By Susie Cagle This is a story I've been wondering about since I first moved to the Tenderloin from Brooklyn in February 2008. My neighborhood seemed like an illogical flaw on the face of a city with astronomical rents, miniscule vacancy rates and such a liberal political reputation. Why would such prime real estate be overrun with crime and filth? Why did the corner of Turk and Larkin consistently smell like black mold?
The stretch of Market between 5th and 10th was particularly troubling, and downright odd. Just from looking at it you could tell this was once a grand boulevard lined with gorgeous architecture and stately theatres. I wasn't even yet wondering what had gone wrong: my first thought was, why hasn't anyone fixed this?
When I first set out to report this story in mid-September, I and my editors presumed the fault lay squarely with absentee landlords who bought investments properties and then didn't care enough to find tenants. What I discovered was a much more richly textured tapestry of problems than I ever would've imagined.
Posted by Susie Cagle on 12/09/09
