How will San Francisco's Union Square, downtown businesses recover from the pandemic?

[@kenchow1142]

it s just not safe anymore in SF.

[@donjose6520]

We have somehow been snookered into voting for a DA who won't prosecute criminals...he releases them all. Nobody feel safe in San Francisco

[@victorng7916]

I agree. They just released everyone from the jail!

[@mademsoisellerhapsody]

BINGO

[@raytang76]

It's really not safe anywhere anymore these days! Especially the major big cities!

[@sarahplenge8683]

It never was lol

[@amoxintubeu]

You can get attacked and robbed in SF broad daylight. Your cars will be broken in if you park it in the city. You don't feel safe when you ride BART. Your life and property are at risk in SF. If they don't fix anything, who wants to visit or work there?

[@victorng7916]

I am sure Mayor Breed hear it all but she just don’t care!

[@kjdinoc]

@@victorng7916 She and the people who vote for her are the architects of this madness. They must like it.

[@victorng7916]

@@kjdinoc California become a criminal paradise!

[@anarose623]

My friend who lives there had her car stolen 4 times already .

[@victorng7916]

@@anarose623 San Francisco is only protecting the criminals! Sorry to say that but it’s true.

[@marcparella]

Don't get me started: I live two blocks from Union Square. The homeless own the place.

[@kenwall777]

So sad. Really it is.

[@victorng7916]

Breed doesn’t see it. She still saying San fruits a safe city!

[@Anne.411]

Facts. These officials got millions to help them but officials refuse to build tiny house villages for them because they would rather build them for us instead

[@piperlani]

Blame the Democrats!

[@victorng7916]

@@piperlani you are so true.

[@ClearanceCollector]

I live cross the Bay and I haven’t gone to SF since 02/2020. Surprisingly, I don’t miss one bit. Everything is expensive is enough to keep me away, not to mention: homeless, crime, drugs, traffic.

[@DJAUDIO1]

Same. I haven't been to SF since Feb 2020. Wild to think about that.

[@kenwall777]

Good for you. I used to live there. It's a shame what has happened to the city.

[@Popcornbeetle]

Beautiful city but too dangerous with all the random attacks.

[@jessieh867]

Agree!

[@qjtvaddict]

Lockup the crazies

[@coldchillin8382]

I quit working in SF in 2018, moved to the South Bay, and haven’t visited SF once and don’t miss it at all

[@MouseCIick]

I almost never shop in those areas anyways. The irony is unreal. Tech yuppies can destroy local economy by being there and not being there at the same time.

[@jacklondon3013]

Those "Tech Yuppies" are literally overpaid.

[@shanewillbur1325]

@@jacklondon3013 thats not whats driving this. Tech is native to the bay area since the Late 60s.

[@omar9268]

@@shanewillbur1325 it is WHATS creating unlivable cities, same things happening in austin. they move to more affordable states, buy up affordable property, and disturb the local economy leaving no competition for other industries

[@jacklondon3013]

@@omar9268 You got IT right! Thank you!

[@karireyes7603]

Its staggering what these highly compensated folk are doing to disrupt housing markets in the suburbs around the Bay, Texas, Oregon, Washington...now locals from all these areas who have been saving for years to purchase a first home are unable to because the Tech Bros and Sisters are paying waaaaaaay over the asking price with their extra Tech money. Look at Lake Tahoe area....its a nightmare for the locals.

[@jcoon182]

Short answer....they wont

[@GoldAceNews]

This is a touristic and foodie city, NOT Tech. SF must come back to the old ways of attracting visitors, that's what makes it different.

[@mandalor-8315]

But will it ??

[@victorng7916]

How can it been? Who want to go to downtown now if day?

[@shanelewis617]

Wow that's delusional!

[@GoldAceNews]

@Uncle Grandpa some tech is fine, but not all companies because then it brings inequality for people who have been here years working hard and pushing them out because landlords got greedy with tech workers by raising rents disproportionately... suddenly 5K for a single one bed one bath, can you make sense? And people in that industry don't care about anyone else but themselves, even if they push out people to the streets to make themselves home. Terrible, but that's the greedy mentality here in the bay area.

[@shanewillbur1325]

@@GoldAceNews tech is native to the bay area. SF saw it coming since the 80s and did nothing to adapt. SFstate and UC Berkeley helped to create the internet. Im a native myself. And finally ended up moving away after getting mugged 3 times within 3 years. SF has done this more than once. The minute it gets a humming industry, it freezes up and doesn’t want to adapt. We had the demand rebuild SF into futuristic city that could have housed the locals, the artists, small shops, and the huge tech wave at the same time. We could have become a mini tokyo with a unique western SF style and flair. A city that keeps going through this boom and bust cycle in this way, is never actually going to have the break out it needs. I loved SF. I loved what it was, but very sad at the potential it squanders every single time. My father was also a native, and saw the same things happen and reminded me that this isn’t new. We were supposed to have 3 more bay bridges, a better bart system that was revamped. Parking towers to keep all the cars off the curbs, All sort of other promises that never came to light because no one wanted to change. Ive lived through two cycles of SF, and I had thought we learned after the last bubble. But we havent. And thats what saddens me.

[@maylani3697]

Those of us who work there don’t want to go downtown. Most of the problems before the pandemic have just been exacerbated. Before the pandemic, it was already dirty, overcrowded with rude people, bad traffic, and homeless people. Most retailers have to hire security for their store because of all the problems associated with shoplifting. The City reaped the tax dollars from the tourists and conventions but didn’t seem to bother spending any of that money to fix the problems. Public transportation was already sketchy before. Now, even more than previously, I have to remain vigilant every day when I ride MUNI in order to not become a crime victim. It’s stressful. Pretty sad when even the residents of San Francisco don’t want to go downtown because of all the negative experiences.

[@victorng7916]

I haven’t been go to downtown for almost 8-10 years.😂 Homeless, dirty, crimes. It just unsafe in SF. Good luck everyone.

[@JackTheRabbitMusic]

I haven’t stepped foot downtown in about 8 years. I have lived in SF since 2010. 🐰🇺🇸🎸🎶🤝✌️

[@BobbyVan510]

Where is the police ? Lol

[@victorng7916]

@@BobbyVan510 San Francisco has a very nice DA will release all the people from the jail out. That’s why the police really fir nothing to do.

[@BobbyVan510]

@@victorng7916 this is the reason why people are moving out of San Francisco. If people don’t feel protected, tech companies moving out, what’s the point being there? No more night life , social life

[@transamericanlife]

I find it ironic that Salesforce tower and so many other commercial properties are now white elephants.

[@donjose6520]

Do I feel sorry for Salesforce and other tech companies? Lol !

[@qjtvaddict]

GOOD but ESA is an even bigger white elephant

[@elicooper4031]

It was a disaster before pandemic already.

[@lisetteeliseparis7070]

Yes it was.

[@BonjourTwice]

You can tell that her words are very careful and calculated. Don’t want to be cancelled

[@tleonard8472]

its Detroit 2.0 in the making and has been for years. Don't let them squirm out of it by blaming "covid"

[@AllergicToLies]

Clean the city up!!

[@dejavu9605]

First things first, clean out the politicians

[@hemingsgarage]

San Francisco is slowly becoming the new Detroit.

[@muddablandon]

am i the only one who was disturbed by the way he pronounced uniqlo?? lmaooo

[@primeholyassasin20]

I vacationed in SF in 2019. Yes there were homeless problems, but the cable cars, fisherman’s wharf, Golden Gate Bridge and park, Alcatraz/angel island, and ghirardeli square gave me the experience of a lifetime. It saddens me to see the city like this. I hope things get better soon. Stay strong SF and Bay Area.

[@Technolojesus]

Fisherman's Wharf also looks pretty depressing with so many closed businesses. It was getting bad even before the pandemic. Last time I was at the wharf a couple years ago there was a homeless dude exposing himself on Beach and Stockton Streets.

[@mjb0183]

That’s considered a “Norman Rockwell” moment here in SF. You’re so lucky

[@tonylinh3791]

Get rid of the democratic city leaders, and everything else democratic related..!

[@lisetteeliseparis7070]

City fathers catered to rich people who looked down on poor people.

[@wesleyrodgers886]

Blame the voters

[@shanhuangus]

Mayor London already found enough new customers for Union Square merchants: HOMELESS

[@shanhuangus]

@@GCMC-m2h They won’t pay if “sales” amount is lower than $950

[@janiebankston2003]

Thats so true they want to ruin small businesses run them out than snap up properties for cheap ,right Newsome?

[@mariocervantes8101]

Not pandemic. It’s the homeless that is the problem.

[@nickblanck9521]

LOL SF is going to be the new Detroit.

[@kevo212]

No way, the weather and location is too nice... I want people to leave but housing is at a premium. Homes go on sale and get offers immediately, more than asking price. Downtown will change but they’ll just convert to expensive homes that people buy right away...

[@kevo212]

@@nickblanck9521 detroit weather sucks, SF has beautiful land and the coast, people just want to live here for that, we have a housing shortage... I hope people leave but we need a larger mass exodus to feel like the shortage is easing

[@Talkwithtina808]

I said the same thing

[@Zergcerebrates]

Solve the homeless problem and business will boom. I visited SF a few years ago and felt very unsafe, the city is just dirty and it smells.

[@davidho9238]

It is done if they don’t clean up the street and make peoples feel safe to walk. If the area has nothing but big retailers, it lost it color and nothing special.

[@mixedhairless]

I was a Powell Street Punk/ Breakdancer in the 80’s.....totally off topic but hey What do you expect from too much vodka...😂

[@williamfore2478]

Who wants to deal with public transportation, breakdowns by Bart. Insane drivers on the freeways, no parking, what to wear everyday, child care. The future is here to stay by working remotely

[@interamerica6027]

Detroit 2.0

[@anarose623]

SF is such a dump now.

[@kevo212]

things change, won’t ever be normal again. Can’t force corps to make us go back to the office. We learned you don’t have to be physically in the office downtown and waste 2 hours every day commuting. We still have to eat, just not downtown anymore. Need to adapt and change, sorry

[@doraima29]

Wow, SF has changed so much during the pandemic. No reason to go there anymore. Pretty devastating and sad!

[@metchandara]

Homeless, and crime is the real problem.

[@MrJackwork]

Might it help to replace the bureaucrats and "politicians" with republicans? Just asking for a friend.

[@PikachuTDP]

I have live in for 42 years don’t feel like a safe place anymore. We need a new DA

[@angli232]

It's hopeless, retail market is gone!

[@GlowBright333]

In my observation, it was the aggressive panhandling, crime, open drug use, and unsanitary conditions that drove the families away from downtown San Francisco. You will not see any Sunday families with their children, pushing a stroller. Over the years, my liberal acquaintances supported every law, decision, and voted all of this in. Yet many of them were first to move out of state.

[@ricecakeboii94]

Maybe California politicians shouldn’t cuss out the tech CEO’s

[@judytam2835]

I’ve been living in SF more than fifty year. I don’t go to stinky down town, homeless are like ants all over the place. They need to clean up and shelter the homeless. I’ve been doing all my shopping in Daly City and San Mateo.

[@lisetteeliseparis7070]

Hey, years ago my parents decided we would move to San Francisco. Even back in the seventies they wanted everything except your fourth child to rent an apartment! It's been expensive for decades! The city fathers did that to the city, and they want to be all shocked that at present it's just another Western ghost town.

[@towinrei]

I think the biggest problem with San Francisco is just how politicians and techies there have shifted the policies of the city. Not just that but the politics as well. San Francisco used to be a very nice city prior to the 2010s, and was doing quite well for itself as well. Now, with SF being known as a tech hub and overall more liberal politicians being elected, SF has become a shell of its former self. I'd rather remain optimistic that SF will get better after 2021, but as of right now, it's looking pretty bleak. SF is still a very fun and nice place, but now, it's just become very politicized and well, the tech giants there haven't made the situation better.

[@donjose6520]

Greedy politicians like Ed Lee and London Bridges.

[@towinrei]

@@donjose6520 I don't know much about Ed Lee but I haven't heard many good things about London Breed. Though that's really not surprising.

[@copusmultimedia]

@@towinrei Ed Lee sold out SF to the tech companies with (no) tax incentives. It was downhill from there. What is really ironic: the richest industry in the world brings down a jewel of a town.

[@towinrei]

@@copusmultimedia Yikes.

[@dejavu9605]

Progressives ruin every city they touch.

[@Anne.411]

They won’t recover this is the plan

[@homelessjesse9453]

Recover? Let that place burn to the ground and salt the earth.

[@OrdinaryG33K-SF]

If any of these downtown restaurants wants to survive, they should think about opening a location in the neighborhoods. I just came back from The Marina, picking up my dinner, and it was OFF THE CHAIN! I mean REALLY jumpin'! SO many people out, eating outside, walking around... It was like a street fair! ALL the restaurants up there are making money! They can hardly keep up with all the business! I live in San Francisco, and work downtown, and I haven't been down there since a year ago. I can believe that the Financial District is dead. A place like Ladle & Leaf, though, could open up a location on Chestnut St, or Union St, and do really well right about now (for LUNCH, anyway. Certainly not for this evening crowd). They should think about it.

[@GoldAceNews]

Marina is like another country, the snobs don't go outside of their square neighborhood. Lol

[@catdaddiaries]

It’s simply not safe there. That’s the main reason.

[@Flashbackjacko]

CLEAN UP THE CITY .. THE CITY CAUSED THIS

[@standepain]

"Police won't come quickly" Didn't California pass a law that the police can't arrest someone if the crime is under a certain dollar amount?

[@marcparella]

Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors, you better be reading these comments.

[@MooseBme]

Big Tech to California: By Felicia!

[@charlieflowers1892]

NO WAY THAT AREA IS COMING BACK....PLACE IS A NIGHTMARE

[@paulo7200]

Thanks Gov. Newsom! And it's not "every city". The mall in Scottsdale AZ , with similar stores as Union Square, was PACKED when I visited two months ago.

[@alanmazzucchelli9013]

Paul O. Let's be objective there are plenty of conservatives in Arizona who don't pay attention to the virus,so their up and about like fools.

[@clubmogambo3214]

Frisco is slowly but surely becoming a sewer of a city. Both figuratively and literally.

[@kailuhu9682]

Wow. This is so selfish. If our company lets us work from home, you wanted them to tell their employees no? Just so you can get our business. Geez

[@Maxxroad]

Lol it sounds ludicrous. Look no one cares about your food. You can close up shop and go home like your customers did last year.

[@jbar_85]

It’s not all about that. It’s about the vibe of the city, too. These businesses were there to serve customers. Customers aren’t always tourists they’re locals and workers in the area. I think we should all be returning back into work. There are too many people milking it and not being productive. I work with a bunch of lazy ones. As soon as the pandemic started and my company said, the following positions can work from home, they were out of there so fast, you barely saw them leave. 🤣

[@ToddLloyd]

I work downtown, but there are certain parts of the Union Square area that I don’t feel safe walking to. There’s crime, but there are no more non-criminals walking to and from work. It’s off balance, and it doesn’t feel safe. And I’m not talking about the homeless. I’m talking about the criminals visiting the area looking for opportunity.

[@jackiscrazy911]

No it’s also the homeless

[@marty88ish]

Think it’s going to be really hard to get people to go back into an office now that they know working remotely works.

[@thebastardgift]

Some will go back but I suspect most will not even if they rather work away from home. The money companies save from leasing buildings, paying taxes, insurance, rent increases, utilities, etc., will be the decision maker.

[@ajlee613]

tbh WFM is the future. the next generation understands. in the future instead of big downtowns there should be plentiful and spread out mixed use neighborhoods with residential and work within walking distance at an affordable cost. no more buying a house 3 hours a way because its the only place affordable enough that is still safe. you can go out buy that house and work from home, businesses will follow and populate these neighborhoods that have people in them and have money to spend.

[@iriswang8401]

Uniqlo is gone now.

[@picpine]

Even after vaccination, please keep your masks ON 😷

[@stefenhainbuch2017]

How do you properly pronounce Uniqlo?

[@jsurfin1]

You nee glow

[@coldchillin8382]

U- ni-ku-ro. It’s Japanese ウニクロ

[@ashmitchell9276]

"Uni" as in unique. "Qlo" as in clothing. Q pronounced like a hard C.

[@jmlinden7]

Unique-low

[@timtam9673]

How many retail store owner can afford the $950 free shipping per person. Not to mention the crimes.

[@tropicalblum]

It’s gona take 10-15 years to get back to ‘normal’ 😢

[@jet44444]

A lot of businesses in downtown have up and left. There’s barely any stores anymore, the leases are too much. We pretty much only have Ross, old navy, Westfield, Nordstrom rack and Macy’s. We lost H&M, Uniqlo, gap, Disney store, marshals + more. Downtown is empty.

[@kimberlyjohnson7961]

Working from home! No reason to come out to work

[@Ops535]

All because of the chinese not coming here spending $5k per traveller.

[@janiebankston2003]

I was in union Square yesterday ,I work down town ,I was told to leave for my own safety by this weird woman ,Its a very ugly place ,because of those people.

[@The_Referee]

san francisco downtown , bart station smells like pee ~!

[@marionwilson8141]

LA looks the same. For Lease everywhere

[@arerki09]

I have a solution: Lower the rent for commercial/ retail spots. Landlords expect small businesses to pay pre-Covid rents - Union Square rents can go as low as $80K per MONTH. That’s at least two years of college tuition at a UC!!! Some of these commercial retailers won’t even tell you how much they are asking for rent unless you send hundreds of thousands of monthly sales - UNREAL!

[@vetervgolovy]

It won't recover.

[@stevechavez2298]

SF been dead since oracle left and politically corrupts

[@marionwilson8141]

To many homeless, Police won’t show up, No Stores...

[@MichaelLee-kw5xp]

This would be a great time for the city to buy commercial real estate and create affordable housing/rehab centers.

[@dejavu9605]

SF is bankrupt without the businesses. Good luck with that. Bad laws already chased away tax paying entities.

[@shanewillbur1325]

@@dejavu9605 you don’t need businesses when you have chinese money paying 100-200k over asking price to park capital into an asset you wont live in.

[@veeseee128]

Invest in the poor and get them to working this will help revive the economy. I know not all the poor will work, but some will. But dont go back to the rich doing the rich and leave others out in the cold.

[@BenTaylorPostProduction]

I went to the Academy of Art in SF. Living there was horrible. No one wants to pay more money than any other city to live in an open-air meth and opiate market filled w/ addicts. That is what that area really is. Being an artist I can not afford to do business here and want out. Poverty has trapped me here like so many other people.

[@johnvingno5141]

Retail is a dying business most people do their shopping online these days and they can't seem to find any workers because the pay and hours are not consistent.

[@ericweizhou]

Don't blame the pandemic. crime, homeless, and useless DA and government are to blame.

[@thomastran8372]

Where's Batman when you need him.

[@rr7firefly]

Empty Union Square --- a terrible harbinger of bad times that should alarm everyone who wants to see a thriving commercial core in the heart of the city.

[@paullo2692]

The key to success is to think outside of the box. Everything has changed, those who adjusts and come up with innovative ideas will thrive, while others will fall. Know that things will never be the same again. Do nothing to adjust, you'll fail. Have courage and imagination and implement changes is the key to survival or even success.

[@holland9199]

I don’t see it happening it’s not realistic you can’t hear yourself talking and the homeless problem you have 🤔 you not like New York in any form and she is coming back to life. Your too small a fish. To much 💩 in the street, you can’t even keep the thieves from walking in and robbing your Walgreens 🙄that doesn’t happen here and we clear out homeless encampments immediately we handle it differently 🧐

[@ziggy149]

I love NYC. They just don’t pay enough there to offset cost of living unfortunately

[@RWong-wn3pv]

SF tolerates & loves the homeless & lawlessness . It’s a great destination for those people? Just tax the “bigs” like local, county, state, Fed governments, SALESFORCE?

[@oscaryuen311]

how about this have a tax deduction for every purchase you make in the city for the city tax and cut on spending of useless stuff or redirect the funding

[@ecalder28612]

Why come back? I can work from home and it is good for the environment.

[@Talkwithtina808]

They mention nothing about the crime, expensive rent or the homeless.lmao. What a joke

[@oleksandrmirza]

old ppl r kinda bias

[@joemcgee1172]

Thank Gavin move to Florida no lock down, $950.00 no problem no jail 👍🏻

[@markh2189]

Pass the law to imprison looters for 5,000 years in prison and remain in jail for life. And things will go back normal. Vote for new Politicians that will enforce it.

[@saramaria-]

Too much crime

[@thebastardgift]

Decades ago society believed homelessness could be stopped but it was a fast moving train without tracks. We see the increase of more tents on the streets but that alone does not speak of their overall population. Even the government has estimated numbers but not the reality numbers of just how many homeless people exist. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not even next year. BUT... One day there will be equally just as many homeless as there are people with roofs over their heads. They are a nation within a nation.

[@jbar_85]

They need to just open. I don’t get the issue here? Just open up and all these issues will be resolved.

[@thebastardgift]

This is about more than retail. This is about the blood vessels of the city, thus state's, economy collapsing. We have been without oxygen too long. 😐

[@ckkher]

We have similar issues going on in LA here. Homeless everywhere threatening and killing/hurting people. Three stabbing cases in 1 week from crazy people or homeless. I think the cops are heavily understaffed to take care of the situation tbh.

[@brandonstevens2069]

If a strong economy returns then SF will come back to life. Otherwise the tourists, conventions, and office workers will not return. Not enough people in SF to support all those businesses.

[@timetrialist]

Dr Phil is on ABC now?

[@fishdog61]

Try letting the police 👮‍♀️ do there job and take out the trash!! Vote your city council out of office.

[@josephguthrie9140]

Short answer: who cares?

[@myairspace3xx]

Put more homeless in SF and tax them.

[@loulopez554]

The next Detroit!

[@garyK.45ACP]

MOVE...to TX, AZ, FL, TN, GA

[@eugeneszsz]

Great list, I’m checking out 3 of those places. I’ve realized if you can’t change govt, move states.

[@garyK.45ACP]

@@eugeneszsz Do it before your property values drop in CA and the values in all those other places go up. I bought my current home in FL in 2015 and it is currently valued at more than double what I paid for it.

[@eugeneszsz]

@@garyK.45ACP I visited Tampa/St Pete in Nov 20 and was very impressed, its certainly on my yes list. Next on my places to visit would be Central Texas and Tennessee, possibly GA too.

[@garyK.45ACP]

@@eugeneszsz i live on the central, east coast of Florida, south of Daytona Bch, North of Cape Canaveral. I prefer the east coast for fishing and better beaches. 😁 I'm retired, so fishing and beaches are top of my priority list. West coast is more expensive but less subject to hurricanes. Clearwater has an awesome beach, but in general east coast beaches are better (IMO). The panhandle is very nice but they get the most hurricanes. Generally, the farther south you go on either Florida coast, the more expensive property gets. I have visited TN and GA but never lived there. Nice places. Probably less expensive than FL, but the winters are not as mild. You'll have to wear long pants and a jacket. Maybe even socks. Socks are considered "formal wear" in Florida. I was born and raised in central Texas, also lived in the Dallas area for 12 years, but haven't lived there since 1990. I like the New Braunfels and Llano areas, but I do not know how they have changed in the last 30 years. Probably a lot.

[@eugeneszsz]

@@garyK.45ACP Oh ya? beaches are important to me too, but im keeping on budget so no beach homes for me, i was surprised how affordable homes were for only being a 10-15 min drive to the beach. In Central Texas i was actually considering New Braunfels, San Marcos, Austin, Roundrock. Im sure with Texas there is more job growth/opportunities and cheaper real estate. But FL def has the better environment with similar tax perks.

[@520gosiga]

She’s talking about police but they always want to abolish the police

[@707SLAYER]

he is not the example give me a break...