San Francisco Set To Crack Down On Street Vendors Selling Stolen Merchandise
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – San Francisco officials on Tuesday approved measures aimed at cracking down on street vendors who are selling stolen merchandise.
In a unanimous vote, the Board of Supervisors supervisors voted to impose the permit requirement, which will be enforced by the city's Department of Public Works.
"If you are on the street selling items, you have to show that you have proof of purchase," Supervisor Ahsha Safai said of the new rules. "You have to have a permit from the city."
With all the problems San Francisco is trying to confront, illegal vending might sound like more of a nuisance. Business owners said tackling the issue is a matter of survival.
"We paid thousands of dollars in rent, PG&E, everything," said Alex Suen, owner of Mona's Apparel. "And we sell legal things. Business is not good. We are struggling for life."
After 32 years in business, Suen said the only thing keeping him afloat now is his key cutting work. Business is slow, his windows have been broken repeatedly, but he said the real challenge is the competition, the sidewalk vending that stretches for blocks along Mission Street.
"$12 on the street, $30 in the store," Suen said. "People pass by, the jacket? Of course they're gonna buy the $12 ones. It kills our sales."
From Fisherman's Wharf to Civic Center Plaza, illegal vending takes different shapes around the city. Supervisors said it's not only a harm to small businesses, but an extension of the city's property crime problems.
"This also hits people's homes," Safai told KPIX 5. "A lot of the home burglaries, a lot of the robberies on the street, assaults on the street where they resell the items, like cell phones, technology, bikes, breaking into people's homes, taking things. They also come back and they're sold on the street."
Supervisors behind the new rules said the goal is not to crack down on the small dealing, individuals trying to make a few extra dollars. But the larger operations, and plenty of business owners say that's a good first step.
"Go to get the license, go to get the permit, I've got to get everything ready, and then we can open the store," Suen said. "And they just dump things on the street to sell. Why should we go through all those?"