AN INDEPENDENT
VOICE FOR
HAYES VALLEY
CommunitY-ROOTED
Hayes Street
The Series
The prolonged closure of the 400 block of Hayes Street may seem like a hyperlocal decision but it’s become one of San Francisco’s most quietly consequential public space policies. This isn’t just a story about a street. It’s a window into what happens when small business voices are sidelined, when public process breaks down, and when public space is repurposed without public consensus. It’s about who benefits, who’s excluded, and what that says about the future of our neighborhoods.
top reads
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A 20 Year Hayes Valley Merchant Forced Out
This month, Hayes Valley will lose one of its most cherished small businesses. After 20 years at the corner of Hayes and Octavia, Miette is relocating to the Fillmore. While their story continues elsewhere, Hayes Valley is losing a piece of its heart. For many, Miette was more than a candy shop — it was…
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49 Reasons the Hayes Street Closure Needs to End
The Hayes Street closure was supposed to be temporary. Instead, it’s become a politicized experiment with no accountability one that hurts small businesses, fuels division, and defies logic. Here’s why it’s time to reopen Hayes: 1. It was never meant to be permanent.The closure began as a short-term pandemic response. Those conditions no longer exist.…
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The Human Cost of Divisiveness Created by the Hayes Street Closure
What breaks our heart isn’t just the policy failures. It’s the way real people have been dismissed, week after week, through the Hayes Street closure. Take Viktor. For years, he’s poured everything into his Hayes Valley shop, Cotton Sheep, one of those rare places that gives a neighborhood its soul. When he spoke up in…
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Advocacy in the Cracks: What Hayes Valley Reveals about the System
It starts small. A closed street here. A community board there. An event permit that seems innocuous on its face. But step by step, a pattern emerges and if you’re not paying attention, you might miss how fast the foundation shifts beneath your neighborhood. Over the past five years, we’ve engaged in what should have…
recent
The City Promised Balance. Closures Delivered the Opposite.
Why an “Impact/Feasibility Study” on Hayes Street Can’t Be Trusted
Neighborhood Bulletin, Public Safety
The Truth About the “New” Police Ambassador Program
Blog, Hayes Street Closure Series, Small Business
The “Abbot-Kinnification” of Hayes Valley — A Neighborhood Takeover in Real Time
Spring Roundup 2025
“Make Hayes Promenade Permanent”? Let’s Get Real.
Hayes Street Closure Series, Small Business
EZ Is the New Formula Retail
Why the Entertainment Zone fight in Hayes Valley reveals a deeper failure in San Francisco politics
Entertainment Zone Updates
Hayes Street Closure Series, Small Business
Who Gets to Speak for Hayes Valley?
Why You Should Care About What’s Happening on Hayes Street
Our Latest Podcast Episode
Petition to Reopen Hayes Street gets removed from HVNA controlled facebook page
Hayes Street Closure Permit Noncompliance
Neighborhood Bulletin, SFMTA, Small Business
Head West Market SFMTA Permit 2025
Summer Roundup 2024
Neighborhood Bulletin, News, Public Safety
Burnt Building on Octavia Update
Closed Hayes Street, SFMTA, Small Business
Hayes Street Closure Activity
Public Safety, SFMTA, Small Business