According to the Tenderloin Housing Clinic's "Taking Back Turk" study the first block of Turk Street has 35 times as much crime per capita than the rest of San Francisco. Some may better know the block as the home of Farmer Brown's award winning fried chicken or the corner where the guy dressed as a giant cellphone advertises MetroPCS, but to the Tenderloin Housing Clinic folks (and their BeyondChron mouthpiece) it's the land of too-few cops and an allegedly problematic liquor store.
From the Bay City News report on study, over the "168 days surveyed, there were 248 crimes on the block, which is home to just 438 people, many of them who live in single-room occupancy hotels."
The study's authors Randy Shaw and Jonathan Nathan of BeyondChron laid some of the blame on Tenderloin Liquor, which has allegedly been breaking alcohol regulations by allowing the sale of booze stronger than 5.7% (malt liquor is banned in the neighborhood). Although Tenderloin Supervisor Jane Kim has been touting increased SFPD presence around the neighborhood, the study also alleges a 27% drop in officers at the Tenderloin Station since 2009. Adding to the contrast at Turk and Market, Farmer Brown's owner Deanna Foster tells Bay City News that her restaurant has started hiring private security.
