Shows
Sad FranciscoThe Aftermath of the Fire at 22nd and Mission Streets with Alejandra RubioTen years have passed since the fire that disappeared the apartments and businesses at 22nd and Mission Streets, and killed Mauricio Orellana. Many people continue to suspect landlord arson. Slumlord Hawk Ling Lou inherited the buildings in the 1990s, and owns the now-empty lot, plus about 20 other buildings in San Francisco (some under family members' names). On May 15, 2025, despite overwhelming community dissent the Planning Commission granted Hawk Ling Lou the permission to build market-rate luxury condos on the space. If they're ever built, they'll be sold to hypothetical newcomers and investors from outside the Mission. ...
2025-08-0538 min
Sad FranciscoNeighborhood Associations Ruin Public Art f/ Christen CioffiOffensively bland art results from the tyrrany of homeowners with too much time on their hands. Two recent cases where Nextdoor.com creeps and gentrifiers at community benefits district meetings made decisions that censored murals and the like, discussed with Christen Cioffi. Support Sad Francisco and find links to our past episodes on Patreon.
2023-12-2825 minSad FranciscoThe Boulders of Clinton Park: Hostile Architecture Pt. 1 w/ Christen CioffiNew-in-town techies fundraise for the installation of boulders to stop homeless people from using public sidewalks. What could go wrong? With Christen Cioffi (http://www.chzaz.com/). Show notes: "The Boulders of Clinton Park: Sisyphus Retold" by Quiver Watts in Street Sheet: http://www.streetsheet.org/the-boulders-of-clinton-park-sisyphus-retold/?fbclid=IwAR0aEem9j9godxuOS-mN9WrcMVM9pSa8j2URjimtS6i8-Dy-XiknmDPG0oM Support the podcast: http://patreon.com/sadfrancisco
2023-03-2427 minSad FranciscoLandlord Arson: Evidence in the AshesEight years after a fatal fire in the Mission District, there's still a blank space where dozens of people, a Latinx market, and a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen once existed. We follow up on what many people at the time suggested was "the perfect crime." On assignment in the Silicon Desert, Christen Cioffi (Twitter: @jfchrist_) declares landlords unfit for human habitation decisions. -
Support the show, get bonus episodes: patreon.com/sadfrancisco - Shownotes: Hot Rental Market Sparks Suspicions of Landlord Arson in San Francisco in Al Jazeera, reporting by Prisca Ca...
2023-01-0730 minSad FranciscoDon't Buy the YIMBY Lie: 61,000 Empty Homes and Counting Meet the YIMBYs: Fake-grassroots, "pro-housing activists" who swear that building more luxury condos will trickle down to the rest of us, and solve the housing unaffordability crisis. Backed by tech titans, corporate landlords, and Barack Obama, YIMBYs are trying so hard to make over the real estate industry's predatory image. And a lot of people are buying what they're selling. Culturally critical visitor Christen Cioffi (Instagram | Twitter) states facts from a backyard somewhere behind the liberal front. - Support the show and get bonus episodes at patreon.com/sadfrancisco - S...
2022-12-161h 01