Published 5:00 am, Monday, November 24, 2014
Mid-Market's 'Twitter town' isn't just one of the trendiest streets in San Francisco - it's also one of the filthiest, according to a new survey by the city's controller's office.
The four-block stretch of Market Street from Seventh to 11th streets - home to some of the hottest tech companies in the Bay Area - was rated the dirtiest commercial corridor in the 2014 Street and Sidewalk Maintenance Standards report.
That's not all. It was also ranked among the city's smelliest.
Ten inspectors canvassed 366 sites along 184 routes to come up with the ratings, judging each spot for litter, grime, dumped trash and bad smells.
'I walk it every day, and I can't say I was surprised,' the report's lead author, Peg Stevenson, said of Mid-Market's down-in-the-dumps ranking.
While tech tax breaks have brought a wealth of new money and business to the strip, the payoffs have yet to make it down to the street level of the long-bedraggled boulevard.
It's not like the city isn't trying to pretty things up. Starting at 4:30 a.m., the Department of Public Works sends out a steady stream of street sweepers, green machines and alley crews to pick up and scrub the pavement.
'And it looks great for about an hour - then it just gets dirty again,' said DPW spokeswoman Rachel Gordon.
In fact, Mid-Market avoided snagging the honors for smelliest street only because there's a worse one right nearby - the four-block stretch of Taylor Street between Market and O'Farrell Street.
Other winners in the smell-from-hell awards went to Duboce Avenue, under the Central Freeway from Valencia to Potrero; Third Street in the Bayview, from Oakdale to Williams Avenue; Bush Street from Mason to Larkin on lower Nob Hill; and Central Avenue from Buena Vista Avenue West to Oak Street in the Haight.
As far as residential streets go, the dirtiest 'honors' go to Farallones Street in the Oceanview, between San Jose Avenue and Orizaba Avenue.
On the upside, the cleanest commercial street was Ocean between Phelan and Capitol avenues, near City College. It received a perfect score.
The cleanest residential honors went to Cornwall Street, from Arguello Boulevard to Fourth Avenue on the south side of the Presidio.
Overall, however, when it came to feces, condoms and hypodermic needles, only 58 percent of residential sidewalks and 55 percent of commercial sidewalks passed the city's zero tolerance policy.
Legal outlaw: District Attorney George Gascón 's deputies appear to have stepped over the line when they hosted an after-hours re-election fundraiser for the boss the other evening at Ted's Sports Bar & Grill across from the Hall of Justice.
Seventeen prosecutors - mostly misdemeanor deputies - lent their names to the party invitation that was circulated to the rest of the office.
From what we're told, a number of attendees felt they had no choice but to give or risk damaging their careers. The event reportedly brought in about $10,000 for Gascón's 2015 re-election campaign.
Some of the eager deputies made a direct appeal for contributions from the 50 or so fellow prosecutors and office employees who attended the Nov. 13 gathering, an apparent violation of city and state political conduct rules.
Gascón himself was on hand at the event, and after the money pitch from a homicide deputy, he thanked the crowd for showing up to support him.
In September, City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued a 10-page memo with updated rules governing political activity, and he warned that 'city officers and employees may not solicit political contributions from other city officers and employees, even while off duty.'
No sooner did we point out the the rules to Gascón's office than his political team shot off an e-mail thanking everyone who had cut a check, but telling them that 'in an abundance of caution, we are returning your contribution to assure compliance with the California Good Government Code.'
Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the D.A.'s office, referred our queries to of the political consulting firm SCN Strategies, which is handling Gascón's campaign.
Newman reiterated that the contributions were being returned 'out of caution' but said Gascón's supporters 'were certainly well intentioned.'
Lawyers with the city attorney's office declined to comment.
San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross
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