Looking at the property tax bill online for the Kimpton in Japantown, this property was assessed at a bit over $40Million as of its last sale in 2017. Assuming the City pays at least that much, at 131 rooms that's $305K per 1 or 2-person occupancy unit (assuming some rooms are suites). And then they'll probably have to spend a bunch of money to retrofit the rooms with kitchenettes (including ducting), etc..., so figure maybe $400K per unit all in, conservatively.
Great article Erica! Thank you. San Francisco residents and business owners don't get the complete story.
More than a quarter of the city’s entire homeless population is currently housed within a quarter mile of Union Square in about a dozen SIP hotels. With the program having gotten extended until the end of next year and two new proposed shelters there will be upwards of 2,500 homeless right here.
Every block on and around Union Square has a number of empty storefronts. Building owners cannot get new tenants, even with reduced rents, because of the negative effect of the homeless population being housed here, the majority of whom suffer from addiction and psychiatric issues. Many of the city-run properties have turned into drug dens, and drug dealing and crime have increased tremendously in the area. The police is overloaded and cannot show up in time or at all, and all of us living and working here don't feel safe night or day. Now they want to add two more shelters, one of which will serve as short-term housing for mostly single men, no families, and will have no restrictions on drug use, criminality, or mental health status, and not treatment programs.
We also experienced what you described as “the meeting being a sham”. Construction has already started for the proposed shelter proposed on 711 Post Street. while notices for the community meeting set during Hanukkah were sent right before Thanksgiving, and businesses and tenants in the neighborhood did not receive one. After not enough people got to speak during the first meeting they scheduled another on a few days ago, where they walked back a number of initial admissions and provided national homeless data to proof their point. In both meetings participants were given two minutes to speak and got cut off when the time was up, and at times had their mike was muted when they used less time and HSH was responding, not providing room for conversation or additional questions. Many concerns were not really addressed. The city did not commit to increased services such as policing or cleaning, nor any treatment services for its so called guests. Weapons will be locked away upon check-in and returned upon leaving to be used for self defense outside the facility. What do we have to defend ourselves? The proposal for this and another longterm shelter on 505 O’Farrell will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on the 14th, to be voted on January 5th. Sneak it in during the holidays when people don’t have the time voice their opposition effectively!
Tourism has already suffered greatly due to the pandemic, and will be decimated if these policies continue. Many of the small businesses in Lower Nob Hill rely largely on tourism. The private police force and cleaning crew of the Union Square BID have been overloaded with the challenges. So within the square it can look OK most of the time. But then you encounter someone screaming obscenities you can hear a block away, defecating or doing crack or heroin right out in the open. It is quite shocking! You see it get significantly worse immediately, starting even on the first block outside the BID perimeters. What tourist would want to stay across or next to a homeless hotel with people smoking, doing drugs and loitering outside?
Anyone against these policies is labeled a Nimby, or racist, having prejudice against those in need of help, not understanding the homeless problem, or simply lacking compassion. This includes those who regularly volunteer, feed or clothe homeless on their own accord, but simply disagree with an ill advised and very costly approach. The city is spending double of what a tax-paying citizen on minimum wage makes on each individual homeless. But they have not come up with a viable solution in all these years. On the contrary, these policies are literally destroying neighborhoods while they continue to feed the beast and keep the money train going. I am no conspiracy theorist, but actually solving the problem appears to be against another underlying goal, especially considering the additional hundreds of millions of state and federal money that has come in recently. We have some of the highest paid city workers in the US, countless non-profits just for the homeless, and multiple other city associates benefitting from the problem NOT getting solved. For example building owners get more money from the city for SROs and shelters than for other uses without having to do the necessary upgrades required for that. Also the city's payments to SIP hotels match or exceed tourist room rates. Where is the incentive to actually solve the problem by spending funds on the root causes of mental health and addiction and having a stronger stance on crime, as well as increasing the police force to keep us safe? San Francisco is No. 1 in regards to the highest property tax paid in the country, and we are footing the bill for this misuse of power while living in filth and fear. It is a disgrace! I personally know more than a dozen people who sold or are trying to sell their home in San Francisco because they are fed up. This includes some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. What happens in one area effects us all!
The City tried something like this in the late 80's. The rooms were great...in that they took some dope dealing and prostitution off of the street and into the tax payer funded hotels. Who says being lazy in SF doesn't pay off!
Hi Erica, please let us know if you know someone who are interested in becoming candidates for district 9 supervisor. We are tired of being the dumping ground from other districts.
Oh my GOD Erica! Why do people keep voting for these people who they know will create such policies that make government even more powerful and bulldozing over the lives of good, honest, ta paying citizens? Enough is enough! Keep bringing truth to light.
Looking at the property tax bill online for the Kimpton in Japantown, this property was assessed at a bit over $40Million as of its last sale in 2017. Assuming the City pays at least that much, at 131 rooms that's $305K per 1 or 2-person occupancy unit (assuming some rooms are suites). And then they'll probably have to spend a bunch of money to retrofit the rooms with kitchenettes (including ducting), etc..., so figure maybe $400K per unit all in, conservatively.
Great article Erica! Thank you. San Francisco residents and business owners don't get the complete story.
More than a quarter of the city’s entire homeless population is currently housed within a quarter mile of Union Square in about a dozen SIP hotels. With the program having gotten extended until the end of next year and two new proposed shelters there will be upwards of 2,500 homeless right here.
Every block on and around Union Square has a number of empty storefronts. Building owners cannot get new tenants, even with reduced rents, because of the negative effect of the homeless population being housed here, the majority of whom suffer from addiction and psychiatric issues. Many of the city-run properties have turned into drug dens, and drug dealing and crime have increased tremendously in the area. The police is overloaded and cannot show up in time or at all, and all of us living and working here don't feel safe night or day. Now they want to add two more shelters, one of which will serve as short-term housing for mostly single men, no families, and will have no restrictions on drug use, criminality, or mental health status, and not treatment programs.
We also experienced what you described as “the meeting being a sham”. Construction has already started for the proposed shelter proposed on 711 Post Street. while notices for the community meeting set during Hanukkah were sent right before Thanksgiving, and businesses and tenants in the neighborhood did not receive one. After not enough people got to speak during the first meeting they scheduled another on a few days ago, where they walked back a number of initial admissions and provided national homeless data to proof their point. In both meetings participants were given two minutes to speak and got cut off when the time was up, and at times had their mike was muted when they used less time and HSH was responding, not providing room for conversation or additional questions. Many concerns were not really addressed. The city did not commit to increased services such as policing or cleaning, nor any treatment services for its so called guests. Weapons will be locked away upon check-in and returned upon leaving to be used for self defense outside the facility. What do we have to defend ourselves? The proposal for this and another longterm shelter on 505 O’Farrell will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on the 14th, to be voted on January 5th. Sneak it in during the holidays when people don’t have the time voice their opposition effectively!
Tourism has already suffered greatly due to the pandemic, and will be decimated if these policies continue. Many of the small businesses in Lower Nob Hill rely largely on tourism. The private police force and cleaning crew of the Union Square BID have been overloaded with the challenges. So within the square it can look OK most of the time. But then you encounter someone screaming obscenities you can hear a block away, defecating or doing crack or heroin right out in the open. It is quite shocking! You see it get significantly worse immediately, starting even on the first block outside the BID perimeters. What tourist would want to stay across or next to a homeless hotel with people smoking, doing drugs and loitering outside?
Anyone against these policies is labeled a Nimby, or racist, having prejudice against those in need of help, not understanding the homeless problem, or simply lacking compassion. This includes those who regularly volunteer, feed or clothe homeless on their own accord, but simply disagree with an ill advised and very costly approach. The city is spending double of what a tax-paying citizen on minimum wage makes on each individual homeless. But they have not come up with a viable solution in all these years. On the contrary, these policies are literally destroying neighborhoods while they continue to feed the beast and keep the money train going. I am no conspiracy theorist, but actually solving the problem appears to be against another underlying goal, especially considering the additional hundreds of millions of state and federal money that has come in recently. We have some of the highest paid city workers in the US, countless non-profits just for the homeless, and multiple other city associates benefitting from the problem NOT getting solved. For example building owners get more money from the city for SROs and shelters than for other uses without having to do the necessary upgrades required for that. Also the city's payments to SIP hotels match or exceed tourist room rates. Where is the incentive to actually solve the problem by spending funds on the root causes of mental health and addiction and having a stronger stance on crime, as well as increasing the police force to keep us safe? San Francisco is No. 1 in regards to the highest property tax paid in the country, and we are footing the bill for this misuse of power while living in filth and fear. It is a disgrace! I personally know more than a dozen people who sold or are trying to sell their home in San Francisco because they are fed up. This includes some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. What happens in one area effects us all!
Please sign this petition against the proposed shelter on 711 Post Street. https://www.change.org/p/mayor-london-breed-and-san-francisco-board-of-supervisors-stop-the-proposed-711-post-street-250-bed-no-rules-homeless-shelter Thank you.
Who is the person in all caps? They sound like an immature toddler having a meltdown. Seriously, take a nap or something...
Another excellent article by Erica Sandberg!
Keep up the good work Erica, the city and the world needs to know what is going on here.
This article is spot-on.
I see scary white people here, but we are in luck if you have been eating the horse past you are now sterile:)
The City tried something like this in the late 80's. The rooms were great...in that they took some dope dealing and prostitution off of the street and into the tax payer funded hotels. Who says being lazy in SF doesn't pay off!
Hi Erica, please let us know if you know someone who are interested in becoming candidates for district 9 supervisor. We are tired of being the dumping ground from other districts.
Timeout awarded SF best city. Curiously, they left out the kicking the dead body story.
Instant slums
Oh my GOD Erica! Why do people keep voting for these people who they know will create such policies that make government even more powerful and bulldozing over the lives of good, honest, ta paying citizens? Enough is enough! Keep bringing truth to light.