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In struggle, the Stop American Apparel coalition will meet at The Makeout Room at 7 p.m. tonight to discuss their plans at stopping the clothing store from opening in the Mission. They'll have "full color posters for you to take with you as well as petitions and postcards." If you remember, a few comfortably wealthy folks in the Mission do not want an American Apparel store opening up in the neighborhood because getting old sucks, chains are allegedly ugly (never mind the fact that there is a Sketchers and McDonald's just one block down on the more Latino-laced Mission Street), and they would prefer to keep the area "a corridor of outstanding independent businesses." Judging by our poll, most of you don't care whether or not an American Apparel opens shop on posh Valencia Street. But for those of you who do, you can check out tonight's meeting. Bonus points go out to those of you who snap shots of yourselves wearing American Apparel at the meeting. Tee hee.
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Is the young woman featured in orange on the full color posters? Please say yes.
I don't think I'll be able to stand the ernestness. Loonies.
I'd be awfully damn curious as to how many of these people who say it's a "gentrification" issue are white and moved to the Mission in the last 5-10 years.
I always think of this joke of an article:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/29/yuppies/index.html
The odds of not finding anyone at the Makeout Room wearing American Apparel on any given night are practically nil. The irony is too rich.
And yes, the young lady in orange is quite fetching.
i had 72 hours as the over/under as to how long it would take san franciscans to find someone or something new to hate. i win!
Bring back the guy in pink underwear
Yes, of course they're meeting at the Makeout Room.
Christ, and I'm so often asked why I totally don't like people...
Yes, there are people who don't want to see the mission district go any further down the trail of tears.
Gentrification or not, has an argument been made as to the way an American Appearal store looks? They have all those fucking bright lights, and they keep them on all throughout the night. It's hideous. I wouldn't want one for the aesthetic value alone.
Stop the 'Stop American Apparel' meeting tonight. Seriously, these people do NOT speak for me. AA is a positive company that offers benefits to its employees. Vacant Storefront Inc., on the other hand, probably won't be helping out the Mission anytime soon.
Certainly American Apparel and 'vacant storefront' are not the only choices possible, though.
Non-profit cooperative arts space is the only other thing allowed, I believe. Or maybe a taqueria.
Actually, pretty much any non-chain that didn't play music at night would be ok. ATA is a movie theater. The glass store that was there for years was an awesome neighbor. They moved because their rent went up. Same with the Yoruba store that was ATA's other neighbor. They moved for the same reason. They were great neighbors as well. Now who's the elitist?
What about the value of living in a neighborhood that doesn't try and tell everyone else what to do? What about living in a neighborhood where everyone is welcome? This whole campaign has a disgusting stench of, "Those people who would come to this store are not welcome here."
i don't think the campaign's said anything remotely to that effect. if you read their website they make it very clear that this is about not having chain stores on valencia: nothing more, nothing less.
to be fair, i did say i did not want marina douchebags in the mission, but i have absolutely nothing to do with the campaign.
can't argue with that. it is definitely better to just have mission douchebags in the mission.
exactly.
What's wrong with not wanting more chain stores in San Francisco? The fact that some already exist isn't much of an argument. I'm not rich, and I don't want it. The reason people from all over the world come to San Francisco every day is because it is unique and beautiful. If we allow it to turn into one giant strip mall, like so much of America, we will have lost a large portion of what makes this city so great. There are already three of these stores for people who want to shop there. We don't need any more.
Are there any American Apparel stores in strip malls?
yes there is. they have stores in outlet strip malls in napa and gilroy.
Seriously Brock, your whining on this is just getting annoying. We all know how you feel about it, think you could maybe give it a rest with being a dick whenever you report something more on it? Yeah, it's a blog, but that doesn't mean every story needs to have you editorialize poorly about it.
It sounds like you feel very deeply about this issue, Belgand.
yeah, i'm not sure when or why sfist got so snarky and angry. the coverage of both this and the oscar grant thing has been pretty awful.
The fact you are comparing the American Apparel coverage to the Oscar Grant coverage is beyond ironic.
Yes, Brock, please take your snark down a few notches when discussing things as important as a murder or a new chain-store!
YOU BASTARD!
um, i don't think i was comparing them, i said they both sucked. and i don't think commenting on the quality of two different pieces of shitty journalism in any way implies that they are of equal gravity.
ok - my bad.
So the AA story is like Starbucks
and the Oscar Grant was more like Walmart then?
This blog is specifically designed for tools like me to take the piss out of people who take themselves way too seriously. Keep up the snark.
Exactly!
The only thing missing from this is a "yours in struggle"
or "in solidarity" signoff. What is the sign off that UBERtool Daly uses??
SF produces a new Che every 5 minutes. We must have run out of ink though because they are ALL white.
PLEASE, Brock, please keep up the snark and the sarcasm and everything. I think you're great as an editor, and these people who are complaining obviously haven't a clue as to what a blog is.
BTW, I'm not a plant. I don't even know Brock. I'm just sick of people having to bitch about something that Brock's done. DON'T COME BACK, please, if you're so offended by posts on SFist.
Jesus christ, what a loser.
i like sfist. i've been reading it for years, and i certainly don't mind being made fun of, although the people in this thread are really pretty far off (and predictably bloodthirsty) in trying to pigeonhole me the way they have.
but the editorial angle of this blog stopped being any kind of reflection of how many san franciscans think and feel a while ago. i get it's a blog, not a newspaper. but i'm still honestly surprised by the fury on these comment boards - and the 3 bitter, smarter-than-thou blog posts - all about some guy starting a petition about something in his neighborhood. this blog has taken on the tone of the mean, judgmental wealthy 50-something ladies i used to overhear when i worked in pacific heights.
it's weird how (it seems to me) the community of commentors on any online san francisco publication - this happens especially with the weird creepy comment section on sfgate - ends up having this disproportionately large group of angry angry people that seem to hate everything about san francisco and the people that live here, and are often 3 or 4 steps to the right of how most of the city seems to feel and vote (and it goes without saying i'm not talking about the american apparel "controversy" here). i guess these people feel uncomfortable all day and then come home and unload their fury onto the internet?
wait what's a blog?
Of course they'll protest AA but not care about the number of dollar stores on Mission St selling "Made in China" products. I've lived in SF all my life and I don't think I've ever bought anything from those stores on Valencia St. as their clothes and accessories are too expensive. So it doesn't make a difference to me whether AA sets up shop there. These anti-AA people act like they've never bought anything from a chain.
Chain stores are the best. This cannot be disputed.
http://www.americanapparel.net/presscenter/articles/20081028intlheraldtribune.html
http://americanapparel.net/presscenter/articles/20060423nytimesmagazine.html
The next bubble to burst? by Jeff Milchen Sunday, January 4, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle
When economic growth stalls, some businesses fail to survive, so our recession inevitably is accompanied by such failures. When it comes to retail, however, the trickle of store closings last year may soon become a torrent now that the temporary stimulus of the holidays is past. As with the collapse of housing prices, the economic downturn is not the root problem, but simply exposed a long-building bubble.
During the past two decades, retail square footage has increased at triple the rate of population growth and consumer spending combined. As Stacy Mitchell documents in her book, "Big Box Swindle," retail capacity more than doubled between 1990 and 2005, driven overwhelmingly by chain store proliferation.
Yet, even as Internet sales increased, the retail building frenzy has continued - about 140 million square feet of new development will be completed this year. As a result, we're awash in shopping space, with nearly double the area per capita of any other large nation (and almost 10 times that of many European nations).
Now add in the rapid decline in credit spending. Barring an unprecedented economic turnaround, our retail glut will yield a sizable wave of store closures once the holiday season passes.
Already last year, seemingly solid chains like Gap, Circuit City and Foot Locker shuttered hundreds of stores, with more to come. And the problem extends beyond retail; Starbucks, Blockbuster and Bennigan's did the same.
By the end of the third quarter of 2008, chain store closings already exceeded 2007's total, reports the International Council of Shopping Centers. The council also predicts that nearly 150,000 other, mainly smaller, independent retail establishments will close this year. Although these independent retailers represent a greater overall loss to our economy and communities, a diverse local economy can absorb the loss of several small businesses. But communities dependent on a few large corporations are far more vulnerable.
California will endure many large store failures, including Linens 'n Things and Circuit City (each closing 24 stores in-state). Mervyns is closing its remaining 150 stores, including more than 100 in California. Mervyns, based in Hayward, will generate about 10 million square feet of vacant space.
Nationwide, already strapped municipal budgets will be stung by declining revenue from sales tax and commercial property tax, and by increased unemployment. Due to heavy dependence on sales tax, however, California and its municipalities will be hit especially hard.
It's too late for this bubble to deflate without damage, but states and communities should act promptly to reverse some of the conditions that encouraged the bubble and to build a more sustainable economy.
Economic misconceptions, as well as speculation, played a huge role in creating our retail bubble. For example, big-box chains inevitably promise to create hundreds of jobs and bring millions of dollars in sales tax revenue when lobbying to build a new store. The claims are not false, but grossly misleading.
Without population growth, spending on typical big-box goods like hardware, basic clothing or housewares is a relatively fixed pie. Though we might shift our shopping, we don't increase our consumption of socks or toasters much just because a new venue is selling them. "New" sales tax proceeds and jobs simply displace jobs and revenue at existing area businesses.
The community may see an immediate spike in revenue from the new store, but once newly generated public costs for traffic signals, sewer, water, and fire protection are calculated, cities often experience a net loss. This is one reason why, despite the new receipts accompanying retail sprawl, taxes often rise fastest in rapidly growing communities.
A community loses big, however, when a chain displaces sales at an independent business (or displaces entire businesses). Why? A new chain store typically is a clone of many other units, eliminating the need for local planning, and using a minimum of local goods and services. Profit is exported to corporate headquarters and almost all local jobs are low-skill positions.
In contrast, independent business owners typically spend much of their profit locally, give back more to the community, and create jobs for local accountants, Webmasters, ad agencies and many other higher-skilled people. In addition to offering greater career potential, these jobs are a training ground for future generations of entrepreneurs.
A 2007 study in San Francisco by Civic Economics is one of many to quantify the premium that cities derive from local ownership. It found that dollars spent at independent businesses yielded nearly three times more local economic benefit than those spent at chain competitors, and created about 80 percent more jobs.
The recession has a plus side: It has sharply increased awareness of hazards that accompany dependence on giant corporations. As a result, interest in "Buy Local" campaigns, green business programs and other strategies to build wealth from within communities is exploding.
This should not be mistaken for mere backlash against corporate subsidies and exploitation. Citizens are becoming more sophisticated in their understanding of economics and recognizing that directing growth and protecting community character are not obstacles to economic vitality - rather they are effective means to sustain it. Now we need our elected officials to follow.
Fillibuster!
You didn't have to read the post if you didn't want to. Sorry if it took you an hour to read it!
those stores don't give their employees, from retail and up, health care benefits. there's not even any place around that would be competing with them. and a vacant storefront is surely hurting the community.
Well at least it will be good, sales wise, for the Make Out Room.
Since my dream of leveling everything over from the Castro Theatre and putting up a double decker Target with those fancy escalators and a Trader Joe's doesn't seem to be coming true, what a perfect opportunity for fruition in the mission. Srsly! That'd be sweet!
As for a hipster t-shirt joint.. at least it's not another locally-owned antique rug crap store that would serve me no good. Hope you prevail over these "there goes the neighborhood" freaks.