San Francisco Extends Curfew for Downtown Convenience Stores | KQED

""This legislation is a necessary step toward bringing these drug markets under control and restoring livability to Mid-Market and SOMA," Leah Edwards, a District 6 resident, wrote in a letter of support. A separate independent study published in November 2025 also found a 56% reduction in drug-related incidents during the curfew hours over nine months. However, authors of that study told Mission Local that their findings should not be taken as conclusive support for the approach, but rather offer preliminary and limited data."

"Dorsey said the plan has helped calm down street conditions late at night, but that there is still work to do to address underlying issues. He pointed to the city's effort to hire more police officers and a new sobering site downtown where people can get connected to drug treatment options like buprenorphine, a medication for opioid use disorder. He said his office is also working to secure some kind of relief, such as limiting business fees, for the roughly 75 shopkeepers who could be impacted by the curfew."

"Opponents of the approach, which include the Small Business Commission, maintain that it threatens to cut off sales and could make it harder to operate in an area known for its music venues, galleries and event spaces. "Incident counts alone are not a clean measure of underlying street conditions, particularly when enforcement strategies may change alongside policy implementation," Kayla Brittingham, a resident of SoMa West, wrote in a letter to the Board of Supervisors ahead of the vote on Tuesday. "For many blocks, nighttime activity is a defining feature of the neighborhood's identity and economic viability, rather than a source of disorder.""

A nighttime curfew and related measures coincided with a 56% reported reduction in drug-related incidents during curfew hours over nine months, though study authors cautioned the findings are preliminary and limited. Supporters called the legislation a necessary step to control street drug markets and restore livability in Mid‑Market and SoMa. Officials reported calmer late‑night street conditions and cited efforts to hire more police and open a downtown sobering site offering treatment options like buprenorphine. Officials also sought relief measures, such as limiting business fees, for roughly 75 shopkeepers potentially affected. Opponents warned the curfew could cut sales and harm nightlife-related businesses, and skeptics said incident counts may not reflect shifted street-level challenges; nighttime activity remains central to some blocks' identity and economic viability.

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