This is why most anarchists are heavily invested in the idea of prefiguration, i.e. forming horizontal structures and support networks BEFORE trying to overthro

This is why most anarchists are heavily invested in the idea of prefiguration, i.e. forming horizontal structures and support networks BEFORE trying to overthrow the state or creating autonomous zones etc. Because otherwise you just create a power vaccuum for other organized groups to move in and take over. In other words, when anarchists say they want to "abolish the police" they don't mean just deleting the police and crossing their fingers because that's how you get organized crime taking over instead. What they mean is creating alternative systems at the same time as dismantling the police system (e.g. in the context of the state this could mean incrementally reinvesting police funds in social services, emergency health services, mental health crisis services, or even self-defense training programs; outside that context it could mean various forms of communal support networks and mutual aid). CHAZ, to the extent it can be considered an anarchist project, was a hot mess from day zero. Instead of having pre-existing structures, it tried to build those structures on the spot. If you want to see successful anarchist projects the clue is generally that they don't try hard to label themselves as anarchist because the label provides no additional value. Instead you often find labels such as "radical democracy". Two major example are the Zapatistas and Rojava. You'll also note that these examples always run into natural contradictions because of the environment they exist in. But ideologically, whether stated explicitly or not, the ideal they strive for is anarchist and their means to accomplish that ideal are measured by it rather than being allowed to contradict it as in vanguardist socialist projects (which historically always manifest as authoritarian hierarchical systems instead).