THE SITUATION AT GOLDEN GATE PARK

Not A Place To Call Home Anymore

Major Push In Place To Clean 'Crown Jewel'

San Francisco has a new message for people living in Golden Gate Park: Get out.

Last week, the city began a major push to stop people from living and
camping in the park, which Mayor Gavin Newsom highlighted at a
community meeting on the city's parks Saturday.

Teams of homelessness outreach workers, police officers and crews
from the Recreation and Park and Public Works departments all have
been working in the park the past several days, Newsom said, to try
to solve one of the city's most complex challenges -- which some
people say is ruining the crown jewel park and which the
administration calls a public health crisis.

The city will spend about $2.8 million on the effort, which in the
past four days has resulted in 18 people moving into shelters and six
people getting a free one-way bus ticket home, said Trent Rhorer,
director of the city's Department of Human Resources.

On Wednesday of this week, all of the city's homelessness outreach
staff will be in the park for the day as well, Rhorer said.

"It's no longer allowable for people to live in the park. It simply
is not," he said.

Garbage, human excrement and even used needles and syringes have
become common in Golden Gate Park, and city officials said it will
take a concentrated and long-term effort to reverse that.

Newsom compared fixing the problem to building a sand castle. He
said, "As soon as you do something, it's like the waves come in and
come out," wiping out all the efforts of building the castle.

"Arguably, if you take a snapshot of where we were a week ago and
where we are today, you may not notice we've done anything," he said
to the crowd of more than 250 people who attended the three-hour town
hall meeting. "Some areas of the park are worse, some are better.
Some areas that weren't a problem now are a problem."

The conditions in the park have long been a concern of neighbors in
the area and park users. The park has emerged again as a front-burner
issue, after state officials recently killed two coyotes that had
attacked a pair of dogs near Speedway Meadow. The resulting outcry
brought fresh attention to the park and prompted a Chronicle story on
the human problems there, specifically homeless encampments. At the
meeting, Newsom answered a range of questions. He said he was
surprised to learn that the coyotes had been killed, but that it was
a decision of the state Fish and Game Department. He said the city's
policy should not be to kill animals, but instead: "Ready, aim, relocate."

Newsom also discussed the efforts to privatize city golf courses and
the management and policies of city agencies that oversee parks.

He spent the most time on Golden Gate Park, though. Since the sweep
began, 45 people have been ticketed for camping in the park, said
Police Chief Heather Fong, who also attended the community meeting at
Jefferson Elementary School in the Sunset District. In addition, city
crews have gone to encampments in the park several times and removed
them while also pruning back bushes people use as shelter.

A permanent group of six homelessness outreach workers also has been
assigned to the park. These efforts mirror a push last fall to deal
with homelessness in the park, but that was temporary and this time
it is permanent, Newsom said.

He said the goal of the effort is "to solve problems, as opposed to
eliminating an eyesore."

But some people who live in the park said Saturday that the city's
efforts last week have been creating more problems than they are solving.

Soon after the town hall meeting, a crew of workers from the
Department of Public Works cleared an encampment near 25th Avenue and
Lincoln Way.

"Three times this week, they have taken everything I own," said Joe
Horton, who lives in the park. He said he has seen city workers look
through items people have, take things of value and leave garbage. He
said his electric guitar and amplifier were taken from him last week.

Horton said he, too, is disgusted by used needles left in the park,
but said homeless people lose precious items, like their last family
photo, in the sweeps -- and that can cause mental and emotional hardship.

"We police ourselves," he said. "There's no need for them." Another
man, who has lived in the park 11 years, said cleanup crews roughed
him up last week and left a gash on his shin.

Nearby, a family had gathered to celebrate a birthday. One man
attending the party walked over to where the encampment used to be
and gave Horton two beers. He apologized for the sweep and assured
Horton he did not call police.

But others at the party were not as amenable.

Natalya Kats said she sees people passed out on the steps of
buildings such as the Opera House and said that it's time for the
city to force homeless people out. She said she takes frequent road
trips and sometimes needs to find a campground. It's not always easy
- -- but she won't camp just anywhere.

"I can't stay in the wilderness," she said. "It's against the law."