SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — An East Bay couple details the horrific turn of events when a tow truck attempted to tow them away while driving through downtown San Francisco.

“We were standing at a traffic light, minding our own business,” explains Joanne, who asked that we only use her first name. She described running errands with her husband on the morning of April 9th.

While the couple was stopped at Bush and Montgomery, they thought the yellow Specialty Towing truck was driving toward a nearby Waymo autonomous vehicle. But soon it became too close for comfort.

“It came from the side. I thought he was turning right. He put the car in reverse and all the lights came on. Then we thought: Hey, something is really wrong. His lever fell down.”

In the video captured by a witness, you can see the tow truck making multiple attempts to attach itself to his 2017 Toyota Corolla.

On video, a witness can be heard shouting: “What the hell are you doing?”

When the traffic light turns green, the Waymo drives off alongside Joanne and her husband. Then the couple realizes that they are stuck in front of a black limousine.

“We completely freaked out. The first instinct was to get away,” says Joanne.

Luckily, the black car reverses and Joanne's husband can drive away. You can see the tow truck giving chase. Joanne says the truck chased her for several blocks.

“It's definitely really scary,” says Joanne, who looks back on the incident and wonders what would have happened if the tow truck had managed to attach itself to her car.

MORE: New San Francisco program will text you when your car is about to be towed

ABC7 reached out to Special Towing via email and phone but did not receive a response.

The company, along with two other companies, was indicted by prosecutor David Chiu in February on charges of fraud and illegal towing of parked cars. His office described the company as “unscrupulous” in its online press release. Specialty Towing is now prohibited from offering or accepting city contracts.

Joanne and her husband told me that they were finally able to let go of the tow truck and drive back home to the East Bay. They claim they did nothing wrong and are still baffled as to why they were targeted.

“Full disclaimer, I definitely paid off my car, I paid off my registration,” she says.

Joanne plans to file a police report soon and is sharing her story to make other drivers aware.

“Be more careful when driving around and make sure you do your best to protect yourself if something doesn't look right,” she shares.

If you're using the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Copyright © 2024 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Residents of a San Francisco building that has flooded twice since June are reporting theft and people going inside their vacant apartments.

On June 10, at 2:27 a.m., Kate Sutherland received a notification. A person had been detected inside her vacant apartment at 33 Tehama.

“Opened the video and I saw a random person just wandering through my unit and taking a video on flash. It sent chills down my spine,” said Sutherland.

The eerie video caught what looked like a person moving slowly in the dark. The building had been vacant for several days after a water main broke and flooded the building. Kate ended her lease four days after this video was recorded.

RELATED: Residents at SF luxury apartment displaced after pipe bursts, flooding all 35 floors

Luz Pena: “How did they explain what happened?”

Kate Sutherland: “They really know how to explain it. They just kept saying that it was unauthorized.”

Kate’s story is the tip of the iceberg. This week another resident captured a contractor using the bathroom inside one of the apartments and taking something on their way out. Hines, the real estate company that owns the building, confirmed the theft that took place Monday, saying in part:

“A contractor who was making repairs in one of the units at 33 Tehama was recorded taking items from the unit. This contractor was terminated immediately.”

In Stephanie Sunwoo’s case, thousands of dollars went missing from her bank account this morning.

“Two fraudulent checks cashed in my account. My bank account both in the amount of over $1,500 each,” said Stephanie Sunwoo, 33 Tehama resident.

RELATED: Residents at flooded San Francisco luxury building may not be able to return home until 2023

Residents of the San Francisco high-rise damaged by a massive water main break may not be able to move back in until late this year or possibly 2023.

Sunwoo says her entire checkbook is inside her nightstand in her vacant apartment.

“It is really alarming to think that somebody is rummaging through my bedroom through my nightstand, grabs a box full of my checkbooks and now I have deep fears of identity theft,” said Sunwoo.

Residents are also reporting theft in the bike room.

“Our bike room was completely looted. There are remains of people’s bikes. Some people’s bikes are completely missing,” said Sunwoo.

Regarding theft, Hines said in part:

“While we haven’t confirmed the validity of these allegations yet, we have temporarily removed all contractor access to resident units while we work on a solution to increase security measures.”

RELATED: Residents report 2nd water leak, presumed theft at luxury SF apartments

And for residents like Maarya Abbasi, these reports make them want to get all of their belongings out of the building fast. She says Hines is making it difficult.

“It just feels like the nightmare that never ends,” said Maarya Abbasi.

Hines is not allowing residents inside the building and is only letting them use movers assigned by Hines.

“That is something I also asked Tehama ‘What is the recourse if our belongings get damaged?’ All I was told was is that we would have to work through our own renters insurance,” said Abbasi.

Hines said they are providing locked storage pods to residents who have scheduled move-outs through the end of the month.

As to bikes getting stolen, they said they don’t know if any bikes have been stolen, but said a large number of bikes were abandoned.

RELATED: New ‘catastrophic’ details reveal what went wrong inside flooded luxury SF apartment building

ABC7 News has learned about new “catastrophic” details into what went wrong inside 33 Tehama luxury apartment building in San Francisco.

We also followed up and asked about the resident who said her checkbook was stolen and they said that’s a police matter.

Statement from Hines about 33 Tehama – August 16, 2022

“It has come to our attention that on August 15, 2022, a contractor who was making repairs in one of the units at 33 Tehama was recorded taking items from the unit. This contractor was terminated immediately. All construction workers at 33 Tehama are licensed, bonded, and insured, and are employees of reputable subcontractors. We have security on the premises 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the safekeeping of our residents’ belongings is our utmost priority.

There are very few allegations of other issues with security in the units. While we haven’t confirmed the validity of these allegations yet, we have temporarily removed all contractor access to resident units while we work on a solution to increase security measures. At a minimum, these measures will include a comprehensive video monitoring system to capture footage while contractors are in residents’ units to safeguard their property in an active construction site.

When we learned that the timeline for reoccupation of 33 Tehama would extend into 2023 and notified residents that they would need to find alternate accommodations, we began working with city officials and local building ownership to secure housing for our most vulnerable residents, which include residents in the 60 below market rate (BMR) units at 33 Tehama. We have had success with the city who responded promptly to the request. We continue to work with local building owners to identify housing solutions for these residents. We are hopeful that San Francisco building owners with vacant BMR units will agree to support these 33 Tehama residents at this time by offering them housing.

Given that the financial and accommodation support for 33 Tehama residents ends tomorrow August 17, we have extended the financial and hotel accommodation support to tenants who meet certain income qualifications until August 31. This is to ensure that they have the resources to secure temporary housing while we continue to work closely with building ownership and in partnership with Supervisor Dorsey and other government officials to find a longer-term solution. “

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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As cities across the country try to encourage real estate developers to convert distressed office buildings into housing, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has a plan.

New data, however, raise substantial doubt about his office-to-residential accelerator and the number of buildings that can be converted in the first place. The data also suggests that other cities may run into similar hurdles.

Just 33 of the 325 office buildings in midtown Manhattan would be eligible for conversions under the mayor’s proposal, according to an analysis of properties in the areas by online real estate development platform PropertyScout, exclusively provided to The Messenger. Numerous factors, from limited access for fire departments to a lack of street-facing windows, shrink the pool of eligible buildings for conversions.

What’s more, the PropertyScout data does not include other factors like structural integrity and existing long-term leases, meaning its figure for New York will be even lower in practice.

New York City often leads the rest of the country in office building trends and these challenges will certainly resurface in other cities with the same, and separate, fire and building codes required for residential buildings. In San Francisco, for example, sprinkler systems must be installed in specific locations of new and renovated apartment buildings, including in units and garbage chutes. That means, more costly plumbing would have to be added to an existing office.

Since the pandemic decimated the office market, local governments have repeatedly pitched office-to-residential conversions as the solution for vacant office buildings and housing shortages. However, real estate developers often counter that complicated floor plans and high construction costs make conversions difficult, especially without funding. 

Rubik’s Cube of a Mess

“It’s like a Rubik’s cube of a mess. The pieces don’t always fit,” said Adelaide Polsinelli, a New York City broker with Compass who specializes in investment sales.

Currently, most of the midtown Manhattan areas are zoned for manufacturing, meaning that apartments cannot be built in the area. The city’s proposal would change the zoning to residential use, as well as allow buildings built before 1990 to be converted to housing — an update from the existing 1961 and 1977 cutoffs.

Adams has boasted that office-to-residential conversions could produce 20,000 new homes over the next decade.

“Office-to-residential conversions face enough logistical challenges – so our own regulations shouldn’t be one of them,” Dan Garodnick, director of the New York Department of City Planning said in a statement. “We’re working to get overly-restrictive rules out of the way to enable conversions”

Garodnick added that the city is working with the state to pass a tax incentive program for developers.

The area impacted by the city’s rezoning plan.NYC Department of City Planning

A separate study by real estate brokerage Avison Young found that New York’s five boroughs would have 1,698 office properties eligible for conversion. In Los Angeles, 1,212 properties are candidates, followed by 1,030 in Chicago and 795 in San Francisco. But that’s all without considering factors like feasibility, layout, location and costs.

PropertyScout’s data reveals that achieving those housing goals requires more than just giving developers a greenlight.

“The proposed rezoning will do very little to help conversions,” said Wilson Parry, CEO of PropertyScout. “The proposal does not address this elephant in the room.” 

That same elephant exists for office districts all over the country. Real estate developers face battles surrounding light, air and fire department access to apartments. In midtown, one of New York City’s prime office district, buildings are smaller and packed tightly together, limiting room for windows.

Legally, rooms in apartments must have windows that look out to a street, backyard or courtyard. Under New York City’s proposal, some requirements will become more lenient so that windows can be installed on walls just 15 feet away from another building — a change from New York City’s current 30 foot standard. That would theoretically allow for apartments to be created in the back of buildings, even if the views aren’t ideal. 

In some current conversions, office buildings have been hollowed out for light shafts and courtyards that make room for windows. That requires large floors. Conversions at 25 Water Street or One Wall Street in New York both encompass more than one million square feet and are located in Manhattan’s financial district.

When considering window requirements, there are just 33 candidates for conversions, out of 325 total midtown offices.

Other cities have additional rules that make conversions difficult. In San Francisco, sprinkler systems must be installed in specific locations of new and renovated apartment buildings, including in units and garbage chutes. That means, more plumbing would have to be added to an existing office.

In addition to windows, developers have to add bathrooms and kitchens, divide the floors into apartment units and make the former offices appealing to residents who don’t want to feel like they live in an office building. Other factors like kicking out existing office tenants and a building’s age can also make developers hesitant. Not only is the process complex, but and those costs would be passed down to renters, according to Compass’ Polsinelli.

Hand Over the Keys 

“If you’re an owner, you already have a building, and you have two choices: handing back the keys or doing the conversion. I would hand over the keys,” Polsinelli said. “[Financially] it doesn’t work. It’s not worth the brain damage.”

Still, some real estate professional aren’t not bowed by the data. Brooks McDaniel, a senior vice president of building repositioning at STO Building Group, still encourages developers to examine conversion potential. He said that he’s taken it upon himself to reach out to office owners with buildings that could have a second life. 

“I still have this big learning curve with building owners where I’m sort of educating them on how this works,” McDaniel said. “[We’re] using all of these various methods to make the projects work.”

The post Empty Workplaces Into Flats? Not So Quick (Unique) appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Just add cash!

As RollOnFriday has learned, Withers has made a cash call to all of its junior partners.

The company confirmed that junior equity partners were asked to contribute between $25,000 and $52,500 (£19.9,000 to £41.7,000) depending on seniority.

Cash calls can help partnerships strengthen their balance sheets, which has become a more pressing matter for some companies as they grapple with market pressures exacerbated by the impact of the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and – for UK-based companies – Brexit.

Withers expanded significantly in the US last year, taking a bullish stance on the future of office versus remote work with moves to much larger offices in LA, San Francisco and San Diego.

However, the company told RollOnFriday that its decision to apply for a capital contribution was made two years ago. Rather than an emergency funding measure, it appeared to be a desire to help junior partners leverage the financial bond between attorney and firm that motivated the call.

In a statement, it said, “For the first time, we have asked junior equity partners to make a capital contribution of between $25,000 and $52,500, based on seniority, to help them become more involved in ownership of the company.” The call is not directed to senior equity partners, whose capital needs remain unchanged, the company said.

One of the city’s oldest private client practices, Withers became Withersworldwide in the last decade, surprising everyone with a US merger and an international rollout in some pretty flashy locations (Milan, Tokyo, New York, right next to Domino’s in Cambridge).

It certainly didn’t give the impression that a company was struggling to make money. Withers reported global revenue of £267m in 2022, up from £243.7m a year earlier, while profit per equity partner held steady at £668k after a 32% increase in 2021.

Last summer the company was doing so well that it even gave all trainees, secretaries, paralegals in the EU and Asia and below-level corporate services staff a £1,000 extra living allowance.

Speaking of the rising sales of the US offices in 2022, Michael Brophy, managing director of Withers in Los Angeles, said: “Every year around the world we get the idea that the London market is the most important market for the company.” However, he will take their money.

Let top companies and companies ping your app when they interest you in a job. Whether you plan to actively relocate or not, keep an ear open by downloading LawyerUp on the App Store or Google Play.

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By Levi Sumagaysay

San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said Tuesday that he will look into the loss of Twitter janitors’ jobs, which appears to be in violation of San Francisco law.

Members of the SEIU Local 87 went on strike Monday as their contract was set to expire Dec. 9. The contractor that employed them is set to be replaced by another contractor that Twitter would not disclose to the union, according to Olga Miranda, president of the union local. Twitter then moved up the janitors’ last day on the job to Monday, she said.

According to San Francisco law, when a company changes contractors for security or janitorial services, the contractor is supposed to rehire workers for at least 90 days after the transition.

When contacted by MarketWatch on Tuesday, Chiu said: “Elon Musk has a long history of flouting labor laws. While I’m not surprised this happened, I feel for those workers as well as all Twitter employees and contractors who have been laid off. We will be looking into this further.”

Miranda said 48 janitors in total are affected, 30 of whom were waiting to go back to work because many Twitter employees had been working from home and not as many janitors were needed.

San Francisco-based Twitter, whose communications team was reportedly almost entirely laid off at the beginning of November after Musk bought the company, has not returned a request for comment. Musk has cut about half of the company’s pre-acquisition workforce of 7,500 since he took over.

Also Tuesday, Ted Goldberg, a senior editor at KQED, San Francisco’s public radio station, tweeted that the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection is launching an investigation into news reported by Forbes that Twitter has set up bedrooms for employees at its headquarters.

“We need to make sure the building is being used as intended,” a representative of the department told KQED News.

– Levi Sumagaysay

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-06-22 2149ET

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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San Francisco, CA: Alpha Plumbing & Rooter Service offers a wide range of plumbing services, one of which is water heater repair. Whether the water heater has sediment build-up on the bottom or leaks, the plumber repairs it in record time. The team also offers regular maintenance services, assisting the homeowner in catching issues early. If the water heater has seen better days, the plumber helps them replace it with a new unit based on their needs.

The San Francisco plumber also offers hot water leak (under the slab) repairs, assisting the client in avoiding mold, poor water pressure, termite infestation, and high water bills. Before repairs and coming up with possible solutions, the team inspects the slab leak to find the cause. Whether the issue is improperly installed copper pipes, corrosion, or seismic activity, the company provides repairs that stand the test of time.

The plumbing company also offers drain cleaning to residential clients with clogged shower drains and sinks. Whether they are experiencing a mess or bad odors, the team uses environmentally friendly products to handle the issue. In addition, the company offers repair services to those with flawed fixtures and showerheads.

The team also offers garbage disposal repair to clients experiencing abnormal noises from their unit, frequent resets, inexplicable clogs, persistent odors, and water leaks. Regardless of the issue, the team, which has A+ Rating at the BBB, first evaluates the unit before repairing it. They also advise the client on some of the latest garbage disposal systems if repairing the existing one is expensive.

The plumber also offers water filtration installation, assisting clients in extending the life of their home appliances and minimizing health problems pronunciated with hard water. The team ensures the new filtration system matches the client’s water needs.

San Francisco clients with toilet problems such as a broken flushing mechanism or a clogged drain can also get repair service from the company’s experienced team. To solve the issue faster and avoid more frustrations, the trained plumber evaluates the issue first before repairing the toilet. The company also offers professional installation services if the toilet needs new parts, especially if the flushing mechanism is beyond repair.

In addition, Alpha Plumbing & Rooter Service offers repair services to clients with broken sewer lines. They have invested in advanced technology and tools to repair the damaged pipes without digging. For homeowners with lines damaged beyond repair, the plumbers advise them on the best remedies, such as considering replacements.

Clients interested in water heater services, sewer line repair, toilet repair and installation, gas line repair, or a general plumbing service can contact the company at (510) 795-6699. Visit the plumber’s website for more information.

Media Contact

company name
Alpha Plumbing & Rooter Service
Contact name
Lonzo Caves
phones
(510) 795-6699
City
san francisco
State
APPROX
Post code
94016
Country
United States
site
https://alphaplumbingcorp.com/

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Alex Tourk wants to build 2,000 tiny homes for San Francisco’s homeless population. And he wants your help to get it done.

The political operative turned public relations specialist is teaming up with the citizen volunteer organization RescueSF to get this idea off the ground, The Examiner has learned. The newly formed nonprofit is calling itself MyOwnLockandKey.org. the goal? Increase transitional housing options and get the homeless off the streets.

Tourk, who ran point on Project Homeless Connect for former Mayor Gavin Newsom, knows the landscape and he’s banking that his history of running campaigns and building political coalitions will help move the plan forward.

He’s going to need all that experience and then some, because this idea is going to run into some serious hurdles.

First off, where are you going to put all these tiny homes, also known as modular housing units in the homeless advocacy world? Tourk says he’s identified 50 parcels of land across San Francisco that could house modular housing, owned by The City, state, federal government and private entities, such as religious organizations.

I asked where these parcels were, and he told me they’re spread across San Francisco. And that’s where it’s going to get interesting.

As we all know, people feel strongly about homelessness. They want something done. But they don’t want it done in their backyards. Tourk says he has an answer. That’s where you come in. Over the next 20 months, Tourk and RescueSF plan to “organize a broad citywide coalition of 25,000 San Franciscans to support bringing modular/tiny home transitional supportive housing projects to sites throughout the City.”

Good luck with that. And I mean it. If anyone can pull it off, it’s probably Mr. Tourk. He’s a driven organizer. He could sell the Pope dope. Part of the plan will be to hold 500 house parties across The City, where neighborhood supporters could gather their friends to hear the pitch.

“I could be pollyannaish here, right? There could be people who are like, ‘What are you talking about? … Get them out of my neighborhood,’” said Tourk. “But you know what? I want to inspire people. That’s what true organizing is. It’s like selling a vision and getting people to buy into it. This idea that you’re going to keep dumping people in the tenderloin, in the Bayview, and this is going to somehow solve homelessness, just because it’s out of sight out of mind. If we really want to solve homelessness, we really want to make a dent in it, we all gotta participate, one way or another.”

OK, say you get the neighborhoods to buy in. Who’s going to provide the services needed? You can’t just give somebody a cabin and wish them luck. They’ll need services… and security.

Tourk believes The City is flush with cash (it is) and there are “a bevy of supportive services” available (um, not really). And he’s looking at the controversial nonprofit Urban Alchemy as a possible security solution.

OK. What about all the other nonprofits in town? The homeless industrial complex can be pretty territorial. Everyone wants to keep their piece of the funding under their own roof. On that front, Tourk figured the Coalition on Homelessness and the San Francisco Building Trades and Construction Council would be his biggest opponents. Both groups have traditionally opposed modular construction in favor of permanent housing.

But so far, Jennifer Friedenbach of the Coalition remains open to the idea and Rudy Gonzalez with the builders union is relatively supportive. Tourk says there are 1,300 union members who could benefit from building the 2,000 units proposed.

Funding may prove the biggest obstacle to MyOwnLockandKey. Tourk originally wanted to create a ballot measure that would make it possible to redirect some Prop. C money. (You know, the initiative that taxes the rich to help the homeless in SF) But that didn’t look politically expedient. Instead, his group wants to put this proposal in front of the Board of Supervisors and let them find the money. This could be Tourk’s Waterloo. Or Hamburger Hill. Many a dream has died in Room 250.

But this past week, the dream took a step toward reality. Not only is the group up and running, but they held a little party to kick things off. Tourk gathered a couple dozen of the biggest names in San Francisco’s homeless advocacy community at Civic Center Plaza to listen to his pitch and take a group photo.

“I picked this spot for a reason. And it really was three of them,” Tourk told the crowd. Turns out, George Moscone campaigned against the scourge of drugs and homelessness in the Plaza back in 1975. In 1988, this was ‘Camp Agnos,’ a homelessness tent encampment. And in 2004, Tourk and Judith Cain launched Project Homeless Connect on the same spot, spurring Tourk to say, “It made me realize that maybe my organizing skills were for something bigger than just electing politicians.”

“About a year ago, I met Mark (Nagel) and Laurie (Brooke), and these guys are doing amazing work at Rescue SF. They’re able to articulate a missing rung on the housing ladder, which is your transitional supportive, modular, tiny home construction. They are officially working with me as a policy arm of this foundation to help make sure we’re doing this appropriately, thoughtfully, with data and analysis. So again, today’s the beginning.”

Tourk points to existing, similar programs in Los Angeles, Oakland and Mountain View as his North Star. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of cheerleaders for his idea in the crowd at Civic Center Plaza.

“We’re very supportive of his idea,” said Brooke, co-founder of Rescue SF. “Having Alex come on board with his campaign experience and messaging experience, this could really take it to the next level.” She and her co-founder, Nagel pointed to an existing site at 33 Gough as their pilot.

The Examiner’s Sydney Johnson reported on the opening of that location, revealing that the site currently holds 30 cabins, with plans to expand to 70.

“Each unit is carefully and fashionably designed with details such as living plants, bookshelves and artwork, and features a bed, air conditioning, a desk and electricity,” Johnson wrote. “Bathrooms, showers and an eventual computer lab are all part of the development, which will get a wrap-around mural before the opening of all 70 units later this spring.” Generally speaking, residents would live in these cabins for months, rather than years. They’re intended to be a stepping stone rather than a permanent solution.

But the site also only has a temporary lease. The developer wants to build on the site. That’s why movable units are important in this plan, Tourk argues.

“It’s about time that somebody really did something, stepped up and helped,” said Gwendolyn Westbrook, executive director of Mother Brown’s Dining Room, a social service group that runs a safe sleeping site in the Bayview. “Transitional housing is what they need.”

Here, here.

It was a lovely, sunny day in San Francisco. There was a feeling of hope in the air. Many of these people have been fighting on behalf of the homeless for years and years. And they’re not going to quit.

As I walked away from the gathering, I passed the safe sleeping site run by Urban Alchemy near City Hall. Many of the sites appeared empty inside the fence. Across the street, dozens if not hundreds of people milled about in search of a fix.

They seemed a lot more interested in heroin than housing.

Editor’s note: The Arena, a column from The Examiner’s Al Saracevic, explores San Francisco’s playing field, from politics and technology to sports and culture. Send your tips, quips and quotes to asaracevic@sfexaminer.com.

Tiny homes for homeless individuals at 33 Gough St. serves as a prototype for the kind of sites a new non-profit called MyOwnLockandKey.org hopes to build. (Craig Lee/The Examiner)

A group of homeless advocates and non-profit organizers gathered in front of City Hall on Thursday, March 2, 2022, to listen to Alex Tourk’s pitch to launch a transitionary housing non-profit called MyOwnLockandKey.org. Tourk, pictured at the center in a white shirt, chose the spot for symbolic reasons. (Photo by Mitch Tobias)

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“I noticed him yelling in the background. That’s when he ran after me,” says Wendy, who requested we only use her first name. The 28-year-old was soft-spoken and nervous speaking about what happened to her Friday afternoon in Visitacion Valley, not far from Bayshore. That man who was yelling at her, suddenly attacked.

Surveillance video used in the police investigation shows Wendy on her back. You can hear her blood-curdling scream for help.

“He grabbed me, started choking me down. I couldn’t yell after that since he was choking me and he had me on the ground,” said Wendy.

VIDEO: Disturbing attack on Daly City grandfather caught on camera; family offers $10,000 reward

Wendy, who is the mother of a 6-year-old, thought she was going to die and blacked out.

“I was just thinking of my family, my son, praying to God, that someone would come out a see me,” said Wendy.

Video shows a man, not necessarily seeing her, but definitely hearing her cry for help, running in her direction. That, according to police, scared the suspect away, saying his quick actions “made a world of difference.”

Wendy agrees.

RELATED: SF DA defends his policies as city makes national headlines with highest property crime rate

“They’re lifesavers. I really appreciate it, I don’t know how to thank them for what they did,” said Wendy.

I spoke to the man who heard Wendy scream and rushed over to help with his neighbor. He didn’t want to go on camera, out of fear for his safety. But says he was put on this earth to help others.

Supervisor Shamann Walton, who developed a public safety plan for his district to address crimes like this, also commended the neighbors for jumping into action.

A statement sent to ABC7 News reads in part, “We commend our Visitacion Valley neighbors, who jumped into action to save and assist the victim in a timely manner. Our office is committed to helping the victim and all victims of crime to connect to any services that they may need following these types of senseless ordeals.”

RELATED: 71-year-old SF woman considers moving after being strangled during attempted robbery

San Francisco’s Ingleside Station shared images of the suspect on social media this week and SFPD confirmed they’re looking at a possible suspect who is in custody for an unrelated incident but could not confirm his involvement in Wendy’s case.

Wendy, who miraculously wasn’t seriously hurt, says until she saves up enough to buy a car – she’ll continue to walk. But with precautions. She plans to purchase pepper spray to protect herself from now on and recommends all women be aware of their surroundings while walking alone.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

Copyright © 2022 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

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Alex Tourk wants to build 2,000 tiny homes for San Francisco’s homeless population. And he wants your help to get it done.

The political operative turned public relations specialist is teaming up with the citizen volunteer organization RescueSF to get this idea off the ground, The Examiner has learned. The newly formed nonprofit is calling itself MyOwnLockandKey.org. the goal? Increase transitional housing options and get the homeless off the streets.

Tourk, who ran point on Project Homeless Connect for former Mayor Gavin Newsom, knows the landscape and he’s banking that his history of running campaigns and building political coalitions will help move the plan forward.

He’s going to need all that experience and then some, because this idea is going to run into some serious hurdles.

First off, where are you going to put all these tiny homes, also known as modular housing units in the homeless advocacy world? Tourk says he’s identified 50 parcels of land across San Francisco that could house modular housing, owned by The City, state, federal government and private entities, such as religious organizations.

I asked where these parcels were, and he told me they’re spread across San Francisco. And that’s where it’s going to get interesting.

As we all know, people feel strongly about homelessness. They want something done. But they don’t want it done in their backyards. Tourk says he has an answer. That’s where you come in. Over the next 20 months, Tourk and RescueSF plan to “organize a broad citywide coalition of 25,000 San Franciscans to support bringing modular/tiny home transitional supportive housing projects to sites throughout the City.”

Good luck with that. And I mean it. If anyone can pull it off, it’s probably Mr. Tourk. He’s a driven organizer. He could sell the Pope dope. Part of the plan will be to hold 500 house parties across The City, where neighborhood supporters could gather their friends to hear the pitch.

“I could be pollyannaish here, right? There could be people who are like, ‘What are you talking about? … Get them out of my neighborhood,’” said Tourk. “But you know what? I want to inspire people. That’s what true organizing is. It’s like selling a vision and getting people to buy into it. This idea that you’re going to keep dumping people in the tenderloin, in the Bayview, and this is going to somehow solve homelessness, just because it’s out of sight out of mind. If we really want to solve homelessness, we really want to make a dent in it, we all gotta participate, one way or another.”

OK, say you get the neighborhoods to buy in. Who’s going to provide the services needed? You can’t just give somebody a cabin and wish them luck. They’ll need services… and security.

Tourk believes The City is flush with cash (it is) and there are “a bevy of supportive services” available (um, not really). And he’s looking at the controversial nonprofit Urban Alchemy as a possible security solution.

OK. What about all the other nonprofits in town? The homeless industrial complex can be pretty territorial. Everyone wants to keep their piece of the funding under their own roof. On that front, Tourk figured the Coalition on Homelessness and the San Francisco Building Trades and Construction Council would be his biggest opponents. Both groups have traditionally opposed modular construction in favor of permanent housing.

But so far, Jennifer Friedenbach of the Coalition remains open to the idea and Rudy Gonzalez with the builders union is relatively supportive. Tourk says there are 1,300 union members who could benefit from building the 2,000 units proposed.

Funding may prove the biggest obstacle to MyOwnLockandKey. Tourk originally wanted to create a ballot measure that would make it possible to redirect some Prop. C money. (You know, the initiative that taxes the rich to help the homeless in SF) But that didn’t look politically expedient. Instead, his group wants to put this proposal in front of the Board of Supervisors and let them find the money. This could be Tourk’s Waterloo. Or Hamburger Hill. Many a dream has died in Room 250.

But this past week, the dream took a step toward reality. Not only is the group up and running, but they held a little party to kick things off. Tourk gathered a couple dozen of the biggest names in San Francisco’s homeless advocacy community at Civic Center Plaza to listen to his pitch and take a group photo.

“I picked this spot for a reason. And it really was three of them,” Tourk told the crowd. Turns out, George Moscone campaigned against the scourge of drugs and homelessness in the Plaza back in 1975. In 1988, this was ‘Camp Agnos,’ a homelessness tent encampment. And in 2004, Tourk and Judith Cain launched Project Homeless Connect on the same spot, spurring Tourk to say, “It made me realize that maybe my organizing skills were for something bigger than just electing politicians.”

“About a year ago, I met Mark (Nagel) and Laurie (Brooke), and these guys are doing amazing work at Rescue SF. They’re able to articulate a missing rung on the housing ladder, which is your transitional supportive, modular, tiny home construction. They are officially working with me as a policy arm of this foundation to help make sure we’re doing this appropriately, thoughtfully, with data and analysis. So again, today’s the beginning.”

Tourk points to existing, similar programs in Los Angeles, Oakland and Mountain View as his North Star. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of cheerleaders for his idea in the crowd at Civic Center Plaza.

“We’re very supportive of his idea,” said Brooke, co-founder of Rescue SF. “Having Alex come on board with his campaign experience and messaging experience, this could really take it to the next level.” She and her co-founder, Nagel pointed to an existing site at 33 Gough as their pilot.

The Examiner’s Sydney Johnson reported on the opening of that location, revealing that the site currently holds 30 cabins, with plans to expand to 70.

“Each unit is carefully and fashionably designed with details such as living plants, bookshelves and artwork, and features a bed, air conditioning, a desk and electricity,” Johnson wrote. “Bathrooms, showers and an eventual computer lab are all part of the development, which will get a wrap-around mural before the opening of all 70 units later this spring.” Generally speaking, residents would live in these cabins for months, rather than years. They’re intended to be a stepping stone rather than a permanent solution.

But the site also only has a temporary lease. The developer wants to build on the site. That’s why movable units are important in this plan, Tourk argues.

“It’s about time that somebody really did something, stepped up and helped,” said Gwendolyn Westbrook, executive director of Mother Brown’s Dining Room, a social service group that runs a safe sleeping site in the Bayview. “Transitional housing is what they need.”

Here, here.

It was a lovely, sunny day in San Francisco. There was a feeling of hope in the air. Many of these people have been fighting on behalf of the homeless for years and years. And they’re not going to quit.

As I walked away from the gathering, I passed the safe sleeping site run by Urban Alchemy near City Hall. Many of the sites appeared empty inside the fence. Across the street, dozens if not hundreds of people milled about in search of a fix.

They seemed a lot more interested in heroin than housing.

Editor’s note: The Arena, a column from The Examiner’s Al Saracevic, explores San Francisco’s playing field, from politics and technology to sports and culture. Send your tips, quips and quotes to asaracevic@sfexaminer.com.

Tiny homes for homeless individuals at 33 Gough St. serves as a prototype for the kind of sites a new non-profit called MyOwnLockandKey.org hopes to build. (Craig Lee/The Examiner)

A group of homeless advocates and non-profit organizers gathered in front of City Hall on Thursday, March 2, 2022, to listen to Alex Tourk’s pitch to launch a transitionary housing non-profit called MyOwnLockandKey.org. Tourk, pictured at the center in a white shirt, chose the spot for symbolic reasons. (Photo by Mitch Tobias)

The post EXCLUSIVE: 2,000 tiny houses proposed for San Francisco’s homeless inhabitants appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Alex Tourk wants to build 2,000 tiny homes for San Francisco’s homeless population. And he wants your help to get it done.

The political operative turned public relations specialist is teaming up with the citizen volunteer organization RescueSF to get this idea off the ground, The Examiner has learned. The newly formed nonprofit is calling itself MyOwnLockandKey.org. the goal? Increase transitional housing options and get the homeless off the streets.

Tourk, who ran point on Project Homeless Connect for former Mayor Gavin Newsom, knows the landscape and he’s banking that his history of running campaigns and building political coalitions will help move the plan forward.

He’s going to need all that experience and then some, because this idea is going to run into some serious hurdles.

First off, where are you going to put all these tiny homes, also known as modular housing units in the homeless advocacy world? Tourk says he’s identified 50 parcels of land across San Francisco that could house modular housing, owned by The City, state, federal government and private entities, such as religious organizations.

I asked where these parcels were, and he told me they’re spread across San Francisco. And that’s where it’s going to get interesting.

As we all know, people feel strongly about homelessness. They want something done. But they don’t want it done in their backyards. Tourk says he has an answer. That’s where you come in. Over the next 20 months, Tourk and RescueSF plan to “organize a broad citywide coalition of 25,000 San Franciscans to support bringing modular/tiny home transitional supportive housing projects to sites throughout the City.”

Good luck with that. And I mean it. If anyone can pull it off, it’s probably Mr. Tourk. He’s a driven organizer. He could sell the Pope dope. Part of the plan will be to hold 500 house parties across The City, where neighborhood supporters could gather their friends to hear the pitch.

“I could be pollyannaish here, right? There could be people who are like, ‘What are you talking about? … Get them out of my neighborhood,’” said Tourk. “But you know what? I want to inspire people. That’s what true organizing is. It’s like selling a vision and getting people to buy into it. This idea that you’re going to keep dumping people in the tenderloin, in the Bayview, and this is going to somehow solve homelessness, just because it’s out of sight out of mind. If we really want to solve homelessness, we really want to make a dent in it, we all gotta participate, one way or another.”

OK, say you get the neighborhoods to buy in. Who’s going to provide the services needed? You can’t just give somebody a cabin and wish them luck. They’ll need services… and security.

Tourk believes The City is flush with cash (it is) and there are “a bevy of supportive services” available (um, not really). And he’s looking at the controversial nonprofit Urban Alchemy as a possible security solution.

OK. What about all the other nonprofits in town? The homeless industrial complex can be pretty territorial. Everyone wants to keep their piece of the funding under their own roof. On that front, Tourk figured the Coalition on Homelessness and the San Francisco Building Trades and Construction Council would be his biggest opponents. Both groups have traditionally opposed modular construction in favor of permanent housing.

But so far, Jennifer Friedenbach of the Coalition remains open to the idea and Rudy Gonzalez with the builders union is relatively supportive. Tourk says there are 1,300 union members who could benefit from building the 2,000 units proposed.

Funding may prove the biggest obstacle to MyOwnLockandKey. Tourk originally wanted to create a ballot measure that would make it possible to redirect some Prop. C money. (You know, the initiative that taxes the rich to help the homeless in SF) But that didn’t look politically expedient. Instead, his group wants to put this proposal in front of the Board of Supervisors and let them find the money. This could be Tourk’s Waterloo. Or Hamburger Hill. Many a dream has died in Room 250.

But this past week, the dream took a step toward reality. Not only is the group up and running, but they held a little party to kick things off. Tourk gathered a couple dozen of the biggest names in San Francisco’s homeless advocacy community at Civic Center Plaza to listen to his pitch and take a group photo.

“I picked this spot for a reason. And it really was three of them,” Tourk told the crowd. Turns out, George Moscone campaigned against the scourge of drugs and homelessness in the Plaza back in 1975. In 1988, this was ‘Camp Agnos,’ a homelessness tent encampment. And in 2004, Tourk and Judith Cain launched Project Homeless Connect on the same spot, spurring Tourk to say, “It made me realize that maybe my organizing skills were for something bigger than just electing politicians.”

“About a year ago, I met Mark (Nagel) and Laurie (Brooke), and these guys are doing amazing work at Rescue SF. They’re able to articulate a missing rung on the housing ladder, which is your transitional supportive, modular, tiny home construction. They are officially working with me as a policy arm of this foundation to help make sure we’re doing this appropriately, thoughtfully, with data and analysis. So again, today’s the beginning.”

Tourk points to existing, similar programs in Los Angeles, Oakland and Mountain View as his North Star. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of cheerleaders for his idea in the crowd at Civic Center Plaza.

“We’re very supportive of his idea,” said Brooke, co-founder of Rescue SF. “Having Alex come on board with his campaign experience and messaging experience, this could really take it to the next level.” She and her co-founder, Nagel pointed to an existing site at 33 Gough as their pilot.

The Examiner’s Sydney Johnson reported on the opening of that location, revealing that the site currently holds 30 cabins, with plans to expand to 70.

“Each unit is carefully and fashionably designed with details such as living plants, bookshelves and artwork, and features a bed, air conditioning, a desk and electricity,” Johnson wrote. “Bathrooms, showers and an eventual computer lab are all part of the development, which will get a wrap-around mural before the opening of all 70 units later this spring.” Generally speaking, residents would live in these cabins for months, rather than years. They’re intended to be a stepping stone rather than a permanent solution.

But the site also only has a temporary lease. The developer wants to build on the site. That’s why movable units are important in this plan, Tourk argues.

“It’s about time that somebody really did something, stepped up and helped,” said Gwendolyn Westbrook, executive director of Mother Brown’s Dining Room, a social service group that runs a safe sleeping site in the Bayview. “Transitional housing is what they need.”

Here, here.

It was a lovely, sunny day in San Francisco. There was a feeling of hope in the air. Many of these people have been fighting on behalf of the homeless for years and years. And they’re not going to quit.

As I walked away from the gathering, I passed the safe sleeping site run by Urban Alchemy near City Hall. Many of the sites appeared empty inside the fence. Across the street, dozens if not hundreds of people milled about in search of a fix.

They seemed a lot more interested in heroin than housing.

Editor’s note: The Arena, a column from The Examiner’s Al Saracevic, explores San Francisco’s playing field, from politics and technology to sports and culture. Send your tips, quips and quotes to asaracevic@sfexaminer.com.

Tiny homes for homeless individuals at 33 Gough St. serves as a prototype for the kind of sites a new non-profit called MyOwnLockandKey.org hopes to build. (Craig Lee/The Examiner)

A group of homeless advocates and non-profit organizers gathered in front of City Hall on Thursday, March 2, 2022, to listen to Alex Tourk’s pitch to launch a transitionary housing non-profit called MyOwnLockandKey.org. Tourk, pictured at the center in a white shirt, chose the spot for symbolic reasons. (Photo by Mitch Tobias)

The post EXCLUSIVE: 2,000 tiny houses proposed for San Francisco’s homeless inhabitants appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.