Transcripts For KGO ABC7 20240704 : vimarsana.com

So weve had even this past Holiday Season between november 20th and the end of the year. Weve seen a significant decline in crime. And so we know this has nothing to do with that decision. Its really a larger business decision that macys has made. Macys says the closures are part of a shift in Business Strategy from large stores and malls to more boutique shops. Macys is the latest in the list of iconic union square in Downtown Retail stores to close, including nordstrom and the westfield mall. The mayor says the closure is disappointing, but shes hopeful for change. There are definitely possibilities here. This is not like nordstroms, where they say were leaving, were exiting, the president and ceo of Union Square Alliance shared this quote. I believe that we should work toward a solution that allows macys to keep this iconic store open. However, if that does not come to pass, our expectation is that a new owner for this iconic site will come forward to continue a fresh and vibrant vision at this critical location. Many see the iconic macys will be hard to replace. The store employs about 400 workers, many of them union employees, says jim irby with ufcw local five. These are folks that have worked at this store for decades to give their life, you know, and to live in the communities in which they work, irby says. As the city pivots, its important to maintain good paying jobs, and San Francisco culture in macys was a part of the culture of San Francisco. When you think about christmas and the Christmas Tree and the. So i just think maintaining the culture in a pivot is important. And when Macys Union Square does close, it will be a big hit to the city finances as well. Not only will the city lose sales tax revenue, according to the city comptrollers office, the store generates approximately 2. 3 million in property tax annually for the citys general fund. Live in the newsroom. Suzanne fawn, abc seven news. All right. Suzanne, thanks so much. Now, abc seven news insider phil matier is here to talk more about it. Phil, what are the factors in making this decision . Well, one is macys bottom line. Theyre looking for money. So theyre selling this location. Theyre closing some locations over 100. But theyre also selling this one. Theyre hoping to make a profit off it. They own the building. You have to remember initially macys was that one block in front of union square. Plus across the street. They had a whole second part of macys that closed a couple of years ago and converted into office space. Now theyre looking to sell this. If they sell it, the big question becomes what becomes of that space . But right now the mayor has got herself both a policy perception and political problem on her hands. The political problem is, is that her opponents are going to turn around and say, can you believe it . Macys is even closing. That is a tough one to get around. Then you have the policy on it saying, what can we do to make this better . Or keep it from happening . And theres some pretty limited options and its not a pretty picture. Well, you mentioned the politics of it because obviously mayor breed is running for reelection. You have daniel lurie and mark farrell who are saying this is the problem right here, that Retail Stores dont want to be in San Francisco, but is this more of a of a retail San Francisco issue . And safety and homeless and all that bundled together or straight real estate transaction . All of the above. Okay, okay. Because of the problems weve had, because of the empty storefronts in the union square area, weve saturated it with police. Weve cleaned it up. But the shoppers havent returned and you know, and its also macys. The thing is, its all coming together and its on top of off office occupancy. Still 36 vacancy rates in those high towers downtown. Only half the workforce is returning full time to work in the downtown area. And the tourism, which is a 10 billion industry, which people would shop in that area, hasnt come back yet either. Youre going to have to reimagine the downtown. Were too reliant on tech and too reliant on tourism and retail and its just its gone. The way of the dodo bird in some times. And now youve got youre stuck with a new reality. All right. So, you know, you heard suzanne mentioned the 2 million lost each year just in property taxes. But what else . What else doesnt come . What other business is not generated when you dont have an anchor store like macys there anymore . Well, you know, anchor is an understatement because macys literally takes up one quarter of union square. It is iconic. It is something that its a huge, massive building. So if you have if it goes empty or it signals that its going to go empty, that impacts all of the real estate in the area because people dont go to where theres empty buildings you get into, you can call it a doom loop or whatever, but were seeing it the continuous as more and more stores leave. Now, there is talk about maybe somebody coming in and say, can they get somebody to come in and maybe put a store on the ground floor because people dont necessarily want a store where they can buy a coffee maker, a suit and cosmetics in 111 store. Put some retail there and then put a hotel or something on top of it. But that takes big money and that takes a big commitment. By the private sector. The city cant do that. I dont know of a redevelopment job thats ever worked like that. So in some ways, the mayor, you know, is halfway blowing smoke, saying, were going to revitalize or reimage all you can do is try to try to get people to do something, but it takes money to do it. I mean, thats a creative solution, but that would require rezoning and a whole bunch. But also at the same time, its not like luxury. Living in San Francisco is blossoming. Its taking a hit, too. Larry the whole, you know, its funny, if you to sum it up, it would be like San Francisco is split into two cities. Now, you have this downtown area thats sort of a theme park. And then you have the rest of San Francisco, and they shop on the peninsula, or they cross the bridge and go to marin. But then you have this theme park that attracts people from around the region and around the world, and that in, in turn affects the economies from napa all the way around. People coming to San Francisco, the biggest challenge we have is a region is weve got to get that place back on its feet and alive because its the disneyland of Northern California and everybody profits off it and everybody will lose. If the macys of the world leave without a replacement. Its a great analogy. The Ripple Effect is huge. All right, phil matier, thank you. All right. We put together a map showing the notable store closures in San Francisco since the year 2020. Each blue pin indicates a store that is closed or announced plans to close. And thats a lot of blue pins right there. If you click on any of the pins, itll give you the business name, address, and the projected closure date. Its also a link in each one that goes into greater detail about why that store decided to close its doors. A Big Development today. In another, one of the big challenges facing San Francisco open air drug dealing, three alleged men have been brought back to the us after being charged with dealing drugs in the tenderloin and then fleeing to central america. Abc seven News Reporter tim johns was at a News Conference today where federal authorities discussed the arrests. If you flee from justice, if you think you can hide, you are wrong. A strong message from the Northern California district of the department of justice on tuesday morning, federal officials announcing they had extradited 300 nationals back to San Francisco. The men facing federal felony charges for the distribution of drugs such as meth, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl in the citys tenderloin neighborhood. Weve been laser focused on mapping the threats, identifying the criminal Drug Networks in the tenderloin and developing information on those members wherever they are around the globe. The arrests mark a major escalation in San Franciscos attempt to crack down on the drug crisis unfolding on the city streets. This operation was a collaboration of local, federal and international partners. Last year, over 800 people died of accidental overdoses here, and city officials have made addressing the problem a top priority. We are not going to tolerate the things that have been happening over the past few years, and so i want that trend to continue. San francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has vowed to clean up the tenderloin since taking office. During an interview with abc seven news last month, she touted the work her office has done in partnership with other Law Enforcement agencies. I think we still have a great deal of work to do in the tenderloin. I dont think we can celebrate just yet. A sentiment shared by doj officials on tuesday who said these three arrests are just the beginning. These are not the only extra additions that we are working on. So people should should know that there are still ongoing investigations and extradition request s that are being made, and we will continue to pursue those in San Francisco. Tim johns, abc seven news. New developments out of San Francisco. Its become one of the first major cities to issue a formal apology to its black residents. The board of supervisors unanimously approved the resolution this afternoon during its meeting. This apology is one of dozens of recommendations made by a Committee Last year acknowledging the harmful policies and practices over many years that have affected the black community. Abc seven News Reporter Julian Glover will take a closer look at what the apology means, coming up on abc seven news at five. A group in east oakland is calling for as owner john fisher to sell his portion of the oakland coliseum. This group is worried that if fisher doesnt, he could block any future development once the as leave. Abc seven News Reporter ryan curry has the story. Reporter the future of east oakland is centered around the coliseum, and Community Groups wanted out of john fishers hands. The Oakland United Coalition is calling on the Alameda County board of supervisors to end their agreement with the as owner. Their agreement is allowing the as ownership to block the flow of needed resources into the east oakland community. Development groups such as the African American sports and entertainment group, already have big plans to redevelop the land. The plans include new housing, a new entertainment district, and possibly new stadiums for other teams. However, fisher owns half the land which he bought from the county. John fisher stop preventing the use of the coliseum by interested sports teams and sporting events. Sell your stake in the ownership of the coliseum. This is a massive chunk of land that could be used for so many different projects, and those we spoke with today say a development here would benefit not just this community, but the entire city and land is very important to us is its not right for them to refuse to Work Together with us and for them to have the rights to the land. We reached out to the as and they said theyre planning to meet with aasg in the coming weeks about future plans. Its a project that could change the look of east oakland, but this group worries fisher will stand in the way. We want the board of supervisors to call on the athletics to stop their interference with events at the coliseum, a place that they claim is no longer viable, but a place that so many people in this community and beyond have come to love. The as are currently negotiating to extend their lease to play games at the coliseum for a few more years, but the longer they stay in oakland, the longer it would take to redevelop the land. That is why this group wants fisher to give up his share. I, for one, am tired of billionaires being able to dictate the lives of so many, but care so little, care so little for those lives in oakland. Ryan curry, abc seven news. Stay ahead on abc seven news at four. No more long drives or commutes for those seeking cancer care or treatment in the east bay. Well show you a new state of the art facility thats just opened, plus a new Housing Development proposed in the south bay, not far from two popular malls. And coming up at 430, an emotional update on a crime that captivated the nation. Well hear from the family of a man who was attacked as a newborn by his then six year old neighbor, nearly 30 years ago in richmond. Im spencer christian. Bright sunny skies today, but the storm door will soon be open for the bay area. Ill have the accuweather forecast coming up when abc seven is it possible to count on my internet like my Customers Count on me . It is with comcast business. Keeping you up and running with our 99. 9 network reliability. And security that helps outsmart threats to your data. Moaire dida twoo . Your data, too. Theres even roundtheclock customer support. So you can be there for your customers. With comcast business, reliability isnt just possible. Its happening. Get started for 49 a month. Plus, ask how to get up to a 800 prepaid card with a qualifying internet package. Dont wait, call and switch today i launched our campaign at this union hall. Lets go win this thing then we hit the road and never stopped. You shared with me your frustration at working harder to barely get by and afford a place to live. Your fears for our democracy and freedoms and your dreams for yourself, your family, and the future. It is not too late to realize those dreams. Im adam schiff, and i approve this message because together we can still get big things done. And treatment at a patchwork of facilities. Thats because John Muir Health and ucsf are opening a new state of the Art Cancer Center in walnut creek, adjacent to the medic center at john muir hospital. Abc seven News Reporter Leslie Brinkley took a tour of the new facility today, with gardens and sculptures and artwork. The new ucsf John Muir Health Cancer Center en la casa villa in walnut creek opens to patients this week. It will serve people from southern Solano County to parts of Alameda County and contra costa county. One stop shopping for diagnosis and treatment. Were moving lab services and imaging outpatient into this location in that will free up space in the hospital and make it easier for patients to access care. The stats 155,000ft■ s with local donations exceeding 110 million to build this futuristic Cancer Center, we have four vaults for radiation therapy, three are equipped on day one and one is future expansion. And get the latest and greatest. There are 58 new bays for chemo with views of mount diablo. We have an on site pharmacy and oncology lab, mixing drug right there on the spot, and taking care of the patients. John muir says. Pairing their oncology artists and equipment with the Clinical Research and access to trials through ucsf will reap huge benefits for patients. Its sort of the best of both worlds because you can get access to that without having to go to the big institutions often cross the tunnel, the bridge and park in the city. You know, having all of that in this community, i think were really fortunate. Were going to treat Breast Cancer already. All gi cancers. So that would be colon cancer, stomach cancer, hepatobiliary cancers, um, will treat lung cancers, will treat prostate and bladder will treat Ovarian Cancer and endometrial cancers. Melanoma brain tumors. Patients are already using the facility. By midmarch, it will be fully operational. An aging east bay population means more cancer. Getting diagnosed and more cancer survivors. Hopefully in walnut creek. Im Leslie Brinkley, abc seven news. A newly proposed high rise Housing Development could bring more than 130 new residences to san jose. The San Jose Mercury news reported that the development would be built in whats currently a blighted area along winchester boulevard, near westfield Valley Fair Mall and santana row. This project would feature two towers connected by a sky bridge. The developers are still gathering public input on that project, but its time now to get a check on the beautiful weather. As we get ready for another series of storms. The weekend was great, nice and sunny, and if you like that, you might not like what spencer has to tell us about whats coming our way. Long terme. But for tomorrow, though, itll be another day much like today. Even even milder actually. So we have some time to enjoy the outdoors before the rain starts pouring. Heres looking loved up with seven. You can see that