When you ask the residents of San Francisco’s Essex Street what their most disturbing experience is with the nearby homeless encampment, they often pause. It isn’t that they can’t think of one. It’s that they can’t decide which one to choose.

Amber Bennett thinks of the homeless man she saw out her back window, “completely naked except for his running shoes, masturbating.”

Katy Liddell, president of the neighborhood association at Rincon Hill, mentions her two neighbors who were walking their dog last week when “a black-and-white pit bull attacked them,” leaving scratches and bites serious enough to call a paramedic.

Because this is the same area where a Highway Patrol officer received life-threatening injuries when he was stabbed and slashed allegedly by a homeless man in February, you’d think the location would be getting extra attention. Not so, says resident Katina Johnson.

“We have been trying to get help with this for eight months,” she said. “My biggest frustration is the complete lack of response and help. It’s just a huge failure.”

On Saturday night, Bennett heard someone screaming for help around midnight and saw a pit bull attacking one of the campers. She called 911, and there was a full emergency response with police, ambulance and fire truck.

“But they didn’t do anything about the owner, who had a pit bull that was not on a leash,” she said. “Now there are three different pit bulls in that area, all off leash. I have a small dog, and I have to be very careful when I walk him.”

All of which means it’s likely that when police Capt. Daryl Fong holds his scheduled community meeting Wednesday night at the South Beach Harbor building near AT&T Park, he’d better be ready for some fireworks.

Essex Street is an odd little side street. It leads to an on-ramp for the Bay Bridge, so there’s lots of commuter traffic. But there’s very little foot traffic, so tents on the sidewalk can appear and proliferate without much notice.

But as encampments get bigger and bigger, the problems grow. One couple carved out a space behind a chain-link fence where they built a small compound.

“They had a barbecue grill down there, and a clothesline,” Bennett said. “Then all this wood started showing up, like they were building something.”

There were even reports, although unverified, that the couple had managed to tap into the city sewer line.

And for a dose of irony, the main encampments are right next to the Rene Cazenave Apartments, which are supportive housing for formerly homeless people. Unfortunately, it’s full.

As frustrated as he is, neighbor Maurice Bizzarri says he feels sorry for the campers.

“These are just guys trying to get by,” he said. “There has to be a place for them somewhere in the city. I don’t even know what to suggest anymore.”

Pier review: As a city staff report to the Port Commission said last week, Piers 30-32 continue to exist in waterfront limbo. The Warriors didn’t build there, America’s Cup wasn’t based there, and no one has stepped up to repair and reinforce the aging structure.

So what to do with the 13-acre site? While it is a prime bayside location, with availability for deepwater berthing, it needs significant upgrading. And unfortunately, none of the options seems very viable.

The report listed four possible options, including basically doing nothing. The bad news is, even leaving it alone will cost millions.

Constructed in 1912, the piers have long since eclipsed their projected 50-year life span. So leaving them alone, even just for use as a parking lot, isn’t safe. The report estimates it will cost $6 million in repairs over the next 20 years or so, at which time the piers will be completely unusable.

The other options just get more and more expensive. To simply remove the piers would cost over $40 million. Removing the piers and creating a marina would cost more than $446 million. And taking out the piers and building a new, 11-acre floating open space would run to $722 million in total capital cost.

The report also notes that the sea level is expected to rise 16 inches by 2050 and 36 to 66 inches by 2100. So maybe the piers will just disappear beneath the waves. Eventually.

Annals of crime: Sometimes a plan is just too complicated. The Richmond Police Station has the report of the homeowner who came home to find a window broken, a dead bolt breached and her garage door painted a different color. It seems the burglars wanted to pose as painters — hence the garage — but took so long painting that they ran out of time to burgle.