“I noticed him yelling in the background. That’s when he ran after me,” says Wendy, who requested we only use her first name. The 28-year-old was soft-spoken and nervous speaking about what happened to her Friday afternoon in Visitacion Valley, not far from Bayshore. That man who was yelling at her, suddenly attacked.

Surveillance video used in the police investigation shows Wendy on her back. You can hear her blood-curdling scream for help.

“He grabbed me, started choking me down. I couldn’t yell after that since he was choking me and he had me on the ground,” said Wendy.

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Wendy, who is the mother of a 6-year-old, thought she was going to die and blacked out.

“I was just thinking of my family, my son, praying to God, that someone would come out a see me,” said Wendy.

Video shows a man, not necessarily seeing her, but definitely hearing her cry for help, running in her direction. That, according to police, scared the suspect away, saying his quick actions “made a world of difference.”

Wendy agrees.

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“They’re lifesavers. I really appreciate it, I don’t know how to thank them for what they did,” said Wendy.

I spoke to the man who heard Wendy scream and rushed over to help with his neighbor. He didn’t want to go on camera, out of fear for his safety. But says he was put on this earth to help others.

Supervisor Shamann Walton, who developed a public safety plan for his district to address crimes like this, also commended the neighbors for jumping into action.

A statement sent to ABC7 News reads in part, “We commend our Visitacion Valley neighbors, who jumped into action to save and assist the victim in a timely manner. Our office is committed to helping the victim and all victims of crime to connect to any services that they may need following these types of senseless ordeals.”

RELATED: 71-year-old SF woman considers moving after being strangled during attempted robbery

San Francisco’s Ingleside Station shared images of the suspect on social media this week and SFPD confirmed they’re looking at a possible suspect who is in custody for an unrelated incident but could not confirm his involvement in Wendy’s case.

Wendy, who miraculously wasn’t seriously hurt, says until she saves up enough to buy a car – she’ll continue to walk. But with precautions. She plans to purchase pepper spray to protect herself from now on and recommends all women be aware of their surroundings while walking alone.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

The post EXCLUSIVE: San Francisco girl choked unconscious in brazen assault thanks quick-thinking neighbors for saving her appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A pair of brazen garage break-ins were captured on video in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood.

One video shows Burglars intentionally ramming a garage with their car. It happened on Friday, March 4 around 5:30 pm on Franconia Street, in Bernal Heights. The driver casually gets out of the car and approaches the damaged garage. Another camera captures the passenger getting out as someone walks by with a dog across the street.

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The two burglars walk out with stolen production equipment, and even hold up traffic on the residential street.

“The idea that these people could drive a car through my garage door in broad daylight, surrounded by witnesses and casually walk out with more of my property is a clear sign that there is no consequences to that type of action here in the city,” said resident Alex Cruzvergara.

This was actually the second time in two weeks Cruzvergara believes the same crooks hit his garage.

Video shows what appears to be a Subaru Outback outside his garage on February 18 around midnight. The burglars stole $25,000 worth of production equipment.

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He said he lost nearly $7,000 worth of gear in the most recent break-in. One thief even dropped his hat in the garage, which police have as evidence.

Cruzvergara is a cinematographer and owns a small production company. He believes he was targeted.

“It was clear to me that they knew what they were taking. They knew what they had missed the first time, and wanted to come back and get the rest of it,” he said.

He’s since canceled and lost out of several jobs without his gear.

“They just didn’t really have any second thought, or anything just drove up, looked at the garage for a few minutes,” said neighbor Campbell Yore. “It’s pretty disturbing to see that.”

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Over the weekend, Cruzvergara noticed the same Subaru driving around his neighborhood and he followed it at a safe distance while he called the police. He said SFPD later found the car abandoned but identified two suspects.

The post Brazen Burglars Hit Bernal Heights Residence Storage Twice Stealing $32K Value Of Gear – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Burglars are getting even bolder in San Francisco. They are not just targeting cars — they’re going after home garages in the city.

A Cow Hollow homeowner told KPIX 5 that a thief broke into his garage, while he and his wife were asleep in December. The suspects pulled off the theft in less than 5 minutes.

READ MORE: Berkeley High School Student Dies After Falling Off Parking Garage

The burglar created a small hole in the garage door and stuck what looked like a fishing tool through it to grab onto the emergency release cord.

Once inside, security video captured the suspect looking around and grabbing a bag before leaving and shutting the garage door behind him.

“If you can’t feel safe in your own home while you’re sleeping at night, then it’s really, really stressful to live in the city,” said Mark, who declined to share his last name for privacy reasons.

Mark said the suspect took a bag with personal effects inside. The bag itself held sentimental value.

His security video also showed the thief and his lookout, who was holding an umbrella.

“They were very bold. They were on multiple cameras, they’re not even wearing masks, so it just shows that they’re probably not worried about any ramifications,” said Mark.

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In November, KPIX 5 first reported on thieves using drills and makeshift tools to break into garages in the exclusive neighborhood of Pacific Heights.

“We had our garage drilled into about eight times,” said homeowner Paul Banas. “They’re going in, they’re trying to grab the emergency cord, so they can pull up the garage, the garage door, and take whatever is inside it. And since that time, they hit again. They came in the middle of the night, they tried to punch out the vent, and drilled another big hole.”

Banas said this time, the thief also put black latex gloves over his outdoor lights to hide the suspect’s activity.

His neighbor’s garage was also recently hit.

“They have one of those old-fashioned pull up garage doors…not motorized and I guess they took a crowbar and pulled it off its hinges, and now he’s out a garage door. He’s going to have to replace a garage door,” said Banas.

Since the December break-in, Mark has installed an automatic garage door lock to add another layer of protection. It makes it more difficult for thieves to manually open the garage.

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“I was born in San Francisco,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life and this is the most unsafe I’ve ever felt. I feel like I’m numb to all the crime, and that’s just such a sad state of affairs.”

The post Brazen Thieves Break Into Residence Garages in San Francisco – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

OAKLAND (CBS SF) — A warning went out to mountain bikers in the Oakland hills Friday, alerting to a recent spree of several armed robberies targeting cyclists.

Avid mountain biker Louisa Spier was believed to be the first victim in the recent cases.’

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“Everything about it just fitted me perfect. The handlebars, the seat, I could lift it up,” described Spier of her beloved Giant Trance X29 mountain bike.

On Tuesday, March 29th around noon, she was riding solo on the Skyline Boulevard median trail near Parkridge drive not far from Oakland Fire Station 21. Spier said three masked suspects cornered her.

“The first one just said, ‘Give me your bike’ and I started to get off my bike,” Spier told KPIX. “And the one on the street came and pointed a gun at me and said, ‘Give us your bike’”

Spier jumped off her bike and ran into oncoming traffic. She said a woman driving on Skyline Boulevard stopped, let her in and drove her away from the gunman.

“To have a gun pointed at your face when you’re out just trying to enjoy nature and clear your mind is like the worse possible experience,” Spier said.

Police said after Spier’s robbery, they responded to two other robberies of mountain bikers on Skyline Boulevard near Joaquin Miller Road.

On March 31st, robbers pulled a gun on a father and son to take their bike. On April 6th at the same location, robbers took two bikes from bikers who were riding together.

The biking community reported on social media there was a fourth gunpoint robbery this week on a group of three bikers at the end of Skyline Boulevard near the Clyde Woolridge Staging parking lot. Police have not confirmed a fourth case.

“We made the decision to move our practice location this week because of this rash of thefts,” said Morgan Fletcher, a mountain bike coach.

He and fellow volunteers coach about 100 middle schoolers on how to bike in the Oakland Hills. Aside from moving their location, they now strongly encourage parents to pick up their kids after each session.

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“We’re guiding the children that if someone asks for you bike, just give them the bike,” Fletcher said.

Last April, Berkeley police reported a group of robbers targeting bicyclists near Grizzly Peak. It was unclear if police arrested that group.

Victims in the latest cases reported on social media the robbers were driving SUV’s. And given the proximity of the recent locations, the victims suspected the latest cases were connected.

But Oakland police have not released any information on the suspects.

Police report that the number of overall robberies involving guns in Oakland is down slightly this year compared to last. They said from January 1 to April 3, 2021, there were 324 gunpoint robberies.

In the same period this year, there were 307 cases.

“We try to ride in big groups now,” mountain biker Jose Luis Monroy said. “We love to do night rides, (but) we start to avoid that.”

The crimes may be the latest in crimes of opportunity. Many carbon fiber bikes cost between $5,000 and $10,000.

Spier said her bike was worth less, but it was the perfect Christmas gift from her husband a few months ago.

“(I’m) really afraid and upset and scared to go back out on a bike right now,” Spier said.

Safety advocates used to tell bikers to ride with at least one other person. Now they are telling people to ride in very large groups, citing strength in numbers.

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Oakland police said they were deploying more officers to areas where they were seeing spikes in robberies.

The post Brazen Armed Thieves Concentrating on Oakland Hills Mountain Bike Riders – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Politically liberal San Franciscans are used to living on an equal footing with open drug use, faecal streets, and petty crime. But a surge in home break-ins and outrageous shoplifting leads some residents to believe that the city they fell in love with is on the decline.

Caitlin Foster is one of those San Francisco shopkeepers who repeatedly had to put used needles and other drug paraphernalia away from the bar she ran. And after too many encounters with armed people in the crisis, Seattle’s transplant affection for its adopted home has grown sour.

“It was a goal to live here, but now I’m here thinking, ‘Where should I go now?’ I’m over it, ”said Foster, who runs the Noir Lounge in the hip Hayes Valley neighborhood.

A series of headline-grabbing crime stories – crowds breaking windows and stealing luxury purses in downtown Union Square, and daytime shootings in touristy Haight-Ashbury – have only added to the general feeling of vulnerability. Residents wake up to the news of attacks on elderly Asian Americans, broken-in restaurants, and boarded-up shop fronts in the city’s once-vibrant downtown area.

The pandemic emptied parts of San Francisco, highlighting some of its drawbacks, including a laissez-faire approach by officials to open drug trafficking just steps from the Opera House and Symphony Hall. Parents were desperate as public schools remained closed for most of last year as nearby counties welcomed the children back into the classroom.

“There is a widespread feeling in San Francisco that things are on the wrong track,” said Patrick Wolff, 53, a retired professional chess player from the Boston area who has lived in the city since 2005.

The San Franciscans will vote in June on whether to remove District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who was elected in 2019 and whose critics say he is too lenient about crime. Its supporters say there is no spike in crime and that corporate wage theft is a more pressing issue than cases like that of a San Francisco woman who was eventually arrested after stealing more than $ 40,000 in goods from a target in 120 visits had.

“Where is the progress? If you say you’re progressive, we’ll get the homeless off the street and get mental health care, ”said Brian Cassanego, a San Francisco native who owns the lounge where Foster works.

Cassanego moved to Wine Country five months ago after stepping out one day to find a man who “looked like a zombie” with his pants up to his knees and bleeding from a syringe in his hip. Nearby, a woman screamed in shock.

“I went upstairs and said to my wife, ‘We’re going now! This town is ready! ‘”He said.

San Francisco city leaders are proposing a plan to curb retail theft in the city, but some wonder if this will be enough. Ginger Conejero Saab reports.

While overall crime has been declining for years, reports of thefts – shoplifting from a person or company – have increased by nearly 17% year-over-year to more than 28,000. Inquiries about cleaning dirty streets and sidewalks are most calls to 311, the city’s service number.

San Francisco’s well-publicized problems have served as fodder for the conservative media. Former President Donald Trump recently stepped in again, releasing a statement saying the National Guard should be sent to San Francisco to prevent robberies.

Elected officials say they are grappling with deep societal problems that are common in every major US city.

A high percentage of an estimated 8,000 homeless people in San Francisco are struggling with chronic addiction or severe mental illness, usually both. Last year, 712 people died from drug overdoses, compared to 257 people who died from COVID-19.

LeAnn Corpus, an administrative assistant, said a homeless man used a bike and a sheets to pitch a makeshift tent in front of her house and relieved himself on the sidewalk. She called the police, who came two hours later and cleared him out, but a homeless man camped in the back yard of her aunt’s house for six months after trying to get the authorities to remove him.

“This town just doesn’t feel like it anymore,” said Corpus, a third-generation local.

In Hayes Valley, business owners who are tired of trash lying around and the city is doing nothing to address the problem have come together to lease closed trash cans from a private company, said Jennifer Laska, president of the neighborhood association.

After the lease expired, the association managed to get the city to buy and install new public garbage cans designed to keep rubbish in and thieves out. That was four months ago.

“We’re still struggling to actually buy the trash cans,” Laska said.

The post San Francisco’s Vaunted Tolerance Dims Amid Brazen Crimes – NBC Bay Space appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Caitlin Foster fell in love with San Francisco’s people and beauty and moved to the city a dozen years ago. But after repeatedly clearing used needles, other drug paraphernalia, and human feces outside of the bar she manages, and having many encounters with armed people in crisis, her affection for the city has been tainted.

“It was a goal to live here, but now I’m here thinking, ‘Where am I going to move now?’ I’m over it, ‘”said Foster, who runs the Noir Lounge in hip Hayes Valley.

A series of headline-grabbing crime stories – crowds breaking windows and snatching luxury purses in downtown Union Square, and daytime shootings in touristy Haight-Ashbury – only added to the feeling of vulnerability. Residents wake up to the news of attacks on Asian-American seniors, broken-in restaurants and boarded-up shop fronts in the city’s once-vibrant downtown area.

The San Franciscans pride themselves on their liberal political leanings and generously approve tax measures for schools and the homeless. They accept that garbage roads, tent camps and petty crime are the price one has to pay to live in an urban wonderland.

But the frustration of Foster, who moved from Seattle in search of more sunshine, is growing among residents who are now seeing a city in decline. There are signs that the city, famous for its tolerance, is losing patience.

The pandemic has emptied parts of San Francisco, highlighting some of its drawbacks: human and dog droppings smeared on sidewalks, break-ins into homes and vehicles, overcrowded bins, and a laissez-faire approach by officials to brazen drug trafficking. Parents were desperate as public schools remained closed for most of last year as nearby counties welcomed the children back into the classroom.

Meanwhile, residents and visitors scurry past scenes of lawlessness and misery. Just steps from the Opera House and Symphony Hall, drug dealers carry translucent bags with crystal-like stones or stand outside the main branch of the public library while haggling on heroin and methamphetamine.

“There’s a common feeling that things are going the wrong way in San Francisco,” said Patrick Wolff, 53, a retired professional chess player from the Boston area who has lived in the city since 2005.

As a sign of civic frustration, the San Franciscans will vote in June on whether to remove District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who was elected in 2019 and whose critics say he is too lenient about crime. Its supporters say there is no spike in crime and that corporate wage theft is a more pressing issue than cases like that of a San Francisco woman who was eventually arrested after stealing more than $ 40,000 in goods from a target in 120 visits had. She was released by a judge and arrested again on suspicion of shoplifting after she failed to come to collect her court-ordered ankle monitor.

“Where’s the progress? If you say you’re progressive, we’ll get the homeless off the streets and we’ll get them mental health care,” said Brian Cassanego, a native of San Francisco who owns the lounge where Foster works. He moved to Wine Country five months ago because he was tired of seeing dealers selling drugs with impunity and worrying that his wife would be out alone at night.

The day before he moved, Cassanego came out to take his dogs for a walk and saw a man who “looked like a zombie” with pants up to his knees and a bleeding spot with a syringe stuck in his hip . Nearby, a woman screamed in shock.

“I went upstairs and said to my wife, ‘We’re going now! This town is ready!'” He said.

Theft reports – shoplifting from a person or a company – increased by almost 17% to more than 28,000 compared to the same period last year. They stay lower than the 40,000+ thefts reported in 2019. Inquiries about cleaning dirty streets and sidewalks are most calls to 311, the city service number.

Overall, however, crime has been falling for years. More than 45,000 incidents have been reported so far this year, compared to the previous year when most people were locked in closed rooms, but fewer than the roughly 60,000 complaints in previous years.

San Francisco’s well-publicized problems have served as fodder for the conservative media. Former President Donald Trump recently stepped in again, releasing a statement saying the National Guard should be sent to San Francisco to prevent robberies.

Elected officials say they are grappling with deep societal problems that are common in every major US city.

A high percentage of an estimated 8,000 homeless people in San Francisco are struggling with chronic addiction or severe mental illness, usually both. Some people are romping on the streets, naked and in need of medical help. Last year, 712 people died from drug overdoses, compared to 257 people who died from COVID-19.

LeAnn Corpus, an administrative assistant who enjoys figure skating, eschews the downtown ice rinks and won’t bring her 8-year-old son there after dark because of open drug use. Still, the city’s urban problems have crept into its Portola neighborhood far from downtown.

A homeless man used a bicycle and a sheet to pitch a makeshift tent in front of her house and relieved himself on the sidewalk. She called the police, who came two hours later and cleared him out, but a homeless man camped in the back yard of her aunt’s house for six months after trying to get the authorities to remove him.

“This town just doesn’t feel like it anymore,” said Corpus, a third generation local.

San Francisco residents, who are generally uncomfortable with government surveillance, have installed security cameras and bolts to prevent break-ins and have begun to suspect outsiders.

Last night, on an otherwise warm evening, Joya Pramanik’s husband saw someone wearing a ski mask on their quiet street. She worried that the masked man was up to no good – and it pains her to say that because what she loves about San Francisco is the light hug of all kinds of characters.

Pramanik, a project manager who moved to the US from India as a teenager, hailed Trump’s failed re-election proposal but said she realized too late that democratic activists had kidnapped her city.

“When I say I want law enforcement, I’m racist,” she said. “I say, ‘No, I’m not a racist. There’s a reason I live in San Francisco.'”

Last year Wolff, the retired chess player, helped start a new political organization that aims to elect local officials who focus on solving urgent problems. Families for San Francisco will vote Democrats, but it will be organized outside of the city’s powerful Democratic Party’s establishment, he said.

Wolff hopes to change a bourgeois way of thinking that no longer expects much from basic services.

In hip Hayes Valley, for example, business owners who are fed up with trash lying around and the city is doing nothing to address the problem have come together to lease closed trash cans from a private company, said Jennifer Laska, president of the neighborhood association. After the lease expired, the association managed to get the city to buy and install new public garbage cans designed to keep rubbish in and thieves out.

That was four months ago.

“We’re still struggling to actually buy the trash cans,” Laska said.

In the Marina, an affluent neighborhood with breathtaking views of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, dozens of residents recently hired private security after an increase in car break-ins.

Lloyd Silverstein, a native of San Francisco and president of the Hayes Valley Merchants Association, said companies are considering hiring security guards and installing high-resolution security cameras. He rejects the idea that a single city official is to blame for the situation and is optimistic that the city will recover.

“We’ve been through big earthquakes and depression and a lot of other things, but we have pretty good attitudes about impact. We have some problems, but we’re going to fix them,” he said. “It can only take a while.”

The post San Francisco’s vaunted tolerance dims amid brazen crimes | Information appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Caitlin Foster fell in love with San Francisco’s people and beauty and moved to the city a dozen years ago. But after repeatedly clearing used needles, other drug paraphernalia, and human feces outside of the bar she manages, and having many encounters with armed people in crisis, her affection for the city has been tainted.

“It was a goal to live here, but now I’m here thinking, ‘Where should I move now?’ I’m over it, ‘”said Foster, who runs the Noir Lounge in the hip Hayes Valley neighborhood.

A series of headline-grabbing crime stories – crowds breaking windows and snatching luxury purses in downtown Union Square, and daytime shootings in touristy Haight-Ashbury – only added to the feeling of vulnerability. Residents wake up to the news of attacks on Asian-American seniors, broken-in restaurants and boarded-up shop fronts in the city’s once-vibrant downtown area.

The San Franciscans pride themselves on their liberal political leanings and generously approve tax measures for schools and the homeless. They accept that garbage roads, tent camps and petty crime are the price one has to pay to live in an urban wonderland.

But the frustration of Foster, who moved from Seattle in search of more sunshine, is growing among residents who are now seeing a city in decline. There are signs that the city, famous for its tolerance, is losing patience.

The pandemic has emptied parts of San Francisco, highlighting some of its drawbacks: human and dog droppings smeared on sidewalks, break-ins into homes and vehicles, overcrowded bins, and a laissez-faire approach by officials to brazen drug trafficking. Parents were desperate as public schools remained closed for most of last year as nearby counties welcomed the children back into the classroom.

Meanwhile, residents and visitors scurry past scenes of lawlessness and misery. Just steps from the Opera House and Symphony Hall, drug dealers carry translucent bags with crystal-like stones or stand outside the main branch of the public library while haggling on heroin and methamphetamine.

“There is a widespread feeling in San Francisco that things are on the wrong track,” said Patrick Wolff, 53, a retired professional chess player from the Boston area who has lived in the city since 2005.

As a sign of civic frustration, the San Franciscans will vote in June on whether to remove District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who was elected in 2019 and whose critics say he is too lenient about crime. Its supporters say there is no spike in crime and that corporate wage theft is a more pressing issue than cases like that of a San Francisco woman who was eventually arrested after stealing more than $ 40,000 in goods from a target in 120 visits had. She was released by a judge and arrested again on suspicion of shoplifting after she failed to come to collect her court-ordered ankle monitor.

“Where is the progress? If you say you’re progressive, let’s get the homeless off the streets and get them mental health care, ”said Brian Cassanego, a native of San Francisco who owns the lounge where Foster works. He moved to Wine Country five months ago because he was tired of seeing dealers selling drugs with impunity and worrying that his wife would be out alone at night.

The day before he moved, Cassanego went out to take his dogs for a walk and saw a man who “looked like a zombie” with pants up to his knees and bleeding from a syringe stuck in his hip. Nearby, a woman screamed in shock.

“I went upstairs and said to my wife, ‘We’re going now! This town is ready! ‘”He said.

Theft reports – shoplifting from a person or a company – increased by almost 17% to more than 28,000 compared to the same period last year. Inquiries about cleaning dirty streets and sidewalks are most calls to 311, the city’s service number.

Overall, however, crime has been falling for years. More than 45,000 incidents have been reported so far this year, compared to the previous year when most people were locked in closed rooms, but fewer than the roughly 60,000 complaints in previous years.

San Francisco’s well-publicized problems have served as fodder for the conservative media. Former President Donald Trump recently stepped in again, releasing a statement saying the National Guard should be sent to San Francisco to prevent robberies.

Elected officials say they are grappling with deep societal problems that are common in every major US city.

A high percentage of an estimated 8,000 homeless people in San Francisco are struggling with chronic addiction or severe mental illness, usually both. Some people are romping on the streets, naked and in need of medical help. Last year, 712 people died from drug overdoses, compared to 257 people who died from COVID-19.

LeAnn Corpus, an administrative assistant who enjoys figure skating, eschews the downtown ice rinks and won’t bring her 8-year-old son there after dark because of open drug use. Still, the city’s urban problems have crept into its Portola neighborhood far from downtown.

A homeless man used a bicycle and a sheet to pitch a makeshift tent in front of her house and relieved himself on the sidewalk. She called the police, who came two hours later and cleared him out, but a homeless man camped in the back yard of her aunt’s house for six months after trying to get the authorities to remove him.

“This town just doesn’t feel like it anymore,” said Corpus, a third generation local.

San Francisco residents, who are generally uncomfortable with government surveillance, have installed security cameras and bolts to prevent break-ins and have begun to suspect outsiders.

Last night, on an otherwise warm evening, Joya Pramanik’s husband saw someone wearing a ski mask on their quiet street. She worried that the masked man was up to no good – and it pains her to say that because what she loves about San Francisco is the light hug of all kinds of characters.

Pramanik, a project manager who moved to the US from India as a teenager, hailed Trump’s failed re-election proposal but said she realized too late that democratic activists had kidnapped her city.

“If I say I want to enforce the law, I am racist,” she said. “I say, ‘No, I’m not a racist. There’s a reason I live in San Francisco. ‘”

Last year Wolff, the retired chess player, helped start a new political organization that aims to elect local officials who focus on solving urgent problems. Families for San Francisco will vote Democrats, but it will be organized outside of the city’s powerful Democratic Party’s establishment, he said.

Wolff hopes to change a bourgeois way of thinking that no longer expects much from basic services.

In hip Hayes Valley, for example, business owners who are fed up with trash lying around and the city is doing nothing to address the problem have come together to lease closed trash cans from a private company, said Jennifer Laska, president of the neighborhood association. After the lease expired, the association managed to get the city to buy and install new public garbage cans designed to keep rubbish in and thieves out.

That was four months ago.

“We’re still struggling to actually buy the trash cans,” Laska said.

In the Marina, an affluent neighborhood with breathtaking views of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, dozens of residents recently hired private security after an increase in car break-ins.

Lloyd Silverstein, a native of San Francisco and president of the Hayes Valley Merchants Association, said companies are considering hiring security guards and installing high-resolution security cameras. He rejects the idea that a single city official is to blame for the situation and is optimistic that the city will recover.

“We’ve been through great earthquakes and depression and a lot more, but we have a pretty good attitude about recovering. We have some problems but we will solve them, ”he said. “It can only take a while.”

Conclude

Suggest a correction

Suggest a correction

The post San Francisco’s vaunted tolerance dims amid brazen crimes, open drug use and soiled streets appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Politically liberal San Franciscans are used to living on an equal footing with open drug use, faecal streets, and petty crime. But a surge in home break-ins and outrageous shoplifting leads some residents to believe that the city they fell in love with is on the decline.

Caitlin Foster is one of those San Francisco shopkeepers who repeatedly had to put used needles and other drug paraphernalia away from the bar she ran. And after too many encounters with armed people in the crisis, Seattle’s transplant affection for its adopted home has grown sour.

“It was a goal to live here, but now I’m here thinking, ‘Where should I go now?’ I’m over it, ”said Foster, who runs the Noir Lounge in the hip Hayes Valley neighborhood.

A series of headline-grabbing crime stories – crowds breaking windows and stealing luxury purses in downtown Union Square, and daytime shootings in touristy Haight-Ashbury – have only added to the general feeling of vulnerability. Residents wake up to the news of attacks on elderly Asian Americans, broken-in restaurants, and boarded-up shop fronts in the city’s once-vibrant downtown area.

The pandemic emptied parts of San Francisco, highlighting some of its drawbacks, including a laissez-faire approach by officials to open drug trafficking just steps from the Opera House and Symphony Hall. Parents were desperate as public schools remained closed for most of last year as nearby counties welcomed the children back into the classroom.

“There is a widespread feeling in San Francisco that things are on the wrong track,” said Patrick Wolff, 53, a retired professional chess player from the Boston area who has lived in the city since 2005.

The San Franciscans will vote in June on whether to remove District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who was elected in 2019 and whose critics say he is too lenient about crime. Its supporters say there is no spike in crime and that corporate wage theft is a more pressing issue than cases like that of a San Francisco woman who was eventually arrested after stealing more than $ 40,000 in goods from a target in 120 visits had.

“Where is the progress? If you say you’re progressive, we’ll get the homeless off the street and get mental health care, ”said Brian Cassanego, a San Francisco native who owns the lounge where Foster works.

Cassanego moved to Wine Country five months ago after stepping out one day to find a man who “looked like a zombie” with his pants up to his knees and bleeding from a syringe in his hip. Nearby, a woman cried out in shock.

“I went upstairs and said to my wife, ‘We’re going now! This town is ready! ‘”He said.

While overall crime has been declining for years, reports of thefts – shoplifting from a person or company – have increased by nearly 17% year-over-year to more than 28,000. They stay lower than the 40,000+ thefts reported in 2019. Inquiries about cleaning dirty streets and sidewalks are most calls to 311, the city service number.

San Francisco’s well-publicized problems have served as fodder for the conservative media. Former President Donald Trump recently stepped in again, releasing a statement saying the National Guard should be sent to San Francisco to prevent robberies.

Elected officials say they are grappling with deep societal problems that are common in every major US city.

A high percentage of an estimated 8,000 homeless people in San Francisco are struggling with chronic addiction or severe mental illness, usually both. Last year, 712 people died from drug overdoses, compared to 257 people who died from COVID-19.

LeAnn Corpus, an administrative assistant, said a homeless man used a bike and a sheets to pitch a makeshift tent in front of her house and relieved himself on the sidewalk. She called the police, who came two hours later and cleared him out, but a homeless man camped in the back yard of her aunt’s house for six months after trying to get the authorities to remove him.

“This town just doesn’t feel like it anymore,” said Corpus, a third generation local.

In Hayes Valley, business owners who are tired of trash lying around and the city is doing nothing to address the problem have come together to lease closed trash cans from a private company, said Jennifer Laska, president of the neighborhood association.

After the lease expired, the association managed to get the city to buy and install new public garbage cans designed to keep rubbish in and thieves out. That was four months ago.

“We’re still struggling to actually buy the trash cans,” Laska said.

The post San Francisco’s vaunted tolerance dims amid brazen crimes appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Caitlin Foster fell in love with San Francisco’s people and beauty and moved to the city a dozen years ago. But after repeatedly clearing used needles, other drug paraphernalia, and human feces outside of the bar she manages, and having many encounters with armed people in crisis, her affection for the city has been tainted.

“It was a goal to live here, but now I’m here thinking, ‘Where should I go now?’ I’m over it, ‘”said Foster, who runs the Noir Lounge in the hip Hayes Valley neighborhood.

A series of headline-grabbing crime stories – crowds breaking windows and stealing luxury purses in downtown Union Square, and daytime shootings in touristy Haight-Ashbury – have only added to the general feeling of vulnerability. Residents wake up to the news of attacks on Asian-American seniors, broken-in restaurants and boarded-up shop fronts in the city’s once-vibrant downtown area.

The San Franciscans pride themselves on their liberal political stance and generously approve tax measures for schools and the homeless. They accept that garbage roads, tent camps and petty crime are the price one has to pay to live in an urban wonderland.

But the frustration of Foster, who moved from Seattle in search of more sunshine, is growing among residents who are now seeing a city in decline. There are signs that the city, famous for its tolerance, is losing patience.

The pandemic has emptied parts of San Francisco, highlighting some of its drawbacks: human and dog droppings smeared on sidewalks, break-ins into homes and vehicles, overcrowded bins, and a laissez-faire approach by officials to brazen drug trafficking. Parents were desperate as public schools remained closed for most of last year as nearby counties welcomed the children back into the classroom.

Meanwhile, residents and visitors scurry past scenes of lawlessness and misery. Just steps from the Opera House and Symphony Hall, drug dealers carry translucent bags with crystal-like stones or stand outside the main branch of the public library while haggling on heroin and methamphetamine.

“There is a widespread feeling in San Francisco that things are on the wrong track,” said Patrick Wolff, 53, a retired professional chess player from the Boston area who has lived in the city since 2005.

As a sign of civic frustration, the San Franciscans will vote in June on whether to remove District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who was elected in 2019 and whose critics say he is too lenient about crime. Its supporters say there is no spike in crime and that corporate wage theft is a more pressing issue than cases like that of a San Francisco woman who was eventually arrested after stealing more than $ 40,000 in goods from a target in 120 visits had. She was released by a judge and arrested again on suspicion of shoplifting after she failed to come to collect her court-ordered ankle monitor.

“Where is the progress? If you say you’re progressive, we’ll get the homeless off the street and get mental health care, ”said Brian Cassanego, a San Francisco native who owns the lounge where Foster works. He moved to Wine Country five months ago because he was tired of seeing dealers selling drugs with impunity and worrying that his wife would be out alone at night.

The day before he moved, Cassanego came out to take his dogs for a walk and saw a man who “looked like a zombie” with pants up to his knees and a bleeding spot with a syringe stuck in his hip . Nearby, a woman cried out in shock.

“I went upstairs and said to my wife, ‘We’re going now! This town is ready! ‘”He said.

Theft reports – shoplifting from a person or a company – increased by almost 17% to more than 28,000 compared to the same period last year. Inquiries about cleaning dirty streets and sidewalks are most calls to 311, the city’s service number.

Overall, however, crime has been falling for years. More than 45,000 incidents have been reported so far this year, compared to the previous year when most people were locked in closed rooms, but fewer than the roughly 60,000 complaints in previous years.

San Francisco’s well-publicized problems have served as fodder for the conservative media. Former President Donald Trump recently stepped in again, releasing a statement saying the National Guard should be sent to San Francisco to prevent robberies.

Elected officials say they are grappling with deep societal problems that are common in every major US city.

A high percentage of an estimated 8,000 homeless people in San Francisco are struggling with chronic addiction or severe mental illness, usually both. Some people are romping on the streets, naked and in need of medical help. Last year, 712 people died from drug overdoses, compared to 257 people who died from COVID-19.

LeAnn Corpus, an administrative assistant who enjoys figure skating, eschews the downtown ice rinks and won’t bring her 8-year-old son there after dark because of open drug use. Still, the city’s urban problems have crept into its Portola neighborhood far from downtown.

A homeless man used a bicycle and a sheet to pitch a makeshift tent in front of her house and relieved himself on the sidewalk. She called the police, who came two hours later and cleared him out, but a homeless man camped in the back yard of her aunt’s house for six months after trying to get the authorities to remove him.

“This town just doesn’t feel like it anymore,” said Corpus, a third generation local.

San Francisco residents, who are generally uncomfortable with government surveillance, have installed security cameras and bolts to prevent break-ins and have begun to suspect outsiders.

Last night, on an otherwise warm evening, Joya Pramanik’s husband saw someone wearing a ski mask on their quiet street. She worried that the masked man was up to no good – and it pains her to say that because what she loves about San Francisco is the light hug of all kinds of characters.

Pramanik, a project manager who moved to the US from India as a teenager, hailed Trump’s failed re-election proposal but said she realized too late that democratic activists had kidnapped her city.

“If I say I want law enforcement, I’m racist,” she said. “I say, ‘No, I’m not a racist. There’s a reason I live in San Francisco. ‘”

Last year Wolff, the retired chess player, helped start a new political organization that aims to elect local officials who focus on solving urgent problems. Families for San Francisco will vote Democrats, but it will be organized outside of the city’s powerful Democratic Party’s establishment, he said.

Wolff hopes to change a bourgeois way of thinking that no longer expects much from basic services.

In hip Hayes Valley, for example, business owners who are fed up with trash lying around and the city is doing nothing to address the problem have come together to lease closed trash cans from a private company, said Jennifer Laska, president of the neighborhood association. After the lease expired, the association managed to get the city to buy and install new public garbage cans designed to keep rubbish in and thieves out.

That was four months ago.

“We’re still struggling to actually buy the trash cans,” Laska said.

At the Marina, an affluent neighborhood with breathtaking views of the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, dozens of residents recently hired private security after an increase in car break-ins.

Lloyd Silverstein, a native of San Francisco and president of the Hayes Valley Merchants Association, said companies are considering hiring security guards and installing high-resolution security cameras. He rejects the idea that a single city official is to blame for the situation and is optimistic that the city will recover.

“We’ve been through big earthquakes and depression and a lot of other things, but we have a pretty good attitude about recovering. We have some problems, but we will solve them, ”he said. “It can only take a while.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Fed up with brash property crimes, residents of the Marina District of San Francisco are taking matters into their own hands to protect themselves.

“We don’t feel safe in our neighborhood,” said Katie Lyons, a Beach Street resident. “And we have an alarm, we have cameras on our property, but we want the extra security that someone is keeping an eye on our house.”

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She said home and car break-ins in her neighborhood were so out of control that she is now paying for the security services of Patrol Special Officer Alan Byard.

Some of their neighbors have also recently become customers. Byard said he made several laps in his vehicle from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. looking for anything inappropriate or suspicious. He charges $ 65 a month per place of residence.

“It’s a beautiful area down here, people are scared of what’s going on,” said Byard. “They want a safe place to raise their children. Last year 10 of my customers left the city. “

Byard, who also patrols companies, says its private customers have more than doubled since the pandemic began, from 70 to 150 in the marina alone.

The biggest problem in the area is car break-ins, he said. He often deals with the homeless who sleep on the residents’ front doors. Petty thefts and break-ins are also common, according to Byard.

Patrol Special Officers work as private patrols overseen by the Police Commission.

Lyons said it was not uncommon to find stolen property, including empty luggage, right outside her home. Car burglars frequently break into vehicles parked at the nearby Palace of Fine Arts.

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“Especially at night I don’t walk with a purse, I drive or take an Uber, and that becomes a problem during the day too,” added Lyons.

In fact, popular Australian singer Clinton Kane was the victim of a brazen armed robbery in nearby Cow Hollow on Friday. Thieves made off with more than $ 30,000 worth of camera equipment.

Several videos posted on social media show that theft only lasts a few seconds and that witnesses or passing drivers do not deter burglars day or night.

A surveillance video by Trisha Bantigue shows a car break-in on Hawthorne Street and Howard Street in SoMa last month. She said she was careful not to leave anything in her brand new car and was still not immune.

A dash cam video was repeatedly recorded on Friday at Fisherman’s Wharf on Beach Street and Columbus Avenue. A waiting black Audi followed closely before the suspect finally stepped in.

Allan Brown, a resident of Marina, has lived in the area for 20 years.

When asked if property crime has gotten worse:

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“Oh, absolutely, absolutely. This place was once upon a time – nothing would ever happen here, ”he said.

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