Capp St.

Years ago, Mission District prostitutes were simply known as "Capp Street Hookers" for their preferred blocks of rape limbo.  Then came a series of police crackdowns, which more-or-less made the situation manageable.  But now they're back in force, so says an unsigned petition created by "residents" located near the 20th and Capp hooker parklet:

We, residents of the Mission near the intersection of Capp and 20th streets, are very concerned by the sudden increase in prostitution in our neighborhood.

As you know, Capp Street was once a locus of organized prostitution, but the hard work of the police and the community put a stop to that intolerable situation years ago.

But now, suddenly, it is back -- complete with other types of associated criminality, fighting and yelling in the streets, and trash.

We find it unacceptable that we are woken up at night by screaming hookers, that we are endangered by the reckless driving of their customers and associates, that we have to step over used condoms in the morning with our children, and that we feel a sense of menace when we are walking home at night.

Since this is a sudden and new blight in our neighborhood, a criminal enterprise operated by people who are not from the community, we believe it should be relatively easy to nip it in the bud: simply patrolling Capp street frequently--especially on Friday and Saturday nights--and establishing a visible police presence here will scare off potential customers and make our streets an unprofitable place to undertake prostitution. 

As a Capp St. resident, I haven't really noticed the problem getting any worse over the last few months (although I've certainly noticed it).  Are they just exaggerating the scene to get some condoms cleaned up, or is this really getting out of hand?

[Photo by Zara Evens]