Frustrated street vendors march on City Hall in protest of ban

For 15 years, Yani Gonzalez was part of a vast people-powered commercial ecosystem, one that allowed her to survive off of the antiques and vintage goods she would sell on Mission Street. 

But that is no more. 

“Just imagine, last week, I only made $10,” Gonzalez told El Tecolote. “And with $10, I can’t survive. Rent is coming, the bills have to be paid.”

This story is one echoed by many street vendors, whose sales have dropped drastically since the vending ban on Mission Street went into effect on Nov. 27. Gonzalez was just one of many frustrated Mission Street vendors who marched on City Hall on Dec. 8, where they hand-delivered a letter to both Mayor London Breed and District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, listing their concerns and a demand for an end to the ban.  

As previously reported in El Tecolote, the ban was spearheaded by Ronen over concerns about public safety, the selling of stolen goods and violence on Mission Street. The ban, initially proposed for three months with the aim to be permanent, stops all street vending within a 300-foot radius on Mission Street between 14th and Cesar Chavez Streets. 

But when it comes to the argument that the ban is to reduce crime and improve public safety, the street vendors aren’t buying it. 

“That has always existed. I lived on 19th and Mission for 14 years. You’ve always heard that,” Gonzalez said. “And because now they come to ‘supposedly’ wash their hands, saying they’re doing it for us … I just came from the 16th, it looks horrible, and we’re not allowed to sell.”

In an attempt to appease the displaced street vendors, two locations have been opened in the Mission — El Tiangue, located at 17th and Mission Streets, and La Placita, located at 24th and Capp Streets. But the locations haven’t been practical. 

“It’s an almost one hundred percent turnaround,” Ana Hernandez told El Tecolote, who now sells children’s clothes and toys at El Tiangue. She went from making $300 to $400 a day — $600 on a good day — to just $10 to $15. There have been two days where she’s sold nothing. When asked what she hoped to accomplish with the march, she simply replied: “That they listen to us. And let us sell again where we used to.”

Street vendors also described meeting with Ronen on Dec. 7, the day before the march. According to the street vendors who met with Ronen, they pleaded with her to undo the ban, to which Ronen refused. 

“Yesterday [Ronen] left super angry and left us with words in our mouths,” said Gonzalez. “What we tried to tell her was to let us have our spaces back, and she said no … We are peaceful, we want to do things right, we’re not hurting anyone … and she said she’s not going to back down. And we’re not going to back down either.”

That same day, various community organizations such as the Latino Task Force, Calle 24, Clecha and MEDA’s Mission Loteria, launched the Las Posadas Holiday Shopping campaign, in hopes to spur business in the corridor. 

“We are launching this campaign to continue to support the long-term sustainability of our permitted vendors in the Mission,” said Mayor Breed in a press release announcing the campaign. “As we work on creating economic pathways to support the neighborhood’s small business owners, we can’t lose sight that we need to deliver safe and clean streets so the whole neighborhood can thrive.” 

Ronen was also quoted in the release, stating: “Not only are we making our streets safer and more welcoming for residents and visitors, we are thrilled to launch this holiday campaign to lift up our local businesses and permitted street vendors. 

Sofia Lopez said she first became a licensed street vendor back in 2015, selling her Mexican and Central American goods at the BART Plaza at 24th and Mission. She said business was good. Then the pandemic hit. 

After much of the world shut down in March of 2020 due to COVID-19, Lopez went nearly nine months without vending. At that same time, she didn’t receive rent assistance or food stamps and said that she couldn’t renew her permit. With the help of Calle 24, Lopez was able to secure a Street Vendor Permit from San Francisco Public Works. But that permit only lasted a year. Lopez’ permit expired on Nov. 15, she said, without her being informed. 

“We are in a crisis,” Lopez said. “And how I feel, everyone feels.” 

Lopez, like others, also takes issue with designated street vending locations.

“Before renting this building, they should have told us,” Lopez said. “Because you are not going to decide for me. This is a free country. I’m not going to decide for you. So she can’t decide for us.”

The vendors El Tecolote spoke with are affiliated with the Mission Street Vendors Association, a group that has around 107 members. When they arrive at their designated spaces at El Tiangue and La Placita, they describe leaving hours later, with all or most of their merchandise still on hand. 

And with the holidays approaching, the lack of funds already has vendors thinking about how else to make ends meet. 

For Gonzalez, she will rely on her family and her savings. She’s already cut back on groceries and has told her two teenage sons that Christmas will be sad this year.  

“I already told them, don’t expect anything for Christmas,” Gonzalez said, wiping away tears. “And it breaks my heart because as a mother, you want the best for her children.”