Neighbors in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood have filed a legal complaint against the city, alleging a “hyper-concentration of poverty” in the area. The complaint, submitted by the SOMA West Neighborhood Association on Friday to the California Attorney General’s Office and to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, alleges that the concentration of homeless resources and affordable housing in the neighborhood violates state housing law and civil rights mandates.
A group of SOMA residents in support of this complaint spoke with NBC Bay Area on Saturday, describing a range of factors in the neighborhood that they believe are collectively taking a toll on the neighborhood — from the many shelters and supportive housing developments there to what they describe as relatively slower response times from first responders. The neighbors described recurring incidents such as property damage, break-ins, and open-air drug use.
Neighbor Fernando Senegal, who is a renter in SOMA, said those issues led him to get involved with the neighborhood association…