For more than 60 consecutive weeks, residents and small businesses have documented permit violations on the 400 block of Hayes Street and submitted them to SFMTA. Over that same period, conditions have not improved. They have persisted, and impacts have escalated rather than been resolved.
Repeated concerns about economic harm to neighborhood retail and increased traffic congestion on surrounding streets were raised and repeatedly dismissed as being “outside the scope” of the permit, even as the closure continued to degrade the functioning of a neighborhood commercial corridor.
What began as a temporary, COVID-era measure has hardened into something else entirely: a publicly owned street operating as a privately controlled, lightly used space without accountability.
This is no longer a question of whether violations are occurring. They are continuous and undisputed. The question now is why the City continues to allow them, despite repeated submissions and the absence of any substantive response from SFMTA.
A Misuse of Public Space
Hayes Street remains closed for limited, lightly attended events while nearby, purpose-built public spaces such as Linden Street, Patricia’s Green, and Proxy sit available and underutilized. These spaces were designed and permitted for cultural programming. Hayes Street was designed to function as a neighborhood commercial corridor. Yet week after week, the corridor remains closed to general use to serve a narrow set of interests with minimal public benefit.
The Equity Question
Why is a functioning neighborhood street being withheld from general use to accommodate minimal-turnout events that could lawfully occur elsewhere, while the same small group of insiders continues to shape the narrative and decision-making around Hayes Street?
As a result:
- Small businesses absorb the economic burden
- Residents absorb traffic disruption, access loss, and day-to-day impacts
- The broader community directly affected by the closure — residents, small businesses, and surrounding blocks — remains excluded from meaningful input, despite clear and consistent support for reopening the street.
This is not an equitable allocation of public space. This persistence is especially troubling given SFMTA’s stated financial constraints and raises serious questions about why public resources continue to support a noncompliant, low-benefit closure.
From Temporary Measure to Governance Failure
After 60 weeks of documented noncompliance, the continued authorization of this closure is no longer defensible as public policy. This is not civic engagement gone wrong. It reflects a failure of administration, where oversight has been displaced onto residents and merchants while enforcement authority remains dormant.
What We Are Calling For
We again urge SFMTA to revoke Permit No. 1316522 and restore Hayes Street to its intended, lawful use.
This moment marks a turning point. After 60 weeks, continued silence is no longer acceptable. It is time for accountability.