3 posts tagged “san francisco”
After penning this post about some of the current problems with San Francisco, a client/friend of mine encouraged me to attend a monthly neighborhood meeting where issues affecting ourselves and our neighborhood are discussed – and I did, last night. I attended a meeting of the Middle Polk Neighborhood Association, and despite the fact I was probably the youngest person there by about 25-30 years, it was pretty interesting and very informative.
The meeting was held at a local coffee shop, and there were around 30 local residents in attendance. The hour-long get-together consisted of updates on various street blocks in the region, news on construction sites that are being considered by developers, safety tips from experts and even a crime report by local police sergeants.
In addition to this general info, I also learned the following:
-The
(dirty, sketchy) Cala
Foods market by my apartment is closing down by 2010, with a new (hopefully
cleaner) market taking its place;
-A
prostitution/drug house a block and a half from my apartment was infiltrated by
SFPD and shut down last week, with 12 related arrests being made;
-Developers
are trying to move forward on turning a two-story church into a six-story
condominium complex (and future eyesore); and
-There’s a
new low-fat frozen yogurt shop opening soon (go Fro-Yo!).
The most significant thing I took from last night’s meeting was not the regional updates, but just seeing all these neighbors congregate in one place to discuss what’s going on in our ‘hood (and ways to keep it safe and attractive). Seeing everyone together, as a team, was quite uplifting.
(Plus, learning about the nearby prostitution/drug house was a bit alarming... All this time I thought those semi-clad, plastered women hangin' on the corner were members of the local 4-H club.)
When you migrate from the suburbs to the city, you tend to lose that sense of community that permeates suburban neighborhoods throughout the U.S., and you really feel on your own. This meeting proved to me that, even in a big city, people still care about their neighborhood, and more importantly, their neighbors.
If you have
a chance to attend a similar event in your own district, I highly encourage it.
Just when you think the entire city of San Francisco is going to H-ll, a random act of kindness resets your thinking about the whole Armageddon concept.
After work yesterday, Nick and I went into the BART station (S.F.’s underground mass transit system) to purchase tickets to ride the train to the Mission district. As I was getting out money to pay the machine, I accidentally dropped a few bucks without noticing in the crowded station. A few seconds later, an older gentleman tapped me on the shoulder, said “you dropped this,” and handed me back the bills I had lost. I thanked him, hopped on BART to 16th and Mission, and then finished the night with an awesome dinner at Pizzeria Delfina (drop whatever you’re doing and secure an outside table at this place…).
I’m certainly not an optimist about life; I consider myself more a realist when it comes to our existence. But I do believe in Newton’s Law of Motion – for every action, there is an equal, but opposite reaction – and life certainly carries this out.
Thanks, San Francisco – didn’t mean to write you off so soon. (That being said, I properly just earned myself a parking ticket or two later this month…)
I love San Francisco… I really do.
I was born in The City, raised just over the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, and have now lived in S.F. going on four years. The people are great, the weather is (typically) nice, there’s always something to do, and the area is just beautiful. I can’t think of a better place to live, work and experience life than in San Francisco, California.
But lately, I’m starting to see a different city than the one I’ve grown so accustomed to. A city that’s dirty -- with trash, debris and pet droppings everywhere. A city that’s poor -- with homeless sleeping just about everywhere and aggressive panhandlers approaching me everyday. And now I’m seeing a city that appears pretty dangerous, as I continually read in the papers about another violent crime or hear about some sort of incident.
Maybe I’ve just been naïve all these years… After all, in any city environment, where there are hundreds of thousands of people, there are bound to be issues. But from my vantage point, these issues aren’t going away; in fact, they’re getting worse. And it bothers me San Francisco just stands by idly while it gets dirtier, poorer, and more dangerous.
Alright, so what I am doing about it? Its one thing to just sit in the shadows and cast stones, as opposed to putting your money where you mouth is (please excuse all the clichés). But how am I remedying this situation?
Well, I’m not doing much yet… I admit, but I will. It may be in the form of running for public office (“Schneider in 2015!”), or lobbying our city officials (which I’m attempting to do). In the meantime, here are some ideas I have to curb the dirt, the poor and the dangerous:
The Dirt:
-Impose heavy fines for people who are caught not picking up after their pets, and/or littering. This includes fines for not properly disposing of cigarette butts, food, gum, etc. $100 fines on the spot.
-Impose fines (or “fix-it”-like tickets) to home owners, apartment managers, business owners, etc. if the area in front of their building is not clean.
-[This is kind of radical, but…] Employ homeless people to pick-up garbage and debris around city streets, and compensate them not in cash, but in housing and food credits. (i.e. If person is found to have collected x amount of pounds in trash, and/or has collected trash for eight hours, they’d be entitled to two nights stay in city-run shelter with meals included).
-Fees for pet owners! We pay annual fees for parking and owning homes, right? Let’s charge pet owners with a “pet permit” ($150 a year) and this money will go to city cleaning efforts.
-Create mandatory recycling laws (like they do in London, England). Impose fines on people/organizations that do not recycle glass, plastic and paper.
The Poor:
-[See point above about employing homeless as garbage collectors.]
-Government-subsidized housing for people who legally agree to enter work-training and/or rehabilitation program. If they fail to comply with program, they’ll be forced to move to housing units in other, less-desirable parts of the city. [I realize this opens up another can of worms on several levels, but it’s just a thought for right now. When I become supreme chief-in-commander, we can better address this.]
-Tax breaks for apartment managers/owners who lower costs for housing for low-income/no-income residents.
The Dangerous:
-More police on foot/bicycles/horses. Added visibility should deter criminal activity.
-Rewards program for police who consistently thwart criminal activity. In the suit-and-tie world, we receive bonuses for achieving certain thresholds, right? Police compensation should be no different.
-One-year bar ban to anyone caught committing a violent crime. Bar owners will receive lists of offenders every month.
-[Stole this idea from Chris Rock, but…] Make weapon ammunition incredibly expensive, i.e. $100/bullet. This should make the purchasing of ammunition much more difficult.
* * * * *
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a start. Feel free to share your own thoughts on making San Francisco a better place to live… I’d be extremely interested.
If we could also secure a stable quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, that would also improve things. But first things first…
