by Zain Jaffer
News videos prior to the mid November 2023 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in San Francisco showed a cleaned up city. No drugs, homeless tents, cardboard boxes, blight, and trash. Graffiti had been covered by painted art. The APEC Summit is a gathering of twenty one of the national leaders of countries that are part of this region.
It turns out political will was all it takes.
In a press conference, California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “I know folks are saying, ‘Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all those fancy leaders are coming to town..That’s true, because it’s true — but it’s also true for months and months and months prior to APEC, we’ve been having conversations.”
One important side meeting that took place during the Forum was between China’s Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden. Both sides had much at stake, including a possible war in the South China Sea, the Taiwan issue, trade issues such as the ban on Chinese made telco equipment like Huawei in the US and exports of advanced semiconductors to China, the ban on the use of Apple products by Chinese government officials, and the Fentanyl issue.
Understandably the US government wanted to set the mood for a good meeting between the two heads of state by putting San Francisco in its best light. From a historical context, San Francisco was the entry port for many Chinese laborers in the mid 1800s and also hosts the oldest Chinatown in North America.
What left a bad taste in the mouth for many of San Francisco’s residents, businesses, and tourists was the fact that the problem of urban blight, homelessness, open drug use, street crimes, and other issues were allowed to fester when in fact Governor Newsom and Mayor London Breed had shown that it can be cleared up if they really wanted to.
The past few years have seen a decline in retail and office occupancy, tourism in the downtown areas, and retail and other related businesses. Union Square is currently a pitiful shadow of its old glorious self. The glamorous storefronts have been replaced by vacant for lease signs beside homeless encampments and trash in the streets.
The City’s economy from commercial real estate, while heavily impacted by Work from Home and other factors, was also deeply impacted by the amount of open homelessness, drug use, and crime. Many companies and retailers like Nordstrom and Gap have left, and to see that something could have been done long ago will pain many.
The damage to retail businesses by widely reported incidents of shoplifting has led to many famous retail stores closing their flagship branches. In turn, tourists are now disappointed and stay away from what are otherwise beautiful parts. Visitors from other parts of the world wonder why American stores need to put their merchandise under lock and key.
It is not too late. San Francisco remains one of America’s most beautiful cities with a rich history and heritage. While we need to treat homelessness, drugs, and poverty with compassion and understanding, it is also not an excuse to let go of basic disciplines such as catching and punishing those who violate the law with impunity so that others will not follow the same path.
It is time for a San Francisco renaissance. We have shown it can work. Let’s make it happen now and not go back to the situation we have allowed to fester.
SOURCES