Upper Haight Merchants Weigh In On Priorities For New Captain

Upper Haight Merchants Weigh In On Priorities For New CaptainPhoto: Camden Avery/Hoodline
Camden Avery
Published on November 08, 2017

SFPD Park Station Captain Una Bailey is at the station's helm following the department's announced captain reassignments last month, which moved Captain John Sanford, Jr. to the department's Community Engagement Division.

Bailey inherits a district with entrenched policing issues and conflicts, including street narcotics sales, recurring violence, and responding to the needs of the neighborhood's housed and homeless communities.

We spoke to a handful of neighborhood merchants to learn about their priorities for the incoming captain.

Tony Green, a store manager at Amoeba Records (1855 Haight St.), said that despite frequent problems at the adjacent McDonald's, police "are pretty responsive—we don't have too many complaints."

"The one thing that I would say—beat cops is a beautiful thing," he added. "It'd be good to get it more consistently."

Stan Gee, manager of Alembic (1727 Haight St.), said his main concerns were sit/lie enforcement, public littering, narcotics sales, and encampments along Golden Gate Park and the Panhandle.

Felicia Knor, manager of Shoeshop and Sockshop (1742 Haight St.) expressed  ongoing frustration with quality of life issues, "for the safety of my staff and also our clientele."

"It's the usual—it's the homeless, or the drug addicts," she said. "Dog violence, dog fights ... I don't know what to do. We have to get a grip on the drug usage and protocol."

For other merchants, it's just business as usual.

"I was surprised, but not surprised" about another change in command at Park Station, said FTC (1632 Haight St.) owner Kent Uyehara, referring to Bailey's status as the eighth Park Station captain in 10 years. "Same priorities."