San Francisco cleans up for Xi. Why not for Thee?
This week Xi Jinping will enjoy a city that has been spruced up for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. San Francisco residents are asking why they can’t enjoy streets that are safe and clean all the time.
After only recently agreeing to normalise trade relations with the United States, San Francisco now seems to be granting most favoured visitors status to a group including a ruthless dictator. This week Chinese communist thug Xi Jinping will enjoy a city that has been spruced up for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. San Francisco residents are asking why they can’t enjoy streets that are safe and clean all the time.
J.D. Morris reports for The San Francisco Chronicle:
Mayor London Breed, who faces a difficult re-election campaign next year, and other officials in her administration hope APEC is an opportunity to begin rehabilitating the city’s battered reputation. The city’s national and international image has been worn down by incessant headlines about public drug markets, homelessness, vacant downtown offices, an exodus of major retailers and brazen property crimes.
The mayor will be well on her way to re-election if she can convince residents that the city’s problems are merely reputational and that incessant headlines are the real villains. But the reality of lawlessness and human degradation may be difficult to overcome.
For this week, it seems the city is suddenly and miraculously able to navigate alleged legal impediments to maintaining public spaces.
The Chronicle report continues:
Ahead of the conference, the city tried to be aggressive about clearing homeless tent camps while working within the bounds of a federal injunction that limits San Francisco’s ability to conduct encampment sweeps without offering adequate shelter … In addition to trying to move people out of some prominent encampment hot spots in the Tenderloin and SoMa, the city embarked on a beautification campaign ahead of APEC that included peeling back the scaffolding on the Ferry Building, washing grime off the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s upper floors and decorating crosswalks in North Beach and Chinatown.
“We want people, especially (those) who are coming here from other places, to experience San Francisco for themselves so that they can tell the story from their own experience of walking the streets and visiting other parts of our city,” Breed told reporters at a Thursday news conference. “We want to make sure that the real story of San Francisco is told.”
Residents should demand that this “real story” is allowed to unfold every day, not just when dignitaries visit and an election approaches.
Heather Knight reports for the New York Times:
San Francisco had the air this week of teenagers frantically cleaning up after a house party with their parents on the way home …
Brooke Jenkins, who was appointed as district attorney last year after voters ousted her predecessor over frustrations with crime, said that law enforcement had more authority during the conference to clear people out of designated zones. Those areas include a swath surrounding Moscone Center, where the meetings will take place, and around the Fairmont Hotel atop Nob Hill, where President Biden will stay.
Perhaps the most obvious change has been seen at the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building at the corner of Seventh and Mission Streets, less than a mile from the conference centre.
For two years, a stubborn fentanyl market at the corner and a sprawling homeless encampment across the street became neighbourhood fixtures. People regularly used drugs in an adjacent alley.
Most have seemingly disappeared in a poof.
Poof! Like magic, it’s amazing what dedicated public servants can achieve when they see a media opportunity.
Ms. Knight writes about Adam Mesnick, owner of the Deli Board sandwich shop:
“If the city is able to create an illusion that it’s clean and runs effectively and humans are in shelters, even if it’s just for APEC, why is that not sustainable for the longer term?” he asked.
It’s a fair question, and he’s not the only one asking. The related question is whether the mayor is committed to addressing the city’s problems or just addressing the stories people tell about the city’s problems.
Josh Koehn reports for the San Francisco Standard:
Mayor London Breed spent the past several months telling anyone who would listen that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit — the largest geopolitical event to come to San Francisco in nearly 80 years — should be seen as an opportunity to reset the narrative on a city that has become a national punchline.
As the mayor does battle against punch lines, narratives and incessant headlines, Mr. Koehn describes a “lavish party” at City Hall to kick off the summit:
Much of the conversation between guests was as banal as any political event, but a few folks in attendance candidly acknowledged that San Francisco felt a little different. Multiple people admitted they have been taking stock of the noticeably cleaner streets and more vibrant spaces in the Downtown core, much of which is due to an increase in drug enforcement, a clearing of homeless encampments and around-the-clock work by the city’s beleaguered Department of Public Works
One question, however, is whether the makeover is a sign of progress or little more than a Band-Aid. Is San Francisco capable of maintaining better street conditions not only for the rest of this week, but also in the weeks and months to come?
“Our hope is that the momentum with everything that we’re already doing will continue to allow our city to be what we all know it is: a great city,” Breed told The Standard during Sunday’s event. “And we can’t just let a few people get in the way of impacting what it is that we’re trying to do, and that is take care of people and keep the streets clean and safe.”
Let’s hope she means it. Imagine if America is now approaching a moment when progressive politicians want to send virtue signals that express actual virtue. Now that would be a story.
As we hope for an actual revival in San Francisco, it’s embarrassing for all Americans that one of our most famous cities needs a radical makeover to look presentable for foreign visitors. Such abrupt state-directed civic improvements are usually associated with communist regimes.
Perhaps there is a punch line to be written about the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
The Wall Street Journal
