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A bureaucratic stalemate is turning San Francisco's underpasses near the Bay Bridge into a free-fly zone for the homeless -- with the city's cops being ordered to stay out or face possible discipline charges. In recent months, squatters have been setting up camps amid the piles of beams and pillars stored under roadways for the retrofit of the bridge and its freeway approaches.
In the meantime, police say, there has been a proliferation of auto break-ins and petty crimes around the freeway -- plus a growing chorus of complaints from neighbors and merchants who have had to put up with drunkenness, panhandling, street defecation and other lewd acts.

This has happened before, a number of times, in various parts of the city. Same m.o., same bums, same politicians, same lawyers/homeless advocates. Same ole, same ole. (City Hall, U.N.Plaza, Powell/Market, Union Square, 280 underpasses, etc.)
The neighbors and merchants will finally pressure the Board of Stuporvisors and the Mayor (Laughing Stock of the USA) Newsom to let the cops do their jobs.....but NOT before more wailing, posturing and non-profits lawyering -- all for bellying up to the election bar. This is a good time to do it when the focus is on Christmas and the season of hope/help/whatever. It's pure politicking.

The city property is SO expensive, both private and commercial, that the bums WILL lose.
Most of the bums are non-minority. They can't go to the homeless shelters because they are controlled (in reality) by minority thugs who take over and don't allow the non-minorities much of a chance to move in. (I do volunteer work for the charity that runs almost all of the shelters.)

No one really cares for the bums, since they are just drunks and drug addicts who could work, and non-minority bums to boot.
The charity groups do (most Catholic charities, though there is still the one Salvation Army shelter.) but the rest of the loudmouths? Nah, they really don't care. They may really have the best attitude because nothing ever changes with the bums. They live, party, get sick and die with regularity, to be replaced instantaneously by more bums....to be endlessly used by the politicians and "advocates."

The drunks and addicts have been here forever, the way it is with most large urban areas, the same nasty areas of town, same hopelessness, same problems, same everything except their race. There are more minorities, but now THEY get first/best shot at detox, rehab and shelters. For the non-minorities, nothing has changed, ever.
There are no women or children on the streets. Well, there are for a few hours, then they are whisked away to the appropriate shelters, rehab, detox and foster homes.

The crazies on the street, who won't/don't take their meds are also mostly non-minorities. The minority and women crazies get first crack at the shelters, hospitals and hospices...if they want. Not all want that, regardles of race, gender and age. Some insist on staying on the streets. Forcible coercion is rarely use.

Bottom line: the crack-down WILL happen eventually, probably after the new year, when all the hubbub of the Christmas season is past and all are nursing hang-overs.