UPDATE: Oversight Is Not Harassment
December 19, 2025
Documenting public conditions on a public street operating under a public permit is not harassment. It is civic oversight.
For nearly two years, neighbors and small businesses have documented conditions on the 400 block of Hayes in a routine, transparent, and lawful way — photographing empty public space, noting operational conditions, and asking basic questions about how the street is being managed. That work is ordinary. It is protected and it is essential to public trust.
When oversight is treated as a problem, it raises legitimate questions about transparency and accountability especially when public space is administered by private organizations.
HVS remains committed to independent, fact-based monitoring of the Hayes Street closure. We will continue this work without interruption.
Recently, something shifted.
Our documentation revealed unexpected patterns in how the street closure is being managed — patterns we can’t fully discuss yet, but that raise serious questions about transparency, accountability, and how public feedback is being handled.
What’s become clear is this:
Some would prefer the community not pay attention.
We disagree.
More soon.
Thank you for following.