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Vendors, artists and family activities took over the 16th Street BART plazas today. The event, organized by the city and neighborhood groups, was a pilot to activate an area that has long struggled with open drug use, dealing and illegal fencing.
Seven vendors offering everything from handmade jewelry to bath salts participated in the event. There was also a photo booth and family activities such as face painting, chalk drawing and a piñata making workshop.
The pop-up at the 16th Street BART plazas may not be the last one. Organizers said they hope to bring more events to the area. Photo by Oscar Palma.
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“This is good for the community. It’s good for the vendors. It’s good for our kids. It’s good for people using public transit,” said mayor Daniel Lurie, who made an appearance around 11 a.m. “Much better than what we see other times of the week,” he added.
Children and adults alike waited in line to get their faces painted. Photo by Oscar Palma.
The event was a collaboration between BART, the mayor’s office, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the SFPD, Department of Public Works, the Department of Emergency Management, the American Indian Cultural District, the city’s ambassador program and Mission Loteria. The latter coordinated the selection of all vendors.
“We need more of this. You can see it’s working,” said Lurie, who wants to see more of the same. “We got to build this muscle. We gotta activate not only 16th Street, but 24th Street with positive interactions and solutions.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie spoke with vendors and customers before he filmed himself for a social media post. Photo by Oscar Palma.
Diana Ponce De Leon, the director of community economic development at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, agreed. “We’re going to be looking and working with the community to come up with more of these activities throughout the year on a more regular basis,” she said.
The pop-up serves as an opportunity for the community to reclaim these spaces, said Rafael Moreno, the senior program manager at the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
On Saturday morning, that is precisely what Maria Itza and her family did. Itza said a friend told her mom about Saturday’s event and she decided to come by with her three siblings and her mom to check out the vendors and the family activities.
Maria Itza and her family took a couple of selfies. She said she hopes to see more events take place at the 16th Street BART plazas. Photo by Oscar Palma.
“Everything looks really pretty. I like it,” said Itza in Spanish, looking at the multi-colored arch balloons at both plazas, the chuck drawings and the shiny piñata at Mission Loteria’s stall. “I see that everyone is helping each other. Everyone is like a family.”
Her family then rushed to the photo booth to take a portrait.
Jacelyn Guzman, a local Mission vendor who sells her own handmade jewelry and lip oil under the brand of Burbujitas & Bling (soon to be Baudelia) said she felt excited for the opportunity to share her creations with a wider audience.
Jacelyn Guzman said she felt excited to make new customers and show them some of her new work. Photo by Oscar Palma.
“I just really want to get more exposure, especially since I started doing the permanent jewelry (a piece with no clasps with its ends welded together),” said Guzman, who hopes to one day open her own brick and mortar store.
Jacelyn Guzman’s creations. Photo by Oscar Palma.
Rosting Arguello, a co-owner of Ometepe company, also looked forward to connecting with more customers.
“Something really nice not only the city, but Mission Loteria, is offering is the opportunity to create that connection with our people,” said Arguello in Spanish.
Ometepe Company sells Nicaraguan coffee beans, reed diffusers, candles, room sprays and bath salts amongst other products.
District 9 BART board member Edward Wright was also there to celebrate the event and said that these activities will be part of the agency’s efforts to renovate the 16th Street station.
“This is one of my biggest priorities, and I think these spaces belong to the public. They should be serving the public,” said Wright.
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