Reader zinzin reports that bicycle cops have started patrolling Capp St.:
one thing i CAN say, is that our Capp/Shotwell@20th neighborhood group has met with Campos & Tacchini both….
and they have arranged, effective as of Wed, 5/6, dedicated bicycle officers to patrol Capp, SVN, Shotwell, and Folsom from 18th – 21st.
We questioned if David Campos (District 9 Supervisor) and Mission Station Capt. Stephen Tacchini would actually follow through; However, I soon after ran into a bike cop writing a parking ticket on the 500 block of Capp. Keep those revenues up! The only disappointing thing here is that they only put the resources on 18th – 21st. I cannot imagine that they don’t know that there is crime elsewhere on the street.
I ran into a bicycle cop on the 100 block of Capp. It took everything I had not to sneer at him to get off the sidewalk.
let’s not get overly critical, shall we?
the locale of these specific bike cops was in specific response to our community group’s specific voicing of specific concern regarding specific activities in this specific area.
we’re continuing our meetings with them (another one next week, in fact), and we’ll keep pressing for progress in this arena.
my view, this was an almost immediate response to our concerns…and there’s nothing to criticize about that.
let’s see what else we can get them to do. small steps first, then maybe big steps.
big thanks to the captain and the supervisor for listening, and acting.
anyone wants info on our community group around 20/shotwell/capp, i am happy to provide.
also, btw, anyone can start a community group, anywhere in the hood, for whatever reason you want, and get the captain and the supervisor to come. and you can ask them for whatever you want.
there’s an org called SAFE that will guide you right through the process.
http://www.sfsafe.org/
I guess what I find a little troubling is that you had to lobby the government to get the police to clean it up. Considering all the shootings that have been happening on 19th and 20th lately, you would think that someone would have made the call without the citizens of the hood complaining. Yes, we strive to elect people that listen to the electorate (and it is wonderful that they are listening to us!), but wouldn’t it be nice if they took action first?
Oh, look at me, I’m an idealist!
i hear you on that. and believe me, i got NOTHING good to say about SF elected officials in general.
in this instance, however, we had good response / results, so i want to call that for what it is, and give credit where it’s due.
the voice of the mission – historically – has been the voice of the advocacy community. and while this is a good thing at its core, imho, it’s become an industrial complex more interested in perpetuating its own advancement than in helping the people for whom they purport to advocate. there are MORE THAN 50 “advocacy” groups in the mission. there’s also more violence, more crime, more people being displaced, more homeless folks, etc…all the time. it don’t add up…
mission politics is firmly based in this milieu. and in turn, SF politics is firmly based in the “progressive” claptrap i’ve been ranting about for a year.
so what do we get in the hood? just what you say: nothing. the voice of “progressive” dogma has pushed aside any other voice in the hood. any voice for safety, quality of life, actual help for the folks that need it, etc.
(oh, we did manage to run off american apparel. that was really worth it. yay.)
what we DO get, because we have NO VOICE:
- unsafe streets
- duped constituency in need of help and not getting it (low income folks, homeless folks, mentally ill folks, addicted folks)
- dissatisfied residents
- pimps, ho’s & drug dealers all over the fucking place
so, we’re trying to build a new, inclusive voice that makes the 94110 count, and be heard in the broader sense of city politics, outside the non-inclusive “progressive” ideologue bullshit that got us here in the first place.
let the flames come, it’s OK with me. or not.
How about getting them to target the graffiti vandals leaving their marks all over the neighborhood? The city is spending millions trying to clean up after the graffiti mess at the expense of more productive work.
Squeaky wheel. Get your own neighborhood watch, bitches!
if that was directed at me, that’s totally not what i meant.
PLEASE come and join our group.
or start your own.
whatever.
just do something.
Spotted a bicycle cop on Capp at 22nd yesterday on my way home at about 5 o’clock. Was happy. Noticed he didn’t care about a car parked in and blocking the crosswalk (even when I pointed it out). Was sad.