Sit/Lie

The sit/lie ordinance is a controversial topic throughout the San Francisco area, especially in the Haight district.

Haight Street is known for their abundant homeless, but just recently there’s been in an increase in a certain type of homeless, nicknamed “Road Warriors”.  If you’ve been to the Haight recently, you probably know whom I’m talking about.  They’re usually our age, kids in their early and middle 20s, who are aggressive and harass the neighborhood with panhandling.

I was at a Haight district community meeting the other day where a lady told her story of just walking down Haight street and having her newborn baby spit on by one of these road warriors.

To drive the thugs away, San Francisco is looking to pass a sit/lie ordinance, which would make it illegal to sit or lie on the streets during normal business hours.  Seattle has recently passed a similar law.  Berkeley and Portland are also trying to pass a sit/lie ordinance.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is in favor of the ordinance, however, Haight district supervisor Ross Mirkarimi seems to be against the idea.  I say “seems to be” because at the community meeting the other night, he seemed to actively argue against the proposal but then told the audience that his mind was not made up entirely, and he is open-minded about the subject.

Mirkarimi suggested that instead of a sit/lie ordinance, the city should deploy more foot patrol police officers to ticket specific violators of loitering and harassing businesses and residences of the Haight.  This would allow the road warriors to be the specific target rather than an ordinance that would displace all the homeless on Haight, many of which do nothing to harass people on the street.

Personally, I don’t think passing the sit/lie ordinance is the right way to take care of the problem of the road warriors.  I think that they will just find other areas of the city to panhandle in.  Let your local supervisors know how you feel about it!