Tenderloin is ‘containment zone’ for criminal activity: lawsuit

(KRON) — A new lawsuit was filed Thursday on behalf of two Tenderloin hotels and four unnamed residents that alleges San Francisco policies have created a “containment zone” for the city’s open drug market while tolerating criminal activity, the complaint filed by Phoenix and Best Western hotels said. 

The lawsuit argues that city policy “herds” fentanyl users into the Tenderloin, where they can easily buy and use opioids on the streets and receive drug kits such as foil and smoking devices from nonprofits, the complaint said.

Other complaints focused on criminal activities such as violence, theft, and sales of stolen goods. The complaint claims crime in the Tenderloin violates its residents’ right to equal protection, violates disability laws by failing to maintain clear sidewalks, and allows unsafe crowds of people to gather, creating a public nuisance, the complaint said.

The two hotel properties in the lawsuit border Willow Street, an alleyway routinely lined by tents and people using illicit drugs, the complaint said. The lawsuit specifically mentioned an unsanctioned safe consumption site set up by activists last summer on the street and said city officials “made no effort to punish or reprimand those who operated it.”

In the complaint, both the Phoenix and Best Western hotels allege that the conditions on the sidewalks scare away customers and make it difficult to hire and retain its employees.

Complaint-stampedDownload

When the pandemic struck in 2020, conditions in the Tenderloin worsened. The number of tents in the Tenderloin spiked from 22 in October 2020 to 71 in February 2024, according to a count cited in the lawsuit and conducted by Urban Alchemy. Since then, the city has had an uphill battle against managing its encampment sites. 

“The Tenderloin deserves to be treated just like any other neighborhood in the city,” said UC Law SF Chancellor & Dean David Faigman. UCSF Law also filed a similar lawsuit in 2020, “so that they could address the public health emergencies, proliferation of tent encampments, and unsafe and illegal behavior in our neighborhood,” Faigman said. 

The city is also battling a contrasting legal dispute. Sweeps of tent encampments have been partially restricted after the Coalition on Homelessness argued in 2022 that San Francisco’s heavy-handed approach violated the rights of the unhoused. 

KRON4 reached out to the city’s attorney’s office, and here’s what it had to say:

“We will review the complaint and respond in court. While we understand and share the frustration of Tenderloin businesses and residents, the City is making progress in reducing crime, disrupting open-air drug markets, and addressing homelessness, all while complying with the preliminary injunction issued in theCoalition on Homelessness case. Additionally, the timing of this lawsuit is odd because in a few short months, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a decision in Grants Pass, potentially altering the legal landscape in homelessness cases. It is clear that increased litigation over homelessness is not improving conditions on our streets. The courts are not equipped to police every interaction between outreach workers and unhoused individuals. The courts are similarly not equipped to step into the shoes of elected policymakers and voters in order to craft broad strategies to address homelessness.”

Jen Kwart, Communications Director for City Attorney David Chiu

The residents and businesses behind the new lawsuit are not seeking monetary damages. Instead, they’re seeking court orders requiring San Francisco to end brazen drug dealing and use in the Tenderloin and ensure the sidewalks and public spaces are “clean, safe and accessible.”

 

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