A firsthand account of what happens when small business voices are ignored.
What began as a temporary pandemic era street closure has now dragged on for years…disrupting commerce, dividing the community, and pushing small businesses to the brink.
For many, the weekend closure of the 400 block of Hayes Street looks like a feel good policy: no cars, more foot traffic, and a supposed celebration of community. But for those who actually operate small businesses on or near this stretch, the reality is far more sobering and increasingly difficult to speak about.
A Silenced Majority
Many long-term business owners in Hayes Valley had thriving storefronts and steady foot traffic before the pandemic. They built their customer base over years, if not decades, and contributed to the district’s unique mix of commerce and culture. But since the closure, everything has changed. The street is no longer a hub for steady commerce –it has become a venue for weekend programming that includes chalk doodling, four square, and loosely organized activities that bear no connection to supporting retail.
The very purpose of the street has been upended, and the businesses that helped shape the neighborhood’s identity are now left on the margins, fighting to survive. At the crux of this harm is the so-called “activation” of the street —an approach that prioritizes novelty and weekend spectacle over economic stability and long-term community needs. It’s this misguided framing that has allowed the closure to persist, even as evidence of harm mounts. That’s why the closure must end.
What business owners are asking for isn’t complicated: a functional, accessible corridor that welcomes customers, supports deliveries, and restores a level playing field.
Behind the storefronts are business owners facing shrinking margins and mounting operational challenges—from unpredictable foot traffic to delivery disruptions and shifting customer behavior. But many remain silent, not because they don’t care, but because speaking up comes with consequences. The politics of the closure have fostered an environment where merchants risk facing vocal pushback, coordinated messaging campaigns, and being ostracized from the very community they helped build. Raising concerns about financial harm doesn’t lead to dialogue…it leads to being dismissed as anti-progress or unwelcome. And that silence isn’t apathy; it’s self-protection.
This silence isn’t accidental…it’s a byproduct of a deeply flawed process that excluded many from the start. Outreach was limited, feedback was selectively amplified, and a few well connected voices were elevated above the rest. In Hayes Valley, not all stakeholders were treated equally.
Economic Harm, Ignored
The closure has disrupted how customers access the corridor, compounded by confusing and inconsistent signage, last-minute event setups, and a lack of clear communication. Business owners face routine logistical headaches: blocked delivery zones, unreliable service access, and confused customer behavior — all of which directly impact day-to-day operations. The added strain of adapting to constant uncertainty is compounding losses and forcing many to reconsider whether Hayes Valley is still a viable place to operate a small business. Several business owners have reported sustained losses. For businesses that rely on weekend commerce to survive, this isn’t just inconvenient…it’s existential.
But when these concerns are brought to City Hall or SFMTA, they are often met with platitudes, policy speak, or outright dismissal.
In fact, the agency has at times ridiculed small business concerns or treated them as peripheral to the process. Economic harm doesn’t even register as a formal factor in the permit evaluation…despite the very real impact on livelihoods.
City leaders say they want vibrant neighborhoods. But how can vibrancy exist when the very people who contribute to the economic and cultural fabric of the community are pushed to the sidelines? A closure that might benefit a weekend event producer can deeply destabilize a small retail operation trying to make payroll.
The Emotional Cost of Being Dismissed
It’s not just about lost income. It’s about the emotional exhaustion of asking for help, only to be ignored. It’s the demoralizing experience of raising red flags, of sounding the alarm again and again—only to feel invisible, as if your concerns don’t register, or worse, are being willfully overlooked.
There’s an unspoken assumption that merchants must be out of touch or overreacting, rather than the experts in their own survival.
The business community in Hayes Valley isn’t monolithic, but the dominant narrative around this closure certainly is. It’s time to admit that small business owners—particularly those with deep roots and local commitment—have been systematically underrepresented in this process.
A Call for Respect and Inclusion
This isn’t a plea for special treatment. It’s a demand for fairness. For real inclusion. For a decision making process that doesn’t treat economic harm as an acceptable trade off for temporary weekend use.
If the City truly believes in equity and small business vitality, then it must start listening to those most affected…not just favoring the permit holder whose vision has shaped the current closure. Small business owners —who are the ones paying high commercial rents, employing local workers, and driving neighborhood economy…deserve more weight in this process.
SFMTA’s continued collaboration with the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA) the official permit holder of the closure reveals a troubling alignment with an anti-car agenda that prioritizes ideology over impact. Rather than addressing access, circulation, or merchant needs, the agency appears more interested in preserving a narrative than fixing a failing policy.
Even more concerning is the lack of cognizance about the broader economic ripple effect a one block closure doesn’t exist in isolation. It impacts the entire business district, disrupting access, flow, and customer behavior across multiple blocks.
The permit holder continues to insist that support exists on the 400 block, but when business owners are asked a more pointed question:”Would you be okay if the block was reopened?”…many say yes. This reveals a fundamental disconnect between what’s being claimed and what’s actually felt by those affected.
With the permit still active and policy decisions looming, it’s time for City leadership to confront the damage and course correct…before more is lost.
It’s time to reopen Hayes Street—not just for traffic, but for truth, transparency, and the underrepresented business voices that have gone unheard for far too long.
Both Supervisor Dean Preston and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood have been absent from meaningful engagement with the small business community. Instead of investigating the mounting concerns from merchants, they’ve aligned themselves with the permit holder, amplifying the narrative that this closure is a “win-win” while turning a blind eye to its destabilizing impact. Their failure to prioritize local businesses and examine the full picture is both negligent and deeply disappointing.
Hayes Valley is not an isolated case. It’s become a proving ground for larger experiments in street transformation, without safeguards, oversight, or real evaluation of economic fallout. If this is San Francisco’s model for the future, small business will not survive it.
You can’t support merchant corridors with one hand and erase them with the other.
The cost of inaction is already being paid…by the very people who keep this neighborhood alive.