Why can’t we get things under control on District 9’s Shotwell Street?

For years now, residents in the Mission have been raising the alarm about illegal sex work happening in their neighborhood. City Hall’s response? A patchwork of fixes that haven’t solved the problem—just moved it around.

First, the city erected bollards on Capp Street in 2023, meant to be a physical deterrent from cars pulling up to engage sex workers. Then the city tried a “Dear John” program—sending warning letters to a paltry 57 would-be clients. In 2024, when hot spots merely shifted locations to Shotwell, residents became so fed up that they filed a lawsuit against the City.  But even as recently as this summer, according to residents, the problems have not gone away.

Neighbors have been clear about what would help: brighter street lighting, visible signage urging people to report activity, license plate readers, cameras to deter trafficking, and—perhaps most importantly—more consistent SFPD presence. Yet so far, the City hasn’t taken these straightforward steps.

Which all raises the question: where is District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder? On the campaign trail, she floated the idea of a regulated zone for sex work away from neighborhoods. But since taking office, she’s been silent. A recent Mission Local profile didn’t mention the issue. Her social media accounts (Twitter and Instagram) don’t, either. For a district where residents are literally suing the City over conditions outside their front doors, the lack of urgency from their elected representative is troubling. 

Residents deserve to know that their voices are heard and that their needs are understood by those elected to represent them in City Hall. The lack of urgency around the deteriorating conditions on Shotwell street is an abject failure of leadership from freshman District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, and is amidst a slew of other high-profile street conditions challenges in her district, including the notoriously problematic intersection of 16th and Mission.

Public safety and quality-of-life issues directly shape whether people see San Francisco as a place they can put down roots. If parents don’t feel comfortable letting their kids walk to school, or if nightly street activity makes neighborhoods feel unsafe, the message is clear: this isn’t a city where leaders prioritize valid and legitimate concerns from residents. And we are seeing the repercussions of this perception becoming reality amidst challenging structural demographic shifts in San Francisco. When San Francisco loses residents across a variety of age groups, it erodes the foundation of a thriving, vibrant city.