San Francisco To Clear RV Encampments

Daniel Lurie, upon first glance, is a likable guy. He’s somewhat awkward in a well-meaning dad kind of way. His social media style is deliberately disarming, but ever since he has come to power in San Francisco, the city’s war on the poor has intensified. Services such as MUNI have been cut, arrests of the city’s most vulnerable residents have skyrocketed, and likely attributed to a significant increase in overdose deaths. While circumstances for those experiencing poverty in San Francisco remain unchanged or have declined further, Lurie enjoys one of the highest approval ratings in recent San Francisco history this far into his tenure as Mayor.

As a result of his public relations success, there is very little incentive for him or the Board of Supervisors, who have adopted many of Lurie’s recommendations, to course correct. This means the red carpet is being rolled out for any AI or tech company with enough money and name recognition to assist San Francisco in its mission to rid itself of the ‘Doom Loop’ label. The very same ‘Doom Loop’ label that local and national media regularly regurgitated whenever it was a slow news day, and allowed self-described moderates like Daniel Lurie to seize power in City Hall.

The most recent iteration of Mayor Lurie’s legislative hostility to those who didn’t make the right decision of being born into a family of blue jean billionaires has manifested into the RV ban. Recreational vehicles – mostly clustered around SF State, will only be allowed to park on city streets for a maximum of two hours. Leaving residents of the RV communities scrambling for alternatives.

The enforcement is set to begin in phases.

Phase One began on September 1st, where city workers will reach out to RV residents to alert them of available services, while issuing notices to vacate.

Phase Two begins in October. San Francisco will issue 6-month permits to a limited number of eligible RVs while the residents will enroll in transitional housing programs..

Phase Three starts In November. Phase three is when aggressive forms of displacement will begin: such as fines, impoundments, and actual arrests.

Proponents of the plan will likely argue that the closure of RV encampments and other unhoused communities is a matter of public safety. But this argument is pernicious in nature. What is occurring right now in San Francisco, under the watch of Mayor Lurie and the current Board of Supervisors isn’t a war on crime, it isn’t even a war on drugs, it’s a war on visible poverty.

Daniel Lurie isn’t San Francisco’s first pro-corporate Mayor, but he is San Francisco’s first vibe Mayor, and witnessing people so blatantly struggle in a city filled with the ultra-wealthy is a bit of a vibe killer. So Daniel Lurie has adopted a simple message to the city’s poor and working class inspired by none other than one of California’s very own wordsmiths: “Bitch, don’t kill my vibe.”