Through this series, we’re documenting what’s happening on the ground, who’s being impacted, and why it matters far beyond just one block.
The prolonged closure of the 400 block of Hayes Street may seem like a hyperlocal decision but it’s become one of San Francisco’s most quietly consequential public space policies. This isn’t just a story about a street. It’s a window into what happens when small business voices are sidelined, when public process breaks down, and when public space is repurposed without public consensus. It’s about who benefits, who’s excluded, and what that says about the future of our neighborhoods.
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
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
A 2020 Governance Record of Retaliatory Exclusion in Hayes Valley Part of the Hayes Street Series — documenting the governance patterns that predate and shaped later decisions around Hayes Street. Purpose of This Summary This summary is not submitted to re-litigate internal disputes from 2020. It is submitted to document early warning signs of governance abuse that later escalated into … Read post
Most people remember COVID as a time of fear, isolation, and uncertainty. What’s easier to forget is how the breakdown of everyday civic life accelerated power shifts that were already underway. In Hayes Valley, the pandemic didn’t create civic dysfunction. It exposed and intensified it. The cracks were already there Well before 2020, many neighbors were already raising concerns about … Read post
A quick update on an issue we’ve raised for more than two years, one that has become newly relevant. On Parcel K, a bulletin board labeled a “community board” sits behind locked glass on City-owned land. In reality, only one neighborhood faction holds the key. They use the board to promote their initiatives, including messaging tied to the Hayes Street … Read post
What began as a temporary pandemic closure in 2020 has stretched into its fifth year. Somewhere along the way, the City stopped asking if the street should reopen and started inventing new reasons to keep it closed. The most powerful of those reasons arrived in 2023 under a single word: “activation.” The Turning PointWhen the permit came up for renewal … Read post
For three decades, the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA) has been treated by City Hall as the voice of our neighborhood. Agencies check the box by consulting HVNA, and politicians cite HVNA statements as if they reflect community consensus. But here’s the truth: HVNA doesn’t represent the diversity of Hayes Valley. Its board operates in a silo, behind closed doors. … Read post
Hayes Valley vs. the Market & Octavia Plan When the Central Freeway finally came down in the early 2000s, Hayes Valley felt like it had won. The teardown was celebrated as a turning point, a chance to reclaim land and reconnect the neighborhood (Hoodline, 2015). But the replacement street, Octavia Boulevard, didn’t live up to the promise. Instead of being … Read post
What breaks our heart isn’t just the policy failures. It’s the way real people have been dismissed, week after week, through the Hayes Street closure. Take Viktor. For years, he’s poured everything into his Hayes Valley shop, Cotton Sheep, one of those rare places that gives a neighborhood its soul. When he spoke up in the early days about how … Read post
At first glance, an “impact” or “feasibility” study sounds responsible. But here’s the problem: if the street closure was pushed from the beginning without transparency or broad consent, the study can’t correct that bias. It just papers over it. And whether it’s branded as an impact study (measuring consequences) or a feasibility study (judging if permanence is possible), the purpose … Read post