In Hayes Valley, the city installed a nice public table on Ivy Street — a pleasant little amenity, the kind of thing that looks great in a press release. Predictably, because this is San Francisco and we can't have nice things, the table was quickly covered in graffiti.

So who does the city hold responsible? The vandals? Of course not. The Department of Public Works, which owns and installed the table? Don't be ridiculous. No, the city is now forcing Naya — the small café closest to the table — to either fix the damage or pay a fine.

Let that sink in. A private business is being punished for failing to maintain city infrastructure that was vandalized by someone else.

This is the San Francisco special: the city creates a problem through neglect, then offloads the cost onto the nearest small business owner who's actually trying to make a living. Naya didn't ask for the table. Naya didn't tag the table. Naya is just trying to sell coffee in one of the most expensive cities on Earth, where permits alone could bankrupt you.

The logic here — if you can call it that — seems to be proximity equals liability. By that standard, every homeowner near a pothole should be handed a bill for repaving. Every shop next to a broken streetlight should get a fine until they climb up and fix it themselves.

Meanwhile, the city's actual budget for street cleaning and public maintenance runs into the hundreds of millions annually. Where is that money going if not to maintaining the city's own property?

Small businesses in San Francisco already navigate a labyrinth of regulations, taxes, and fees that would make Kafka blush. Adding "mandatory graffiti removal on public furniture you don't own" to the list isn't just absurd — it's hostile. It sends a clear message: we'll take your tax dollars, we'll install things in your neighborhood, and when they fall apart, that's your problem too.

If the city wants public amenities, the city should maintain them. Full stop.