What it’s like to walk around downtown San Francisco during APEC

The people’s love of Target.

As I walked around the APEC security perimeter downtown on Wednesday afternoon — the first official day of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting featuring President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders — the hardest-working person I saw was the lone police officer manning the exit for the gated barrier outside the Target on Mission Street.

Every few seconds, a fresh face approached the opening in the 10-foot-tall gate with hopes of walking across Mission Street and entering the store. Repeatedly, the officer directed them to the security checkpoint that’s set up in nearby Jessie Square, in front of the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Some would-be “Tarjay” shoppers expressed audible confusion about the detour and demanded to know why access to the retail giant was inhibited; others just stared blankly at the officer as he pointed east toward the security checkpoint. 

One woman approached the officer and asked what the barriers were for, anyway. When he told her “APEC,” she looked even more confused. 

As opposed to typical business summits like Dreamforce, where lanyard gangs of attendees mob the streets around the Moscone Center, APEC is a tight security operation designed by the Secret Service to keep people who are not attending the conference far away. Much of downtown is closed off, as well as the roads near the Fairmont Hotel where Biden is staying and parts of the Embarcadero and some freeway exits. 

The sirens and sleek black cars of motorcades have been a familiar sight in San Francisco all week — evidence of the exclusivity and security of this whole operation. The surrounding nine-block radius around Moscone Center might be the most guarded city area in the country right now. When I walked by Wednesday, there were police officers, sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol members wearing their wide-brimmed hats with the stark blue rim.

Transparent earpieces have replaced Apple AirPods as the common ear decor in SOMA. I saw many Secret Service agents stationed on corners, seated on foldout chairs or doing that pose where they stand and squeeze their hands into the blank space between their bulletproof vest and upper chest. 

I watched as a pack of SFPD officers swarmed together on bicycles from one block to the next. At lunch, I stopped by the Chipotle attached to the Metreon, which was patronized exclusively by SFPD, CHP and a lone Secret Service agent handling his burrito by the window. 

After circling all the barricades downtown, I used my bright yellow media credential to enter the next security zone. I felt like Wayne (or more awkwardly like Garth) from “Wayne’s World” as I flashed my “backstage pass” at the nearest guard. They squinted at the tiny lettering and thumbnail profile picture on the garish credential before ushering me in with an anticlimactic, “You’re good.” 

I stepped beyond the gate and Howard Street was barren, save for the well-dressed attendees walking between the InterContinental Hotel and Moscone. I was surprised I couldn’t find any sharpshooters stationed on rooftops, but a volunteer politely pointed out the sneaky security cameras sticking out from some buildings. I felt like I had infinite eyeballs on me even though I was strolling by myself.

As it turns out, APEC from behind the gates is mostly empty and lonely. There are lively conversations in numerous languages occurring behind closed doors throughout the Moscone Center, but on Howard Street, it felt more like being downtown on Christmas morning. I was basically alone inside the gates, with the exception of the buzzy media center in the basement of the Moscone Center, and I knew everyone else was gathered indoors talking among themselves.

As I walked around Yerba Buena Gardens, I felt like I was trespassing because there wasn’t a single person nearby. Besides the rushing water from the fountain sculpture, it was eerily quiet. 

Feeling the need for human interaction, I departed the APEC security zone near Fourth Street and headed toward Market Street, where a protest was underway. Over 50 people were marching and chanting in support of places like Hong Kong and Tibet. One man wearing a shirt supporting Hong Kong screamed disdain for Xi, the Chinese president, who was about 30 miles away, meeting with Biden at a historic Woodside estate. 

Cutting through their chants was the unexpected melody of a karaoke classic. A man in a New York City letterman jacket sat on a small boombox on the sidewalk while playing Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting.” 

There was a tin tip jar placed a few feet in front of him. While cheers of political disdain echoed in the metallic canyon on Market, the man gripped a microphone and sang: “Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you.”