About 20 residents of the Gateway Apartments & Townhomes gathered on Tuesday night for a neighborhood watch meeting at Pier 1, organized by the Golden Gateway Tenants Association. The speakers included SFPD Central Station Capt. David Lazar, along with Gateway management and a representative from Safeway, which has a location in the complex. Lee Heppner Hepner, legislative aide to District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, also attended, leaving business cards for everyone.
Last night's neighborhood watch meeting was a stark contrast to the previous one held in September, during which people shouted and pleaded for improvements in everything from helping the homeless to cracking down on bike chop shops in Sue Bierman Park. This time, questions were polite, and at the end, many said they've seen major improvements in the area over the past few months, particularly at the Safeway.
Gateway property manager Clarisse Tan kicked off the meeting by announcing that the Gateway is hiring off-duty police officers from Jan. 30th–Feb. 7th. The goal is to help prevent trespassing during the Super Bowl City event, which will set up just blocks from the complex in Sue Bierman Park, Justin Herman Plaza and the foot of Market Street. According to Tan, the Gateway is concerned that people will want to access to roof decks to watch the free concerts being held at the event. "Do not let people tailgate behind you," she reminded the crowd.
Sue Bierman Park and the Gateway.
To prevent interlopers, a repair of the entrance gate on Vista East is underway. Operations manager Jose Angulo said that the building is also in the process of installing cameras on all roof decks and tying the cameras in the garages into the system, which is watched 24/7.
One woman had concerns about other tenants making noise during Super Bowl, particularly the contingent of students that are housed at the Gateway. "We monitor the activities," Tan assured her. "If anyone complains of nuisance or parties or smoking on the balcony, we address that with students.” They're given a warning the first time, and then served a three-day notice after that.
A man thanked management for drawing attention to the issue of people throwing cigarettes off of balconies, which he said had stopped. Another man mentioned that people have a tendency to urinate in the stairways in the complex, and asked if management has thought about using the paint that splashes back. Angulo said they're looking into it.
Capt. Lazar spoke next, explaining his plan for policing during Super Bowl 50. In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, "there's going to be very high security," he said. The Super Bowl City area will be surrounded by eight-foot fencing, and all guests will have to go through security checks and body scanners.
SFPD is canceling days off for the entire department during the event, and taking "all of the security precautions you can think of," Lazar said. He encouraged anyone to contact him with questions, and to keep an eye on Central Station's Twitter feed for updates throughout the event.
Irina Chatsova and Capt. Lazar.
Given Super Bowl City's perimeter fencing, one resident was concerned about about access to BART and Muni at Embarcadero station. “We will open up access, at least in the Embarcadero, during commute hours, to make sure you can easily get to where you need to get to," Capt. Lazar said. "We want to have as little disruption as possible to get to public transportation.” 70 parking control officers will be deployed in the area as well, to mitigate traffic.
Other attendees' questions concerned "don't block the box" tickets for drivers who block intersections (Capt. Lazar said Central Station does periodic enforcement) and the ongoing issues with auto break-ins (Capt. Lazar said officers are continuing to put up signs, promote the Park Smart program and use plainclothes officers to arrest suspects).
As for other crimes, Capt. Lazar reiterated the tips he's given at other recent community meetings: Be mindful of your surroundings when you're out and about, be extra cautious while using ATMs, don't take out your phone while walking, and install cameras (or urge building management to do so) in order to help SFPD identify suspects. He said cameras have been a "game changer" in making cases that normally wouldn't get made.
From there, the discussion turned to Safeway, which has concerned many neighbors with prevalent shoplifting and safety issues. Safeway rep Brian Temper said he had added security guards and undercover loss prevention agents, and will double their numbers during Super Bowl City.
Sue Rokaw, head of the GGTA neighborhood watch and the moderator of the meeting, asked if the additional security has made a difference, and Temper said it had: a recently completed inventory showed decreased shoplifting, particularly in the liquor and beauty departments. "I’m seeing very few reports across my desk—a lot less," Capt. Lazar added. "There’s got to be something good going on there.”
A few neighbors spoke up to say they've seen improvements—fewer homeless people and fewer thefts. "It’s much better out there, and we're happy about that," Rokaw said.
Finally, SF SAFE's Irina Chatsova announced that SAFE, which has been working with GGTA for 14 months, will be stepping back. "We’ve come a long way," Chatsova said. "To see that the group is active, the group has been problem-solving effectively, we’re seeing some positive changes in the neighborhood—this is music to my ears." She promised to remain in touch with Rokaw and others.
For those who missed the meeting, there's another coming up shortly: Capt. Lazar is holding his monthly captain's community meeting from 6–7pm on Jan. 21st, in the home of Paul Ekman in Vista North of the Gateway.
