Plywood wall erected to keep homeless out of excrement-plagued SF alley

Eventually San Francisco did remove the "anti-homeless" boulders from a sidewalk on Clinton Park, but only after some of them were rolled into the street. Eventually San Francisco did remove the "anti-homeless" boulders from a sidewalk on Clinton Park, but only after some of them were rolled into the street. Photo: Danielle Baskin/Twitter Photo: Danielle Baskin/Twitter Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Plywood wall erected to keep homeless out of excrement-plagued SF alley 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The anti-tent sidewalk boulders that residents installed along Clinton Park may be gone, but San Francisco's frustration with homeless encampments and drug dealers on the streets remains as strong as ever.

A pedestrian pathway in the Ingleside District has now become a flashpoint for controversy.

The alley, known as the "Ingleside Path," was being used as a latrine and a secluded spot for dealing drugs, neighbors said. In order to keep people out, one of the neighbors blockaded the narrow alley from Ocean Avenue to Urbano Street by erecting a plywood wall.

The do-it-yourselfer did not wish to be identified, but in a statement to ABC7 News said: "This walkway has been a burden on city resources for some time now. The walkway requires multiple trips a week for power washing and city records confirm that over 100 calls were received for emergency services."

#Update | The plywood wall was removed but the anonymous neighbor who placed it said they’re working on a gate.



Why? To keep the homeless and drug dealers out of the alley.



Full story: ⬇️https://t.co/pjLI5DDFoJ@abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/WvZ7O8kLjh — Luz Peña (@LuzPenaABC7) October 15, 2019

City records revealed that the person who built the barrier had permission from San Francisco Public Works to do so, according to the San Francisco Examiner and other reports.

"They come in here, they pee there, they poo there. Every day," resident Tom Pan told the Examiner . "The police cannot do anything, it’s dirty and disgusting. In the summertime on a hot day, I can’t even open my window because of the smell."

Not everybody agreed with the decision to build a wall. Some neighbors complained, and after a few days, it was removed.

But that's not the end of the controversy. Ingleside neighbors will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 16 at the Ingleside Library to discuss the alley. There is talk of putting up a gate.

A pedestrian pathway in San Francisco's Ingleside neighborhood is at the center of a new fight over pushing out the homeless after fed-up neighbors built a wooden wall there. https://t.co/ewqYIM9zH0 — KPIX 5 (@KPIXtv) October 15, 2019

The plywood barrier is the latest example of so-called "hostile architecture" designed at keeping homeless individuals off the street. Last month, residents of Clinton Park, a side street off Market and Dolores streets, placed boulders on a sidewalk in an effort to stop people from setting up encampments and to deter drug dealing.

Some of the boulders were rolled into the street, and all were eventually removed. The city's Director of Public Works Mohammed Nuru suggested to reporters that the city and residents of Clinton Park use larger boulders to try to deter homeless camps.

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Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate.