Nearly 1,400 discarded needles have been collected around a pair of plazas in San Francisco\u2019s Mission District as the city seeks to clean its streets and stave off drug overdoses.<\/p>\n
Supervisor Jackie Fielder, whose district includes the two BART plazas, told Mission Local <\/a>that since January, community ambassadors have handled as many as 1,538 hostile street situations.<\/p>\n The ambassadors \u2014 street workers who respond to certain emergency calls \u2014 also reversed 15 drug overdoses and collected 1,390 needles, she said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Homeless people are seen in San Francisco\u2019s Mission District. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThis shouldn\u2019t be a statistic that we\u2019re proud of because of just how large it is,\u201d Fielder said. \u201cBut they collected 1,390 needles off the street.\u201d<\/p>\n Addressing open-air drug use, illegal street vending and other problems around the Mission\u2019s BART stations has been an ongoing effort involving Fielder, Mayor Daniel Lurie and other city officials. <\/p>\n In March 2025, after Lurie pledged to crack down on drug dealing and illegal fencing, the two stations saw an increased police presence and later hosted community pop-ups aimed at turning the plazas into more welcoming, family-friendly public spaces.<\/p>\n Homeless people gather with their belongings and tents in the Mission District. AP<\/p>\n Fielder pushed for additional resources in July, sending Lurie a letter requesting 24\/7 community ambassadors at the 16th and 24th Street BART stations. <\/p>\n Lurie\u2019s office rejected the request, citing the cost, according to the Mission Local<\/a>.<\/p>\n The same letter also called on multiple city agencies to provide data that could be used to measure the progress of Lurie\u2019s 90-day effort to improve conditions around the stations. <\/p>\n Fielder said she now plans to send another letter to the mayor\u2019s office seeking additional ambassadors, more street cleaning, police foot patrols and better data on visible drug use that does not rely solely on 911 calls.<\/p>\n A Department of Public Health worker uses tongs to pick discarded hypodermic needles in San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cMy long-term hope is that street conditions are acceptable to visitors and residents alike,\u201d Fielder said, according to Mission Local.<\/a> \u201cWe\u2019ll know that we got there when people are not complaining about Mission Street conditions in my inbox.\u201d<\/p>\n Fielder also announced on Instagram <\/a>the launch of the city\u2019s \u201c16th and 24th Street BART Plazas Activation Dashboard<\/a>,\u201d which appears to address calls to measure whether street conditions are improving. <\/p>\n The dashboard brings together data on illegal fencing, drug activity, 911 calls, street-cleaning requests and other conditions around both plazas.<\/p>\n Nearly 1,400 discarded needles have been collected around a pair of plazas in the Mission District. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n City officials expect to update the dashboard monthly using information collected by several agencies.<\/p>\n The data begins in March 2026 and covers the period surrounding Lurie\u2019s 90-day push, announced in June, to address conditions around the Mission BART stations.<\/p>\n According to the dashboard, drug-related 911 calls increased from 19 in March to 35 in May before falling to 17 in August. Calls to the city 311 hotline regarding trash rose from 88 in March to 113 in August, and street-cleaning requests within one block of the BART plazas fell from 420 in March to 316 in August.<\/p>\n A number of syringes are scattered in the remains of a tent city being cleared by city workers in San Francisco. AP<\/p>\n Fielder has said that eliminating street-cleaning complaints altogether is likely unrealistic.<\/p>\n It is \u201cprobably not feasible to get to zero street-cleaning requests in the Mission. But, I would like to see us get much fewer 311 cleaning requests,\u201d she told the Mission Local<\/a>.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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