UN Plaza — Local services in San Francisco

It's awesome the SF Park and Rec sponsored these free dance classes! I think they just need to adjust the times, since others like me want to join on the weekdays in addition to the people who work in the Civic Center. I heard it's sponsored for 2024 to spruce up UN Plaza, so come enjoy for this year!!

SF government needs to install a bathroom. I understand there is a drug and homeless issue, but it sucks to not be able to change clothes to attend the new free workout classes at the new workout area. It's awesome there are so many free classes, but it should start at 5:30pm instead on weekdays. 4pm and 5pm is too early for me since I work until 5pm. By the time I get here from FiDi after work, it's around 5:15pm and I feel bad being late. I only checked out the Saturday free Kpop class at 10am today. I was able to leave my stuff in front with the instructor. They have a security guard to fend off inappropriate people, and another guy checking in students besides the instructor. No one was there on Saturday morning besides 20 of us for the Kpop class. On a weekday when I walked by, more than a dozen people were skate boarding at the new skating area. There is no clean bathroom except going to the main library bathroom. I don't see any clean water fountain nearby either, but I brought my own...

UN Plaza is better than both the Fulton and Civic Center plazas in my opinion, but it still lacks some things.

First, I’ll discuss what I liked. There is a good amount of amenities and things to do here. There is a small fitness court, cornhole, foosball, ping pong, chess tables, and a small integrated skate park. They also have art; some strange light displays, quotes and symbols on the ground, and a statue. The plaza is tiled and has some trees, and a direct connection to Civic Center Station. You have good views of the nearby architecture, including the City Hall. Additionally, I saw some kind of… protest? Demonstration? Gathering? Occurring here, which was probably the most interesting thing I saw.

Now, for what I disliked… For a large open plaza, there are next to NO benches or comfortable places to sit. So, if you’re looking for a public space where you can just rest and relax, UN Plaza is a bad choice. I also think there could have been grass, it would have looked a lot nicer than the sand the trees are currently sitting in. In general, there could be more plant life here, which would really improve the atmosphere.

Overall, it was a fun place to pass through,...

UN Plaza is the gateway to culture, history, and government. It's located adjacent to the main public library, the Asian Art Museum, and City Hall. It's unfortunate that it's a scary place to walk through. The amount of drug deals and use has risen tremendously in the past four years I've worked in the area. And many of the colleagues have been attacked there.

But I know the city is trying its best to remedy the situation. Off the Grid has food trucks there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In the past summer, there were also food trucks and carts on Friday nights. And of course, there's the Heart of the City Farmer's Market, which I think is one of the cheapest farmers markets in the city and has some awesome food carts rain or shine. And on a personal note, my mom used to go there when she worked in the city back in the early 90s. And now I go and see why she went back then.

UN Plaza has so much potential to be a place where people can gather peacefully and safely. It's sad that it has not been...