A Saturday editorial by the Chronicle’s C.W. (Chuck) Nevius suggested that the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) Recycling Center would face final closure this coming Friday, March 4, because the Recreation & Park Department had issued a notice stating that the lease would be terminated on that date.
“There are rumors that recycling director Ed Dunn might channel his spirit of the Haight in the ’60s and chain himself to the fence in protest,” Nevius wrote in a derisive column which ended with the phrase: “But this is over.” These fighting words inspired HANC to issue a press release of its own, announcing it was in need of thousands of feet of chain for a possible March 4 showdown. But that, apparently, was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. It’s now sounding as if there won’t be much happening at the recycling center that day at all, except maybe some recycling, native plant sales, and compost turning.
There will be more to report on this subject soon, including new legal questions surrounding the eviction. But for now, the Guardian has received word from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department that the Sheriff has no plans to carry out a HANC eviction on March 4.
“We will not be involved in any way until we get a valid court order,” explained Sheriff spokesperson Eileen Hirst. “We’ve heard nothing ordering us to carry out an eviction,” she said.
Generally, Hirst added, the Sheriff’s department only carries out evictions on Wednesdays, covering half the city’s territory at a time. The department typically posts a notice before going through with an eviction.