City of San Francisco wants homeless off streets by Super Bowl time

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Football's most prestigious event is being held in Santa Clara in just a few months, but party central for Super Bowl 50 will be San Francisco. Apparently, some of the preparations include trying to get the hundreds of homeless off the streets.

A homeless encampment is what greets visitors and residents across from San Francisco's Ferry Building and that is where the entertainment will be centered as part of the Super Bowl's fan village.

It's expected to cover Market Street from Beale to Justin Herman Plaza, opening the week before the big game.

"I want people not to be on the streets, whether it's Super Bowl, whether it's not Super Bowl time," Mayor Ed Lee said.

However, with a million people expected to party, there is also a focused effort to get the homeless off the streets leading up to the Super Bowl.

"Making sure that the areas we promised people to come into are safe, are clean, and making sure everybody has an alternative the best that we can," Lee said.

The mayor's plan is for the entrenched homeless to go into the city's new navigation center or into 500 units of supportive housing being rehabbed.

San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr says the homeless are also being approached because of the predicted El Nino winter. He said, "We're going to have a very cold, wet winter and so the streets of San Francisco are nowhere for anybody to be lying down."

El Nino or the Super Bowl, homeless advocates believe the pressure is on.

One homeless man we spoke to said, "The police have been harassing every single day."

"Instead of just clearing people off the streets, when the Super Bowl comes, I'd like to see a real commitment to make sure folks' basic needs are met, that we re-commit to housing and make mental health treatment available," Jennifer Friedenbach from the San Francisco Coalition On Homelessness said.

The mayor is not saying how he plans to deal with those who refuse to pack up and go.