San Francisco, CA
Twitter Bars San Francisco Inspector From Accessing Roof to Assess ‘Unsafe’ X Sign
San Francisco authorities are targeting Twitter, rebranded as X, for installing an “unsafe sign” on the roof of its office building, but have yet to gain access to review the potential safety violation. Twitter installed a giant “X” sign on Friday without proper authorization, according to city officials who say a permit is required to replace letters or symbols on buildings to ensure the sign doesn’t present a safety hazard.
City officials issued a notice of violation against Twitter the same day the sign went up. An inspector attempted to access the rooftop twice but was denied by company representatives. The inspector spoke with Twitter representatives only hours after the sign went up who claimed it was there temporarily for an event and barred the inspector from the roof, according to San Francisco’s complaint tracker. A second attempt was made on Saturday after the inspector had a conversation with the building manager, but was again denied access upon arrival by the tenant, the tracker says.
The attempted inspection comes after authorities forced Twitter to cease taking down its logo from the side of the building on July 24. The company planned to replace the Twitter sign with its rebranded “X,” but authorities had received reports of a “possible unpermitted street closure,” and said the crane was disrupting two lanes of traffic at the crossroads of a busy intersection, AP News reported. Twitter was forced to stop removing the sign, leaving just an “er” on the building after authorities said the workers hadn’t protected pedestrians from falling debris by taping off the sidewalk, according to the outlet.
A spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection told the outlet last week that work couldn’t continue until Twitter retained a permit to ensure the work was “consistent with the historic nature of the building” and that safety measures were in place.
Twitter has received additional complaints from residents who say the giant “X” at the top of the building is too bright and shining into nearby apartments. The company posted a video to its Twitter account showing the pulsating “X” sign blazing, and one resident told ABC 7 News: “From below, we were walking our dog and saw it and were like, oh wow what a spectacle, and then we get upstairs and we see like the ramifications of it and it is so bright and ridiculous.”
The building inspection spokesperson told AP News on Friday that they are “planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign.” He added, “The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation.”
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
Volunteers from the Gap, JP Morgan Chase, Levi Strauss, Visa, and Wells Fargo stepped outside their office buildings on Thursday and into the streets and parks of San Francisco, ready to clean up.
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A San Francisco man is livid after finding a doll with a noose around it’s neck among other things on the doorstep of his Alamo Square home.
Terry Williams says he can’t sleep at night after the events of what happened April 26. One what seemed like an ordinary morning, Terry woke up to take his three Rottweilers out for a walk around 6 a.m. That’s when his father found something on the doorstep that shook him to the core.
It was a clear plastic zip bag with words scrawled in black marker.
“It has gangster, thug, and other negative stuff about Black people on there,” Williams said.
MORE: ‘I hate black people’: SJ officer no longer with dept. after exchanging racists texts, chief says
The contents inside were even worse.
“A picture of me with a noose around the neck and a noose around the dog figurine,” he said.
Also inside, this stuffed doll so graphic and laden with slurs, we couldn’t show any of it on television.
“Calling me monkey, go pick cotton…” rattles off Williams, who recalls such terrible slurs and sayings — he had to consult a family member asking about them.
MORE: Black California couple lowballed by $500K in home appraisal, believe race was a factor
A sheet of paper inside was also so laden with hateful speech, ABC7 News also had to blur it out.
“It says the 4th of July is for White people not for Black people, among other things,” Williams said.
Terry says, as a dog walker for more than a decade and someone living in Alamo Square since the 70s, he’s no stranger to racism but never vitriol and hate like this.
Terry has no idea who could have left the package but provided police surveillance video from a neighbor showing an individual approach his home around 12:30 a.m. SFPD tell me the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
TAKE ACTION: Find resources to help with equality, justice and race issues
Terry is sharing his story not just to represent his industry. “As a minority dog walker, I’m trying to get more people of color to do it,” he said.
He’s also encouraging others to speak out and help end the hate – in the neighborhood he loves and calls home.
“This has got to stop. My people don’t speak up – they keep everything tucked in. You can’t let this go by. Can’t let this go by. The more stuff you let go by the most they feel entitled to do stuff. This is my way stepping up, no I’m not letting this happen no more. This makes me want to stay and fight harder, I’m not going anywhere.”
Neighbors have rallied behind Terry and started this GoFundMe to help him pay for security cameras at his home.
If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
Copyright © 2024 KGO-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Surveillance video shows a man attacking two older men working as security guards in San Francisco near Union Square. Wednesday morning. The victims are immigrants from the Philippines. They say they’ve been here for many years and nothing like this has ever happened to them before.
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