Small business owners in S.F. Tenderloin decry worsening blight, crime
SAN FRANCISCO -- There's a growing demand from business owners in San Francisco's Tenderloin District for the city to refund their tax dollars.
They say the city has failed to keep their neighborhood safe leaving their source of income on the verge of collapse.
Small business owner Eman Diab and about 150 business and property owners signed a petition to demand a refund of their sales and property taxes.
Diab, a Palestinian immigrant, opened her cafe and sandwich shop in 2013 with excitement, love and hope.
"I was so happy because this is what I want," said Diab who owns Da Hot Spot Cafe at the corner of Turk and Jones streets.
Nine years later, conditions in the Tenderloin have drained much of that passion out of her.
"Of course, I regret, I regret (from) the bottom of my heart but, the thing is, I put in a lot of investment (already) so I can't stop," Diab said.
She has remodeled the business interior twice and changed her menu twice but, during the Friday lunch hour, few customers showed up.
Her issues aren't internal. They're external. Street drug deals and sidewalk filth.
"We're not making any -- not just profit -- we're not making any (money) here," Diab said. "Sometimes, we cannot even open the doors because the traffic of homeless (people), needles. They're shooting (up), so you cannot even talk to them (because they're high). We have to move them physically."
It was one year ago that San Francisco mayor London Breed, talking tough, declared a state of emergency and vowed to crack down on the open-air drug market.
"Be more aggressive with law enforcement, more aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerant of all the bulls** that's destroyed our city," Breed said at City Hall on Dec. 14, 2021.
A year after that press conference, those who live and work in the Tenderloin say little has changed in their neighborhood. Some think conditions have deteriorated.
"The tourists are starting to come back but they just look and get disgusted," said James Inglis, a longtime Tenderloin resident.
Aside from refunding their tax dollars, the newly-formed Tenderloin Business Coalition demanded the city crack down on drug dealing.
London Breed's office said the mayor met with officers in the district earlier this week to remind officers they have support from the city to arrest drug dealers.
Eman hopes there's real action this time not just empty words.
"We need more support from the police," Diab said.
The Tenderloin Business Coalition said they did hear from the mayor's office and plan to meet with her in January. They want the city to come up with a plan to restore safety so people feel safe to live, shop and work in the Tenderloin.