SAN FRANCISCO – There are no tourists anymore on San Francisco’s famously twisty and steep Lombard Street. The city’s landmark hotels and posh shops are closed up tight.
But one staple of San Francisco has become even more pronounced as the coronavirus pandemic chased everyone inside. Homeless people, who are particularly vulnerable to the virus, are still sleeping on sidewalks and flap-to-flap in tents cluttered around downtown and other popular neighborhoods.
Their plight underscores the political infighting that has divided San Francisco leaders for years in tackling homelessness and housing, often with the same result — gridlock.