By Magaly Muñoz

Assemblymembers Mark Haney (D-San Francisco) and Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) visited downtown Berkeley on Dec. 4 to meet with city leaders about public safety and revitalizing the area that has been experiencing increasing crime and blight.

Haney, who did his undergraduate degree a few blocks away at UC Berkeley, has been on a tour of different cities across California to explore why previously bustling downtowns are losing foot traffic and commercial tenants.

Over the past few years, several reports have been released across the country highlighting the need to revitalize commercial districts in post-pandemic America. All of them indicate that there has been a decline in people shopping at local businesses, eating at restaurants, and enjoying downtown nightlife options.

Berkeley is no different.

In 2023, the city reported an 11.9% vacancy rate for businesses in the downtown area. City leaders said they cannot find a way to incentivize people to visit their locations.

Simone, owner of Almare Gelato Italiano, told the Assemblymembers that there is a “dark side” to this corridor that not many see. He said that residents feel unsafe visiting that particular area after a certain time and his workers also fear for their lives as they often experience harassment from random people walking by his shops.

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“I can tell you that being here for my business is a big risk, a big challenge,” Simone said.

Simone blames District Attorney Pamela Price, who was recently recalled from office in November, for not taking crime seriously and prosecuting people who steal and commit crimes that impact local retailers. He also said that there is an abundance of homeless people walking aimlessly around the city disturbing patrons.

Dorothée Mitrani, owner of La Note, a restaurant in Berkeley, says the police are not responsive when business owners call to report harassment at their locations. She said police will only show up if an “actual crime” has been committed.

Simone said there needs to be more trust in police and an increase in their presence might help maintain order and mitigate recurring problems.

As a part of Haney’s downtown tour, his team was taken to different parts of Berkeley, including Old City Hall, which homeless advocates are occupying in an effort to resist shutdowns of homeless encampments.

In September, the Berkeley City Council relaxed restrictions for sweeps, stating encampments can be removed even without the availability of shelter — a hard stance for liberal-leaning city.

Peter Radu, assistant to the city manager, told Haney and Wicks that the city is committed to ensuring and maintaining public safety and cleanliness, and will continue with a housing-first approach.

Radu shared that through the pandemic officials were able to learn that unhoused people are more inclined to choose housing when they have more options, such as non-congregate shelters. The city is hoping to obtain additional grants, similar to the ones received during the pandemic, to fund facilities that will allow people to have more housing options.

Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper.

Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities.

The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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