by Randy Shaw on April 10, 2023 (BeyondChron.org)
TogetherSF Action’s 4/5 meeting on closing drug markets
Public Must Demand a New Path
“Thriving cities are always changing. They grow and evolve to meet today’s needs, values, and aspirations.” SPUR’s 2023 Annual Report
I wish I shared SPUR’s confidence that San Francisco is evolving in the right direction.
I see the city as stuck in neutral. And key parts of the city and its economy going in reverse.
I think my perception is widely shared. And it will be likely even more shared after the April 10 announcement that drug dealers and users have forced the closure of the new Whole Foods at 8th and Market (See my story, “Whole Foods Closure is Epic Fail for SF“)
I don’t buy the “doom” scenario for San Francisco. Most of what ails San Francisco, the huge exception being the city’s cartel-controlled open air drug markets, is not unique to the city. Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, New York City, Chicago, and other major American cities are also beset by increased homelessness, drug addiction, and high office and retail vacancies.
Dramatic actions to meet rising challenges has been lacking throughout urban America.
Cities Can’t Play Small Ball
What can set San Francisco on a positive course? City Hall must stop playing small ball.
Here’s five big actions that San Francisco could and should take in 2023. I know others can think of more. The city should:
* get the DEA, National Guard and/or the California Highway Patrol to help the SFPD close open drug markets;
*restrict new permanent supportive housing projects to the segment of unhoused in recovery;
*vastly expand true protected bike lanes and subsidize e-bikes for youth to reduce car violence and traffic;
*strongly push state and federal agencies to require its San Francisco-based employees to fully return to in-office work;
*legalize building new apartments in all neighborhoods;
None of the above has happened.
What’s instead being sold as San Francisco’s “dramatic action” to revive downtown and the city’s economy? Passing laws facilitating the conversion of downtown office buildings to housing.
I haven’t heard any builders excited about this. The city’s housing developers and builders typically own the land where they build. Few if any can afford to purchase a downtown highrise and then cover the conversion cost.
There are other obstacles. Those that create San Francisco’s housing do not undertake projects where the profits from sale or rent go to others. Office highrise owners are not in the housing conversion business. And most importantly: Where is the market demand for paying top dollar for converted office units when many existing residential options downtown and in SOMA exist?
There are undoubtedly some office buildings where conversion to housing works. These projects will be touted as “models” for San Francisco’s evolving future. They will actually be outliers supporting a fantasy vision for downtown’s revival.
The 2024 Elections
Many see San Francisco’s progress as dependent on changing city political leadership in the 2024 elections. I recognize that now is the time to recruit candidates and prepare for campaigns.
But waiting for new elected officials to take office in January 2025 doesn’t work for small businesses desperately needing nearby drug markets closed now.
It doesn’t work for the potential victims of street violence. They need to feel safer now.
It doesn’t work for those fearful when walking to and from their homes because of out of control behavior on neighborhood sidewalks. They need action now.
Nobody who cares about San Francisco should accept postponing necessary actions until January 2025.
People upset about the city’s direction must speak louder. Neighborhood groups must speak out and mobilize. Those not affiliated with a group should consider connecting with TogetherSF Action, which is prioritizing closing drug markets in 2023.
Activism is needed to jump start San Francisco’s stalled evolution. Changing the city’s direction must begin now.
Randy Shaw
Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s latest book is Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. He is the author of four prior books on activism, including The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. He is also the author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco
