hvsafe
What Recent Discovery Reveals About the Hayes Street “Public Life Study”
A transparency update from Hayes Valley Safe Over the past year, residents and small businesses in Hayes Valley have repeatedly asked basic, good-faith questions about the future of Hayes Street — including whether the current temporary closure was being evaluated neutrally, and whether public funds were being used to advance a predetermined outcome. Those questions went largely unanswered. In January … Read post
What Civic Documentation Is and What It Is Not
Civic documentation is a basic part of how neighborhoods hold public decisions accountable. It means observing and recording how public space is being used, especially when that space is operating under a city permit. This includes photographing street conditions, signage, barricades, access, and compliance with permit terms. What civic documentation is: This kind of documentation is common. Journalists do it. … Read post
A brief statement on civic documentation and public streets
We want to briefly address a situation that has raised serious concerns for our group and the broader community. A civil harassment petition was recently filed in response to routine documentation of the Hayes Street closure on the 400 block — a public street operating under a city permit. At an initial court review, the judge rejected the core allegations … Read post
Two More Retail Exits on Hayes Street and the Pattern We Can’t Ignore
Two more retail businesses have exited Hayes Street. Timbuk2, a long-tenured brand that spent nearly two decades in Hayes Valley, has moved on. Arden Home, a design-focused home goods store, has also said goodbye to the neighborhood. Different brands. Different customers. Same corridor. Individually, each closure can be explained away. Together, they add to a growing pattern that deserves closer … Read post
End of Year Message
2025 in Review: Receipts, Resilience, and a Reset for Hayes Valley For the past five years, we’ve marked time with either an end-of-year reflection or a start-of-year reset. This year feels different, not because the challenges disappeared, but because the full picture finally came into focus. 2025 was the year the pattern became undeniable. What many neighbors and small businesses … Read post
Linden for Me, Hayes for Thee
How San Francisco’s Living Alley Rules Undercut the Hayes Street Closure and Reveal a Double Standard on Linden Purpose of this briefThis brief examines how San Francisco’s Living Alley guidelines define temporary street and alley closures as small-scale, low-impact, and resident-protective, and how the long-running closure of the 400 block of Hayes Street departs from those principles in practice. It … Read post
A private group is running a public street like it’s theirs
For nearly 2 years, the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA) has operated a parallel approval system governing access to a public street. This isn’t about events or programming. It’s about who controls access to a public street. A de facto gatekeeping and sublicensing system in which third parties are directed to apply for access to Hayes Street through HVNA’s own … Read post