San Francisco’s Summer of Muck

More than once this year, I’ve seen men drop their pants in public places — including at Fifth and Market — in order to leave a smelly mess on the sidewalk. The city’s housing and office building boom has filled in alleyways and once-neglected pockets where the homeless used to be able to hide. The chamber supports Mayor Ed Lee’s 18-month plan to add 300 police officers and bring SFPD to its authorized maximum of 1,971, as well as Supervisor Scott Wiener’s proposal to hire an additional 200 cops. Not that that means you want police out arresting homeless people,” said Lazarus, but their presence alone should “encourage more civil behavior. BART is looking at reopening bathrooms in its underground stations — and erecting canopies to prevent homeless people from using escalators as toilets. [...] I caution, the city has to send the message that it’s not OK to eliminate in public. With services and space to accommodate shopping carts and dogs, the center is designed to transition street people off the street for good. The city’s 2014 homeless services budget was $167 million — to serve 6,355 homeless people.