Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao touts results of anti-crime efforts along Hegenberger corridor
With major businesses shutting down or locking customers out, the Hegenberger Corridor in Oakland has become a symbol of crime's impact on the community. But on Monday, Mayor Sheng Thao presented a different picture of the area, saying crime is trending down and is an example of "good governance."
As a mayor facing a possible recall over the issue of crime, Sheng Thao gathered a friendly group for a press conference to talk about what's happening on Hegenberger Road. Bill Crotinger, president of a concrete recycling company in the corridor, congratulated the mayor on her efforts.
"And I have to say that Mayor Sheng Thao has stepped up more than any other mayor to bring the resources and the attention to this vital corridor. Thank you," Crotinger said to enthusiastic applause.
But the story of Hegenberger has been pretty bad lately. Next week, In-N-Out Burger will close a restaurant for the first time in the company's history, shuttering the chain's only Oakland location. The Denny's restaurant in the neighborhood closed down earlier this month, and many of the fast-food franchises like Taco Bell no longer accept cash or allow sit-down dining.
"So a lot of these buildings, the offices are closed. A lot of these restaurants are closed now because of all the crime. They don't want anyone inside," said Linda Grant. She is part of a recently created Safety Ambassador Program, run by a non-profit called the Black Cultural Zone. It is one of the programs touted by the mayor as making a difference in the area, along with stepped up police patrols. On Monday, Mayor Thao clearly was feeling pretty upbeat about where things were heading.
"What we're seeing now is that our crime rates, they are trending downwards," said Thao. "And I see that this is only going to improve, the numbers are only going to improve. They're going to continue to trend downward, because we are continuously working together."
But Vincent Johnson, who is the Dispatch Manager for the ambassadors and grew up in East Oakland, has a different view about Hegenberger.
"Oh, it's a hot mess," he said. "It's tore up. It's ridiculous. There's nothing there. It's all gone. There's nothing there no more. It's over. It's totally over."
And while he grudgingly admitted that things had gotten "somewhat" better, he didn't share the mayor's optimistic view of the future.
"There's no jobs, there's no money, there's no nothing. You take all the vitality away and what happens? Everything leaves," said Johnson. "It's all the homeless. You got a whole bunch of homeless encampments around you, what do you expect to happen? You got a whole bunch of broke people coming to your store. What's going to happen? They're going to steal."
To be fair, there is probably little that Mayor Thao can do about homelessness. But crime is something that people are getting fed up with. No new initiatives were announced on Monday, but her office said statistics show that crime has declined on Hegenberger since mid 2023. The mayor is hoping that people will believe data over what they're seeing with their own eyes.
"Working together is a good example of good governance," she told reporters. "And we're going to keep moving that forward and pushing that thread."
If she can't, it may be the thread her job hangs on.
