Can San Francisco Be Saved?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- I'm back after 2 years to see if things are getting worse or better. While some parts are improving, its real estate in downtown seems doomed. So what happens next?
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They need to be tough on crime and clean up the homeless
Agree!!
ABSOLUTELY AND DEFINITELY AGREED 1000%!!!!!!!!!!
If u keep voting democrats then it'll stay the same
From a Mexican tourist: I totally agree, plus get rid of the law who permits shoplifting; follow NY example)
Its a snowballing issue. It's everywhere in Cali I've seen. I overheard someone around mid 20s coming out of Whole Foods the other day saying "If it's under $1,000 they can't do anything about it"... handful of stuff... not too sure if he stole them. But I just smh hard.
California and cities like san francisco keep voting for this idiocy. Soft on crime policies are destroying this kind of city.
There are no fair and free elections. The Bolsheviks have taken over, once again. History does repeat itself!
10 out of 10 criminals voted SF as best city to live in
But now many stores are closing , How would the criminals do ? . This will effect their livelihood . They should demand the city to re-open Apple , Target ,Louis Vuitton stores.
@@bosorotthey are closing because of rampant looting ,less foot traffic, drug addicts around. Who will visit SF in its current state?
Really? dont know, I am in Seoul.
Most homeless live in SF weather is beautiful and lots of free stuff so addiction is going well for them.
Oakland is MUCH WORSE!!!!!!
The politicians definitely have destroyed this beautiful city. It's so sad!
ABSOLUTELY AND DEFINITELY AGREED 1000%!!!!!!!!!!
The Dems there are like the Mafia!!!!!
It's not sad at all. Ya'll are enjoying your utopia. Alternative lifestyles, right?
The people who keep voting for those politicians have destroyed the city, and they're too proud or deluded to consider voting any differently
More like the voters who got these politicians in
I lived in SF from 1987 to 1996. The tenderloin was already a place for homeless, and relatively unsafe. When did tenderloins a bustling nightlife area with restaurants and hotels?
That’s what I’m saying. Tenderloin has been had since the 1970s. Theater life was like 1920-1950.
@@gillynova Yeah. There was the "theatre district" adjacent to the Tenderloin that had some nightlife, but the Tenderloin has been seedy for decades.
during the golden years, 2014 to 2016, the gentrification had even gotten to tenderloin. the skid row portion got narrowed and many start up restaurants would start in tenderloin due to low rents and proximity to downtown.
if you look back there were articles complaining about how gentrification was taking away the last affordable areas of San Francisco.
@@trinydex Nope. Even then the Tenderloin was a no-go zone. Some of the areas around the Tenderloin that used to be bad started to get better. But they're better today than they were in 2014-2016. They just renamed those area as "lower Nob hill" and "east Hayes Valley" and are now just pretending that they're no longer part of the Tenderloin.
Despite all the media hoopla that "San Francisco is dying" those areas kept getting gentrified and getting safer and more livable. The rent prices in SF kept increasing no matter what.
@@TohaBgood2 ok man, I guess all the Vietnamese restaurants that closed and all the tenderloin adjacent places that closed are not part of your calculus.
great analysis. now the rents are higher and there's no businesses. cool. guess that makes it better?
what are you even saying?
Look, we can all call it as it is, but I blurted out with a laugh when you said the Tenderloin was a vibrant place. It's always been sketchy, and unfortunately still is. Have no idea why you're trying to put some revisionist spin.
Define "always"
I think he meant in like the 1920s or something, but yeah it has more or less always been not the best place to be.
Dude has no idea what he’s talking about
Well, yes... the tenderloin was always crap, but at one time it also had some nightlife in addition to the sleaze, mostly around the edges in places like Polk Gulch. Now there is only sleaze.
TECH will never attract tourism the way ART and MUSIC did 😢 Artists can't afford rent here. We have a culture crisis : the RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH😢
Punishment for crimes!
When you are not safe, you have nothing!
People don't go there to take a chance to get robbed.
Safety safety and safety.
I was there June and 2024 and what a mess. People just stealing from target and walking out with out getting in trouble
So scary
Facts 💀
All those city council members ran the city to the ground.
And Gavin. And Nancy.
I live in Detroit and we are rebuilding with leaders who give a shit. This makes me so sad, San Francisco is such a beautiful city! They need to get some sane people in office!
Definitely agree!
When I used to visit “The City” (SF), I would drive north from where I live, and park at the BART Station in Milbrae and take the BART into downtown. There was no way in hell I was going to take my car into the city. Now, post C-19 pandemic, there’s no way I would take Me into the city.
Like “METAL LEO” says, it’s all “Gone Naaaaoooooow!!!”
That's the problem, you have too many people who back this crap. They need to replace the leadership and build up the police force again and start prosecuting crime and drugs.
Peter Santanello said downtown Detroit looks better than downtown San Francisco these days.
I fully agree Trisha! I have read so many positive words about how Detroit is changing for the better! :) I like architecture and I listened to a recent podcast about all the lovely old buildings there. I really want to visit Detroit!
Crime and corruption are Gavin’s legacy.
Kamala, Nancy, … the list goes on. Most people who live in SF are brainless.
The pandemic had little to do with how San Francisco stands today. The issues are the local and state politicians are their policies. Additionally the residents who live there refusing to vote conservative to implement laws with common sense. Where else do you find law abiding citizens who work hard and pay taxes have less rights than criminals and homeless drug addicts?
Yeah, the workers who came into work and never came back due to remote work, had nothing to do with how SF is today. Some of you are just want so bad to believe your narrative that you have to change reality.
I moved out of SF back home to Mumbai and I haven't been happier. I make way more money than I did in SF and I don't need to attend any office. I think part of the reason of SF's demise is hidden in the tech ecosystem which has become increasingly commoditized and has allowed a ton of low skill folks to move into tech, but here's the thing, one does not need all that much know how any more to build anything, everything is on the internet and whatever low hanging fruits there were, everything has been built. It's back to big corps and big money era. And to add AI into the mix, that's even lesser number of people needed. Lack of ideas, saturation of markets, automation and AI, it's a perfect storm and the glory days of SF buzzing with young wannabe entrepreneurs is history. It's kind of sad but it is what it is.
But not everyone has a hometown to go back to, or the money to move out. However, I am glad to know that you are so much better in Mumbai than in San Francisco. If things get better, would you go back to SF?
True, though I would argue that SF is the modern version of a goldmine town and the gold-rush is over. People are just seeing the side effects of that rush being over. The true cause is that the gold’s gone. I would personally not be heading back to SF even if things were to turn around, it’s just so much cheaper and nicer in the rest of the world. I do miss Peet’s coffee but one gets good coffee every where now :) I look forward to SF reinventing itself in some other form though.
Excellent! You are 100 percent correct! Well said! I am from Palo Alto, went to SFSU worked in tech from 1991 until 2015, saw exactly what you described happening. It’s all corporations and the system is rigged for the big money and insiders.
My start ups went sideways with these no vision companies and people. I got out started a tour biz..living my passion and selling the great west USA to foreigners, moved to Nevada..now living in a great area super safe focus on garden and nature. Good luck..sad to see Bay Area go to crap. If you could have been living in the 80s-2007..it was outrageously perfect, best place on earth. Then all the gold diggers came trying to get rich and no contribution to the communities! Let this be a lesson to all..chasing money is the source of most evil. RIP Bay Area.
Union Square was once the top 5 retail hub in the U.S. Now it's empty.
You can thank online shopping like Amazon for that !
@@leomoore3597
Online shopping, and online working. Oh, but the irony. The San Francisco Bay Area is largely responsible for creating home computers and the Internet. And those two things are largely responsible for San Francisco’s downfall.
@@RobertJohnson-bj5lk I concur ! It seems San Francisco must re-invent itself, because it's still one of the most beautiful cities in America !
Online shopping, you don't need to pay expensive rent and all the other expenses
The vast majority of vacated retail spaces will never fill up again. Too many factors working against retail.
born and raised in sf and had a business for 8 years here. Recruit more police and have subsidized housing for them. Mandatory shelter for homelessness and mental illness. and more
Basically, meth is responsible. The government introduced Mexican cartel meth onto the markets post 2010
They allocate and waste money in corruption in those areas. People are getting rich from taxpayers money in SF and other cities by NOT solving the problems.
you think police are not corrupted? think again!
I lived in Fremont and moved in 2005. Back then a working officer could not afford to live in Fremont and they had a barracks for the officers that traveled in for their 12 hour shift - 3 days and then 3 days off. I would suggest the same thing for San Francisco because the cost of living even if housing supplied is too high.
Also parking SUCKS in SF. Makes it very hard to impossible to shop at the stores or go to a restaurant or deli.
True, and you will get a broken window.
I come to SF for shows. The empty storefronts are EVERYWHERE. Who owns these buildings? Are foreign investors complicit in destroying SF ? Where is our LEADERSHIP 😢?
Yes.
Soft on crime is what makes it difficult for tourists to visit & workers to want & come.
Tenderloin has been bad four decades, not new problems there.
I was a libertarian before, the “I support your freedom to use drugs” kind. I’m not anymore. Drugs kills a community. Drugs, homelessness, crime, and mental health issues go hand in hand.
Depends which drugs you want legalised. The drugs arte the streets now days are mainly tranquilizers & meth, which is made using some harsh teniques it´s certainly not pure
Drugs are a huge part of the equation. Misguided policies on drugs actually attracted drug users to the city. Open air drug markets have been tolerated and enables anti social behavior.
Not as many people go downtown, but SF residents shop and dine in their local neighborhoods.
Good luck! SF is a lost cause.
Most of commercial properties in SF are empty.
Some institutional property owners agree to sell their properties at a huge discount (50% or more in some cases) but who wants to invest in a high tax and high crime city like SF?
I'm a native San Franciscan who's left and returned four times over the last 50 years. I always thought of myself as first a San Franciscan. But when I left in 2015 I realized it isn't just a San Francisco problem, but a California problem and by extension a U.S. problem. There are deep roots to this problem that no one wants to talk about: collapse of the educational system, rampant corruption, and the atomization of life. Sadly, the worst is yet to come as the national decay catches up to the urban decay. It's very, very sad, but delusions would fix the actual problems.
Agreed
@@konohaninja1985I don't know man, I go to other parts of America and it's not like San Francisco or California.
I used to work in SF in 2017, back then it was much safer(you have people doing drugs but not so many looting), I think the looting has it feel much worse, I remember back during Pandemic I went to SF to shopping once there were some sketchy people followed me and my wife through the street, I feel they were going to rob us once we finished shopping with stuffs
What did you do then? I’m sure that scared both of you!
@@uptin yeah, it was really scary, we immediately stopped shopping and headed back home, luckily there were fair amount of people on the street which made us feel safer. that happened around union square
First create a safe and trustworthy environment for businesses then they will flock to a once great city like San Francisco
Its pretty obvious when rents or purchase price for homes is insane, your system will break!
And that will mean something..
NYC, and London, and metro L.A. have their problems…..but they’re FINE compared to ultra Liberal San Francisco.
@@uptini will never buy a home or rent an apartment in San Francisco it is do damn expensive
I'm from San Francisco too and it is Insane what SF has become!! Thank you for covering this!!
And someone thinks Gavin Newsome should be president
So the whole country will look like SF the Golden state not so golden anymore but called wasteland
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
@@lindafinuliar4061 As an artist, I'd say Cali is not golden; I'd go with turd brown, maybe mixed with a bit of blood red. What color is fentanyl?
NEWSDUMB. not Newsom
Thanks for making a video on a city I call home for 10 years. Hopefully you went to other parts of this city outside of downtown - yes, our office/commercial district hasn’t rebounded but the city as a whole is flourishing, and it’s only a matter of time until downtown becomes revitalized.
The cost of living needs to come down. Crime and homelessness need to be addressed. All that unaccounted money wasted on “resolving” the homeless and drug issue. Clean up the political corruption.
Modern San-Francisco looks literally like Soviet anti-American coldwar prophaganda posters
Uptin were you in town last week when the sweet old Pinay Tita got murdered right there at Powell station?
We are in mourning.
The murderer was already previously well known to Police for his actions and behaviors.
He was free as a bird. & now we are down one more incredibly generous, neighborly , hard-working, taxpaying citizen.
I'm from SF. I think it gets a really bad wrap the media. While it is true there is weird funky crime, it is more specific to downtown SF like market street and the tenderloin, and parts of the mission. Voting has swayed to liberal originally is what made SF fun and hip, however mass crime has broken this trust, and therefore the police need more enforcements. Shame on Mayor. London Breed for not being urgent enough, infact I have no idea what she's done during her term her. It seem the city has really faded since Mayor Lee passed away. Can't stress it enough, police police police, needs to be more punishment for petty theft.
Do research on who Mayor Breed is married to. Hint: He likes to buy Real Estate when it’s cheap, and destroying San Francisco makes its real estate values “cheap”
🧐 Wonder if this was intentional…
I laughed when Uptin posted that Tenderloin used to be a vibrant nightlife area. Tenderloin was bad for decades. Absolute trash content in this video. San Francisco has maybe few blocks of dodgy areas like Tenderloin while rest of the city is postcard beautiful filled with joggers, engineers and tourists. The media and youtubers are so full of crap.
@@Dfox4 exactly like go to the marina, crissy fields of hayes valley. Like they only focus on market street, market street has always been full of nutjobs, its part of the character lol
Need to vote out Biden and will be change
Sodom and Gomorrah being judged for its sins, nothing to see here. (Used to live in Daly City)
While I understand the concerns of this video I do feel like this video ignores the fact that there are many vibrant neighborhoods in San Francisco that are still attracting workers, and generating tax money for the city. Downtowns of us cities generally suck because the office building typology effectively leads to dead zones aside from commuting hours and lunch breaks and sf is no exception. Sf is lucky however to have beautiful, mixed use, vibrant neighborhoods within the city proper to bolster the economy of the town while downtown goes through the process of recovering from hyper real estate speculation.
Thank You.
Its still in California and is affected by stupid laws passed by state government.
I love seeing Progressives policies work as they are intended to.
It's like it's by design. I know SWIM in the city's HR department. They're trying to make SF the new tech hub of the world over Silicon. When you walk through market, financial or soma district I seen signs for lease for tech startups. Then SWIM said they're giving tax incentives/credits from start up companies in the tech industry. I wonder why they the rioters went specifically for that district. Now everything is open. Pelosi also mentioned she wants to make SF a tech industry. Now everyone is leaving.
Earlier it was $ 400 why they increased to $950.
It's a lot higher than that in Texas and other states.
@@tomtaber1102 What state ? Name one where it is higher.
@@johnteets2921 Texas penal code.
For offenses that occurred on or after September 1, 2015, the base Theft offense is punished according to the following scheme:[5]
Theft under $100 is a Class C Misdemeanor (punishable by a fine up to $500).
Theft between $100 and $750 is a Class B Misdemeanor (punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $2000 fine). If the value of the stolen property is under $100, it is still a Class B Misdemeanor theft if you have been previously convicted of theft of if the property stolen was an identification card like a driver’s license.
Theft between $750 and $2,500 is a Class A Misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4000 fine.
Theft between $2,500 and $30,000 is a state jail felony. Also punishable as a state jail felony is 1) theft of a firearm, 2) a third theft conviction (even if the value of the stolen property on the third case is less than $2,500), 3) any theft under $20,000 if the theft is a metal including aluminum, copper, brass and copper, 4) an official election ballot, 5) theft from a grave and 6) certain thefts of livestock.
Theft between $30,000 and $150,000 is a third degree felony. Certain thefts of livestock are also thefts of the third degree.
Theft between $150,000 and $300,000 is a second degree felony. Also, thefts of ATM machines are second degree felonies, even if the value is under $300,000.
Any Theft over $300,000 is a first degree felony.
Whether it's the state or local government, they've got to make it more economical for these big real estate holders to rent out shops than to leave them vacant.
Right?!
Thank you and other TH-camrs who are telling us the truth.
The MSM is not talking about it.
SF used to be a blast. When I lived on the Penninsula we would go up and ride the trolly stopping for beer lunch and more beer. The conductors were so cool. And we’d help the conductors spin the Trolley around on the pad. Drunk on our asses, SF was a blast then. I never thought I’d see one of the world’s greatest cities thrashed by liberal democrats. Jerry Brown started the ruin in Oakland. Newscum started the ruin in SF. I firmly believe all this was intentional
Other peoples money......GONE NOW....
I have a cousin who lives in Cupertino. She works for Apple. She is not bothered at all by what happens in SF.
Ok i live there, it's not THAT bad across the whole city. It's usually the immediate area surrounding Tenderloin that is terrible. But the same can be said for Seattle, LA, Vancouver, all the west coast cities have the same issues, expensive home prices and beautiful weather and scenery, so that attracts lots of homeless from other parts of the country to come here to panhandle... Imagine if u r a homeless, do u wanna be a homeless in interior US? Interior Canada? Or would u rather have sunny beaches, moderate climate and higher population density? Homeless people know how to pick places too.. Government can't fix this issue much, because more will come. SO it's best to keep them within an area just like what LA does to SKid Row where homeless generally dont cross over certain road.
People like you are currently in power hence why these issues will never be solved. You speak of somebody else that could very well be you if you weren’t lucky. I shouldn’t have even commented because an adult that thinks this shallow cannot possibly gain any insight through a TH-cam comment but I just gagged at the vanity and low IQ statements that I just had to comment. Have a good life!
I can not see my home town being economically destroyed
The tenderloin has always been sketchy😮
Thank you for sharing this sad issue. This problem is happening across the country. Prayers Amen 🙏.
Not really. Things are tough but there really is nowhere as bad as San Francisco.
The mayor of San Francisco reduced the police budget by $20 million after the residence there demanded for the police to be defunded. So you got what you wanted.
I love your videos, but as a local I’d suggest the better and more fair title would have been “Can SF’s Union Square and Financial District be saved?” Most of the areas outside these zones are still quite nice and wonderful places to live and visit.
I totally agree. This 10min video doesn’t paint the whole picture of SF. There are 99% of SF that are beautiful but the 1% bad always get the highlight, just as the US adversaries intended.
I agree this You tuber is a clown
Ordinary people like cops, office and retail workers, nurses, etc. can’t afford to live in SF. This impacts the ENTIRE city. The tax revenues lost as a result of the devastation of downtown property values impacts the ENTIRE city. Though you may feel blissful living in a quiet neighborhood like the Sunset or Twin Peaks, doesn’t it suck not being able to go to a downtown eatery without feeling safe? I suppose if you’re a NIMBY (as most SFers are), living in Russian Hill or the Richmond, it’s easy to downplay the city’s crumbling tax revenues, rampant looting, out-of-control homelessness, and unaffordable rents, all of which pretty much define SF these days. Anything but vote to kick out the stridently dogmatic, pandering and incompetent people you choose as “leaders”.
Sf has Nancy pants and Gavin Howlsome.
These are part o fthe Getty, family
NewsDUMB 😭😭😭😭
I used to live in SF back in the 90's. The difference is night and day. There are way more crimes and homeless people on the streets now. High cost of living plus inflation are adding more to the problem...
How was it back then? Was it more lively than now??
@@uptin it was a lot safer for sure. Me walking around market street 10 years old and felt safe. Now homelessness is through the roof and now it reeks of urine on the streets. Add higher crime rates and drugs. SF is falling!!!
Lived in SF last 2 years and agree need to get more workers. But also just be more strict on drug use and homelessness… it just doesn’t feel like a city in some parts while other gentrified areas are popping off.
The expenses and high taxes have led many who cannot keep up with the rest to feel entitled for more than they have, and they reach a point where they just give up. This is happening in Vancouver as well, and you see this Downtown Eastside (homeless people and business shutdowns)
And how are they coping up? Moving to another state?
Its not for all major Cities around the world. Majority of the big cities 'doubled' the housing prices in the last few years and people are still coming.... It is a issue, but not the issue of the downfall like San Francisco.
The high crime rate, lack of investments, high tax rates and deterioration of the city is/can be the major issue. Why pay premium price when these points is getting worst.
@@uptinnormal people will move further out from Vancouver city to more affordable areas. homeless people will stay in Vancouver not move to a different province (no states in Canada) because it has the best weather in the country like San Francisco/LA/California. Vancouver also gives free drugs/supplies to addicts like San Francisco so that brings more of them too
High taxes are taken and the money goes to the homeless. While crime runs rampant and the streets are full of pot holes. The City is dirty and human feces is on the sidewalks. I no longer feel safe. The Mayor takes a way parking spaces and reduces driving roads. Things like this deter people from visiting the City and chokes out businesses. The Mayor has destroyed San Francisco and it will take years to recover.
I was there last weekend after a year and yeah it’s so sad and depressing in the downtown area, still a lot of great outer areas
How was your visit there?
@@uptin it was still very fun! It was pride weekend so there was a lot of energy in the city, very expensive though like 28$ per cocktail at some places.
I visited SF in early 2018 and I madly fell in love with the city. Back then, the city was beautiful, there was some food festival, Macys was functioning, it felt way safer than LA. I remember joining a walking tour and visiting gardens located on the rooftopf of the building downtown. We were told it's a city requirement for offices to organize green spots on roofs which I admired.
I am very heartbroken watchning what my dream city has been turning into ever since the pandemic.
However, I do not think that making workers get back to work from the office is the right solution. I mean, of course it is the most obvious and easiest one but it doesn't make it right. Workers shouldn't sacrifice life quality in order to save the economy even if an entire city is at stake.
IMHO the problem is not that workers do not come back to offices anymore. The problem is the reason why the workers don't wanna stay in SF when they do not have to go to the office in the city. Why if they have a chance they take off asap without a regret?
Just off the top of my head, affordable housing to attract new residents including those who in fact work remotely, increased safety measures, social programs targeting poverty and drug addiction, better infrastructure might have a positive impact.
I really hope that SF will be able to reinvent itself. Maybe it will be one of the first megapolises perfectly adopted to remote workers' needs and will become famous again but this time for being the capital of freelancers. Or any other more sustainable "business models".
I'm wishing SF a bright future and hoping to see the city prosper. Would be a great loss otherwise.
i live and work downtown, and this coverage is a good, accurate snapshot of SF today in summer 2024. This city is a strange mix of beauty, hope, and gloom. If you ask the sales associates who still work at the mall or any downtown business owner, the #1 culprit of downtown's woes is the prolonged unsavory street conditions that ultimately scare away shoppers, visitors and businesses. Just look around - who wants to shop amongst the mentally unstable and the filth? Look at the Target on 4th and Mission - there are always homeless vagrants swarming the store and playing cat and mouse with security. Work from home of course played a huge role initially, but like you said, the pandemic is over. If the city were actually attractive like it was pre-2019, workers and visitors would WANT to be here. But that is obviously not the case. The city leadership and the nonsense progressive policies are 100% to blame for the struggles of SF.
Just returned from aSan Fran business trip. I’m traumatized. It’s beyond horrific.
They say the Devil is the Greatest Deceiver. Can SF outwit the Devil?
I have not been back to SF since 2015 and can’t believe that it has gotten this bad. I used to enjoy going to SF but not sure if I will anymore. I am so sad as the mall was so crowded and busy but now looks like a ghost town.
Russia is smiling. What a $950 law.
George Soros isn't Russian. He is Jewish. He funded Prop 47 and written by Jewish lawyers. Look it up.
Yeah,....try pulling that shit in Russia. You could end up in a Gulag.
@@Tonymanero1960 If you can't take the truth. It's your problem.
Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov
They should decrease the rents for apartments and offices besides stores to make a step toward future. People can't afford to live here with less than 130 k per year.
The Tenderloin was always bad. It’s been like that for at least 40+ years! It is worse than ever now, as well as the rest of San Francisco!
I’m a San Francisco native, born and raised!
San Francisco is disgusting and depressing now!
Thank you London Breed and Nancy Pelosi and Gavin Newsom!
Here's a thing... you can't call market street SF... a lot has changed and the center has moved.... SF is more than market street
Would love to see you come back in another two years!
That’s a good idea!
Why? So he can pass judgement on a city he knows nothing about? Stay home dude.
@@Ms666ism cope
We moved 8 months ago. Its still hurts to see videos like this, I love this city, but this isn't the city I know and love.
That food court used to be sooo packed.
Right? And there used to be a supermarket in there with really good takeaway food, too.
Imagine you work hard for your money; pay an effective %60 tax only to have the rest stolen by criminals and money printing loooooool
Among all the good points one big one hasn't been mentioned - SF (along with NYC) used to be a magnet for 25-45 singles to mingle, go out, party, etc... With the emergence of Tinder, Hinge, Instagram, etc... the incentive of living in the city isn't there for that segment of population, which previously generated lots of vibrance. Also, the locals have embraced doing everything from home (dating, shopping, watching movies, etc...) much more so than other cities and cultures. Crime / homelessness don't tell the whole story. There are many far more dangerous cities around the world that remain quite vibrant. p.s. Nice running into you downtown when you were here.
1:57 - or as “METAL LEO” says:
“For Leeeeesse.”
Gone now.
In the 50-80's, Market St. for instance, wasn't lined with mega fashion malls, but small, brightly lit stores selling everything from jeans to umbrellas. Sales people trying to get you to visit stood on the sidewalk. It was a community that was revered for their individuality until, of course, the mega corporations (and the "Manhattanization" of the city by the bay) stripped that all away. Just an observation from an old man!
I've been to several cities in different countries since the pandemic, and they don't have all the empty storefronts and ghost-town feel (or the street squalor) that you see in San Francisco. I saw thriving small businesses selling clothes, food, independent coffee shops, bookstores, etc. and the malls weren't empty, either.
I lived in the Bay Area back around 2000, and I have followed the videos about its demise. I hear/see everyone complaining about Union Square, Tenderloin (which was NEVER a vibrant entertainment area), Financial Disctrict, Market Street, etc., But what about the Sunset, the Castro, Noe Valley, the Richmond? Truthfully, I never went downtown unless I was showing friends around Lombard St. and Coit Tower (which I still miss😪😪) .
They need to solve the crime first
I wouldn't hold my breath.
But the criminals are running the city and state , they’re endorsing this .
Macys is STAYING.!!!! you should do your research about your statements. MAcys was purchased, and the city gave the new owners incentives to stay. Do Better. Do a follow up video about what is good , and be greatful its better, expensive, and clearing out the Trash.
It’s depressing. I had so many great memories here all the way from childhood. I took my daughter there with me to go to the park, shopping holidays. She’s 12 now. I now have a toddler son and he will never see sf.
Guys, i just bought a plane ticket to visit the city. Should i cancel? Is it safe? If anyone could advise?
Same here 😢 I really need advice too
Of course you should come! It’s still a beautiful city. They are definitely areas to avoid. Stay in the Sunset , Castro, or Noe Valley if you can. The are still nice. San Francisco will come back! I’m old enough to remember Time Square in New York in the 70s. Now it’s the first place tourist flick to, (not my cup of tea though).
TH-camrs like yourself, traditional media, podcast bros, etc. don't talk about how long term societal issues, late stage capitalism, and more factors got us here.
Some of the reasons why downtown & the tenderloin have suffered:
Higher education and vocational training are no longer affordable nor accessible for many. This has been happening for decades. A lot of these people committing crimes, shoplifting, or abusing substances would have been helped if they are introduced to higher education or vocational training at a younger age, around when they were 16 to 20 years old.
In-state and out-of-state tuition and private university tuition have doubled or even tripled over the last couple of decades.
Housing & living costs are prohibitive to anyone who comes from a lower socio-economic status who wants to get an education or vocational training.
People get stuck at minimum or low wage jobs and can't make ends meet nor raise their children properly.
The school to prison pipeline. A lot of the schools are bad, underfunded, have terrible student to teacher ratios, or don't have the resources to help kids who don't do well in the traditional school setting. Kids, who act out or aren't good at the typical subjects, fall through the cracks. These kids are susceptible to turning to crime or substance abuse.
For profit prisons. For everyone in the comments saying that the city just needs to be tougher on crime: our problems can't be solved by locking up 25% of the people forever. Why are we not also rehabilitating people? People should have to pay their debt to society for their crimes but the rehabilitation part is often left out of the equation because it's not profitable for prisons to actually help people become contributing members of society. Prison helps people get better at committing crimes and getting away with it. They get released with records or they get really messed up psychologically and/or physically while serving time and can't get a decent job so they turn back to crime. It's a cycle we need to stop.
Prop 47 is a problem for sure, and the media highlighting high profile shoplifting incidents like you are have helped spread the word to the world that it's happening and people are not caught (some people actually have been caught and charged in some incidents). This has inspired and encouraged a lot of people to start shoplifting. It's kinda like the DARE program's unintended influence.
The city was not previously allowed to sweep the unhoused. As the pandemic and fentanyl crises continued for years, the city (and the state of California) couldn't sweep or force the unhoused to accept shelter or substance abuse treatment. Nobody wants to shop/dine in areas where the homeless are so the city's hands were tied and the business owners, employees, and residents suffered.
Fentanyl. Fentanyl has gotten cheaper and cheaper. I believe the ingredients are usually from China and then produced in Central American and smuggled in. Cheap synthetic drugs is one of the worst things to happen to this city and the country.
Closures of state mental hospitals. Decades ago they closed almost all mental health live in facilities. We are still suffering from this decision today.
You mentioned unaffordable housing, which is definitely one of the biggest factors. Teachers, janitors, restaurant cooks should be able to afford a place in the town they work in. Most people cannot afford to live in the city.
I've heard there are lots of vacant homes and apartments. The city needs to find these landlords and figure out this issue. I've seen more people moving in and out, but the condo complex I'm at is almost always full.
There are a ton more factors like decades of racist policies, nimbys, how the area used to have great public transportation but then gave way to automobiles, and the nice year round weather, understaffed police and sheriff departments.
Speaking of police, it'd be great to discuss how the police departments sometimes have their hands tied when it comes to stopping crime, investigating incidents, and how to improve public safety.
The DA's office has been improved by Jenkins at the helm but charging and putting away people who have committed non-violent crimes forever is not the answer. I'd like to hear your solutions or thoughts on the criminal justice system.
In general, it would be good to focus on deeper issues other than going to a mall that already announced its closure and pointing to all the mall stores that are closed. Wow, what insight?!
Also, you didn't mention any other parts of the city neighborhoods that are picking up. You can have a good time in most neighborhoods in the city. Weekends are lively, but I recommend supporting local businesses midweek.
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Lastly 0:35 "Suburbs"? I have no idea what that guy was talking about. Please explain.
The problem is that there’s no need to go downtown, all of the local stores in neighborhoods and online shopping have everything you need. Downtown isn’t a neighborhood. I visited have never seen the neighborhoods in better shape. You can walk out of your apartment, walk two blocks, and buy anything you could want. In other cities all of the shopping is downtown or people live there. There’s no need to go somewhere you don’t have to. You can order online, or go to a smaller local store if you need anything. I highly advise against staying downtown. If you want to visit pick a neighborhood you think you would like and stay in an AirBnB or hotel. Not downtown, Downtown is dead.
Even if the crime was dealt with, SF would still need to focus on getting the tourist back first, as a city that doesn't interest tourist is not the type of city that high end businesses are willing to pay high rent in for their executives; it needs to be a special place again before it can recover. Easiest way to get tourist back is to rebuild the Sutro baths on the beach and create an entertainment zone with no last call out of some of the empty blocks downtown and also provide subsidized housing for performing artists (yea i know it sounds crazy, but subsidizing business's is how the city landed some of their biggest tenants.)15 years ago the city had a legendary night life, but as the tech workers moved in displacing the artist, the city lost most of its night life even pre-Pandemonium. Food delivery services are wiping out restaurants that depended on alcohol sales, they need to draw people into their doors again. As far as filling up downtown with offices with ai businesses , its not looking to good, as ai technology actually dissolves the need for office personnel (finance and legal services where once the majority of downtown offices.) ; but once tourism is restored ( read: safe, clean, entertaining,) with new leadership the city can forge new relationships with new high tech manufacturing firms, returning to their traditional entrepreneurial spirit
I'm going to have to start calling bs on this "the sf post apocalyptic decline" narrative. SF has issues like any other major city, but it's not some post-apocalyptic no man's land. It's a beautiful walking city with unlimited things to do/points of interest.
An idea here. Could using the former nordstrom space for pop up exhibts (that regularly change and tailored to booked activities for ages and famillies) potentially work. For example: One month you could have an Art Exhibtion and the next month, you could have like a tech themed exhibt or NBA exhibition or something and considering how massive the space is, I think the centre could run multiple pop up exhibts all at once. Even with just one floor of the old nordstrom space we could potentially host 2 - 3 exhibtions at once. The space is massive. And these kinds of pop up events could also breathe some new life back into the mall. Just an idea.
California politicians are doing a very good job promoting business, keeping things safe and fixing the homeless issue. Great leadership
Greetings Uptin. You are awesome and I really enjoy your unbiased opinions. Many Thanks for your hard work. I wish San Francisco can get it former glory back.
Thank you! Hoping for that in the future too
" I really enjoy your unbiased opinions" Thats funny.
Truth is its still alot of people living, moving, and want to stay in California. 🎉 stop giving half truths
I went to sf recent. After 6 pm every store closed down and the city felt pretty empty even in the mornings/afternoon. The only place that’s really crowded and you don’t seem much empty stores is Chinatown.
A lot of the emptiness is due to remote work. Worker ditch the city and became “digital nomads”.
IMO, city politics have contributed to the problem. 1. They have strangled a lot of the main arteries into the city by creating bus only lanes, like Mission St. Market St. 3rd st. Guerrero St. and Valencia St. Off mission they do not let you turn until you’re out of the City. 2. They have eliminated street parking with pop outs. 3. At the end of the day it’s a pain in the ass to go in, then you have to deal with blipping(car break ins) and overzealous and expensive parking meters for what? That’s just to socialize. I’d rather stay in the burbs. 4. Drugs and crime, I don’t know why the City can’t create stricter arrest limits for theft and drug use. 5.They need to break up empty department store space to invite smaller store chains co sharing space. 6.Then create micro office spaces like they do in sales. 7.Then create live work spaces first for teachers, first responders and returning vets to live in the dead areas of downtown to stimulate and build communities.
I think the San Francisco people need to invest in their Family Manners and try to get back the Last Names Family Order to re-create their reputation again
Intersting that you're failing to mention that crime in SF went down below pre-pandemic. And that tourism in SF went back to its normal pre-pandemic 23-24 million annual visitors. And that dining and nightlife, even in downtown, is above pre-pandemic. And that retail occupancy in Union Square is at 85%.
I understand that this kind of breaks your whole "San Franciso doom loop" story, but reality is reality.
I used to love San Francisco because of the cool weather. It's sad that it's beauty has been demolished ❤🕊️
Dude the Tenderloin was NEVER anything other than a rough part of town
The city will recover, just over a longer time compared to other cities. Recovery has already begun and you can see much more foot traffic compared to peak pandemic and it keeps increasing. Some of these retailers will go away, and then some new ones will come back when footfall is high enough for them to make profit out of sales. BART ridership is an indicator and while it is quite low vs. ridership in 2019, it is on the rise.
SF is a city of immense history, culture, and natural and architechtural beauty and efforts should be made to preserve it.
Thanks Uptin. I love your videos and commentary.
My first trip to SF was 30 years ago. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to visit when it was a pleasure to be there. Based on this video I don’t think I’ll be going back anytime soon.
But there are many other places based on your videos that I would love to visit.
What’s on your list?
Show Better reality than news media 👍
I’m a Bay Area native and OP interviewed people who don’t live here 😭😭. San Francisco is seriously NOT that bad to what the media shows. The tenderloin is a small, dangerous area. It’s like LA’s skidrow
OP highkey just showed financial district (work from home area, no traffic for sure) and tenderloin. Go to Golden Gate Park, Mission Bay or Dolores park to visit people who are actually from the Bay
Wonderhussy posted a much more balanced video about SF, and her viewers had to admit that they had been gaslighted by the fear mongerers.
Conveting the office buildings to domitories could make giant profits
The mall downtown was never the heart of the city nor should it be.
You missed Hayes Valley, Mission, Chinatown, Japantown, Divis, Richmond, Sunset, Castro, etc. districts. I like that people spread out throughout the city and shop and dine in all these neighborhoods.
The mall looks like desert….reminding me of first time landed into Saudi Arabia.
people elect at council which does nothing - so blame the voters
placed.
I was there in the Union Square that day you were recording 😅
It's not that nobody wants to lease space in San Francisco anymore. They just don't want to lease it for the prices being charged