San Francisco businesses demand full tax refund from city for coping with area 'controlled by drug dealers'

A coalition of more than 100 businesses and property owners in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district are demanding tax refunds for 2022 for dealing with rampant crime and drug use.

"There is a real and palpable fear that the neighborhood is now on the verge of collapse," The Tenderloin Business Coalition wrote in a petition to Mayor London Breed, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "The neighborhood is not safe because the streets are controlled by drug dealers. Drug dealers operate in very clear and obvious ways to any rational observer.... They prey on residents, openly steal from Tenderloin businesses, they intimidate and extort passersby and all of this behavior goes unchecked by law enforcement."

About 135 business and property owners in the Tenderloin district signed the petition demanding "a full and complete refund of all sales tax and property taxes paid to the City of San Francisco in the fiscal year 2022" for the city reportedly abandoning "its commitment to provide a baseline of safety."

"The city has abandoned its commitment to provide a baseline of safety in the neighborhood, thus significant effort and investments made by the business owners and property owners to keep their blocks safe and clean have come to nothing. It is clear the state of the neighborhood is declining. We represent that this is a violation of the City’s implicit bargain with the taxpayer: pay your taxes and the city will ensure safe streets," the petition reads. 

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In addition to demanding refunds for their taxes, the business and property owners are calling for the "immediate removal of all drug dealers" from the area, "ongoing and rigorous law enforcement" to end drug deals and a meeting with the mayor. 

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One business in the area, La Cocina, told the San Francisco Chronicle it spends $300,000 a year on private security to remove drug dealers and people high on drugs, as well as the trash they leave behind from the area. However, the loiterers, trash and used needles all return at night after the area is cleaned up. 

"Our customers are unwilling to enter the neighborhood to patronize our businesses," the petition adds. "The result is a catastrophic loss of revenue for the small businesses that are vital to the health and safety of the neighborhood. Due to this untenable situation, businesses are closing and there is a real and palpable fear that the neighborhood is now on the verge of collapse."

Breed was forced to declare a state of emergency last year over the rampant drug use in the Tenderloin district, which is located in the city’s downtown area. 

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"Mayor Breed has been clear on our need to end open air drug dealing in the Tenderloin," the mayor’s office told NBC Bay Area when approached for comment on the petition. "The mayor knows this is challenging work, and she is partnering with the district attorney, who is focused on bringing prosecutions and supporting the police department to make the arrests."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office and The Tenderloin Business Coalition Wednesday morning but did not receive replies by time of publication.