4 ms·

Whether people like it or not these "policies" Chesa and his predecessor George Gascon(also under threat of recall in LA) have really turned what used to be a w

Whether people like it or not these "policies" Chesa and his predecessor George Gascon(also under threat of recall in LA) have really turned what used to be a world class city into a complete dumpster fire. I worked in SF for the better part of a decade on and off and every year it seemed like things got worse, human shit on sidewalks everywhere you looked, needle casings littering the ground, aggressive homeless and crime that was out of control(only time in california I ever got a car window smashed in and stuff stolen). I didn't see SF for 2 years during the pandemic but the week I did visit in 2022 it was down right apocalyptic, no normal people on the street at all, just homeless/drug addicts everywhere, graffiti and trash at levels I have never seen, no wonder the city saw its population drop by the largest percent of any major american city. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-population-decline-us-census-data-17203868.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-populat...

MathYouF 4y ago
Just a perspective for other readers: I recently moved to the Bay Area. I've lived quite a few places around the world and US. Some I consider the nicest in the world (Tokyo) and some I don't consider nice at all. I'd formed my view of SF based on comments I'd heard like these on HN, and was prepared for the worst when beginning to visit for the weekend. Having now had several excursions into the city including places considered not that nice like the Tenderloin or Mission, I can't see how it's any worse than any other US city, and in fact consider it nicer than most other large cities in the US I've been to, like NYC and Chicago. Maybe it's because I only visit on weekends and don't live there, but from the perspective of a frequent visitor it seems really nice to me, and I didn't go in expecting that nor am I a person particularly biased towards having rose colored views of things. I wonder if maybe people in SF expect it to not have the same problems as other large metros like NYC. I'd be curious to hear from someone who has lived in both and thinks SF is "apocalyptic" what experiences made them think that. I think in the Bay Area there's a large number of people who don't realize (or have chosen to forget) how inconvenient life can still be on average around the world and even the country, compared to the idyllic circumstances they've created here (especially in the valley). It's what makes it so easy for them to come across as judgemental or tone deaf when discussing problems at the national level.
- dumbmrblah 4y ago
  I've lived in NYC, SF, Boston, even Baltimore. SF was the only place I have ever felt unsafe. I live on the 'wrong side of MLK' in Baltimore for a bit, never had a problem even with open air drug dealers on my block. SF day one got my car broken into, homeless people masturbating if front of cops without consequence (in front of Moscone Center), shit everywhere, rampant open drug use. Its a beautiful but broken city.
themitigating 4y ago
You showed that people are leaving but what about crime stats? https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/San-Francisco-crime-Chesa-Boudin-London-Breed-16751930.php https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/San-Francisco-crime-Che... This article goes into various claims about crime rates and most are either false or only partially true. In my opinion conservative media and people on the right exaggerate the amount of crime in cities in general so they can point to the leadership who are almost Democrats
- newfriend 4y ago
  There's a lot of crime that goes unreported. It's well known here that property crime goes unpunished / nothing can be done, so many people don't bother reporting it at all. In my opinion people like you think that conservative media is exaggerating the amount of crime in cities, but it's actually happening. There is a ton of crime here. Scenes that look like they're from a zombie movie, people shooting up drugs and leaving needles everywhere, open-air markets peddling wares shoplifted from cvs/walgreens/etc. This is not made up.
  - themitigating 4y ago
    How do you know it's happening if it goes unreported?
    - newfriend 4y ago
      Because I live here and talk to people. I've been the victim of property crime that I have not reported because I know nothing will come of it. Bike theft and breaking into garages is extremely common, and it's well known that reporting it is a waste of time. I've also witnessed more serious crime like smash & grabs and brazen shoplifting, though they are more rare. What isn't rare is seeing people living in tents chopping up bikes and injecting themselves with needles in plain sight. Your article also mentions the same thing: > Many property crimes in the city go unreported, making it difficult to gauge the level of decline. > San Francisco's increase in burglaries, however, did outpace the rest of the country. People in SF complaining about crime aren't talking about homicides (thank goodness). But as mentioned in your article, burglary is way up. Most likely property crime is also way up. This is what people are complaining about. So saying "crime is actually down" doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

MathYouF 4y ago

Just a perspective for other readers: I recently moved to the Bay Area. I've lived quite a few places around the world and US. Some I consider the nicest in the world (Tokyo) and some I don't consider nice at all. I'd formed my view of SF based on comments I'd heard like these on HN, and was prepared for the worst when beginning to visit for the weekend. Having now had several excursions into the city including places considered not that nice like the Tenderloin or Mission, I can't see how it's any worse than any other US city, and in fact consider it nicer than most other large cities in the US I've been to, like NYC and Chicago. Maybe it's because I only visit on weekends and don't live there, but from the perspective of a frequent visitor it seems really nice to me, and I didn't go in expecting that nor am I a person particularly biased towards having rose colored views of things. I wonder if maybe people in SF expect it to not have the same problems as other large metros like NYC. I'd be curious to hear from someone who has lived in both and thinks SF is "apocalyptic" what experiences made them think that. I think in the Bay Area there's a large number of people who don't realize (or have chosen to forget) how inconvenient life can still be on average around the world and even the country, compared to the idyllic circumstances they've created here (especially in the valley). It's what makes it so easy for them to come across as judgemental or tone deaf when discussing problems at the national level.

dumbmrblah 4y ago
I've lived in NYC, SF, Boston, even Baltimore. SF was the only place I have ever felt unsafe. I live on the 'wrong side of MLK' in Baltimore for a bit, never had a problem even with open air drug dealers on my block. SF day one got my car broken into, homeless people masturbating if front of cops without consequence (in front of Moscone Center), shit everywhere, rampant open drug use. Its a beautiful but broken city.

themitigating 4y ago

You showed that people are leaving but what about crime stats? https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/San-Francisco-crime-Chesa-Boudin-London-Breed-16751930.php https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/San-Francisco-crime-Che... This article goes into various claims about crime rates and most are either false or only partially true. In my opinion conservative media and people on the right exaggerate the amount of crime in cities in general so they can point to the leadership who are almost Democrats

newfriend 4y ago
There's a lot of crime that goes unreported. It's well known here that property crime goes unpunished / nothing can be done, so many people don't bother reporting it at all. In my opinion people like you think that conservative media is exaggerating the amount of crime in cities, but it's actually happening. There is a ton of crime here. Scenes that look like they're from a zombie movie, people shooting up drugs and leaving needles everywhere, open-air markets peddling wares shoplifted from cvs/walgreens/etc. This is not made up.
- themitigating 4y ago
  How do you know it's happening if it goes unreported?
  - newfriend 4y ago
    Because I live here and talk to people. I've been the victim of property crime that I have not reported because I know nothing will come of it. Bike theft and breaking into garages is extremely common, and it's well known that reporting it is a waste of time. I've also witnessed more serious crime like smash & grabs and brazen shoplifting, though they are more rare. What isn't rare is seeing people living in tents chopping up bikes and injecting themselves with needles in plain sight. Your article also mentions the same thing: > Many property crimes in the city go unreported, making it difficult to gauge the level of decline. > San Francisco's increase in burglaries, however, did outpace the rest of the country. People in SF complaining about crime aren't talking about homicides (thank goodness). But as mentioned in your article, burglary is way up. Most likely property crime is also way up. This is what people are complaining about. So saying "crime is actually down" doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.