For anyone new to our work, it may look unusual that neighbors have spent more than a year documenting the weekly conditions of a weekend street closure. But the truth is: we should never have had to.
For nearly five years, the Hayes Street closure has operated under a patchwork of “temporary” permits that drifted further and further away from the program the City claimed to be running. Each phase told the same story:
- In 2020–2021, the 500 block was included without merchant consent and removed only after businesses pushed back.
- In 2022, the 300 block was mishandled, misrepresented, and ultimately removed only after a prolonged fight for transparency.
- Since 2023, the 400 block has been allowed to deteriorate into a completely unmanaged space — a closure with rules on paper and none in practice.
Different years.
Different blocks.
The same failures.
No stewardship.
No compliance.
No accountability.
Just a perpetually improvisational closure marketed as something it never was.
By the time we began documenting conditions in late 2023, the disconnect between the written permit and the on-the-ground reality had become impossible to ignore.
Businesses were harmed.
Residents were dismissed.
Rules were abandoned.
And agencies responsible for oversight responded with silence — or worse, with efforts to normalize what was never lawful to begin with.
We began documenting because the City refused to see what was plainly in front of it. We continued because, week after week, nothing changed.
And it matters now because the same agencies that failed to enforce the permit are now attempting to cite “activation,” “vibrancy,” or “success” as justification for permanence. When public records don’t match public reality, someone has to step in and tell the truth.
That’s why we document. And that’s why we’ll continue — until accountability finally replaces improvisation.