Fight brews with bogeymen of North Beach

A nasty little turf war is taking place at Washington Square, the small, landmark park in North Beach.

It is playing out like a John Wayne Western. On one hand we have the good people of North Beach, who are enjoying one of the few patches of green in the upscale neighborhood. They walk their dogs, practice tai chi, and sit on park benches in the sun.

And over by the saloon (a.k.a. the corner of the park) are the intoxicated and intimidating bad guys. They drink and brawl and if you catch their eye, they ask loudly, "What're you looking at?"

It is the same scenario that has residents in the Haight pleading for city officials to pass an ordinance barring sitting or lying on public sidewalks. Sit/lie might not solve the problem here - it is a public park - but it could certainly help. No one, including bitter opponents of sit/lie, can argue that this is acceptable behavior.

"They get a big heat on and start intimidating and threatening," said Officer John Denny, of SFPD's Vicious and Dangerous Animal Unit.

That's when John Wayne is supposed to show up and set things right. But John Wayne isn't coming.

The Board of Supervisors rejected the sit/lie ordinance 8-3 Tuesday. Supervisor David Campos said "the case for this legislation simply has not been made."

Tell that to the residents who have stopped coming to the park. Or those who follow the safety in numbers rule.

"We cannot do selective enforcement," said Lt. Nicole Greely of Central Station, "and that's what the residents want. I can say we are out there ... every day."

Kiki the pit bull highlights the need for change. Owned by Michael Lee, one of the regulars, Kiki had a series of fights with dogs in the park. Nick Rogers witnessed one of them.

"This dog just locked his jaws on the other dog's throat. They were pulling on his hind legs and could not get it off. It went on for a minute or two, but it seemed longer when you are hearing the other dog crying."

While waiting for a vicious and dangerous dog hearing, Kiki attacked an Australian cattle dog. That dog's owner was bitten attempting to break up the fight. Dog hearing officials ruled that Kiki was dangerous and that Lee was not to "own, control, or possess" a dog for three years.

Since then Lee found out that Rogers and his girlfriend filed a complaint against Kiki. He approached Rogers' girlfriend in the park and told her he knew her name, her dog's name, and where she lived.

"He tells me he is going to 'pound the smile off my face,' " Rogers said. "I told him he'd lost his mind. He's threatening me in front of my house? This is not going to stand."

Greely says her station has noticed an uptick in aggressive vagrants ever since the crackdown on bad behavior on Haight Street. So there could be more on the way. And they could encounter dog owner Ryan Lugbauer, who stands 6-1, weighs over 300 pounds, and has confronted Lee and his crew.

"It seems like the city as a whole has just given up," said Lugbauer, a 10-year North Beach resident. "Do the citizens quit going to the park or be prepared to fight?"

Lugbauer is no vigilante, but you have to worry that someone will try to take matters into their own hands. But there has to be a way to target people who continually harass others.

Greely suggests a restraining order. The mayor hopes to take sit/lie to the voters. Supervisor Bevan Dufty offered an idea at this week's Board of Supervisor's meeting - target habitual offenders.

Dufty, who voted against sit/lie, wants city agencies to work together to target the chronic and costly offenders. Although we often hear that the police aren't enforcing the laws on the books, a March report from the City Controller's office found that 11,877 quality of life citations were issued in 2008.

Dufty's point is that virtually nothing happens with most citations. They are dismissed, the violators are unpunished, and they end up back in the park with the impression they can take over the place if they're threatening enough.

That has to stop.

C.W. Nevius' column appears Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. E-mail him at cwnevius@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle