San Francisco pours millions of dollars into RV parks for the homeless, while young people trying to take a break from their careers are reduced to living in 4-foot-high by 3.5-foot-wide “pod” spaces for $700 a month.
The city is opening a “secure parking lot” at Candlestick Point in January 2022, which will house 30 RVs — each of which costs the city $12,000 a month to store there, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The site, named the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center, has been recommended to stay open for another two years, which would cost the city at least $12.2 million.
Despite living rent-free and having 24/7 security, some residents of RV parks don’t enjoy it.
“It’s like living in prison,” said Bayview resident Enrique Olivas. “I’ve been here for a year and it’s been tough. There are so many rules, like I can’t park my truck inside. I had to park my truck in the street. It’s been broken into three times, so sometimes I sleep in my truck.”
Recreational vehicles used as housing are parked at the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in San Francisco, California. David G. McIntyre RV park just six miles across San Francisco from where young workers rent ‘pods’ to sleep in Brownstone San Francisco — pods for SF students, professionals — $700 a month, located near Union Square, fully furnished gem located in the center is ideal for students, interns and professionals who need to be in San Francisco.Brownstone.live /sf
Olivas, who lives in the Triage Center with her dog Suave, added: “You can’t have visitors, and if you have too much stuff, they’ll take it from you.
“They brought us food, but the food was not something I could eat because I had no teeth. Even my dog won’t eat it.”
Joyce Knighten, 85, owns the Double Rock convenience store less than a mile from the RV park. He said while he understands people there need help, they should also be required to get jobs to keep their places.
“What they should do is clean it up and make it pleasant for people to live. They have to do it so they have to get jobs and be participating citizens and pay taxes, like the rest of us.”
Enrique Olivias with his dog Suave. Olivas was one of the residents living in his recreational vehicle parked at the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in San Francisco, California. Olivas claims the RV park management won’t let him park his truck inside the site. David G. McIntyre Recreational vehicles used as housing are parked at the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area in San Francisco, California. In the background is the Hunters Point/ Bayview neighborhood.David G. McIntyre
Two nonprofits in the Bay Area — Urban Alchemy and the Bayview Hunters Point Foundation — provide security and other support services for residents and are paid thousands of dollars a month from city coffers.
Security services won’t let The Post into the park, but drone footage shows it now houses 30 rusting RVs parked in three rows.
Meanwhile, just six miles away, up-and-coming young business people are being priced out of getting their own apartment instead of renting a pod in a shared residence.
Christian Lewis pays $700 a month with 27 others for his tiny pod space in the Brownstone Shared Housing located near Union Square. A pod is less than half the size of an RV.
“I actually can’t afford a $3,000 apartment, but there are some people who sleep in pods who can, but choose to live here anyway. It’s about cost and quality,” Lewis told The Post.
Each tenant gets a twin mattress, temperature control, access to a bathroom and shower and a lounge along with a private meeting room.
Brownstone San Francisco — a pod for students and professionals — fully furnished and centrally located near Union Square.Brownstone.live/sf Inside Brownstone San Francisco, a former bank location.brownstone.live/sf
Lewis said the space is “like a hacker incubator,” and many of the residents are well-educated people who just need a place to crash while they’re working on their various projects.
“It lives in a capsule and is modeled after a Japanese house,” Lewis told The Post. “There are people fighting for affordable housing in this city, but when we actually try to find something that makes it work, we get criticized.”
The pod living environment has drawn some criticism on social media and the mainstream, with some calling the steel and wood bunk beds “glorified coffin houses” that are not the answer to San Francisco’s housing crisis.
Brownstone co-founder James Stallworth told The Post that most of the tenants are students, researchers and entrepreneurs who are into the world of Artificial Intelligence and can’t afford the city’s median rent.
“Some people think it’s great, others think we’re doing something terrible … housing is a huge barrier for people if you’re trying to live in an epicenter where people can network and build their companies.
“People criticize anyone who does something about this issue, and that’s fine. What is important is that the residents have a good experience and that they get what we provide,” he said.
Meanwhile, Olivas said some of his friends don’t want to park their trailers in Bayview because of the rules. That’s why he’s trying to get the city to find him somewhere else to live, either in his own apartment or one of the city’s Single Occupancy rooms.
“They try to get you a place to live, but that takes a long time,” Olivas said. “Everything they promised, we didn’t see and it was very disappointing. We need help.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
