Chronicle: Downtown San Francisco near collapse, ‘worse than it looks’

[SugarDaddy1]

The recall Tuesday of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has prompted a flurry of articles by sympathetic, liberal outlets admitting the city is in a terrible state — including the latest from the flagship paper, the San Francisco Chronicle.

On Friday, the Chronicle published an interactive article titled “Downtown S.F. on the brink: It’s worse than it looks.” The article invites readers on a virtual walk through the center of the city highlighting abandoned offices and empty storefronts.

The Chronicle reported: “The downtown area, the city’s primary economic driver, is teetering on the edge, facing challenges greater than previously known, new data shows. The wounds suffered by the economic core are deep, and city officials have yet to come up with a plan to make the fundamental changes that some economists and business leaders argue could make the area thrive again.” Office vacancy is up nearly 300%; convention attendance in the city is down nearly 90%.

“[T]he reality,” Bowles wrote, “is that with the smartest minds and so much money and the very best of intentions, San Francisco became a cruel city. It became so dogmatically progressive that maintaining the purity of the politics required accepting—or at least ignoring—devastating results.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2...-francisco-near-collapse-worse-than-it-looks/

 

[PaxNurgle]

Why don't you just quote the actual source, from the Friday's edition of the Chronicle itself?

It would make more sense, and carry far more weight, than quoting some far-right propaganda article.

It is true, San Francisco is a terribly mis-managed and poorly run city. For a number of reasons.

 

[Sh1ne0n67]

So, you acknowledge the story is true, but you hate the source used,
even though it contains links to the original source
to prove the veracity of their piece...


__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

 

[Sh1ne0n67]

SF is not the only solidly blue enclave that is suffering
from stresses self-inflicted in the name of altruism.

The Holy Secular Crusade of Equality and Diversity.
It sounds noble, but it's basically a Robin Hood scheme.
So, the rich flee and henceforth avoid the forest and
the merry men run out of oppressors to loot...
__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

 

[LukSkyFokker]

As long as the Trumplitards have Chicago and 'Frisco, they can ignore the massive drug, gun, and murder felonies happening in fly-over states and hills of billies.

 

[UltraMAGAKing]

So, you acknowledge the story is true, but you hate the source used,
even though it contains links to the original source
to prove the veracity of their piece...


__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

It goes against his Democrats = altruistic perfection on Earth!!! delusions.

As long as the Trumplitards have Chicago and 'Frisco, they can ignore the massive drug, gun, and murder felonies happening in fly-over states and hills of billies.

Nobody is ignoring it.

The difference here is that we aren't the ones trying to tell you guys how to run your shit while our cities collapse and the middle/upper class and businesses flee our shit hole states.

You guys are ..... you're like the parents with HORRIBLY behaved children trying to tell other parents how "free range" is the way to raise their kids if they're not a racist and transphobic-fascist who hate women.

Maybe you guys should worry more about your dumpster fire shit holes a bit more before you run around telling others what words they can and can't use.... what they can and can't do with their city/state.

 

[UltraMAGAKing]

It is true, San Francisco is a terribly mis-managed and poorly run city. For a number of reasons.

I was just visiting fam as I'm from Half Moon Bay/Pacifica....and it's true.

SF is a shit hole.

And it's a number of reasons.... mismanaged by who??

Right.... anything to keep from holding the most progressive progressives that ever progressed accountable for all that "progress" right??

 

[rockcasbah]

It all started when they stopped being sure to wear some flowers in their hair.

 

[SugarDaddy1]

Prologis CEO Hamid Moghadam was mugged outside his $15 million home in San Francisco last month.

Owned by the Vanguard Group and BlackRock, Prologis is the largest industrial real estate firm in the world.

Moghadam spoke to the San Francisco Business Times about the incident and explained that he had been attacked at gunpoint by two men in Pacific Heights. He stated that the altercation lasted approximately 30 seconds.

The CEO expressed concern that if elected officials do not act soon, businesses will flee the city. "Ten years ago, we acquired a larger company that was headquartered in Denver, but I insisted we keep our headquarters in San Francisco. Today, I am not sure I would make the same decision."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/san-f...about-the-absolutely-unacceptable-crime-level

 

[Rightguide]

So, you acknowledge the story is true, but you hate the source used,
even though it contains links to the original source
to prove the veracity of their piece...


__________________________________________
Democrat born. Democrat bred. Libertarian led (by Democrats).

The source is the left-wing SF Chronicle.

 

[LukSkyFokker]

The source is the left-wing SF Chronicle.

I can't decide what's funnier:

You responding to a 2-month-old post from a banned idiot or the fact that the source was already established. Senility must be a bitch.

 

[SgtSpiderMan]

The source is the left-wing SF Chronicle.

Sorry, Vette, the SF Chronicle is owned by Hearst. Their politics are right leaning.

 

[Chernosoth]

It still looks like a very crowded little shithole. Maybe it could be a nice place again (by California standards) after demolishing excess structures.

 

[SugarDaddy1]

Small business owners in San Francisco’s Castro District are demanding city officials take action to address the growing issues of crime, drug use, and homelessness in the area.

The Castro Merchants Association sent a letter to San Francisco city officials saying members of the group plan to stop paying taxes if the city doesn't do more to address the issues.

In the letter, the association said people who are living on the streets “regularly experience psychotic episodes” and have vandalized storefronts and harassed business owners, employees, residents and tourists, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.

Dave Karraker, co-president of the association, said if the association’s demands are not met, the association may ask store owners to stop paying taxes and other city fees.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/san-f...-not-pay-taxes-unless-officials-clean-up-city

 

[ll74]

Good for them

 

[JohnEngelman]

San Francisco suffers from good intentions run amok. The rich liberals who ran San Francisco suffered from what George Orwell called "money sheltered ignorance."

Their money does not shelter them any more. I hope they are not as ignorant as before. They are learning that restrictions on criminals make sense.

San Francisco will recover. It is a beautiful city in a beautiful location with a wonderful climate.

 

[JohnEngelman]

 

[JohnEngelman]

 

[SugarDaddy1]

Thieves stole catalytic converters from several San Francisco Police Department vehicles this week outside the department’s Special Operations Bureau, the latest shocking crime that has highlighted the ongoing public safety crisis in the city.

In August, two roommates told the San Francisco Chronicle that they had caught a catalytic converter thief red-handed in the middle of the night — and that San Francisco Police Department let him go, even giving him directions to a nearby bus stop.

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/202...-from-san-francisco-police-dept-vehicles/amp/

 

[SugarDaddy1]

The San Francisco Chronicle conducted a comprehensive survey between June and July of over 1,650 people to "measure attitudes on what's working, what isn't, performance of city government, the future of the city and more." Respondents overwhelming indicated that a great deal isn't working, the city is performing poorly, the future looks bleak, and it may not be worth hanging around much longer.

65% of respondents said the city, run by Democrat Mayor London Breed, was worse than when they first moved there. Only 10% said it was better.

Between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, over 128,870 fled San Francisco. This exodus represented a numeric decline of 6.7%, the sixth-highest decline in the country during that period. The Chronicle's poll indicated that trend may continue.

37% of current residents plan to be living somewhere beside San Francisco in three-years time. The diaspora will be overrepresented by those in the 18-34 age group, 54% of which suggested they wanted out.

https://www.theblaze.com/amp/poll-o...-leave-crime-ridden-sanctuary-city-2658231341

 

[ll74]

Oh stop..... we're all busy focusing on immigration right now.

 

[PaxNurgle]

San Francisco's problems stem from two things: skyrocketing rents and housing costs, and unchecked crime with no consequences.

The former is unlikely to be solved simply by voting out the "Progressives/Libs/etc." It's a long-standing and worsening problem that has several causes, much of which is related to supply, demand, and free-market economics- a champion cause of conservatives. And in part, by the fact that the city is hemmed in on three sides by water and on the fourth side by terrain too steep to build on (even by San Francisco standards, where they'll sometimes build things practically hanging off the sides of mountains, and roads that practically scale the faces of cliffs.) So- no room to grow,constrains the housing supply. Add to the fact that you had a huge influx of "Big Money" from Googlzon/Facebook/silicon valley types, and a few Pacific Rim buisness tychoons, and an unwillingness to impose rent controls (Because that would be against free-market economics, and even liberals wouldn't go that far) and as a result housing costs skyrocketed.

The second problem- the crime issue- stems from police resources that are stretched too thin and a force that is either unwilling or unable (or both) to prosecute people for property crimes, like the catalytic converter theft described above. This is something that CAN be resolved with a political solution, but it will also likely necessitate an increase in tax revenue. As it is, Californians are already the most highly taxed citizens in the United States- We're talking almost Canadian standards there. I believe sales tax is up to 9% there, and many municipalities impose extra regional taxes on top of that, so some people are already paying up to 10% in sales tax there. Will residents be willing to pay even more taxes for a more effective police force?

 

[phrodeau]

The palladium market is not regulated, and the pandemic and Russia’s war have driven up its price. If you want to reduce catalytic converter thefts, make it illegal to possess or trade in unsourced palladium.

 

[JohnEngelman]

Why don't you just quote the actual source, from the Friday's edition of the Chronicle itself?

It would make more sense, and carry far more weight, than quoting some far-right propaganda article.

Downtown S.F. on the brink: It’s worse than it looks​

THE ENGINE OF THE CITY’S ECONOMY IS STRUGGLING​

The San Francisco Chronicle
By NOAH ARROYO
Visuals by JESSICA CHRISTIAN
June 10, 2022

The downtown area, the city’s primary economic driver, is teetering on the edge, facing challenges greater than previously known, new data shows. The wounds suffered by the economic core are deep, and city officials have yet to come up with a plan to make the fundamental changes that some economists and business leaders argue could make the area thrive again...

When all office work shut down, BART ridership dropped catastrophically, and it is not projected to recover fully until the 2029-30 fiscal year at the earliest. The transit system’s looming deficit has given rise to whispers of a new regional tax to fill the gap. Without commuters spending money near their San Francisco offices each day, other downtown businesses closed, destroying the incomes of many who could ill afford it...

“I hear it all the time, that people don’t feel safe walking around,” said Andy Chun, owner of Schroeder’s restaurant and multiple other businesses in the downtown area, and a board member of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which advocates for restaurants’ interests. Chun said he frequently sees “drug abuse, people using the street as a toilet,”,,,

Stanford professor Bloom believes the city should consider using vacant commercial space for new housing that would help address San Francisco’s interminable affordability crisis. It would also create a local clientele to offset the impact of remote work.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2022/sfnext-downtown/

 

[PaxNurgle]

The sanitation issue with the homeless has long been a problem, even before the more recent issues. The past copule times I visited the city, and it has been a few years now, there were NO public toilets anywhere. Parks would lock them up, and portapotties (near construction sites) would be chained up when not in use. Buisnesses would refuse to allow the public to use their restrooms unless they purchased something, and even then, sometimes they would not. So it wasn't even just be the homeless, but even casual tourists that had no restroom facilities available.

The stated reason for this was to discourage the use of restrooms as drug use galleries and public sex meeting spots. But the collateral damage was an equally nefarious sanitation problem when people simply had no place to "Do their buisness."