters, and we’re being treated that way by people who have some challenges in some cases, and some difficulties and some who are just downright defiant.”
Shanna Couper Orona, a disabled former firefighter, and another woman occupied a vacant home for several hours on May 1 as part of a protest to “reclaim SF.” Orona, 47, who has been living in her van for about five years, bikes around the city to tend to the cuts and wounds of other homeless people. The mayor, she says, is being disrespectful.
“She forgot where her heart is at,” Orona said.
Sadie Stone, a pastor at Bethany United Methodist Church, says she can’t understand why Breed would pass up the opportunity to get people into hotels, especially with the Federal Emergency Management Agency paying 75% of the cost.
“It just sends a very clear message that their lives don’t matter,” Stone said.
Breed, 45, is no stranger to hardship. She grew up in public housing, raised by a grandmother who drilled into her the importance of faith, education and feeding others, no matter how little they had.
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Empty counters are seen at Oakland International Airport’s Terminal 1 in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, April 6, 2020. The airport was nearly deserted as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
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General view of a closed park is seen amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 11, 2020 in San Mateo, California.
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A sign that encourages social distancing is displayed in an empty boarding area at San Francisco International Airport on April 12, 2020 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco International Airport has a seen a huge decline in daily flights since the coronavirus shelter in place. United Airlines, the airport’s largest carrier with the most daily flights with 290 flights per day before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has reduced their daily flights to 50 per day.
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Roads leading to San Francisco International Airport are nearly empty on April 12, 2020 in San Francisco, California. San Francisco International Airport has a seen a huge decline in daily flights since the coronavirus shelter in place. United Airlines, the airport’s largest carrier with the most daily flights with 290 flights per day before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has reduced their daily flights to 50 per day.
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People wearing face masks walk near Fisherman’s Wharf amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 12, 2020 in San Francisco, California.
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People wearing face masks line up to enter a Costco store amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 8, 2020 in San Francisco, California.
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A Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) passenger rides in an empty train car on April 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. BART announced that it is slashing daily service as ridership falls dramatically due to the coronavirus shelter in place order. Starting Wednesday, regular Monday through Friday service will be reduced to running trains every half hour between 5 am and 9 pm.
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The marquee is seen at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium music venue, which is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, on April 10, 2020 in San Francisco, California. COVID-19 has spread to most countries around the world, claiming over 96,000 lives and infecting more than 1.6 million people.
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Customers, some wearing protective masks, wait in a line outside a Whole Foods Market Inc. store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Emergency ordinances that passed in San Francisco and San Jose on Tuesday would temporarily extend two weeks’ paid sick leave to workers not yet covered under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, that requires employees get paid sick leave for health reasons related to Covid-19.
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The Mayor Edwin M. Lee International Terminal departures hall sits empty at San Francisco International Airport on April 02, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Due to a reduction of flights and people traveling, San Francisco International Airport has consolidated all of its terminals into one concourse in the international terminal.
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The road in front of the international terminal sits empty at San Francisco International Airport on April 02, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Due to a reduction of flights and people traveling, San Francisco International Airport has consolidated all of its terminals into one concourse in the international terminal.
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Light traffic moves across the Bay Bridge heading into San Francisco, California, U.S., on Friday, March 20, 2020. California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered that all of the states 40 million residents go into home isolation starting Thursday evening, marking the most stringent U.S. effort yet to stymie the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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An interstate sits empty in San Francisco, California on April 1, 2020 during the Covid 19 crisis. – All 40 million residents of California were Thursday ordered to stay at home indefinitely in a bid to battle the coronavirus pandemic in the nation’s most populous state.
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A Covenant Aviation Security (CSA) worker waits for travelers in the security area at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, April 2, 2020. U.S. airlines have slashed flying capacity, parked planes, frozen hiring and taken other steps to cut spending as the viruss spread has reduced travel by more than 90%.
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A California Highway Patrol car drives across the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge on April 01, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Officials in seven San Francisco Bay Area counties have extended the shelter in place order until May 1 in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
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A view of a closed Stinson Beach due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on April 01, 2020 in Stinson Beach, California. Officials in seven San Francisco Bay Area counties have extended the shelter in place order until May 1 in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.
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An aerial drone view of an empty Powell Street Cable Car turnaround on March 30, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Officials in seven San Francisco Bay Area counties have announced plans to extend the shelter in place order until May 1 in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
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A pigeon crosses an empty Powell Street during the coronavirus pandemic on March 30, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Officials in seven San Francisco Bay Area counties have announced plans to extend the shelter in place order until May 1.
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An aerial view from a drone shows an empty Interstate 280 on March 26, 2020 leading into San Francisco, California. With millions of San Francisco Bay Area residents under order to shelter in place due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, few cars are on the roads.
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An aerial view from a drone shows streets virtually deserted at the Pier 39 tourist destination on March 26, 2020 in San Francisco, California. With millions of San Francisco Bay Area residents under order to shelter in place due to COVID-19, few people are venturing out into public areas and tourism has all but halted.
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Light traffic moves along the Golden Gate Bridge during rush hour in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Friday, March 20, 2020. California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered that all of the states 40 million residents go into home isolation starting Thursday evening, marking the most stringent U.S. effort yet to stymie the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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Fisherman’s Wharf, a popular tourist destination in San Francisco is seen empty of tourists in San Francisco, United States on March 18, 2020. The famous sidewalk seafood eateries were all closed up on the first day of the 3-week shelter in place affecting the six counties of the Bay Area.
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Pedestrians cross Powell Street, usually full with cars and cable cars, in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Six of the biggest counties in the San Francisco Bay Area ordered people to stay home except for essential needs, marking one of the nation’s strongest local efforts yet to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
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A pedestrian walks past a boarded up Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Governors from coast to coast Friday told Americans not to leave home except for dire circumstances and ordered nonessential business to shut their doors.
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Light traffic is seen in this aerial view of the maze in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Seven Bay Area counties are locked down in an unprecedented shelter-in-place order from Gov. Gavin Newsom because of the coronavirus spread.
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A local mom and her two boys stop at the closed Helen Diller Playground in Dolores Park following Mayor London Breed’s decision to have city playgrounds closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 23, 2020.
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An aerial view of the empty schoolyard at Ulloa Elementary School on March 18, 2020 in San Francisco, California. As millions of Americans shelter in place in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus, schools across the country are being closed. Nearly 99 percent of the schools in California are currently closed and it is unclear if they will be able to reopen before the start of summer break.
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Empty seats stand in a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train car in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Six of the biggest counties in the San Francisco Bay Area ordered people to stay home except for essential needs, marking one of the nation’s strongest local efforts yet to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
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A view of a deserted Jack London Square Square is seen in downtown Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Seven Bay Area counties are locked down in an unprecedented shelter-in-place order from Gov. Gavin Newsom because of the coronavirus spread.
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Famous Pier 39, part tourist destination and part shopping mall, is seen fenced off and closed to the public Tuesday as the CIty of San Francisco began its 3-week shelter in place order, on March 18, 2020.
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The iconic twisty curves of Lombard Street are seen totally empty from above in San Francisco, California on March 17, 2020. San Francisco, along with 7 other counties in the Bay Area, have been ordered to shelter in place as the city attempts to contain the coronavirus.
Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images
A man walks through a deserted Frank Ogawa Plaza near City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Seven Bay Area counties are locked down in an unprecedented shelter-in-place order from Gov. Gavin Newsom because of the coronavirus spread.
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Streets and sidewalks around San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf tourist destination are free of cars and pedestrians on March 17, 2020 in San Francisco, California. Six San Francisco Bay Area counties have ordered residents to shelter in place in an effort to reduce social interaction and slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
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Travelers arrive to a quiet Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport as stay-at-home orders are implemented during the world-wide coronavirus outbreak in San Jose, California Friday March 20, 2020.
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A member of the San Francisco Park Rangers adjusts a closure sign at a fitness area at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Governor Newsom on March 19 ordered that all of the state’s 40 million residents go into home isolation while saying outdoor activity is permissible with proper social distancing. Several parks reported a surge in visitors over the weekend from people wanting to get out of the house.
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Empty cable cars stand on California Street in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, March. 16, 2020. Six of the biggest counties in the San Francisco Bay Area ordered people to stay home except for essential needs, marking one of the nation’s strongest local efforts yet to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
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An entertainer performs for one person on Pier 39 in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, March 16, 2020. Six of the biggest counties in the San Francisco Bay Area ordered people to stay home except for essential needs, marking one of the nation’s strongest local efforts yet to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
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Patricia Buzzotta hands a bag of produce to a customer at the Star Route Farms stand in the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, March 21, 2020 as the shelter in place order remains in effect to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Star Route Farms created a social distance zone in front of their stand.
She is also a moderate Democrat in a politically polarized city where progressives push for affordable housing mandates, rent caps and free public transportation. Breed believes that the homelessness crisis can’t be solved without building more housing of all types, including luxury condos.
P.J. Johnston, a public relations strategist and friend to Breed, said supervisors need to stop shouting at the mayor and let her do her job. He said it’s wrong for lawmakers to set a number of rooms to acquire and an “arbitrary deadline” for filling them without addressing other services such as security, sanitation and maintenance, calling it “just irresponsible.”
Randy Shaw, director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, has backed Breed’s effort to build more housing. But the lawyer and activist is apoplectic over what’s been allowed to flourish during the pandemic in the troubled Tenderloin district, where many children and families live.
The number of tents on its cramped sidewalks has doubled to nearly 400, he said. While Breed closed off part of Golden Gate Park to traffic so people could safely exercise, there’s no such elbow room in the Tenderloin.
“I don’t know of any place in America where health mandates are so flagrantly violated as in the Tenderloin,” he said. “It hasn’t sunk in that we’re in danger.”
