Many of us have been strolling down a pleasant street, enjoying the twilight settling over Victorian facades in our charming city– only to turn a corner and suddenly feel in need of a Tazer. San Francisco is a changeling: Even in the same zip code, we can experience radically different neighborhoods, each with unique, and occasionally terrifying, personality.
Socio-economic stratification, drug use, sex trade: agreed, these are all unfortunate components of a modern metropolis. However, I’ve noticed it seems to be getting worse, rather than better, and I do not think this is something we should so willingly accept as “a sign of the times.” Riding my bike through Sharon Meadows on Sunday is like joining the cast of Night of the Living Dead. Things aren’t much better on Stanyan either; despite being an entrance to one of the city’s most revered attractions (for tourists and residents alike), this area of the Golden Gate Park is trashed: litter everywhere, dog crap, people lying around scaring the hell out of me…
It’s not just the park, not just the Haight. It’s also the Tenderloin, and slowly, steadily, more and more of the streets around it (an area San Francisco Citizen calls “The Flank”). It’s lots of SOMA, even though we hoped the new construction projects would change that. It’s parts of Bernal, parts of the Mission, parts of Western Addition, Glen Park, Potrero. Union Square’s pretty disgusting too, since stepping over urine soaked homeless does not make me feel too great about shopping at Macy’s.
So well known are these areas that pizza delivery services won’t visit them. Witness SF Eater’s article on Amici’s delivery map:
“You’ll note, of course, the conspicuous no-fly zone assigned to the Western Addition, but also the after-dark ban around the Tenderloin and SoMa (sorry Mint Plaza, you’re SOL post-sunset). So many questions here: When delivering from the Lombard branch to the Lower Haight, do they take Fillmore down? Must one order a pizza to the corner of Divis and Geary? And what led to the all-hours embargo of just the Western Addition?”
Well, geez. I dunno. Homicides, maybe? I just wonder what kind of “sign of the times” it really is when a pizza restaurant has to make its own kind of safety, a protection the city seems unable to offer.
http://sfcitizen.com/blog/2008/11/08/san-franciscos-pizza-delivery-redlining-its-nice-and-legal/
The fact that Amici’s will deliver to south slope Potrero in spots, but not any part of Bernal Heights has made us scratch our heads more than once.
I bet it just takes 1-2 robberies before they stop delivering somewhere, they are not doing a scientific study.
I went to Rutgers and the Livingston campus was off limits to all delivery companies after 2 robberies. Sucked to live there.
I disagree. There are more areas of the city these days that are safer than there used to be. All the areas listed above have been sketch for quite some time.
Back East they have deer. They used to have lots of wilderness to roam. All that land was developed. Deer population hasn’t decreased — there is just less area to roam. So you have lots of deer in public places and they are much more visible. Same could be said of our homeless, sex and drug consumption population here in SF.
Eddy: I think the ratio of scary to not scary probably stays static, but moves from place to place. I agree with Anna though that the city does NOT have to be this way. Look at New York: 10 years ago a dangerous, disgusting city; today, it’s pretty hard to even find a homeless guy.
Not saying we can’t do more but this is a highly complex social issue. Trust me, there are lots of homeless people in NYC. Just head over to the bus station, or LES or outer Borroughs. NYC is not just manhattan. That would be like saying San Fran is D7. If that is the case — than you can’t find a homeless guy in SF either.
good arguments. I’d like to know just what is we “can do” to help this issue. I too am tired of the filth in my hood (I live on South van Ness)
Mallory,
I would start calling 553-1200 or 311 every time you see graffiti, and/or people suspiciously double parking on South Van Ness.