Joy Corrigan: Robbed shopkeeper says San Francisco is so broken it needs Batman

Joy Corrigan is asking Batman to come help folks of San Francisco… with titties

Owner of famed sandwich shop says S.F. is so broken it needs Batman

The Deli Board’s Adam Mesnick is sick and tired of SOMA crime
Running a popular deli South of Market, he’s sold a lot of sandwiches. He’s also been robbed, mugged and chased around Folsom Street by a deranged man wielding a metal fence post.
So Mesnick wasn’t too surprised when he arrived for work Thursday morning to see his beloved Deli Board had been broken into.

A group of thieves broke into Deli Board sandwich shop on Thursday and stole the cash register, a Square payment device, five laptops and a turntable.

“My door was broken and my glass was broken. The police were here already. They came and did their investigation and gave me a case number. But there’s not much to be done.”

Sorry folks. It’s heartbreaking to have so many belongings stolen. My staff suffers the most. The cities status quo is simply unacceptable. @Sharkyl @MattHaneySF @chesaboudin @LondonBreed pic.twitter.com/Awupe34y90

— Deli Board (@deliboard) January 27, 2022

Mesnick would know. He’s been a small business advocate and community activist for years. He’s talked to all the politicians he can. He’s gone to the small business advisory meetings. He’s trained on how to deal with the homeless and drug addicted who suffer in his neighborhood. But none of it has made much difference.
“It’s just completely out of control,” said Mesnick. “They were here for about 12 minutes… I don’t think it’s organized crime. They knew they were coming to break in and they were good at what they do…. with no consequences, even if you get caught. That’s the real problem. It’s transferred into a green light for people to do whatever they feel like.”
Mesnick’s painfully ordinary robbery comes at a time when San Francisco is wrestling for its soul. The City is in a dire predicament, with a raging fentanyl and methamphetamine epidemic killing hundreds every year. The homeless problem seems worse than ever. And our politicians and law enforcement officials are unable to corral the problems, instead bickering over policy decisions, enforcement definitions and philosophical positioning.
All the while, the bodies are stacking up in our streets. And small business owners, along with neighboring residents, feel unheard. It’s dangerous in San Francisco. That’s just the truth.
“All the neighbors came by saying they got robbed,” said Mesnick, relaying what happened after the word got out about Deli Board. “It’s absolutely mayhem. People climbing over walls, using welding equipment. Then you see all (your neighbors’) stuff in the encampments. It’s very frustrating.”
“My business is here. My customers are here. I’m not running away. But I’m going to make a stink about this.”
This from a lifelong democrat who is opposed to heavy-handed policing and incarceration. He believes in social justice, social services and recovery. He doesn’t think the answer lies in cracking heads. He takes pride in feeding his customers high-quality food and providing jobs to his workers.
About six months ago, a mentally unstable man walked into his deli and ripped off a piece of the security gate. The same one they busted again in Thursday’s breakdown. He took a piece of the metal grating, which weighed about 12 pounds, and started chasing Mesnick around the neighborhood.
The police came and arrested the man, but he was out on the street again in a few days. Mesnick has been in touch with District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s office about the case numerous times with no progress. Mesnick says the assailant has been arrested multiple times since his attack, and that the DA’s office often tells him the accused is undergoing mental evaluation.
“He gets arrested and doesn’t show up for court,” said Mesnick. “Until the next time they arrest him.”
It’s that kind of run-around that has to make you think. If this city can’t prosecute simple assault and battery, what chance do we have to make a dent in the much larger societal issues facing us?
Mesnick is losing hope.

“The moral of the story is, there’s zero protections for someone like me,” he said. “I live in District 6, and have watched the Tenderloin and SOMA fall apart. This neighborhood has been completely upended. It has been for years. It has become an out-of-control, crime-ridden place that needs … Batman? What could possibly help? It’s a joke at this point.”

Joy Corrigan concurs. Yes, SF is infested with human coronavirus, we need Batman.