Workers in the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco are advised to ... trends now
Workers in the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco have been ordered to work from home indefinitely due to conditions in the surrounding Downtown area.
The federal government issued the stay-home order in a memo to staffers in the 18-story building on August 4.
Uncovered Monday by The San Francisco Chronicle, it reportedly advised federal workers to stay home 'for the foreseeable future', due to the dangers that come with commuting to the neighborhood.
The building - which cost taxpayers $144million to create - houses the former House speaker's office, as well as various agencies operating under President Joe Biden.
Opened in 2007 and renamed after Pelosi this year, it sits adjacent to the city's Tenderloin District - which, set in the center of the city's Downtown, has become a haven for open-air drug use and often violent criminals.
The stay-home order was sent to staffers in the 18-story Nancy Pelosi Federal Building - which cost taxpayers $144million to construct - on August 4, and was uncovered Monday by a local newspaper
The building - in addition to housing various federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services - is the site of Pelosi's office, though five federal workers employed under her are reportedly still commuting despite instructions from the federal government
The area outside the building is now considered the biggest of all the open-air drug markets across the city, after suddenly sprouting up earlier this year. Today, somewhere between 50 to 100 dealers operate on the street daily, usually doing so undeterred and in broad daylight
Cheryl Campbell, the first woman of color to be sworn in as the Department of Health and Human Services' assistant secretary for administration, sent the memo on August 4.
'In light of the conditions at the [Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building] we recommend employees … maximize the use of telework for the foreseeable future,' the administrator said.
Referring to the federal government zone that covers California and other Western states, Campbell added: 'This recommendation should be extended to all Region IX employees, including those not currently utilizing telework flexibilities.'
Included in that class are the five federal staffers employed under Pelosi - whose husband was assaulted at the couple’s house late last year by a man who attacked him with a hammer.
According to the paper, Pelosi’s five-person staff was not subject to the order - spurring officials from her office to later tell the paper their boss already raised concerns about the tenant safety last week.
That alleged conversation came during a meeting with the US attorney for the northern district of California, a spokesperson said - after The Chronicle confirmed the correspondence was sent to hundreds of other workers in the building.
Moreover, the memo - which comes as many Silicon Valley firms are desperately working for a full-fledged return to in-office work - was reportedly sent on the same day that Biden’s White House chief of staff called for more federal employees to return to their offices.
That order, first reported by Axios, come as federal workers across the country for years have continued to work remotely - despite the fact that virtually all Covid-containing measures have since been nixed.
The site where the building sits has proved particularly troublesome in terms of security - as it has become a point of congregation for countless dealers who routinely plant themselves outside or across the street from the property
Operating in shifts as users smoke, snort, or even shoot up their purchases, pushers - as well as their customers - regularly flock to the concrete benches set right outside the building, getting high and passing out for all to see
The reportedly advised federal workers to stay home 'for the foreseeable future', due to the dangers that come with commuting to the now overrun neighborhood
The filth and squalor at the junction of Jones and Eddy Streets in San Francisco's Tenderloin District, a couple blocks from federal building, is seen here
The area outside the building is now considered the biggest of all the open-air markets across the city, after suddenly sprouting up earlier this year despite local and federal efforts
A Pelosi spokesperson told The Chronicle in a statement: 'The safety of workers in our federal buildings has always been a priority for Speaker Emerita Pelosi, whether in the building or on their commutes.'
The rep added that 'federal, state, and local law enforcement - in coordination with public health officials and stakeholders - are working hard to address the acute crises of fentanyl trafficking and related violence in certain areas of the city.'
Meanwhile, the site where the building sits has proved particularly troublesome in terms of security - as it has become a point of congregation for countless dealers who routinely plant themselves outside or across the street from the property.
Operating in shifts as users smoke, snort, or even shoot up their purchases, pushers - as well as their customers - regularly flock to the concrete benches set right outside the building, getting high and passing out for all to see.
Incidents of violence are also not uncommon - as well as organized outfits of drug dealers drawn by the city's relaxed drug policies, some of whom are reportedly making upwards of $350,000 a year.
