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| San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin pushes back against tech-led gentrification | San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin pushes back against tech-led gentrification |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Del Seymour knows all about the pimps, drug dealers and vagrants of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district – because he used to be one of them. | Del Seymour knows all about the pimps, drug dealers and vagrants of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district – because he used to be one of them. |
| “I was a real bad dude down here. I’ve pissed and shitted myself on these streets. I’ve felt the cold and felt the fear of being attacked. I’ve been stabbed and shot. I served time in jail.” | “I was a real bad dude down here. I’ve pissed and shitted myself on these streets. I’ve felt the cold and felt the fear of being attacked. I’ve been stabbed and shot. I served time in jail.” |
| That was years ago. These days you still see Seymour, 67, on the streets but in a very different capacity. Now he wears a tie and a fedora and leads technology workers, among others, on tours around the Tenderloin, urging them to discover – and embrace – possibly the most infamous neighbourhood in the United States. | That was years ago. These days you still see Seymour, 67, on the streets but in a very different capacity. Now he wears a tie and a fedora and leads technology workers, among others, on tours around the Tenderloin, urging them to discover – and embrace – possibly the most infamous neighbourhood in the United States. |
| “It looks bad and it smells bad but this is a caring community,” he told the Guardian on a tour this week. “I want the techies to see that.” | “It looks bad and it smells bad but this is a caring community,” he told the Guardian on a tour this week. “I want the techies to see that.” |
| For Seymour, and many others here, that is an urgent mission. More than 10,000 technology workers from Twitter, Spotify, Zendesk, Yammer and other companies have moved into the Tenderloin and the adjacent Mid-Market district. | For Seymour, and many others here, that is an urgent mission. More than 10,000 technology workers from Twitter, Spotify, Zendesk, Yammer and other companies have moved into the Tenderloin and the adjacent Mid-Market district. |
| They could potentially gentrify this gritty, 50-block swath of downtown into condos, lofts, hipster bars, organic cafes and yoga studios, as has happened in other parts of San Francisco and the Bay area. | They could potentially gentrify this gritty, 50-block swath of downtown into condos, lofts, hipster bars, organic cafes and yoga studios, as has happened in other parts of San Francisco and the Bay area. |
| It looks bad and it smells bad but this is a caring community. I want the techies to see that | It looks bad and it smells bad but this is a caring community. I want the techies to see that |
| “Over my dead body,” growled Seymour, a high-profile community advocate. “I’m making sure they don’t ignore us. They can come here and put their flag up but they can’t pull our flag down.” | “Over my dead body,” growled Seymour, a high-profile community advocate. “I’m making sure they don’t ignore us. They can come here and put their flag up but they can’t pull our flag down.” |
| Seymour’s walking tours, and the opening last Thursday of the Tenderloin’s first ever museum, are part of a bold experiment: welcome technology workers to a run-down neighbourhood without pushing out long-term residents. | Seymour’s walking tours, and the opening last Thursday of the Tenderloin’s first ever museum, are part of a bold experiment: welcome technology workers to a run-down neighbourhood without pushing out long-term residents. |
| It is an ambitious goal. The tech workers are mostly well-paid and keen to live downtown. Tenderloin is filled with impoverished families, homeless people, drug addicts and the mentally ill. You don’t need an app to figure out who usually wins such contests. | It is an ambitious goal. The tech workers are mostly well-paid and keen to live downtown. Tenderloin is filled with impoverished families, homeless people, drug addicts and the mentally ill. You don’t need an app to figure out who usually wins such contests. |
| The bay area’s tech boom has fueled rocketing property prices and evictions. Protests against so-called “Google buses” – shuttles that ferry tech workers to Silicon Valley – have made headlines in recent years. | The bay area’s tech boom has fueled rocketing property prices and evictions. Protests against so-called “Google buses” – shuttles that ferry tech workers to Silicon Valley – have made headlines in recent years. |
| Tenderloin is an obvious candidate for gentrification. It is in the heart of San Francisco close to Bart (the bay area’s rail system) stops, fancy hotels and boutique stores. And now, thanks in part to a city tax break, it is host to an influx of tech companies. | Tenderloin is an obvious candidate for gentrification. It is in the heart of San Francisco close to Bart (the bay area’s rail system) stops, fancy hotels and boutique stores. And now, thanks in part to a city tax break, it is host to an influx of tech companies. |
| Residents do not oppose change. For decades they have endured daily spectacles of brawling drunks and zonked junkies. “I’ve seen it all. It’s a disaster. Drugs around the clock,” said Yolanda James, 49. The concern is that gentrification will simply move such problems – and residents – to a distant, possibly even grimmer locale. | Residents do not oppose change. For decades they have endured daily spectacles of brawling drunks and zonked junkies. “I’ve seen it all. It’s a disaster. Drugs around the clock,” said Yolanda James, 49. The concern is that gentrification will simply move such problems – and residents – to a distant, possibly even grimmer locale. |
| “We don’t sweep things under the carpet. I’m kind of proud of that,” said Lori Linker, funding director of the non-profit Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation. “But I wish we could solve these problems.” | “We don’t sweep things under the carpet. I’m kind of proud of that,” said Lori Linker, funding director of the non-profit Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation. “But I wish we could solve these problems.” |
| Seymour, a former Vietnam veteran, is convinced the newcomers can be part of the solution. “We can integrate the techies. I don’t want this place to always be skid row.” | Seymour, a former Vietnam veteran, is convinced the newcomers can be part of the solution. “We can integrate the techies. I don’t want this place to always be skid row.” |
| In an essay titled “Arise, Tenderloin”, Gary Kamiya, a writer and veteran observer, identified several reasons why it will not gentrify in the traditional sense. | In an essay titled “Arise, Tenderloin”, Gary Kamiya, a writer and veteran observer, identified several reasons why it will not gentrify in the traditional sense. |
| Developers cannot convert the approximately 100 single-room-occupancy residency hotels (SROs) into tourist hotels without replacing the low-income units. Nor can they build higher than 13 stories. | Developers cannot convert the approximately 100 single-room-occupancy residency hotels (SROs) into tourist hotels without replacing the low-income units. Nor can they build higher than 13 stories. |
| In any case, it would be prohibitively expensive to retrofit the multiple properties which lack kitchens and individual bathrooms. There will be no Manhattanisation. Lastly, according to Kamiya, non-profits lease or own more than 5,000 housing units and have no interest in moving. Allies in city hall make it unlikely anyone will force them. | In any case, it would be prohibitively expensive to retrofit the multiple properties which lack kitchens and individual bathrooms. There will be no Manhattanisation. Lastly, according to Kamiya, non-profits lease or own more than 5,000 housing units and have no interest in moving. Allies in city hall make it unlikely anyone will force them. |
| Some 78% of housing in Mid-Market and Tenderloin is affordable and 54% is rent-controlled, far above San Francisco’s average, according to figures supplied by the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Since 2011 there has been no increase in no-fault evictions, in contrast to a 2.6% rise in the rest of the city. From 2011 to 2013, office vacancy dropped from 25% to 4%, compared to 16% to 8% citywide. | Some 78% of housing in Mid-Market and Tenderloin is affordable and 54% is rent-controlled, far above San Francisco’s average, according to figures supplied by the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Since 2011 there has been no increase in no-fault evictions, in contrast to a 2.6% rise in the rest of the city. From 2011 to 2013, office vacancy dropped from 25% to 4%, compared to 16% to 8% citywide. |
| The tech arrivals, in other words, are co-existing with, not colonising, the Tenderloin. So far. | The tech arrivals, in other words, are co-existing with, not colonising, the Tenderloin. So far. |
| “There’s a lot of awe when they see it for the first time,” said Lauren Gucik, who oversees volunteers from Yahoo! and other companies at a dining hall run by St Anthony’s, a social service organisation. “There are things you would never see if you use Lyft or Uber all the time.” | “There’s a lot of awe when they see it for the first time,” said Lauren Gucik, who oversees volunteers from Yahoo! and other companies at a dining hall run by St Anthony’s, a social service organisation. “There are things you would never see if you use Lyft or Uber all the time.” |
| Tiffany Apczynski, Zendesk’s director of social responsibility, said the software developer had followed pleas to engage with the community. “It was like, ‘Don’t lock yourself up in your ivory tower’.” | Tiffany Apczynski, Zendesk’s director of social responsibility, said the software developer had followed pleas to engage with the community. “It was like, ‘Don’t lock yourself up in your ivory tower’.” |
| There was no in-house canteen so workers ate outside, she said, with a monthly “lunch in the loin” scheme to try different restaurants. New employees take walking tours on their first day of orientation, said Apczynski. “We want employees out in the neighbourhood.” | There was no in-house canteen so workers ate outside, she said, with a monthly “lunch in the loin” scheme to try different restaurants. New employees take walking tours on their first day of orientation, said Apczynski. “We want employees out in the neighbourhood.” |
| Some parts are cleaning up, with liquor stores and former strip clubs giving way to restaurants, humble and fancy, and other businesses. | Some parts are cleaning up, with liquor stores and former strip clubs giving way to restaurants, humble and fancy, and other businesses. |
| Theatre is blooming. There are 16 stages within a two-block area around Taylor Street, about half of them relatively new. “We feel we’re a good fit for the neighbourhood. Entry price ranges from free to $20,” said Rob Read, artistic director of PianoFight, which hosts plays, dance and comedy improv. Tenderloin will not gentrify like Williamsburg in New York City, he said, but it is certainly changing. “It remains to be seen what the outcome will be.” | Theatre is blooming. There are 16 stages within a two-block area around Taylor Street, about half of them relatively new. “We feel we’re a good fit for the neighbourhood. Entry price ranges from free to $20,” said Rob Read, artistic director of PianoFight, which hosts plays, dance and comedy improv. Tenderloin will not gentrify like Williamsburg in New York City, he said, but it is certainly changing. “It remains to be seen what the outcome will be.” |
| They're young and think the danger is cute. We're trendy as hell right now | |
| A $3.5m museum telling the area’s ribald history of vice, jazz and defiance opened on Thursday on the site of a former Sizzler steak house. “It gives people a completely different view,” said Randy Shaw, executive director of the non-profit which runs the museum. Community leaders had successfully lobbied for more police and fended off gentrification, he said. “They don’t see technology as a threat.” | A $3.5m museum telling the area’s ribald history of vice, jazz and defiance opened on Thursday on the site of a former Sizzler steak house. “It gives people a completely different view,” said Randy Shaw, executive director of the non-profit which runs the museum. Community leaders had successfully lobbied for more police and fended off gentrification, he said. “They don’t see technology as a threat.” |
| Stroll the streets and you see hope and despair on open display. | Stroll the streets and you see hope and despair on open display. |
| A $9.3m renovation of Boeddeker Park has transformed a syringe-filled dump into a clean playground and basketball court where couples bring young children. Billy Juste, 25, a former crack addict, now comes to shoot hoops, not drugs. “Here I can vent. I can play ball, sweat and leave.” | A $9.3m renovation of Boeddeker Park has transformed a syringe-filled dump into a clean playground and basketball court where couples bring young children. Billy Juste, 25, a former crack addict, now comes to shoot hoops, not drugs. “Here I can vent. I can play ball, sweat and leave.” |
| Two blocks away a bundled-up figure lay facing a wall, jabbering to himself in Arabic. He turned out to be Taha Sales, a 40-year-old of Yemeni origin who lost his job as a hotel janitor. | Two blocks away a bundled-up figure lay facing a wall, jabbering to himself in Arabic. He turned out to be Taha Sales, a 40-year-old of Yemeni origin who lost his job as a hotel janitor. |
| A few feet away Catrina James, 38, eyes glazed, hunched in a red tent. “This is hell,” she said. So why stay? “It’s a one-stop shop. Every bad thing you can possibly think of is sold here.” Her friend, Haroun Hannen, 24, nodded. “The chaos is addicting.” | A few feet away Catrina James, 38, eyes glazed, hunched in a red tent. “This is hell,” she said. So why stay? “It’s a one-stop shop. Every bad thing you can possibly think of is sold here.” Her friend, Haroun Hannen, 24, nodded. “The chaos is addicting.” |
| Seymour, the tour guide, beat his own addictions a decade ago, and cancer a year ago, and feels he has been given a second life. He sees himself as a bridge between the community and proliferating tech workers. “They’re young and think the danger is cute. We’re trendy as hell right now.” | Seymour, the tour guide, beat his own addictions a decade ago, and cancer a year ago, and feels he has been given a second life. He sees himself as a bridge between the community and proliferating tech workers. “They’re young and think the danger is cute. We’re trendy as hell right now.” |
| In addition to the daily tours he has just started running a weekly night-time tour taking in macabre history such as the Zodiac killer. “It’s the naughty, scary, spooky tour.” | In addition to the daily tours he has just started running a weekly night-time tour taking in macabre history such as the Zodiac killer. “It’s the naughty, scary, spooky tour.” |
| His advice to visitors last week concerned a more banal peril. “It hasn’t rained in a while. So remember, if you see liquid on the streets, it’s isn’t rainfall.” | His advice to visitors last week concerned a more banal peril. “It hasn’t rained in a while. So remember, if you see liquid on the streets, it’s isn’t rainfall.” |