To do what NYC did and bring more residents into downtown (rather than just offices), SF needs to be an appealing place to live. NYC tries to make itself an appealing place to live. SF does not. I'm not sure quite what SF is optimizing for, but "pleasant" is not it. Even if crime is "just" theft and broken windows, it's still an unpleasant day (or week) when it happens. Enough of that and people just don't want to li…
Having lived in both cities, NYC seems to strive everyday to continue to make it a livable city for families and people of all income levels. SF just seems to be coasting into disaster. Nothing seems to change or improve. Things just seem to get worse. My taxes in NYC seem to actually do something. My CA/SF taxes felt like throwing money into a fire pit.