16 ms·

Not being familiar at all with the situation in SF these days, is this really the reason for closure? I've noticed a pattern of using whatever convenient trend

Not being familiar at all with the situation in SF these days, is this really the reason for closure? I've noticed a pattern of using whatever convenient trendy excuse (crime in SF) for leadership to avoid stating the real reason that might cause them to be accountable for a bad decision (perhaps a low grossing store due to poor location market-fit analysis). I'm quite skeptical now when reading these trendy rationalizations.

echelon 4y ago
I just flew to SF to meet and hire folks in AI. The first week I was here my former CTO was murdered. Now there's some guy outside my hotel that's screaming at the top of his lungs between 3 and 7 AM every night. Nobody is stopping it. At least I haven't heard any gunshots, which is the norm in my home city (Atlanta).
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  As a Brit: America is a big and scary place.
  - red-iron-pine 4y ago
    On the plus side, less likely to get stabbed. Muricans use guns.
    - hammyhavoc 4y ago
      Liverpool is getting pretty trigger-happy (where I am), but reading anecdotes about the US is just shocking. It's the frequency that gets me. But yeah, British stabbings are admittedly a shocker too.
- majormajor 4y ago
  Where in Atlanta is that?
  - echelon 4y ago
    Cabbagetown, well within earshot of Edgewood's sometimes rowdy bar scene.
    - majormajor 4y ago
      Ah interesting, I lived in Atlanta some in the last few years but didn't spend that much time there; generally it felt like the city had a much better handle on crime and homelessness overall (in part due to easier densification in the central area and other parts inside the perimeter) than SF.
- jbm 4y ago
  I remember taking the train to the hotel from the airport when I worked at Heroku. At one station, two kids were fighting and one threw the other into the train. No one at the station did anything. I was coming from Tokyo and the scene was so insane that I could only sit and record a video. Like I felt physically unable to move beyond bringing my phone up and hitting the record button. I still watch the video sometimes and wonder if I should have done something.
Fauntleroy 4y ago
It's actually that bad. In basically any urban area of the Bay Area you're likely to see and interact with _violent_ mentally ill homeless people. It's worst in San Francisco, specifically in that area of town, despite it being the main street of the city.
blindriver 4y ago
Last week, a drug-addicted homeless woman gave birth to a baby on the street in SF like an animal. It's worse than a 3rd world country in SF these days. https://www.ktvu.com/news/woman-gives-birth-on-san-francisco-sidewalk-video https://www.ktvu.com/news/woman-gives-birth-on-san-francisco...
- jquery 4y ago
  It's disheartening to hear such stories, but generalizing San Francisco based on isolated events is unfair. Like any city, SF faces challenges like homelessness and substance abuse. Instead of making comparisons, let's acknowledge the ongoing efforts to address these issues and work together to foster positive change...
  - grandmczeb 4y ago
    I hope you didn’t mean it this way, but this is an insanely callous response to a video of a women giving birth on a sidewalk.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - jquery 4y ago
      Apologies if my comment came across as callous; that was not my intention. I empathize with the tragic circumstances in the video. My point was to emphasize that we should work collaboratively to address the city's challenges, rather than generalize San Francisco based on isolated events. By doing so, we can strive to prevent such heartbreaking incidents from happening in the future.
  - 1letterunixname 4y ago
    "Ongoing efforts"? Like what? People standing around staring rather than calling an ambulance? The inconvenient and actual truth is SF isn't doing shit because rich people run America and don't fucking care. The other countervailing problem is the poor in America in modern times are too disorganized, disheartened, and lack the determined resolve to effectively bring change to their position. Hipsters with iPhones thinking they're edgy if they take a picture without permission of someone sleeping on the street if they tilt their camera at an angle is the level of involvement: insulated urban dilettantes vs. people with nowhere else to go.
grandmczeb 4y ago
I used to shop there all the time - crime was a massive issue. And not just shoplifting either, pretty much every employee I talked to either had been physically assaulted or knew someone who had been. > I've noticed a pattern of using whatever convenient trendy excuse (crime in SF) for leadership to avoid stating the real reason Interesting, because I’ve noticed a trend of people bending themselves into pretzels to avoid starting that crime is an issue.
tetete 4y ago
Lived in the city for 7 years. Visited recently and made me sad. It is a shell of its former self.
baron816 4y ago
I live about two blocks from the WF location in the article. I went there yesterday for the first time in a few months. I would like to be able to walk there and pick up groceries, but it’s very intimidating to do so. You have to keep your head on a swivel to stay safe. The anxiety and paranoia is not worth the convenience. I’ve never seen anything really major happen when walking over there, but the store is usually empty when I go, so I’m sure they’re just hurting because no one wants to go there.
- baremetal 4y ago
  [flagged]

echelon 4y ago

I just flew to SF to meet and hire folks in AI. The first week I was here my former CTO was murdered. Now there's some guy outside my hotel that's screaming at the top of his lungs between 3 and 7 AM every night. Nobody is stopping it. At least I haven't heard any gunshots, which is the norm in my home city (Atlanta).

hammyhavoc 4y ago
As a Brit: America is a big and scary place.
- red-iron-pine 4y ago
  On the plus side, less likely to get stabbed. Muricans use guns.
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    Liverpool is getting pretty trigger-happy (where I am), but reading anecdotes about the US is just shocking. It's the frequency that gets me. But yeah, British stabbings are admittedly a shocker too.
majormajor 4y ago
Where in Atlanta is that?
- echelon 4y ago
  Cabbagetown, well within earshot of Edgewood's sometimes rowdy bar scene.
  - majormajor 4y ago
    Ah interesting, I lived in Atlanta some in the last few years but didn't spend that much time there; generally it felt like the city had a much better handle on crime and homelessness overall (in part due to easier densification in the central area and other parts inside the perimeter) than SF.
jbm 4y ago
I remember taking the train to the hotel from the airport when I worked at Heroku. At one station, two kids were fighting and one threw the other into the train. No one at the station did anything. I was coming from Tokyo and the scene was so insane that I could only sit and record a video. Like I felt physically unable to move beyond bringing my phone up and hitting the record button. I still watch the video sometimes and wonder if I should have done something.

Fauntleroy 4y ago

It's actually that bad. In basically any urban area of the Bay Area you're likely to see and interact with _violent_ mentally ill homeless people. It's worst in San Francisco, specifically in that area of town, despite it being the main street of the city.

blindriver 4y ago

Last week, a drug-addicted homeless woman gave birth to a baby on the street in SF like an animal. It's worse than a 3rd world country in SF these days. https://www.ktvu.com/news/woman-gives-birth-on-san-francisco-sidewalk-video https://www.ktvu.com/news/woman-gives-birth-on-san-francisco...

jquery 4y ago
It's disheartening to hear such stories, but generalizing San Francisco based on isolated events is unfair. Like any city, SF faces challenges like homelessness and substance abuse. Instead of making comparisons, let's acknowledge the ongoing efforts to address these issues and work together to foster positive change...
- grandmczeb 4y ago
  I hope you didn’t mean it this way, but this is an insanely callous response to a video of a women giving birth on a sidewalk.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - jquery 4y ago
    Apologies if my comment came across as callous; that was not my intention. I empathize with the tragic circumstances in the video. My point was to emphasize that we should work collaboratively to address the city's challenges, rather than generalize San Francisco based on isolated events. By doing so, we can strive to prevent such heartbreaking incidents from happening in the future.
- 1letterunixname 4y ago
  "Ongoing efforts"? Like what? People standing around staring rather than calling an ambulance? The inconvenient and actual truth is SF isn't doing shit because rich people run America and don't fucking care. The other countervailing problem is the poor in America in modern times are too disorganized, disheartened, and lack the determined resolve to effectively bring change to their position. Hipsters with iPhones thinking they're edgy if they take a picture without permission of someone sleeping on the street if they tilt their camera at an angle is the level of involvement: insulated urban dilettantes vs. people with nowhere else to go.

grandmczeb 4y ago

I used to shop there all the time - crime was a massive issue. And not just shoplifting either, pretty much every employee I talked to either had been physically assaulted or knew someone who had been. > I've noticed a pattern of using whatever convenient trendy excuse (crime in SF) for leadership to avoid stating the real reason Interesting, because I’ve noticed a trend of people bending themselves into pretzels to avoid starting that crime is an issue.

tetete 4y ago

Lived in the city for 7 years. Visited recently and made me sad. It is a shell of its former self.

baron816 4y ago

I live about two blocks from the WF location in the article. I went there yesterday for the first time in a few months. I would like to be able to walk there and pick up groceries, but it’s very intimidating to do so. You have to keep your head on a swivel to stay safe. The anxiety and paranoia is not worth the convenience. I’ve never seen anything really major happen when walking over there, but the store is usually empty when I go, so I’m sure they’re just hurting because no one wants to go there.

baremetal 4y ago
[flagged]