San Francisco Polk Gulch Residents Claim Nightlife Scene Adds To Crime
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - A neighborhood known for its mix of businesses and street people north of San Francisco City Hall is grappling with a burgeoning nightlife scene and the crime associated with it, according to a community group.
Some residents of Polk Gulch say there are now too many bars and late-night venues in their neighborhood, many which cater to the 20- and 30-something crowd.
Polk Gulch runs along Polk St. north of City Hall. Once an area with few restaurants and neighborhood bars, now there are more bars and nightclub venues than ever before, according to the neighborhood's Community Leadership Alliance.
Lower Polk St., one of the city's densest areas, has traditionally been known for it hustlers, hookers, drug users and homeless. However, the increasing number of night spots has lead to an increase in violent crimes in the area, the group claimed.
"Prostitutes, organized prostitution, pimps shooting at each other and ricochets hitting people and going into buildings and so forth," lamented the Alliance's Linda Chapman.
KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports:
Chapman claimed the San Francisco Police Department has been unresponsive to their concerns, but a police spokesman disputed that claim.
"Businesses, bars and establishments and so forth, the police department does respond to all requests for service related to problems that may be associated with nightclubs and bars and so forth," countered SFPD spokesman, Sgt. Mike Andraychak.
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