{"id":32182,"date":"2024-03-08T12:16:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T20:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32182"},"modified":"2024-03-08T12:16:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T20:16:52","slug":"so-macys-is-leaving-let-it-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/08\/so-macys-is-leaving-let-it-go\/","title":{"rendered":"So Macy\u2019s is leaving. Let it go."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let’s use that space for a public benefit, not a corporate chain store.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By CHARLES LEWIS III<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MARCH 4, 2024 (48hills.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember when Uber wanted to move to Oakland? It\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t; life before this still-ongoing pandemic seems eons ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, in 2015, Uber\u2014that union-smashing, tax-dodging, price-gouging, profit-losing, failed taxi-killer<\/a> conceived by Randian-fetishist Travis Kalanick\u2014bought Oaktown\u2019s iconic 1955 Broadway complex (aka \u201cthe Sears building\u201d) with plans to make it a new headquarters in 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, 2017 came, but the only Uber-related news was that Kalanick was on \u201cindefinite leave\u201d following the company\u2019s numerous sexual assault lawsuits. By December of that year, the company unceremoniously\u00a0sold the building<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo by Not My Ken via Wikicommons<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember talking to a friend after the 2015 purchase. Although I\u2019ve never been an East Bay resident, I was adamantly opposed to that horrible company taking over such a large piece of iconic real estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend, whose politics are similar-but-not-identical to my own, bemoaned \u201cWhat do you think they should put there?\u201d He was happy to see any major business come to the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the emotional heat of the moment, I think I mentioned preferring the building stay empty rather than be Uber HQ. But when I got home that night, I thought of what I wished I\u2019d said: \u201cA homeless shelter.\u201d Had I thought it through, I\u2019d have elaborated that the building could be gutted (if not torn down completely) to become free housing, a hospital, a mental health facility, or some combo of the above. Anything but the base of ops for a company whose unchecked greed contributed to so many homeless people sleeping outside that building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re nine years past that conversation and maybe you\u2019ve heard that former retail giant Macy\u2019s is closing stores around the country. One such location is the flagship store in SF\u2019s Union Square, which has operated in that location for over a century. They\u2019re the latest company to pull up stakes and leave SF<\/a>, citing bullshit \u201ccrime\u201d statistics the way Walgreens and others have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019m glad. Seriously, I\u2019m overjoyed! And I\u2019ll tell you exactly why.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past few years, that Macy\u2019s has featured a pop-up-but-not-really Toys \u2018R\u2019 Us. (You probably didn\u2019t notice it because it\u2019s on the ground floor, meaning it\u2019s often blocked by the SFPD garrison guarding the Louis Vuitton shop.) Like Macy\u2019s, that once-gigantic retailer felt the heat and was forced to close its stores the past decade. It now exists only as a licensed name rather than a proper company. I don\u2019t recall if there was ever a Toys \u2018R\u2019 Us in SF proper, but I\u2019m old enough to remember FAO Schwartz on Union Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember it because I intentionally avoided it during holiday shopping. Yes, I was that \u201cshop local\u201d purist who, admittedly, loved the lights and ice skating that Macy\u2019s sponsored (the company says both the tree and its \u201cwindow puppies and kitties\u201d will return one last time this coming winter), but chose to shop for my nieces, nephews, and cousins by walking down Maiden Lane to Jeffrey\u2019s Toys (which changed addresses a few times, but all were relatively close to one another). The service, selection, and gift-wrapping were all the reason I needed to support them every year\u2014including this past December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t care about Macy\u2019s disappearing the way I\u2019m hurt by Jeffrey\u2019s closing after 86 years<\/a>. I don\u2019t care that there\u2019s no longer a Borders books in SF, because I still miss Marcus Books in the Fillmore and Alexander Books in the Financial District. I would happily love to know that every IHeartRadio affiliate went under if it meant Pirate Cat\/Mutiny Radio could stick around<\/a>. (Fortunately, we still have SomaFM, BayBeats, and CMC, amongst others.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every anti-capitalist bone in my body celebrates the death of the greedy Goliath that is Macy\u2019s. But I keep thinking of the Uber conversation: \u201cWhat do you think they should put there?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Breed and her cronies had their way, they\u2019d probably move ahead with their dumbass \u201cdowntown soccer stadium<\/a>\u201d idea. (Did you forget that, too? It\u2019s OK\u2014Breed\u2019s tenure has been so chockful of bad ideas that it\u2019s hard to catalogue them all. In fact, wasn\u2019t she the one who said the new IKEA would revitalize downtown SF? How\u2019d that work out? Anyone?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, my idea is simple: Give it to the people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the hell does that mean? Well, it can mean damn-near anything. Much like 48 Hills head-honcho Tim Redmond, I\u2019m a proponent of such actions as the State of California taking over PG&E<\/a> to destroy the company\u2019s monopoly and deliver affordable and reliable power to th4e residents and businesses. Perhaps the Macy\u2019s replacement doesn\u2019t have to go that far, since buying overpriced jeans and bags isn\u2019t a necessity. But think of what could possibly go in that building when it\u2019s not exclusively reserved for brands on Saville Row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned, you could gut it or tear it down and put in a facility for the homeless\u2014not unlike the worked-like-gangbusters move to place them in hotels during the early days of this not-over pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could keep the space retail, but make it the exclusive domain of local businesses, who\u2019d now have the most enviable piece of real estate to catch every single SF tourist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hell, just tear the whole thing down and make an outdoor park that extends out of Union Square proper. I love the idea of tearing it down the same way I didn\u2019t mind losing the old Embarcadero extension of the Bay Bridge\u2014and that just took an earthquake to get rid of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Tim\u2019s repeated suggestion about taking over PG&E,<\/a> another thing that inspired me to write this was the also-recent news that Walgreens is closing another SF location, this one on Sacramento Street. That\u2019ll put a lot of necessary medications out of the reach of seniors<\/a>. Now, I\u2019m the guy who picks pharmacies and medical facilities the way he shops for groceries: locally. It\u2019s why my utter lack of insurance has me constantly searching for locations on BayPLS and HealthRight360, or even just popping by Mission Wellness. They offer the sort of personalized support one doesn\u2019t get at Costco or CVS. I think it\u2019s worth having these major corporations taking a hike if it means they\u2019ll be replaced with local alternatives that deliver a more personal, community-focused service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine the Macy\u2019s sign coming down only for the building to be occupied by a co-op. You want to return SF to the labor-focused spot it became after WWII? That\u2019s one way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the same week Macy\u2019s and Walgreens announced their closures, there was also an under-the-radar item about SF\u2019s own Good Vibrations. The sex-positive retailer has long-since been sold from its compassionate founders (one of the reasons I happily moved onto Feelmore in Oakland), which is just one reason why the current corporate overlords made a series of worker-harming decisions during initial COVID lockdowns. Those bad decisions are part of the reason Good Vibes employees recently voted to form a union<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what I want to have happen at the Macy\u2019s spot. When I say \u201cgive it to the people,\u201d I mean make it a place where people know the geographical heart of the city is a metaphorical one as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One final item I\u2019ll mention from the same news week was how Oakland residents are coping with the A\u2019s impending Vegas migration by insisting the legendary Oakland Coliseum be used as prime real estate for local events. Unfortunately, they\u2019re being blocked at every turn<\/a> by A\u2019s-owner John Fisher, who\u2019s eager to hurry up and get to Vegas already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I imagine Breed and her sycophants would use municipal means to block any such use of the Macy\u2019s space. I mean, just look at the way they screwed up the Civic Center farmers\u2019 market<\/a>. Hers is an administration that doesn\u2019t believe in \u201csupport local.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past few days have been full of articles waxing nostalgic about how a corporate retailer with golden parachutes will soon be the latest to abandon \u201cDoom-Loop City.\u201d I say: Good riddance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I say we think of Westfield the same way. I say we treat that location like the fertile ground it is and build up from it something that will genuinely support the city surrounding it. I say this heartless company leaving SF is a blessing, because it opens the door to a million possibilities that are all for the better. I think we should start thinking of all the possible things this city really needs and figure out the best way to fit them into that soon-to-be-abandoned area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll tell you this much: What SF doesn\u2019t need is Macy\u2019s any more than Oakland needed Uber. It never did.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Lewis III<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Lewis III is a San Francisco-born journalist, theatre artist, and arts critic. You can find dodgy evidence of this at thethinkingmansidiot.wordpress.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s use that space for a public benefit, not a corporate chain store. By CHARLES LEWIS III MARCH 4, 2024 (48hills.org) Remember when Uber wanted to move to Oakland? It\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t; life before this still-ongoing pandemic seems eons ago. Anyway, in 2015, Uber\u2014that union-smashing, tax-dodging, price-gouging, profit-losing, failed… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32182"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32184,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32182\/revisions\/32184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}