July 7, 2025
Attention SFMTA:
Here are the block conditions and violations for this past weekend:
Friday July 4, 2025
Saturday July 5, 2025
See all Hayes Street Closure Activity here.
This past weekend marked the 30th consecutive week of documented noncompliance under Permit No. 1091787 for the closure of the 400 block of Hayes Street. As with prior weeks, the permit holder remained in breach of key conditions, with no visible enforcement or corrective action from SFMTA. Despite it being a major holiday weekend, the closed block was largely empty. This highlights a point we raised long ago: that closures during holidays and inclement weather provide no benefit to the corridor. Yet our repeated requests to reopen the street during such periods have gone unanswered. What is the rationale for continuing to allow this?
We received multiple neighbor complaints regarding excessive noise emanating from the 400 block, which could be heard 4–5 blocks away. One confirmed 311 noise complaint was filed. The source: yet another band of performers playing to an audience of a handful of bystanders on the closed street…while Patricia’s Green, Parcel K, and Linden Living Alley sat vacant. This underscores what we’ve been saying for some time: there is no shortage of public space in Hayes Valley, only a failure to use it effectively.
Ongoing unauthorized branded signage was again on display, including “Hayes Promenade” cones and sawhorses, falsely implying permanent status and City endorsement. Given 30 consecutive weeks of documented violations, we renew our formal requests that SFMTA:
- Revoke Permit No. 1091787 due to persistent, well-documented noncompliance.
- Direct immediate removalof all promotional signage and materials.
- Issue a public clarification that this remains a temporary and contested permit, not a formal or permanent City initiative.
At this point, the agency’s silence and lack of enforcement can no longer be characterized as mere oversight. It has become complicit in the ongoing misuse of public space. From our perspective, it is increasingly clear: there are no functional enforcement mechanisms in place. That failure has empowered a single permit holder to commandeer a vital business corridor for a feel-good spectacle, week after week. This is no longer just a neighborhood inconvenience it is an operational and reputational failure for the agency. It’s long past time to act.