Van Ness Avenue & Eddy Street, 2 years after the Feds’ drug raid
Graffiti appears in every neighborhood in the city, like mushrooms after a rainstorm. It’s the gateway to crime if it’s not nipped in the bud. Any signal of a lack of community oversight can create an environment where more serious crime and additional vandalism is likely to happen.
Last year, I wrote about the graffiti-covered abandoned Civic Center City College of San Francisco building at 750 Eddy Street, which became a magnet for drug dealers. They ran open-air drug markets in front of and behind the building, where hardcore drugs flowed like “candy” on Halloween, which devastated residents and businesses nearby.
Seniors who live in the Eastern Park Apartments across the street from the CCSF building felt trapped in their senior living home, as the sidewalks were clogged with drug dealers and users. Neighbors on Van Ness and Eddy were fed up with the out-of-control open-air drug market in front of 799 Van Ness, the former Mini Cooper dealership.
As soon as the city shut it down on October 4, 2023, the open-air drug market relocated across the street, in front of the former Walgreens store at 790 Van Ness, the next day.
Frustrated with the city playing whack-a-mole, the neighbors reached out to the FBI directly to shut down the open-air drug market. At approximately 6:45 p.m. on October 16, 2023, a few months after the neighbors contacted them, the FBI raided the open-air drug market in front of 790 Van Ness.
I shared the video footage of the raid, which was posted on Reddit, with the Northern District Police Station Captain at that time, Jason Sawyer. He told me via email that SFPD was not aware of and part of the October 16 raid.
On October 26, the former Police Chief, Bill Scott, visited Van Ness and Eddy while the neighbors were installing planters in front of and on the Eddy side of 790 Van Ness.
Former Police Chief Bill Scott on Eddy and Van Ness, observing the neighbors
install garden planters after the Feds’ drug raid. Oct.26, 2023
Since the raid, the area has shown significant improvement. It’s much cleaner and safer now than 2 years ago, and open-air drug markets haven’t returned to that corner.
How do the neighbors maintain Van Ness and Eddy clean and safe?
*Planters
The property owners of 790 and 799 Van Ness installed planters as soon as the open-air drug market was shut down.
*”Mural mural on the wall”
It took a call from the former San Francisco Board of Supervisors President, Aaron Peskin, for CCSF to clean up the graffiti on the Tenderloin CCSF building.
On May 28, 2024, CCSF started its graffiti clean-up project. And it was completed on June 14, 2024.
However, by the end of August 2024, the building had been covered with graffiti again.
In early October of this year, CCSF painted a mural on its building to prevent repeat graffiti.
New mural on the Civic Center CCSF building
Mario Vasquez, the Police Chief of the CCSF Police Department, told me that in addition to the mural, 4 CCTV cameras will be installed to monitor the building. A week ago, someone cut the padlock of one of the lot gates (the one next to the Le Nain hotel next door) to dump a mattress and a pile of trash. “The area around here is sketchy. There used to be many drug dealers hanging out in front of and behind the building,” he said.
The Le Nain hotel next door also painted a mural on their wall to deter graffiti.
The new mural on the Le Nain hotel wall, 730 Eddy
The city’s beautification and community engagement block by block
Mayor Daniel Lurie challenges San Franciscans to beautify their neighborhood:
Murals and art: The “Love Our Neighborhoods” program aims to make it easier for residents to install murals and planter boxes with city support.
Expansion of free graffiti removal: A pilot program for free graffiti removal on private property, originally started under former Mayor London Breed has been made permanentby the Board of Supervisors and is supported by Mayor Lurie’s administration. It allows owners in commercial corridors to request a free cleanup.
“Have you ever wanted to improve your neighborhood? The Community Challenge Grant program helps San Franciscans turn that vision into reality—funding projects that bring people together and strengthen our city, block by block,” Said Mayor Lurie.
Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who represents the Tenderloin, encourages his constituents to join the Graffiti Watch program: “Studies show that removing graffiti within 24 hours of popping up is proven to reduce return tags from reappearing. Keeping our streets safe and clean requires all of us to pitch in, and many of you already do your part by sending 311requests for graffiti abatement, but if you want to take a more hands-on approach in your neighborhood, roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, join Graffiti Watch,” said Supervisor Mahmood.
Combating drug markets in the city
Mayor Lurie invites stronger coordination between the San Francisco Police Department and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to disrupt drug markets and multinational cartels, just like what the neighbors of Van Ness and Eddy did 2 years ago on their own, asking the Feds for help to save their neighborhood.
According to KQED, some city leaders push back on the Mayor’s call for more Federal involvement to combat the fentanyl crisis, while other city leaders, like Supervisor Matt Dorsey, want to see more Feds assistance.
“If drug dealers are undocumented immigrants and committing a crime in our city, they should be deported,” said Supervisor Dorsey, who represents the South of Market neighborhood, where open-air drug markets are thriving, as captured on FriscoLive415’s video footage on X.
What the city can do to help neighbors revitalize Van Ness and Eddy
To revitalize Van Ness and Eddy, as part of the city’s “SF Is On The Rise/Coming Back” campaign, the neighbors suggest:
Sell the vacant CCSF building and build affordable housing.
The back side of the CCSF building on Willow
Close down Burger King on Van Ness, as it is a blight with its broken windows covered with plywood.
The neighbors have been complaining to Burger King’s headquarters and the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) about the blight where drug users hang out around the building every day. DBI has sent Burger King a notice of violation for their broken windows on Van Ness and Willow. But there is still no solution so far.
Drug users gather around the Van Ness Burger King
Activate the former Walgreens (790 Van Ness) and Mini Cooper dealership (799 Van Ness), which have been vacant for years, before open-air drug markets return. Bring foot traffic back to the area!
They would like to see a gym, such as the YMCA or Planet Fitness, open at 799 Van Ness
799 Van Ness, the former Mini Cooper Dealership
After 2 years of the Feds’ drug raid on Van Ness and Eddy, there is still plenty of work to be done on Van Ness before we can finally say that Van Ness is “Coming Back For Real”.
