SAN FRANCISCO — While we’ve heard a lot about the doomsday scenarios and the crime and homelessness plaguing the streets of San Francisco, the city transformed into a mecca of arts, festivals and concerts on Friday.
Tens of thousands of people flocked to the city centre, bringing much-needed visitors and money to local businesses.
They came to enjoy a long list of events: a free Portugal. The Man concert, Green Day performance at Oracle Park, Oktoberfest on Front Street, and even Greek Fest in the Mission District. These events attracted not only locals but also others from the Bay Area and beyond.
Vanessa Gayton took the BART from Concord.
“I think it’s important to understand that every great city has its problems, but there’s a lot of city to give to the people,” Gayton said. “So take that opportunity and do something with it.”
Vanessa and her boyfriend Dominic said they didn’t feel unsafe walking to the concert. In fact, they were impressed by how lively the city felt on a Friday night.
“You know, when I came to this area five to 10 years ago, it seemed a lot riskier and sketchier,” Dominic Bruno said. “When I see all these people out here having a good time, having a safe time, it’s definitely refreshing to see.”
Mayor London Breed also enjoyed one of the many events as she mingled with the crowd at Oktoberfest. She said changes needed to be made at City Hall to bring back events.
“San Francisco needs to become the city of yes,” Mayor Breed said. “Notoriously a city of no, there’s nothing you can do.”
San Francisco has partnered with Another Planet Entertainment to bring a variety of concerts to the city. City leaders are trying to change the perception of downtown, which is still plagued by concerns about crime and violence. Mayor Breed believes the city needs to invest in itself to bring people back.
“We make it so much easier and so much more fun, not just with the permitting process, but also by putting our money behind what we say,” she said. “So that we can make events like this happen.”
City officials want events like this to increase nighttime foot traffic. During the day, it’s a struggle to get office workers back. Office vacancies are at an all-time high and are expected to rise again this year, according to CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm.
Restaurants like Chao Pescao are seeing firsthand the difference these events can make. The Latin-Caribbean eatery on McAllister Street near Civic Center Plaza was packed all night, with wait times of an hour.
“Business is really good,” said Anabella Valdiviezo of Chao Pescao. “The Civic Center shows definitely helped. The last time with Skrillix it was very busy, very crazy.”
“We came here with the intention of watching the concert and then having dinner here. We will definitely be doing business in the area,” added concertgoer Kris Hoglund.
Kris and Michelle used to live in the area and see positive changes in the city. They feel that these events help to remove the negative image of the city.
“On a Friday, you certainly wouldn’t see even 20 percent of this group walking around here,” Michelle Catania said. “So it encourages people to get out and explore areas of the city that they normally wouldn’t explore.”
