San Francisco, CA
San Francisco ‘doom loop’ canned, but even opposition group’s ‘positive walk’ can’t dodge open drug use, homeless
The sold-out planned ‘‘doom loop” tour of drug-infested San Francisco was canceled, and community leaders tried to hold a “positive walk” instead — only to still stroll past addicts getting high and homeless camps.
Curious tourists and locals had shelled out $30 a pop on Eventbrite for a weekend tour promising an up-close-and-personal experience with San Francisco, “the model of urban decay” — complete with walks past its “open-air drug markets and vacant office and retail spaces.
But the tour’s guide, only listed as “SF Anonymous Insider,” failed to show at Saturday’s event, claiming he was afraid to carry it out because of all the controversy around it.
“Unfortunately, the substantial media interest means that it is not possible to preserve my anonymity while publicly posting the tour’s time and meeting location,” he wrote in a message to customers, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Community activist Del Seymour and others with the nonprofit Code Tenderloin — who had gathered at the tour’s designated starting point to protest the event — then led about 70 people on an nearly 2-mile “anti-doom loop tour” through areas such as City Hall, Union Square, Mid-Market and the Tenderloin District.
One of their stops, the Civic Center district, was eerily empty except for half-baked drug addicts bent over after taking a hit on fentanyl and other drugs.
As the tour group walked past shuttered stores such as the Whole Foods grocery store on Market Street, drug deals were happening in broad daylight.
A homeless man yelled at some in the group as they passed by the encampments.
As Seymour took the group to the Glide Memorial Church and a nightclub called the Power Exchange in the Tenderloin neighborhood, participants passed by rows of tents, many with homeless addicts passed out inside.
In the corners, men exchanged crumpled up money for balls of foil.
Some openly smoked fentanyl and other drugs as the tour group walked past them.
The stench of urine mixed with human and animal feces was at times overwhelming as Seymour quickly walked the group past the notorious corner of Hyde and Turk streets, where drug deals run rampant especially “once the sun goes down,” a local told The Post.
Some of the homeless men and women laying on the street corners looked up in confusion as the tour group walked past them.
Serena, a group member who brought snacks and water in her bag, stopped to give some of the homeless men and a woman some of her food.
The woman, who was passed out on the ground, was so high on drugs that she couldn’t even lift her head to say thank you.
Another man took a long deep breath out of a pipe and blew smoke into the air.
He grabbed one of the snacks Serena offered.
“It’s hard because housing here has turned into a crisis,” Serena told The Post. “It feels like City Hall isn’t listening to the community and this is the fall out of the broken systems that we are seeing.”
During the two-hour tour, Seymour talked about various programs available in the Tenderloin, including subsidized low-income housing where families pay only $400 for a three-bedroom apartment that normally would rent for $5,000 to $8,000 a month.
Seymour also pointed to the various services available to the homeless in the area, including free meals and housing, but also told The Post part of the struggle involves getting those who need help to recognize they need it.
“If I’m unhoused and have mental challenges, you can’t just spend 30 seconds and then walk away after I say no,” he said. “You need to sit down with me and talk to me in a gentlemanly manner. It might take an hour, it may take two, but you have to give me that time and build that trust with me so we can make some sort of compromise.”
As for the “doom loop” tour, the activist said, “I fell out of the chair laughing because of the meanness that people in San Francisco have to even suggest something like this.
“This is not healthy or helpful at all for our people,” he said. “We don’t want to live in the situation we are living in. We want to do something about it, but you can’t do something about it when people beat you down.”
Dany Vallerand said she initially wanted to take the advertised “doom loop” tour because she usually didn’t feel comfortable going through the area on her own.
“I just thought it would be very interesting, and I hoped the money would go to a good cause, like some charity,” she told The Post. “I was hoping to explore the Tenderloin in a way that I normally wouldn’t feel comfortable doing on my own and accompanied by other people with a different point of view.”
Vallerand said that while she was “perfectly happy” to take the anti-doom loop tour instead, she noted the economic downtown of San Francisco has affected many residents such as herself, as flagship businesses have left the area and property value going down.
Vallerand said she recently sold her condo $150,000 below her asking price.
“It is very hard to see it happening here,” she said.
More than 20 businesses, including Nordstrom, Whole Foods and Old Navy, have left the area since January 2022.
While locals such as Vallerand decided to take the opposition tour, others who signed up for the original “doom loop” version were disappointed they didn’t get what they paid for and left.
But Serena said she decided to participate in the “positive” tour because the initial Eventbrite listing offended her.
“They wanted to showcase the doom of the Tenderloin, and to me, it sounded very f–ked up,” said Serena, who did not want to provide her last name. “I can’t believe it sold out.”
3-year-old San Francisco boy saves neighbor’s home from fire
A three-year-old boy is being credited by San Francisco firefighters with saving an apartment from burning down.
SAN FRANCISCO – A 3-year-old boy is being credited by San Francisco firefighters with saving an apartment from burning down.
Firefighters arrived at the apartment around 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon on 35th Avenue in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond neighborhood.
Flames on the balcony were visible from across the street where an observant little boy would spot them right through his front window.
“It was right there,” little Luca Sekula pointed across the street at the home he saw on fire, and knew exactly what to do.
“Mom and dad, call 911,” he recalled telling his stunned parents, who urgently followed his directions.
“I couldn’t believe it, and I thought, I’m just so glad he said something,” Luca’s mother, Kate, said. “Because I couldn’t imagine any worse damage if that thing just continued to burn.”
Thanks to Luca’s quick thinking, firefighters soon arrived and managed to stop the flames from spreading beyond the balcony.
“Firefighters came and put it out with their hose and a ladder was up there and there was a ladder truck there just like this one,” the tiny hero said while demonstrating with his toy fire engine.
It’s a real-life situation that he has pretended to handle countless times.
He has a fleet of toy fire engines and a collection of helmets that he loves to share with visitors, but it’s an animated pop-up book where he learned exactly what to do in an emergency.
“Ever since he could wobble around the neighborhood he loves firefighters,” Luca’s father, Nate, said. “It’s pretty amazing, yeah. He’s our hero.”
And the fire department hopes other kids will follow his lead.
“Tell your children it’s okay to report an emergency, and it’s okay to let people know that fire, police, medical, services need to be summoned,” said Captain Jonathan Baxter of the San Francisco Fire Department.
Luca knows how to dial 911, and already has plans to help more than just his neighbors in the future.
“I want to be a firefighter when I grow up.”
Capt. Baxter believes the fire was caused by a cigarette left unattended.
The man who lives in the apartment where the fire broke out didn’t want to talk on camera but told KTVU no one got hurt, and the damage was isolated to the balcony.
He is very grateful for the little boy’s quick thinking in a situation that could have been much worse.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco House Hits Market for Half Its Worth, but You Can't Move In Until 2053
A rare opportunity has emerged in the heart of San Francisco’s coveted Russian Hill neighborhood — but you’ll have to be patient if you want to buy it.
A charming three-bedroom Edwardian home has been listed at an astonishing $488,000 — a fraction of its true market value. However, potential buyers should be aware of a significant caveat.
The house, currently occupied by a protected tenant, comes with occupancy rights that may not be available for 29 years. The current tenant pays just $416.67 a month in rent, far below the market rate, and the resident “has possible occupancy rights until 2053,” the Daily Mail reports.
Despite this unusual arrangement, the property has attracted considerable interest. Over the weekend, prospective buyers formed lines around the block for a chance to view the house. By Sunday, the home was already under offer.
Located at 30 North View Court, this fully-detached Edwardian-style family home features an enviable position in one of San Francisco’s most desirable areas. The low listing price immediately caught the attention of many, especially given that the property could potentially generate an estimated $3,360 a month in rent.
The property came onto the market following the death of its previous occupant, who was older than 100 years old and passed away of natural causes inside the home.
While the situation may be complex, the allure of owning a piece of real estate in Russian Hill at such a bargain price continues to draw interest from potential buyers.
For now, it remains to be seen who will take on this unique real estate challenge and what the future holds for this historic home.
San Francisco, CA
Construction Starts for Two Affordable Housing Projects at Transbay Block 2, San Francisco – San Francisco YIMBY
Construction has started for two affordable housing complexes rising on Transbay Block 2 in East Cut, San Francisco. While site work has been active since the start of this year, its official groundbreaking ceremony was held late last month. Once complete, the block will add 335 new apartments in the high-rise neighborhood by Rincon Hill.
Transbay Block 2 construction detail, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
The taller complex will be Transbay 2 East, a 17-story family housing project led by Mercy Housing. The complex will offer 183 units affordable to households earning between 20-80% of the area’s median income. Kennerly Architecture is responsible for the design.
Transbay Block 2 West is being developed by the Chinatown Community Development Center. The nine-story structure will create 151 units of affordable housing for seniors. The design team includes Mithun and Kerman Morris Architects.
Transbay Block 2 East (left) and West (right) aerial perspective, rendering by Mithun
Transbay Block 2 East seen from Main Street and Clementina Street, rendering by Kennerly Architecture & Planning
Both structures will have a distinct architectural treatment, though the planning documents write that “the two buildings are a complementary pair, sharing a unifying low-rise townhouse massing fronting the park and a common masonry material sensibility establishes the block as its own precinct in contrast with the glassy towers across Folsom Street.” Facade materials will include pre-cast panels of varied textures, metal mullions and spandrels, curtainwall glass, and concrete accents. Wood accents will add some naturalistic materials along the street level.
The affordable housing block will be unified with an approachable landscaping scheme designed by Plural. Carved between the two buildings, a pedestrian mew will connect pedestrians from Folsom Street to the future Transbay Block 3 Park. The mews will pass by a central courtyard and secured childcare open space.
Transbay Block 2 East aerial view over the proposed park, rendering by Kennerly Architecture & Planning
Transbay Block 2 image from Beale Street, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Transbay Block 2 seen from the new park, rendering by Kennerly Architecture & Planning
The 0.98-acre construction site occupies a third of the former Transbay Bus Terminal. Now, the site is a community space dubbed the Crossing at East Cut. Block 2 is currently occupied by a community room, surface parking, a children’s play area, and a dog run.
Across from the Block 3 Park, Hines has originally pursued plans for a 47-story residential tower. The tower would have created 681 apartments, of which nearly three hundred would have been priced below market-rate. However, last week, Patrick Hoge reported for the San Francisco Examiner that Hines had filed to make a payment to the Office fo Community Investment and Infrastructure, thus losing their exclusive option for the development.
Transbay Block 2 3 and 4 site map
Similarly, Hines recently missed a $5 million payment to the city for failing to start work on Parcel F, the 61-story mixed-use skyscraper on Howard Street. Hines secured a loan extension from JP Morgan Chase Bank and United Overseas Bank in early July last year for construction at Parcel F, only to list the property for sale by the end of the month. Salesforce had signed an agreement in 2018 to be the anchor tenant of the planned skyscraper, but backed out of the agreement in the fall of 2020.
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