Frustrated Oakland residents are in the hole after a construction crew quit and refused to finish their pothole paving job because it became “too dangerous” for their workers, while other companies flee the Bay Area over the same concerns.
Residents in the Sobrante Park area of East Oakland said they were not even notified after the outside general contractor decided to abandon the project before repaving the streets, leaving Large potholes and dangerous loose gravel all over the neighborhood since mid-May.
When resident Shari Angarano approached a city project manager for some answers, she was incredulous.
“He basically said the work was on hold and he couldn’t tell me the time frame they would be back because the contractor stopped all work because he felt unsafe,” Angarano told DailyMail.com.
Potholes and loose gravel remains in the Sobrante Park neighborhood of East Oakland after an outside construction crew abandoned the job.
Shari Angarano said she’s frustrated that construction workers left her neighborhood with even worse potholes after the crew decided to abandon the job for safety reasons.
He added: “They were not going to restart the project until the city of Oakland could guarantee them a safe work environment.”
Meanwhile, those who live in the Sobrabte Park neighborhood have to deal with dangerous uneven pavement that can damage their cars and tires.
“I’m worried about passing cars and buses,” Angarano said. ‘There are a lot of children in our neighborhood who ride bikes and buses regularly pass by and kick up loose gravel. It’s just not safe.’
When Angarano asked the project manager what he should do if his vehicle was damaged from driving on an uneven road, he simply told him to “file a complaint with the city for a refund.”
The already beleaguered city is dealing with an increase in criminal activity and more companies are refusing to do business in the area.
Like many cities across the country, Oakland has seen a series of violent robberies.
In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved more than $267 million for local police departments and district attorneys’ offices to combat retail theft, but progressive Oakland Mayor Shen Thao was criticized for failing to meet a deadline to secure $15 million in state funds.
Last week alone, there were a total of 149 motor vehicle thefts in Oakland, 108 reported assaults and 31 robbery incidents, according to data released by the Oakland Police Department.
From January to May, Oakland saw a two percent drop in violent crime compared to the same period last year, but saw a six percent increase in robberies.
Car break-ins have been so common in some areas of Oakland that locals give it a name: bippin’.
As certain companies refuse to do business in crime-ridden areas, other businesses and restaurants have also left Oakland.
The city’s only In-N-Out burger closed its doors on March 25 due to rising crime, the only location to close in the popular chain’s 75-year history.
In-N-Out’s Oakport Street location in Oakland closed after the company decided it was too dangerous for customers and employees due to the rise of gangs of luggage thieves breaking into cars in the parking lot.
A sign at the now-closed In-N-Out Oakland location attempted to warn customers to remain vigilant.
“Despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our Customers and Associates are regularly victims of car thefts, property damage, robberies and armed robberies,” the company’s chief operating officer wrote in a statement. Denny Warnick.
DailyMail.com previously reported that Oakland’s crime ‘hot spot’ included the now-closed In-N-Out and three gas stations near the Oakland airport.
The same thing happened in February with Oakland’s only Denny’s, which had been around for 54 years.
Buck Wild Brewing, which closed in April, is another restaurant that had to close its doors when city officials allowed slums to grow in the Bay Area city.
Buck Wild Brewing opened during the pandemic and simply never saw the foot traffic it needed to keep the business afloat.
Tiger’s Taproom, just a block from Buck Wild, almost had to close last year. SF Gate reported.
Factors other than crime caused Buck Wild in particular, a gluten-free brewery in Jack London Square, to go out of business.
The bar opened in November 2020, a big disadvantage as they were unable to establish a loyal customer base before the Covid closures.
The pandemic-era brewery was banking in part on the Oakland A’s building a new $12 billion baseball stadium at Howard Terminal, which is just a half-mile away from Jack London Square.
The A’s decided to reject the plan and move to Las Vegas, where they could play in 2028.
The mockup of the proposed Oakland A’s stadium at Howard Terminal near Jack London Square, where Buck Wild Brewing was located.
“We didn’t take our hats off to the fact that the Oakland A’s were moving half a mile away, but when that deal fell through, it was certainly a big blow to the neighborhood and the city as a whole.” said owner Michael Bernstein.
This all comes as shocking images emerged of a long stretch of road in Oakland, which is covered in squalid makeshift homeless tents.
Garbage was strewn around dozens of homes built from discarded wood, tarps and other materials.
CaliBased host Michael Oxford posted the video on May 31 and captioned it: “Some parts of Oakland are worse than a third world country.” They simply allow people to live in abject squalor, wherever they choose.’
Desperation and crime in Oakland have gotten so bad that people have resorted to stealing copper wires from traffic lights. This phenomenon forced city officials to remove traffic lights from a busy intersection and replace them with stop signs.
Oakland’s two most visible lawmakers, Mayor Sheng Thao and her district attorney, Pamela Price, face recalls for soft-on-crime policies blamed for the city’s downfall.
Thao was previously mocked for suggesting that life coaching could help solve the city’s rising crime rates.
Oakland’s progressive Mayor Sheng Thao has come under fire for rising crime since she took office in 2023.
Angarano, who moved from New York to Oakland, said he is concerned that the city will not be able to emerge from the economic crisis, which is affecting the quality of life in the area.
“Since I moved here eight years ago, I definitely feel like commerce and everything has been declining,” he said. ‘When I first moved here, we had the (Golden State) Warriors playing at Oakland Stadium and the Raiders at the Coliseum.
‘And now the Oakland A’s are leaving too. I am concerned about the general area when franchises leave. It is not a good sign.