SF Mayor Breed pulls out of Chinatown sober house location over lack of support

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco Mayor London Breed is terminating plans to create a sober living facility in Chinatown after community backlash in the neighborhood. The sobriety home would be the first of its kind in the city, Breed said, and a different location is now being sought, according to a statement from the mayor Tuesday.

The initial proposed location of the Sober Living project was at Hotel North Beach on 935 Kearny Street. Small business owners in Chinatown who spoke to KRON4 last week said that while people need to be helped by the city, placing a sobriety home in the center of tourism and nightlife was not the appropriate setting.

“For this critical new program to be successful, it’s important for it to have support from the surrounding community,” Breed told KRON4. “It became clear from my conversations with many in the area that this support was not there.”

SF organized retail theft suspect arrested on flight to Hawaii

The mayor said the sober living program would be an opportunity for those in recovery to live in a place free from alcohol and drugs.

Merchants in Chinatown said last week they were blindsided by Breed’s announced plans to create a sober living facility in the neighborhood and were only notified through a tip from a staffer of Supervisor Aaron Peskin.

In response to the mayor pulling out of plans for the North Beach hotel, Peskin said, “I’ve supported numerous permanent supportive housing (PSH) and shelter projects in District 3, but always with robust community input about neighborhood impacts, metrics for success, performance evaluation and accountability for the City’s use of tax-payer dollars. None of that has happened here, and the Mayor’s complete disregard of the larger Chinatown and Jackson Square community is breathtaking, particularly as she is simultaneously trying to push more and more policies to cut out community engagement and collaboration.”

Previously: Uproar in SF Chinatown over sober living facility

The search for a new location to house the Sober Living project is currently underway. “We need to establish different paths for people who need support, and sober housing absolutely will be a part of our strategy here in San Francisco,” Breed said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.