Despite city agencies focusing efforts on 16th Street BART plazas to tackle drug activity, illegal vending remains rampant at nearby 24th Street. Merchants report a surge in unpermitted vending, as street vendors time their operations to avoid law enforcement presence. With set hours, vendors offer a wide range of products, often unsure of their provenance. The city's temporary vending ban on Mission Street has proven ineffective, with illegal vendors exploiting gaps in oversight, creating a cycle of clandestine commerce that persists undeterred.
"I'll take $5 for the 2-pack of deodorant," said a vendor in her mid-thirties. "$5 for the large Head and Shoulders, too ... It's good to cure dandruff."
"They bring the product and we buy it from them," said the vendor about her suppliers. "We don't know if it's stolen or not."
"It's always busy here during those hours, we just adapt," said a vendor, highlighting how they schedule their activities around law enforcement presence.
"I don't fuck with Mission Local," said another nearby vendor selling frozen shrimp, bacon and salmon. No, he did not want to talk to a reporter he said as he counted a stack of bills at least two-inches thick.
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