Copyright dailymail
Downtown San Francisco appears to be on the verge of becoming 'the biggest comeback story' after the new mayor cracked down on drug-fueled crime. The Bay Area city's Union Square zone had become an area to avoid for residents thanks to rampant fentanyl use, prompting frequent thefts and violence. Out-of-control homeless encampments and crime had become a mainstay of the downtown Tenderloin district, forcing major brands to close flagship stores. However, the tide seems to be turning for the California city, according to Kazuko Morgan, executive vice chairman and broker for Cushman & Wakefield realtors. 'It's like somebody turned a faucet on,' Morgan told local newspaper SFGate. 'There's just a lot of great momentum and buzz in Union Square right now... It's probably the biggest comeback story, to be quite honest with you.' Major department stores including Uniqlo and Zara are planning to return to the area, while eyewear brand Moscot and Pop Mart have opened up this fall. Restaurants are also making a wary comeback in the area, including Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak and Steph Curry's bar the Eighth Rule which both opened recently. It comes as San Francisco is almost one year into the new administration under Democratic Mayor Daniel Lurie, 48, who took office on January 1. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, an ally of Lurie's, told Politico the mayor has been 'reading the room of San Francisco politics' by tackling key issues for voters - homelessness and fentanyl addiction in the city. Lurie said that his administration has managed to reduce crime by 30 percent this year, and by 40 percent in the financial district, which includes Union Square. He told Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast that this is due to an influx of new officers on the street - marking 'the first net increase in police and sheriffs in 10 years'. 'Violent crime in our city, we haven't seen these type of rates since the 1950s... what we are doing is working,' Lurie said. In fact, Lurie's efforts managed to persuade Donald Trump against sending the National Guard to the city last month. Trump said he was no longer planning to 'surge' federal law enforcement in San Francisco after conversations with 'friends' and the mayor, according to CNN. Lurie said that he ran for office 'because of the disorder on the streets of San Francisco' and he is still pushing for more officer recruitment. 'My number one issue was public safety, my number two issue was the behavioral health crisis, and my number three issue is that I want to tell the world that San Francisco is open for business,' he told Odd Lots. 'We need police officers walking the beat along commercial corridors,' Lurie added. 'Our families that are taking their kids to public school and are using Muni (the city's transport system) deserve a Muni stop that is free of people that are using drugs, it's unacceptable.' 'We need to get back to full staffing, and we can handle it,' Lurie added. Lurie launched the Family Homelessness Prevention Pilot in March, an 18-month project to provide more accessible support to families on the brink of homelessness. The nonprofit he founded before becoming mayor, Tipping Point Community, invested $11 million in a partnership to provide financial assistance and employment support to families in order to prevent them slipping into absolute poverty, his office said. 'This investment assists families in crisis today while we develop and scale a model to support families in need for decades to come,' Lurie said in a statement. 'Tipping Point's investment, along with their commitment to rigorously measure the pilot's impact, will help us ultimately reach more families in need and prevent homelessness before it begins. 'Creating lasting change in San Francisco requires all hands on deck, and I'm proud to launch this critical public-private partnership with Tipping Point.' The program has helped 18,000 households so far, according to the Tipping Point website, which is 49 percent of the goal by 2028. Lurie's administration is also aiming to build 20,867 homes by 2031. They have constructed 282 so far, which is 2.45 percent of the goal.
