I was a Berkeley cop in the 70's. It seems the city finally has found a solution to shop lifting and commercial burglaries. With no stores open, there is no longer any theft. Problem solved.
We challenge the major news channels (CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, WSJ, etc.) to honestly do a report on such dire situation. If they do, then they might be considered as true journalism and being patriotic, since making up fake “news” to fool the viewers (fellow Americans) is very unpatriotic, close to being treasonous.
@@mikesrandomvideoswhat a dumb comment. What do you think happens when your Governor your mayor do not enforce, prosecute criminals. What do you think happens when the government locks the country down? What do you think happens when employees demand a $20 hour min wage lol stupid dems
Moved my family out of that area after 10 years living there. Went from thriving busy family friendly place to 3rd world crime and filth. Couldn't walk without a threat or altercation from homeless/street people, surrounded by $1,000,000 homes. It all started around 2015 and by 2021 it was all destroyed by Government policy. The speed and total destruction of this community was not by accident.
Hmm... what could it have been? Let's see - what happened in 2015? Thinking... thinking... thinking... - oh yeah! Since I don't smoke pot, I remember! 2016 was when marijuana was legalized. And we KNEW what was going to happen, because of what was occurring in Colorado and up in Portland and Seattle. But billions of dollars in cash does a lot to buy power in a state - especially a state with one-party rule.
Health Canada's czarina was photographed wearing illustrated viruses as the (fabric) print to her creepily corporate blazer, I believe with a matching skirt -- bubblegum pink viruses univerally spotting the cream background -- I've seen thousands of thousands of fabric prints over decades & decades of which NOT one had EVER smacked of morbid occultism let alone even nearing it -- cleptoparasites now desparately trying to consolidate all these spell-castings of a framework ALL their bleeding witches & sorcerers have thus already lain -- sorry .. that drone of some ever-feudal czarina was televised announcing plandemic v3.0.......
I live in Seattle and we are seeing the same exact situation. I also have a home in Texas and we are not seeing this happening there. If people keep voting for the party that runs these west coast cities, we will see more of this. Crime is rampant in blue cities because the mayors tell the police not to arrest people for theft or minor crimes. Also, changing laws so people can steal up to $950 without any serious consequences is a very bad idea.
@@Steve-0220 I am a 4th or 5th generation Texan. I have family that has been in Texas since the early 1800's, verified by DNA tree. I was born in the Rio Grande Valley as was my father and grandfather on my dads side. I may leave Texas but only because it's blazing hot there. So por favor don't be so quick to kick others out that you don't know very well, por favor!
@markrobertdevison1227 mia culpa. Tired of dodging license plates from the Left Coast & their "friendly" drivers. Living in DFW We have lots more to complain about than the Rio Grande Valley I suspect. My family has been here for quite a while also. We've served in WW I, WW II, & Vietnam.
@@Steve-0220 On my dads side, a little over 100 yrs military service with one of my uncles serving over 30 yrs. WWll, Korea and Vietnam. I know what you deal with, my Texas home in south of Fort Worth. When I'm there I am on the 820, 35W, 377, and some of the other freeways. I have Texas plates on my vehicles. Be safe out there and have a great evening.
I've lived in Seattle since 2001. Raising my kids in Rainier Beach since 2004. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I go downtown several times a month on the train. Proud of my city and it's liberal politics :)
I worked in S.F. for 17 years, Berkeley for 2 years, and Oakland for 3 years. I’ve always thought that the direction our state and local government leaders have been pursuing was not sustainable. Your videos validate this. I’m aware that many people will blame the pandemic,,, but it’s over. It occurred to me long ago that you get better at what you practice. If you practice making excuses for your inaction and failures, you will get better at being inactive and being a failure. Considering the vast resources we have at our disposal in the U.S. compared to other places around the world, it is not right that our major metropolitan areas should appear destitute. Okay, I’m done. I’m just frustrated.
The democrat party adopted communist ideals and will follow that path at any cost, success or failure doesn't matter, it's march forward no matter what. Shame, compare the democrat party of 10 or even 20 years ago and it's unrecognizable.
How bout Paul pelosi DUI that never got prosecuted. Crashed his Porsche into a couples car and had OVER 3X limit..., AND made false claim about breakin at house by that gay man, lol, dems are dumb
No matter how bad things get, Gavin and Nancy will never think (admit) that it's their fault. They'll ALWAYS blame (scapegoat) someone or something else.
This is heartbreaking. I remember how vibrant downtown Berkeley was and how it was frequented by the UC Berkeley students. Now it looks like a movie set for an Apocalypse movie.
Meh, nah...Telegraph ave was where it was happening. Hardly anyone went all the way down to Shattuck other than the copy places and sometimes the movie theaters.
For Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco it’s going to get worse. Thanks for sharing the truth. Sold my business, house and left few years ago. One of the best decisions on my life
We used to blame store closings on the pandemic. Then we blame people's rude and deviant behaviors on the stress caused by the pandemic. Now, we know the pandemic isn't the cause. It only brought to the surface what has already been rotting underneath for years.
That`s not only a US problem, here in Germany many shops are closing down as well. Banks are closing everywhere. Shopping areas in some cities are more and more deserted. Everything has changed so much within the last 40- something years that I can consciously recall. And the pandemic seems to have this all sped up.
"last 40- something years " make it 30+; the 80s were still good! Same opinion from *@aFoundingUA-camr* "I attended Berkeley back in the thriving 80s. No way I could imagine that a main street in the town would turn into this."
The empty building at Shattuck and University used to be an 85 degrees bakery. I used to live next to the Citibank. It’s not surprising to see that Walgreens closed, they were getting hit by shoplifters constantly.
@@rudeigin Every town has at least one! I think someone opened one a few blocks north on Shattuck not long ago, where the Virginia Bakery was for decades. Don't know if it's lasted.
@@rudeigin 85 Degrees was one of the cheapest options in downtown Berkeley for coffee and baked goods. It was very popular among students. Starbucks and the local shops are all more expensive for coffee and pastries.
In Berkeley, yes. But don't forget, three years ago, Berkeley seniors were freshman. 2020 might have been their first election and they were young and likely not really paying attention in 2016. They don't really remember or understand the Great Recession of 2008. Freshmen now were 14 or 15 at the start of the pandemic. They have had completely messed up high school educations.
The saddest part of this story is not that the bay area is going out of business. That was inevitable. It's that the people who voted for this Utopia are now moving to parts of California that are still decent and ruining them too.
Thank you for doing this filming. I visited Berkeley - Telegraph Ave as a teenager when it was the summer of love - crowded with hippies. I lived and worked there in the 1980's for the University. Shocking to see how things have devolved.
This is what happens when you prioritize criminals and drug addicts before the productive members of your community. Businesses can’t function in this environment so they leave which just makes things worse for those who remain creating a downward spiral. Unfortunately the people who vote for these policies are completely detached from reality so rather than learn from their mistakes they double down and vote for more of the same.
Youre so very wrong... Ive lived in many places including the bay area... now i live in oregon and alk tge greedy capuralists are moving up hwre and deatroying any quality of life... Buskness is not the only thing that mqtters and when you invite these ebil greedy corporations into your town then you are asking for this... Corporations do not care about improving quality of life they only care about profit, so f them
It’s what who asked for? I didn’t. None of the crappy legislators and laws were elected unanimously. Who exactly are you even addressing in your sanctimonious little way?
You and those like you. If you are doing nothing to stop it then you are part of the problem. Whining and crying is not going to accomplish anything. @@mosessupposes2571
@@mosessupposes2571 California has been voting democrat for decades... and the democrat politicians are pushing for open borders and weaker laws while also increasing taxes.... the people voted for this and that's what they deserve.
As a College student (not attending the UC) who currently lives in Berkeley, and plans to relocate as soon as possible, I appreciate this public service of yours! I am sick of having to see all of this on a daily basis.
@@SSNESS i mean unless youve been wrongfully thrown in to these same circumstances presented here i dont see why u would wish this on the avg citizen living slightly better, humanity does suck most of the time but its no excuse to wish this on everyone even if ur hopeless and end up with that fate doesnt mean everybody deserves to live that way.
Another eye-opening video. There has to be a major commercial real estate collapse coming. The owners of those vacant buildings are going to have to default on their loans. California is in big trouble. Thanks Leo
YEA....all this propaganda of how RICH those corporations are and they leave and take their jobs with them. Hope the students that promote this learn something.
I don't feel sorry for those people. They get what they deserve. I'm happy that those hippy liberals won't be able to brag about living in the Bay area anymore.
@@Fleshlight_Reviewer That's true.... a foreign corporation. They are buying like crazy right now. I am a RE agent and appraiser.... seen it with mine own 2 eyes, sad.
When all the small businesses are gone, and the mid size chains close - There will only be Costco , Sam's / Walmart -and Amazon. by then the Cash will be gone !
Yea Membership stores will prevail. Because they require ID to enter. So it prevents all the homeless theft......RICH COMPANIES.....OMG....This mentality is so WRONG...Make them PAY.....so they close....WONDERFUL
I had a friend who recently went to home to Berkeley and didn't mention any of this but of course he supports Gavin and would never criticize how he's destroyed the state.
Gavin Newsom will be the Dem nominee after the party throws Biden and Harris to the curb. Their agenda is to Californicate the whole country... controlled national demolition to usher in the Great Reset.
He didn’t mention it because the video is dramatic. There are so many businesses in Berkeley and new ones that open all the time. Yeah, some stores are vacant and up for lease - where are they not? There’s literally a UC in Berkeley, it’ll be and is fine. // Making a video of what’s for lease is going to make it seem like everything is up for lease and closed. If you make a video about everything that’s open and operating, that’s an hours long video.
@@wtpaige, yeah, good thing UC-Berkley is there artificially keeping the area afloat. If it wasn't for the state and students pouring money into that leftist factory, things would really be bad.
@@wtpaige Sure. I live about 50 miles away in Santa Rosa, and this city is DYING as well. Homeless everywhere. Degenerates loitering and lurking all over the place. That graffiti on the walls is NOT art, it is trash in paint form.
Wow. I did all my young adult years in Berkeley/Oakland, and this is mind blowing, but worse, heartbreaking to me in the serious state of things this vast emptiness and abandonment implies. The world is a sad and frightening place; thank goodness for the moments of beauty we can all absorb in every day, even amid difficult days (I am nearly facing foreclosure...A full professional who worked hard all my life...and I am being spit out of what is my lifelong place). It is the story common to so many, amid many more severe stories. Sigh. Take good care, all.
Hope you don't vote democrat. They don't do anything except the opposite of the right thing, except enrich themselves, of course. And yes, the RINOS, which are dems anyway.
@@jeffsmith1798 nothing but air inside those commercial buildings. Pretty eye opening to see so many empty buildings. Taxes and rent must have caused the businesses to move somewhere more affordable?
Oakland is even worse, much worse actually. I used to live in the N. Berkeley hills, left about 10 years ago. The decline in Berkeley had already started, but nothing like this.
I do Uber and Lyft for living , I drive around streets and blocks in the bay every day .Trust me, I can see things drowning around,it’s so sad cuz I love this place. Im from a third world country and guess what , I can’t see much difference between here and there , except that here people pay half of their income as taxes for nothing.
You third world people are the future of America. You must do something to improve the country. Working for Uber and lift will not help our future. Please use your minds.
The middle class paying half of their income for nothing is almost a defining characteristic of the "third world", not because of the "half of", but rather the "for nothing".
I grew up in Berkeley 70’s/80’s I can’t believe how all of this stuff is closed yet they are building all these apt complexes. Companies are closing probably due to theft and/or rent prices outrageous!
My son-in-law and grandson went to Berkeley about 10 years ago for a Gymnasts competition next to the University. He described the area as looking like a third world country with homeless, drug dealers, and lots of really sketchy people hanging out in area around the Sports Facility. He was nervous about parking his car, but they had lots of security in the parking lot area that day. That was 10 years ago, so I can imagine what it looks like now.
UC Berkeley is much of what you see as new improved and developed and its the largest employer and would consume all of Berkeley if it could. Similar story with UC SF in San Francisco.
Because that iss what gets votes. The culture in CA is no naive; they keep voting the same and are shocked when things continue to get worse. They can't put 2+2 together. If you get rid of the current legislature, the voters will only vote for the same.
It's not about sex or gender policies. It's about these stupid thieves and drug addicts running amok in Downtown. At night it is so dangerous nobody dares wake around at night. Crime is coming from Oakland aka CA Detroit.
@@nickdavila94 Not sure about arresting parents, but the court will override parents jurisdiction over their children under the guise that 'not affirming gender change is abuse'. It is a policy broken into segments across a cluster of laws so that there is no one head of this snake to attack. Much the same way Adolf Eichman (a la Hitler) broke down the final solution into small roles so that no one German felt they took part in actually killing anyone. Here is the breakdown of the California laws that were passed by the one party state this month. Notice how one provides impetus to the next. Altogether if a parent doesn't affirm (not simply stay neutral or want to discuss, but actually affirm & agree) the childs gender change, then the govt can take the child away and perform permanent, unalterable lifechanging surgery or treatment...starting from age 12: AB957 - Passed Defines parents who don’t affirm their minor child’s gender identity as abuse
SB107 - Passed: Allows court to have jurisdiction over child if parents abuse (ie because the child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care)
AB665 - Passed Allows minors to get gender treatment without notifying parents
Dowtown Berkeley used to be so fun, there were six movie theaters and a ton of great places to eat, bookstores, shops, it felt so lively. The last of the theaters were bought by developers to convert them into housing and I think everything is falling apart as a result. This video made me really sad. Thank you for covering this.
Yea the highschool and campus went remote for 2 years, so those stores all died on shattuck. Good news all of the foot traffic is back. All the stores around the high school and UC are doing great. There usually 50% full during week
My grandpa was a police officer in Berkeley from 1938 to 1968, and my uncle was also a police officer there from the 1950s until the 1970s. Berkeley was a BEAUTIFUL city until the early 1960s, when it was taken over by political a-holes who began their long trek to absolutely ruin the area. I remember asking my uncle once in the 1980s if he ever drove over to Berkeley from his home in Walnut Creek. He said, "No. It makes me cry to drive over there, so I only go if I absolutely have to". So the problems facing Berkeley began decades ago - not with Covid. 1. Drugs. When people use a high volume of drugs, weed, and booze it up, it doesn't take them in good places. 2. Not wanting to be good. If you want to be a good person, live a clean, decent life, then you're off to a good start. But if you live in a town like Berkeley, where most people hate the US, hate the values of this country, and want to tear it to pieces, then you're not going to have a good foundation for your society. You can do anything you want - absolutely anything - but you cannot avoid the consquences of your behavior and decisions. When your city allows and enables people to drive away the decent, hard-working citizens, then eventually you'll wind up with Detroit. And decades of single-party rule in Berkeley and 20 years of single-party rule in California is causing this, because the only people who have their feet held to the fire and forced to work, pay bills, and participate in society are being driven out of the Bay Area and out of the state of California.
The bay area has been a haven for all kinds of outcasts. Now those outcasts happen to be living on the street. Many of the surrounding areas had rampant prostitution that usually made local law enforcement rich until the feds began closing these establishments down decreasing the income of local law enforcement that was benefiting from looking the other way. The nostalgia crowd love to preach but the bay area wasn't a utopia before THE LEFT came and infected it with their questions and ideas. There are larger economic forces operating here just as they were before 2008, creating prosperity in the same area where businesses are now shutting down. Your time frame directly contradicts any point your attempting to make vis a vis politics and prosperity.
@@odietamo9376 It's not about "voting stupid" like you mentioned. I lived in S. Cal. for years and by far, most people hated the d-crats. It's all about rampant fraud.
Another very important issue that I've been bemoaning for years is what a disgraceful image is created for visitors as they exit I-80 and travel up University Avenue. The street and sidewalks are *never* cleaned and the filth piles up between buildings. If I had a dog, I wouldn't let it walk on University. What must all of the esteemed professors, scientists, and dignitaries think as they pass the graffiti and filth on their way up to the university? They might also expect to witness some of the ranting and antisocial behavior that not infrequently occurs. There's no excuse! You only have to look at our neighboring towns of similar size to see how beautiful their entrances and downtown areas are. Apparently Berkeley's civic leaders would rather talk about anything except that.
Foreign visitors would be comforted by the lack of racisms being done to their eyes by White people having a town that looks better than theirs. This American town is feces unbound, so they will surely feel positively about where they came from.
Apparently they like it. They see it as the freedoms provided by their policies. They see the ranting anti social man as a victory, for surely if not for their policies he would be locked away. They see the graffiti as artists being free to put they're art anywhere. They see the theft of retail goods as sharing with the less fortunate. Open drug use and camping on the sidewalks are seen as a freedom as well. For being progressive though, these policies sure are moving us backwards as a society.
Last time I was at Berkeley, about 3 weeks ago, it was very busy. A lot of shops are open and lots of people walking about. The places I went to: 1. 4th street, (unfortunately, Spengers is long gone) 2. North of University on Shattuck Ave. (Walnut Square), and yes, Chez Pannise Bistro and the main restaurant appears to still be there. 3. Telegraph Avenue, Bancroft to Dwight, very busy, lots of shops open. 4. Durant and Channing near Telegraph. Gotta go to Topdog! Yep, Topdog is still there. 5. Solano district, (still lots of shops) 6. Rockridge and Claremont district, (College Avenue near Ashby) ... lots of shops open and very nice to hang out. Nabolom's Bakery is still there... Nabolom scones are absolutely to die for! 7. And of course, the more Bohemian University and San Pablo. The reason for going here is to go to Everrit and Jones Barbeque. Unfortunately, KC, (San Pablo and Dwight), closed down a few years ago. However, one of my favorites, (Flints BBQ) is still open. Flints is still takeout only. However, The Star and Plough pub will allow folks to take their Flint orders into their pub. Nowhere else can you get to hang out with a real live folk, or Irish band, drink a pitcher of brew and have a big platter of Flint BBQ! Now, you are showing Shattuck between Dwight and University. Also, the closely related district of University between the UC and MLK Boulevard, (formerly Grove St). This area, sadly has been in decline for decades now. The only thing going on in this district is the UC Art Museum. However, the area just north of University on Shattuck, still appears to be fairly active. The problem with the Shattuck district is the rents are sky high, and none of the owners want, or are willing to upgrade their properties. Thus, Shattuck, between University and Ashby will always look like a warzone. The UC Movie Theater, sadly, boarded up many years ago. I remember going to see the midnight madness Rocky Horror Picture Show in the 1970's when I was just a young student at CAL. If you all did not notice ... Berkeley is one of my 'happy' places. I go there a lot with friends and family. The other 'happy' place for me is Santa Cruz area ... especially Aptos and Soquel.
I moved to Berkeley in 1974 for graduate school and lived there until 2003. It was a place I deeply and truly loved. It is so sad to see how much it has deteriorated. I wonder how the longtime residents feel about the situation. Maybe they think internet shopping has put all those stores out of business. Sad.
This is a tragedy. I've never seen anything like this before. It can only get worse from here. Gotta be a big part of why so many people are moving out of California.
@@1sthawkfeathers547 I moved to PNW to get away from them and they followed me here. I swear, if they drag their cartel activity here, I'm going to show them what "grandfathered magazines" really means. Do not drag that rot up here! Probably too late, though. Probably already happening and I just haven't heard about it, yet.
This is insane. In 2009 I lived in Oakland and worked at TopDog hotdogs in Berkeley. It was such a cool place with so much going on. It looks like a desolate wasteland in this video. I can’t help but be suspicious that this is all by some kind of sick design.
@@DK-op3ri yeah. I wonder the same thing! I saw one guy say that the community ruining policies were probably enacted to lower property value in the area, so much so that some wealthy entity could swoop in and buy a lot of real estate on the cheap. The low property values would probably only stay low as long as the Bay Area is living under the mad max policies that led to it becoming like this. So once the property was all bought up, then they’d reinstate law and order, to bring back high property value… then profit. It’s an interesting theory. Not sure how much it’s based in reality though.
Could not finish this over how heartbreaking this is to watch. I attended Cal , graduated in 2015. The shops and cafes on Telegraph brought me so so many hours of happiness . This is absolutely heartbreaking .
C/o 09. For years I came back to visit the campus and stroll thru the nearby streets. I lived in nearby SF, born and raised. Moved to NYC years ago. I cannot believe how much has changed in these last few years. Absolutely tragic. It was such a magical place.
Had friends there, visited fairly often. Place used to be totally BUZZING with activity!!! Not only every business occupied, but sidewalk cafes and restaurants, PLUS a bunch of independent FOOD TRUCKS selling everything from smoothies, to shwarma and falafel! ALL of it good!
NO, it is the result of teaching all you students that Liberalism is the wave of the future, and The US Constiution is just a minor road block to the joy of Sociailsm and a ditatorship, where everyone is equal poor with no freedoms...OPPS
I mean, everybody should have seen this coming when they decided that writing was peaceful and defund the police, and that we should let everybody out of jail and make stealing legal
Aaannnnd, yet people (like some of my relatives) REFUSE to connect their blind, ignorant voting habits to the death of these cities, even though they ALL have ONE thing in common 🤔
What's ridiculous is that you believe it's not happening in Republican ran cities as well. The world has changed. Online shopping, online restaurants, online entertainment, pandemic, etc. have all affected retailers. It isn't a Democrat or Republican issue.
This is the town I grew up in as a kid, until I moved out of the city in 1999, for personal reasons. I could not see myself living there anymore because getting a job was near impossible. I recognized the Radio Shack store on Shattuck street that you showed. I used to go there to get parts and tools, and whatever I needed. Now its gone. I figured that if San Francisco and Oakland looked terrible from your previous videos, there would be a good chance my home town Berkeley would too. I am never returning to California, and I am telling everyone where I live NOT to move to California.
@@LeoMetalTraveler Not every store in Berkley is closed. I just went there 2 weekends ago. Stores were open. There was people around. You should NOT lie to get your subscribers up, views up and comments up. You are so petty. Plus look at your thumb tact picture in the video. You have a bunch of cars behind you. If stores were closed then there would be NO PEOPLE there. There would be no cars parked. Like I said I was just there. Stores were opened. You are so full of crap. You lie which makes it worse.
Shattuck is dead, i think due to pandemic when all kids being remote for last 2 years. Also grew up there in 90s and go there for work a few times a month. I say it's a lot better now kids are back in school. Berkeley is doing well.
I visited this area around 15 years ago. I remember being angry at the able bodied 20's something people sitting on the sidewalk begging for money. Look how far we've come.
As a Berkeley alumnus, this saddens me greatly. I used to visit many of these now closed places. I am not surprised it happens but still sad nonetheless. The city and the school itself have always been extremely left-leaning. Many things my classmates were spewing were so outlandish, but I didn't dare argue with them because I knew very few people there shared my opinions.
I moved away from Berkeley 32 years ago and haven't been back. Now I know what Gertrude Stein meant when she said (upon hearing that her childhood home had been demolished), "There is no 'there,' there." Watching this video, I feel like a character in a science-fiction novel who takes a space journey of a few light-years and comes back to Earth only to find the wreckage of a vanished civilization. Weird! And not good 😥
My experience as well. I could name what many of the closed stores were in the Berkeley of my youth: Palmer's Drug Store, the Shattuck Hotel, the Corder Building ... no need to name them, but it was certainly strange to see them all closed up.
I lived there from '91-'94. I remember as dusk fell, I would watch the sea of Oakland Raider jackets come via Shattuck. They'd threaten, assault people, smash windows etc. and the police would do nothing even then. It seemed magical when I first got there, but by '94 it was just a beautiful town committing suicide. Berkeley looked really good in the rear view mirror. I'd never go back either
I left CA for Montana about 30 years ago, I thought it was getting bad back then. While I love and will never leave Montana, the changes in CA have made me realize what "you can never really go home" actually means. It's because it doesn't exist anymore. Yep.. "There is no there, there."
I attended Berkeley back in the thriving 80s. No way I could imagine that a main street in the town would turn into this. IMO the vagrant sitting between the "For Lease" signs at 0:46 is why San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, etc., are in the decline. Indeed, here in San Francisco, downtown workers don't want to come back to work in the Financial District. They don't feel safe, and employers discovering during the pandemic that people can work from home just fine, I see all the big cities turning into what Berkeley has become.
For at least 30 years, Nancy Pelosi, and Gavin Newsom’s lack of leadership in these cities have caused a the demise of these cities. But this family bureaucracy had gotten very rich while the people suffered.
Don't blame them, blame the idiots who keep voting for them. If i was Pelosi I wouldn't care either and instead focus on growing my families forture as she has done so succesfully during her career, it's not like I'd get thrown out of office 😅 If this is what her voters want then that's what they'll get. That's democracy for better or for worse.
Simple facts are at your fingertips. Feinstein, Newsom and Pelosi are from San Francisco, not Berkeley. If you are not pointing the finger at both parties and the Amazon stock in your 401(k), then you are part of the problem and will continue voting against your own self-interest. This is what Trickle-Down Economics was designed to do.
I was just driving around Los Angeles totally tripping out at how many For Lease signs I saw ~ Melrose / West Hollywood area. Complete blocks of businesses are gone. Lots of demolition of old buildings happening too. Without small businesses we lose the essence and uniqueness of the cities.
They want the buildings gone so they can build highrises. They want single family homes gone too. They can't control you as easy when people are spread out. With highrises they can put security at the entrace/exits and control hundreds or thousands with less manpower. Look at what happened in chi na during Co vid. If people don't wake up soon, we'll stand no chance.
Thank you Metal Leo. I appreciate the time you take to make these videos and lettind us know what is really happening in the Bay area. What has happened to the government that our beautiful state of California is dwindling away little by little?
It's not the USA. It's certain towns/cities. I live in Paradise in the USA. A beautiful thriving Township. USA is big. Many of the cities run by liberals are being destroyed. We stay away.
I lived abroad for the past 40 yrs in several countries before moving back to the US 2 yrs ago with my husband. This country is nothing like what it used to be. Population mindset has gone bonkers. Husband wants to stay here 8 more years, but I'm counting 5 tops and just retire early and move abroad again.
@@gissellevillegas3831funny how when you leave this country how much more “freedom” you actually find. What I have found though is that liberalism ruins everything where ever it exists. And, USA is money in one pocket and more money out the other pocket. Look how much we pay for cel phone service in the US. Same with TV providers. And permits for this, permits for that. And now look at our housing costs. Good luck to anyone retiring here. Take your savings and go elsewhere.
I remember visiting there in the 90s/2000s, lots of people walking around and so many cool clothing shops and restaurants. It's devastating to see this new California.😢
Well Newsome and his friends are all making tons of cash and live far away from the consequences of thier policies. Any criticism is just bounced off of them and cast at thier political opponents, and most Californians eat it up thinking that California would be better if it wasn't for those pesky Republicans. So yea life is great for the 1% in California.
And don't forget the street venders that sold some really cool hand made stuff that you couldn't buy anywhere else. Beautiful days gone down the toilet because of the wokesters.
I lived in Berkeley from 2016 to 2021. I used to walk all over the city frequently, especially these streets like Shattuck. What I'm seeing here is almost devastating. I had no idea how far gone this place had become after I left... almost ALL the stores shown here were still in operation before I left. This would have all happened in less than 3 years. It used to be so nice trawling the streets and seeing it bustling and all the cool stores, the drink shops, the book stores, the restaurants, clothes stores -- maybe it's not as bad on Telegraph starting from campus?? I don't know what to say -- it's very sad -- I guess I chose a good time to leave. Though in retrospect I saw tons of homeless on Shattuck so I'm not too surprised. 5:26 used to be a CVS.
I studied in Berkeley for one semester in the early nineties. It was a vibrant place full of life. Even as a foreigner (swede) this is just so depressing to see.
Man those were the times. California during the late 1990s. As a fellow European, I only know it from movies and tv shows. I have been to the Bay Area and Berkeley several times though - first time in 2011 and it was pretty vibrant back then…
@@timreverend2591yes they were the times. I've lived in California since 1989. The 90s, especially early 90s, were great. 2000s were ok, now it's just downhill.
Visited Berkeley campus in 1989 to decide which graduate school to go, I remembered sitting in a restaurant in Telegraph Street, it's very lively and bustling. So sad to see it in its current state.
Back in 1990, I worked with a young woman who had dreamed of moving to California. She packed up one day and moved to Berkeley. This is not the dream she was looking for, turned more into a nightmare. I often wonder how things turned out for her.
I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in the 70's, and lived there in the 70's and then returned to run an art gallery for a while in the late 90's. I loved Berkeley, so full of creative and innovative people with a famous University at its center. This makes me very sad to see.
@@greglane3978it's been great in Berkeley it's always been a blue Cindy and that's what made it great I couldn't imagine being a conservative City fuck that
Those must've been the days! If you posted photos of Downtown and Telegraph Ave from back in those days, it would be UNRECOGNIZABLE today--unimaginably filled with life, color, and character.
Good job Berkeley, CA! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Looks like there’s nothing to do there but walk around looking at a smartphone screen. Nice to see the old-timey washer machines are being repurposed as trash bins.
Yes, well sounds to me that none of you commenters would enjoy Berkeley. But the people who live there do enjoy it. Unfortunately there's no low income housing there because the low income housing is taken up by high income people. But that is being fixed slowly. Rents are too high. But I'm glad you all agree with each other about what's wrong and that you;re so glad you can stay away. The charms of Berkeley are invisible to you and that suits Berkeley. I lived there for 15 years and only left 2 years ago. And I miss it.
Pollice are NOT mortfied. Don't be Foolish. They are really bullies and cowards at the same time. They love bullying poor people and folks that are ignorant and don't know how to stand up for their rights. They have a wrong motive for allowing "offenders" to "Smash and Grab". Some even suggest they are going to declare martial law. Then NO One will be safe and there will be even more chaos. Stay in your ignorance at your own risk.
I remember back in 1998 I used to go to western dental in Berkeley for my braces. I remember going in that bank and a Mexican restaurant. I remember the streets having radio shacks and record stores and all that. Every place you walked by was open and Berkeley was bustling. All that’s gone.
Radio Shack went bankrupt 10 years ago. Walked thru the same area today and it was as busy as you probably remember it. The stores are different and there are a lot more new 5,6,7 story apartment buildings.
Bruh these braindead boomers somehow forgot radio shack and Barnes and noble went bankrupt because they didn't adapt to online commerce. Physical storefronts are not nearly as competitive and with rising rent, hiring workers, and competing with more agile businesses, there are only certain industries able to survive in these areas. It's really sad how incredibly ignorant these people are of the world we live in. So easily convinced that voting a certain way will magically make your lives better or worse.
It's funny because Californians never think it's thier fault, they always pass the blame onto others. In the 80s it was Reagan fault, in the 00s it was Bush Jr's fault. During Obamas regime it was those pesky Republican obstructionists. Today it's somehow trumps fault and fascist corporations. Some even blame the 2020 BLM riots on Maga people who adorned themselves in black face and caused all the rioting to make BLM look bad. The conspiracies just get more and more absurd the further thier state deteriorates. They will never take responsibility, ever. It will always be someone else's fault.
Pelosi and her nephew Gavin Newsom plus the Caifornia Senate and Assembly in Sacranento are fully responsible for this financial ruin. Congrats voters!
I was here last year in August . I stayed at the Graduate Hotel. It was so scary I made my friend move me to another hotel which was down the street. It was equally as bad. I hope to never go back to Berkley or San Fransisco . They are the walking Dead now!
We moved out of Berkeley over a decade ago. Saw it coming. We lived in the hills and the turning point was when they allowed mentally Ill patients roam the Berkeley hills on their own. Months after we moved out, we leaned a man was bludgeoned to death right in front of his house by one of these people.
Libs/Dems decided in the 60s-70s to shut the mental hospitals down because of a few random cases of "abuse"... Now these mental patients are walking the streets. There are many more now due to addiction.
James Lindsay just read from an academic paper on "Sanism". That is a form of discrimination and marginalization that society doesn't allow insane or "mad" people to teach and work in early childhood education. If you think that description is bizarre, the arguments are worse than you are imagining. The topic could be minimized by saying "they only mean that depression and anxiety shouldn't prevent people from working", but no, they include Foucault's ideas about madness. Teachers who have Madness could teach kids alternative world views and Revolution. I think they really mean ANTIFA should teach kindergarten, and being psychos shouldn't be a barrier.
@jesuslopez4113 but, but, but, orange man bad. He might say something mean and hurt my feelings. That's more important than our country collapsing around us while our wonderful current president sells our country out from under us.
Create a sanctuary city, hand out everything free that American Citizens have to pay for if they want them, and see where it gets you. It gets you this. Hand it to people that never worked for it, to build it. For the first time in my life, I am watching family and classmates leave the country to retire. I'm considering the same move in 2 or 3 years.
Hungary in eastern Europe, northern Thailand in Asia. Portugal in western Europe. Maybe Chile in South America. Personally I will explore the possibilities in Russia. No other countries have been so vilified than Russia in recent decades. Therefore I need to examine Russia myself if possible.
Bankrupt and Bald does a lot of videos in Russia, places most don’t go. Mingles with the regular folks, very friendly, hardy people. If I could learn Russian I’d love to go too. @@chi-yangcheng8868
are you saying that America is becoming a "shit -hole " country ? because of politicians ? you should vote ! but not the same way you always do . doesn't seem to be working well .
I think penalties for smash and grab theft should be felonies, homeless people should be rounded up and put into mental institutions and drug rehabs. Once you have lost the will to live and end up on the street, then obviously you can't function as a human being and the state should step in and put you away. If you can't be part of normal society, then you lose your right to live in society. That's not harsh, that survival of the fittest. Look at all these major cities and what they look like now. It's horrible and shameful that our California leadership and leadership in other major cities are doing nothing about these issues!
I live very near the downtown area in Berkeley and have lived there since 2004, after moving up from San Diego. Over the years, I have seen the quality of life for residents in the city decline, especially over the last five years. One of the biggest problems, as I see it, is the lack of concern for the health and safety of the residents on the part of city officials. Police effectiveness in maintaining public safety is almost nonexistent and the real concern of the city is in the hyperaggressive enforcement of city codes and in pervasive fees, all for the common purpose of maximizing the city's revenue collection. The city has hired an army of meter maids who patrol the streets like hungry vultures. Another shameful practice of the city is in its complete negligence in allowing its streets to deteriorate to the point where it's almost like trying to drive on a lunar landscape. With taxes and fees so high and the nearly impossible parking situation in the city driving away potential customers, it's no wonder that businesses would just make the decision that it doesn't make sense to try to operate a business in such an unfriendly environment. I, and others, often drive to other cities to do shopping, to avoid the theft, vandalism and lack of parking in Berkeley.
To your point, the Wall St Journal had an article a few weeks ago, with a photo, of the City of SF issuing a fine to Twitter for taking down their sign without a permit to do so (when they changed the name to X). Plenty of enforcement of petty rules like that. No enforcement of crime laws. Which behavior brings in revenue?
Good point. It's maddening trying to dodge these people who are darting out in all directions from sidewalks and going the wrong way on one-way streets.@@ShirleyKirsten
Statistics show the cities with the HIGHEST taxes, HIGHEST percentage of homeless and with the most businesses closing are the cities controlled by democrats for decades. Instead of these people realizing their mistake,,, they move into a new safe city and keep voting the same way.
With the amount of panhandlers that started in the early 1970's and basically the city officials not really fighting to get people out of that area, Berkeley became a place where the weather was mild and there were services to help homeless people, a free clinic, a church with a daily free meal. Many were just young people in their early 20's who were trying out being away from home and surviving by your wits. There was plenty of work, but that wasn't fun. Some found vacant houses to stay in and drugs were not as heavy and people would hang around for months, go up and down the coast and then come back up to Berkeley. Many came from back East to see what the West was like. Then people started just stealing in any store that didn't have security or it looked easy, they had no bad conscience about it because it was a popular thing to do. Now you have those who can't get off the streets and their family and friends won't help them anymore and it's like a disease. All the resources for people like this in SF are downtown, so of course there's many downtown that hang out there and they make SF an undesirable place for tourists.
Help shitty people, get more shitty people. Makes send. Why don't they put those help facilities in the middle of the woods where no one is conducting business or raising families?
When the Tech companies closed down and moved out-of-state and took all their employees and jobs with them, all the business that supported them like the restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, business supplies, went out of business, people moved out-of-state, businesses closed . The more large businesses that moved and left the state the less jobs that were available, the less taxes that were paid to the state and they wonder why their billions of dollars in the hole. Keep up the good work Gavin Newsome.
It isn't because of the homeless, I live in an area with twice that amount and the stores are doing well. The problem is likely artificially inflated property values and rents. Investment firms make deals so their portfolio stays solid. Nobody can afford a business or rent but overseas investors have no idea. Thanks for bringing this to light.
While this is a lot of damage to the once thriving city (I lived in the Bay from 2000-2010), this will have to get much worse before those who are left even begin to admit reality or even see how it happened. People are that brainwashed.
They will never admit their faults, doesn't matter how bad things get. It's an inherent flaw of neo liberal thinking. They always double down on stupid. The blame will always be cast upon others, mostly onto people who don't even live in California.
Mateo, from Philadelphia thank you for this video. In Pennsylvania in Philadelphia the east side of the city, there is The Market Frankford rail line. It's too depressing to say but it looks like out of a zombie horror movie. People staggering around looking for the next fix. Dirty, unkempt with open sores on their arms,legs. Terrified to walk down the street, don't want to catch anything. What scares me the most is, when this economy crashes, it will be like Mad Max movies.
You see blue cities collapsing everywhere. Turning into literal dystopian nightmares, but instead of paying attention to the horror, Democrats simply can't imagine why you don't want your cities and towns turning into the same thing!
The video is BS. Anyone who lives in the Bay Area knows Berkeley is one the most vibrant city in the area. Just because a bank is vacant, it does not mean the city is collapsing. Get a clue!
Hahaha Democratic cities are doing just fine. They are vibrant and thriving. Most of those businesses in the video just never rebound from COVID. Also there were a lot of foreign investors driving up/creatively inflate the real estate cost/prices/value to clean their money. It happened all over the place. Someone will rent them soon that's a college town . 😀
@@EP-ec3ukI agree! There are so many vibrant piles of poo, needles, and desperate homeless individuals decorating the streets. Facets of rich culture that are much harder to find in those drab small republican towns.
@@studiohq wow. Your check is in the mail from the Democrat Party. No, blue cities aren't doing well. There is record crime in every major Metropolis. There are record numbers of homeless, record numbers of drug addicts lining the streets, record numbers of businesses leaving, and record-low economic indicators of all sorts. And it's not just a few cities. Whether it's old school Democratic strongholds like Chicago, St Louis, or Baltimore, or a new generation that Democrats are ruining like Portland Seattle Los Angeles or San Francisco. They are failing.
Who? Those our not “our mistakes”, these cities are being systematically destroyed by intentionally bad policies! This is not by chance. The Dems are all in lock-step with the planned destruction of the major cities they are running (into the ground). Look into who has donated millions to the organizations and funds that support these politicians being elected and DA’s who allow the criminals to do whatever they want, and mayors who let the homeless encampments grow and become a thing when they had solutions but blew them off. They allowed the crime on purpose to drive away their very tax base of major retailers and other businesses.
Are you joking? You must be. They brought their 3rd world tactics right along with them. Do you think college educated people with job skills are walking and swimming here? Wake up. These are not the desirable immigrants of the early 1900's. These are takers.
I remember when I was going to law school at UC Davis in the 1990s. I was in the reserves and did my reserve duty at Oakland Army Base and Camp Parks. Part of our duty was training ROTC students at UC Berkeley. We tried to get something to eat at the campus or in the town and were treated so badly by the people that the reserve commander essentially said that we aren't going there anymore to train anyone. If the ROTC wanted us to train them, they had to come to us.
@@TimasionI was a child in the 90s. Was there a war going on? I attended Cal in the late 2000s. I know its history as a hippie school and town, but it wasn’t as bad as what you described by the time I attended school there. In fact, one of my fellow cooperative house mates was part of ROTC. It’s how she could afford college and the housing co-ops are about as hippie as it gets. My boyfriend at the time got his tuition covered by the navy. I myself did JROTC in high school and consider myself rather liberal and generally anti-war. I’m sorry you had such a shitty experience in the 90s. A truly open minded person can accept people from all backgrounds. Unfortunately many people who think they’re open minded are actually just as close minded or narrow minded. :(
@@Timasion damn that sucks. Also kind of odd. Berkeley is known for not being actively aggressive towards those they politically disagree with or dislike.
Now its Berkeley??? omg. I always drove by there on my way to work to San Francisco, but never hanged out in the city. This whole thing starting to look concerted/pre-planned. Thanks Leo, you're videos are brave and amazing. ❤🤍🖤
It is all part of the plan. Eliminate the middle class. Discourage them from leaving their homes by getting rid of things they like and by forcing them to own electric vehicles which take hours to charge.
Me too..such fun back then and I got very street educated in good ways. But my friend was killed by police in front of the Mediterranean Cafe, across from Codys book store . That was a bad day and the drums started early and upset😢
that is an absolute lie. the crack epidemic was as bad here a NYC it was no safer then than it is now. worse was the late 90s. not having a clear memory and romanticizing your past is a huge part of this perceptual problem.
@@BeautifulLife000H yes you hid with the students. the rest of us had to deal with the crackheads everywhere. crime is no different now than it was then. It WAS much better in the early 2000s, but to say things are worse now than it was in the 80s is bullshit.
Lived in Berkeley for years on Gilman. Back then the city council did not let in the BIG corporation stores. Only mom and pop places. The beginning of the down fall was letting the BIG stores in because they ran out the mom and pop places. The city council that allowed the big corporations in are to blame.
Moving here back in Jan 2012 from DFW (Texas), Berkeley and San Francisco was just lovely and full of life. Now, everything is in rapid degradation and despair. .
City council after watching this video: We've made great progress in the downtown area over the last ten years! You should all be very proud of yourselves.
It's been my observance as I see it anytime when you build a university or a college things start to go bad immediately within 20 years after building the University or College.
It has been more than five years since most if not all of Radioshack stores were closed. When you see the sign on a building, you know how long this neighborhood has been in decline.
This is heartbreaking. I didn't know this was going on. Went to Cal. Worked in Berkely for quite a while and pre pandemic went there regularly to shop. I'm older so I have not been going since then. Shocked actually. Very bad news.
Thank you for a very informative video as I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 35 years and I have lived in Vegas for over 12 years now and I have only been back once. My ex-girlfriend's retired from the city of Berkeley and I have fond memories of this beautiful place. I am sad to see what this place has actually become :(- Kudos to you for your coverage and your efforts to this channel!!!
Thanks for doing a more honest video than the one you did in San Jose. Berkeley is 1/10 the size of San Jose, and you showed more closed places here FOR LEASE than you did in SJ, where some of them were slated for demolition and development.
It's happening in every CA city now. Santa Barbara is being ruined as well. Used to be paradise. Someone did a video of Rodeo Dr all boarded up too. I can't imagine why they people don't totally revolt and stop paying taxes over this
@@yaimavolyou can't imagine a lot of things being so dumb. The decline of US cities is a combination of a great many factors. The pandemic shifted many businesses and retailers online. There are rising rents, inflation, brutal economic unrest, homelessness and crime, among other things. People watch a 10 min walking tour and think they got it all figured out.
@@rw5622 We don't live in a vacum. Where I live the retail did take a hit but it's come roaring back. There are not blocks of boarded up stores. You know who is responsible. You just don't want to say it
Unbelievable reporting. I am astounded, having lived there in the 1960s. Berkeley was once vibrant, fertile, alive, and very well. This is a sad time we now live in. Thank you for sharing the Truth.
You can see this across California not necessarily as bad as this but in strip malls that used to be full increasingly vacant store fronts increasingly appear.
I was born in Oakland and went to Berkeley’s many pubs n restaurants . The people of the East Bay wake the fuck up. Stop voting for these communists. Look what your doing to your beautiful city.
@saintpreferred9223 I do agree with you on that. People don't change like that so easily. However, the way things are for the past few years, I was able to convince some people (not a whole lot) to see things differently now.
66% of Dems still think that FJB didn't do anything wrong with Hunter and influence peddling. I'm sure the same percentage think that there is nothing wrong with all these store closings.
I have heard that it's easier to kick a heroin addiction than a Democrat voter addiction! Democrat voters simply cannot grasp the principles of cause and effect.
If they made an announcement that any business has the right to kill to protect its property, those places would open right back up. Then any thieves or looters would die if they stole from there and the streets would clean up quick.
I was a Berkeley cop in the 70's. It seems the city finally has found a solution to shop lifting and commercial burglaries. With no stores open, there is no longer any theft. Problem solved.
You mean shoplifting is as old as during the 70's era?
Typical progressive solution.
It must have been an exciting time. Thank you for your service.
I guess Liberalism is not the failure we all thought? LMFAO
They will turn to robbing homes.
We challenge the major news channels (CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, WSJ, etc.) to honestly do a report on such dire situation. If they do, then they might be considered as true journalism and being patriotic, since making up fake “news” to fool the viewers (fellow Americans) is very unpatriotic, close to being treasonous.
That's laughable. According to the leftists, it's all Trump's fault.
These BIG RICH CORPORATIONS NEED TO PAY.....so they close up because they are not making any profit and move to other states. LOVELY.....
Ha Ha theyre listening to you H a Ha
c'mon man. this is a success story.
@@mikesrandomvideoswhat a dumb comment. What do you think happens when your Governor your mayor do not enforce, prosecute criminals. What do you think happens when the government locks the country down? What do you think happens when employees demand a $20 hour min wage lol stupid dems
Moved my family out of that area after 10 years living there. Went from thriving busy family friendly place to 3rd world crime and filth. Couldn't walk without a threat or altercation from homeless/street people, surrounded by $1,000,000 homes. It all started around 2015 and by 2021 it was all destroyed by Government policy. The speed and total destruction of this community was not by accident.
meteoric indeed, plus most folks still suppose this overall orchestration as being happenstance
The Democrats sure taught Trump and Republicans a lesson about winning in CA. Every time you see a store closed, it's a Democrat victory!!!
Hmm... what could it have been? Let's see - what happened in 2015? Thinking... thinking... thinking... - oh yeah! Since I don't smoke pot, I remember! 2016 was when marijuana was legalized. And we KNEW what was going to happen, because of what was occurring in Colorado and up in Portland and Seattle. But billions of dollars in cash does a lot to buy power in a state - especially a state with one-party rule.
Health Canada's czarina was photographed wearing illustrated viruses as the (fabric) print to her creepily corporate blazer, I believe with a matching skirt -- bubblegum pink viruses univerally spotting the cream background -- I've seen thousands of thousands of fabric prints over decades & decades of which NOT one had EVER smacked of morbid occultism let alone even nearing it -- cleptoparasites now desparately trying to consolidate all these spell-castings of a framework ALL their bleeding witches & sorcerers have thus already lain -- sorry .. that drone of some ever-feudal czarina was televised announcing plandemic v3.0.......
THANKS FOR SHARING . . . THANK GOODNESS YOU GOT OUT FROM THERE!
I live in Seattle and we are seeing the same exact situation. I also have a home in Texas and we are not seeing this happening there. If people keep voting for the party that runs these west coast cities, we will see more of this. Crime is rampant in blue cities because the mayors tell the police not to arrest people for theft or minor crimes. Also, changing laws so people can steal up to $950 without any serious consequences is a very bad idea.
As a Native Texan let me give you a warm "Welcome to Texas"......NOW LEAVE Por Favor! ☹️
@@Steve-0220 I am a 4th or 5th generation Texan. I have family that has been in Texas since the early 1800's, verified by DNA tree. I was born in the Rio Grande Valley as was my father and grandfather on my dads side. I may leave Texas but only because it's blazing hot there. So por favor don't be so quick to kick others out that you don't know very well, por favor!
@markrobertdevison1227 mia culpa. Tired of dodging license plates from the Left Coast & their "friendly" drivers.
Living in DFW We have lots more to complain about than the Rio Grande Valley I suspect. My family has been here for quite a while also. We've served in WW I, WW II, & Vietnam.
@@Steve-0220 On my dads side, a little over 100 yrs military service with one of my uncles serving over 30 yrs. WWll, Korea and Vietnam. I know what you deal with, my Texas home in south of Fort Worth. When I'm there I am on the 820, 35W, 377, and some of the other freeways. I have Texas plates on my vehicles. Be safe out there and have a great evening.
I've lived in Seattle since 2001. Raising my kids in Rainier Beach since 2004. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I go downtown several times a month on the train. Proud of my city and it's liberal politics :)
I worked in S.F. for 17 years, Berkeley for 2 years, and Oakland for 3 years. I’ve always thought that the direction our state and local government leaders have been pursuing was not sustainable. Your videos validate this. I’m aware that many people will blame the pandemic,,, but it’s over. It occurred to me long ago that you get better at what you practice. If you practice making excuses for your inaction and failures, you will get better at being inactive and being a failure. Considering the vast resources we have at our disposal in the U.S. compared to other places around the world, it is not right that our major metropolitan areas should appear destitute. Okay, I’m done. I’m just frustrated.
Whatever you invest in, you will get more of.
Tragedy even more for having invested so much of your time and life with...such a great geographical gem being abused
Tell me more.
The democrat party adopted communist ideals and will follow that path at any cost, success or failure doesn't matter, it's march forward no matter what. Shame, compare the democrat party of 10 or even 20 years ago and it's unrecognizable.
It looks the the perfect democrat plan
You are showing what the “news channels” don’t report! Thank you!
Especially the lamestream lefty media.
Exactly! I ve just read some comments here and there until I found Leo s channel and I m thankful to him for all his work!
Nor the late night comedians. They like to pretend their liberal cities are perfect and that only bigots complain about crime.
68 b deficit in Caliloonia. As a former resident of California for 61 years I am so glad i bailed in 2011.
@@PaulBroughton-ig4qp Good for you!!!
Gavin and Nancy (same family) must be so proud. It is insane that they are getting away with this without national exposure. Thanks Leo.
How bout Paul pelosi DUI that never got prosecuted. Crashed his Porsche into a couples car and had OVER 3X limit..., AND made false claim about breakin at house by that gay man, lol, dems are dumb
So it's all Gavin's and Nancy's fault that all of those stores are closing, Einstein!
No matter how bad things get, Gavin and Nancy will never think (admit) that it's their fault. They'll ALWAYS blame (scapegoat) someone or something else.
wtf?!?!?!?🤡🤡🤡🤣🤣🤣🐑🐑🐑@@benjamintaylor4402
They’ll be re-elected in a landslide.
This is heartbreaking. I remember how vibrant downtown Berkeley was and how it was frequented by the UC Berkeley students. Now it looks like a movie set for an Apocalypse movie.
Socialism and far left idelogy at its finest!
Westwood is not as bad...
Meh, nah...Telegraph ave was where it was happening. Hardly anyone went all the way down to Shattuck other than the copy places and sometimes the movie theaters.
Comrades won they turned Berkeley into Soviet Union capitalism has been driven away
@@SocalSamStokes The criminals are headed there next
For Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco it’s going to get worse. Thanks for sharing the truth. Sold my business, house and left few years ago. One of the best decisions on my life
Left in ‘02 and have no regrets.
We used to blame store closings on the pandemic. Then we blame people's rude and deviant behaviors on the stress caused by the pandemic. Now, we know the pandemic isn't the cause. It only brought to the surface what has already been rotting underneath for years.
The pandemic did indeed, crippled a lot of companies to. Where now they have to reduce and consolidate.
They arent done yet
Duh, who would have ever thought stupid political decisions could have cause such a Communist disaster. Vote blue fools you deserve it.
@@ganderson7790 too*
Yeah, Immigration, Chinese immigration. At least the Chinese immigrants haven't girdled the trees yet, yet.
Great job, Gavin. This is the record of presidential material here.
As far as I can tell, California elected him, then he survived the recall. Cali is getting what it deserves. Good and hard.
Fuck that they're an embarrassment. And I don't like being embarrassed.
Kim jon un would have been a better governor... at least the people's enemies would just disappear, not just hang around & pout !!!
@@steveroberts9222Because of all the Scandal fans expecting reparations from President Fitzgerald 😅
That`s not only a US problem, here in Germany many shops are closing down as well. Banks are closing everywhere. Shopping areas in some cities are more and more deserted. Everything has changed so much within the last 40- something years that I can consciously recall. And the pandemic seems to have this all sped up.
I didn't realize Germany was returning to fascism.
I mild respiratory virus had nothing to do with it
"last 40- something years " make it 30+; the 80s were still good!
Same opinion from *@aFoundingUA-camr*
"I attended Berkeley back in the thriving 80s. No way I could imagine that a main street in the town would turn into this."
The empty building at Shattuck and University used to be an 85 degrees bakery. I used to live next to the Citibank. It’s not surprising to see that Walgreens closed, they were getting hit by shoplifters constantly.
Thank you for sharing. It’s good info to know if that was the 85 bakery
@@rudeigin Every town has at least one! I think someone opened one a few blocks north on Shattuck not long ago, where the Virginia Bakery was for decades. Don't know if it's lasted.
@@rudeigin What, you live on Walmart Wonder Bread?
@@rudeigin 85 Degrees was one of the cheapest options in downtown Berkeley for coffee and baked goods. It was very popular among students. Starbucks and the local shops are all more expensive for coffee and pastries.
Bro be fr it had nothing to do with shoplifting c’mon now
Sadly very few of the college students will understand or admit why this is happening. They supported the policies that got us here.
It was easy to see years ago!
It was only a matter of time!
They should be forced to live there in the sh*t hole they created!
I LOVE when "progressive" zealots get to experience first hand the ramifications of their fairytale utopian polices 😂😷🤑
You mean indoctrinated people.
In Berkeley, yes. But don't forget, three years ago, Berkeley seniors were freshman. 2020 might have been their first election and they were young and likely not really paying attention in 2016. They don't really remember or understand the Great Recession of 2008. Freshmen now were 14 or 15 at the start of the pandemic. They have had completely messed up high school educations.
You are what you vote .
The saddest part of this story is not that the bay area is going out of business. That was inevitable. It's that the people who voted for this Utopia are now moving to parts of California that are still decent and ruining them too.
Yeah I know. people from L.A. started taking over our city during the pandemic.
Sad part is they are moving to other states and will ruin them.
Exactly! I’m in Sonoma County and I wish they would stop coming from all the big cities.
Bums everywhere, open borders, lawlessness. It’ll get worse before it gets better
@@dennisalbrecht6438Sad but true. It's the definition of insanity.
Thank you for doing this filming. I visited Berkeley - Telegraph Ave as a teenager when it was the summer of love - crowded with hippies. I lived and worked there in the 1980's for the University. Shocking to see how things have devolved.
Thank you for sharing
This is what happens when you prioritize criminals and drug addicts before the productive members of your community. Businesses can’t function in this environment so they leave which just makes things worse for those who remain creating a downward spiral. Unfortunately the people who vote for these policies are completely detached from reality so rather than learn from their mistakes they double down and vote for more of the same.
truth
Yeah … like Trump and his crazy MAGA buddies
Youre so very wrong... Ive lived in many places including the bay area... now i live in oregon and alk tge greedy capuralists are moving up hwre and deatroying any quality of life... Buskness is not the only thing that mqtters and when you invite these ebil greedy corporations into your town then you are asking for this... Corporations do not care about improving quality of life they only care about profit, so f them
@Joe-no7gsJews
Exactly! Find me a Republican run city as run down and depressed and full of vagrants like Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Detroit, New York, etc….
Who would be dumb enough to open a store in a state that allows shop lifting
Agree 100%. . This is what they want. Why?
Shoplifting murder rape carjacking
@@george_richman Same old excuse.
not happening all over@@george_richman
@@george_richman the difference is, they don't prosecute shoplifting in CA and voters approved of proposition 47 in 2014.
You can’t allow thieves to run wild in your city and expect the businesses to stick around. This is what you asked for. 😢
This is what They want.
It’s what who asked for? I didn’t. None of the crappy legislators and laws were elected unanimously. Who exactly are you even addressing in your sanctimonious little way?
@@GS-zc4skWho tf is “they?” These comments don’t make sense
You and those like you. If you are doing nothing to stop it then you are part of the problem. Whining and crying is not going to accomplish anything. @@mosessupposes2571
@@mosessupposes2571 California has been voting democrat for decades... and the democrat politicians are pushing for open borders and weaker laws while also increasing taxes.... the people voted for this and that's what they deserve.
As a College student (not attending the UC) who currently lives in Berkeley, and plans to relocate as soon as possible, I appreciate this public service of yours! I am sick of having to see all of this on a daily basis.
I hope the entire country ends up this way
@@SSNESSand whys that?
@@BigGyp I hate humanity
@@SSNESS i mean unless youve been wrongfully thrown in to these same circumstances presented here i dont see why u would wish this on the avg citizen living slightly better, humanity does suck most of the time but its no excuse to wish this on everyone even if ur hopeless and end up with that fate doesnt mean everybody deserves to live that way.
lived myself in Berkeley for 11 years (until 2021), and i wholeheartedly agree.
Another eye-opening video. There has to be a major commercial real estate collapse coming. The owners of those vacant buildings are going to have to default on their loans. California is in big trouble. Thanks Leo
Good point
YEA....all this propaganda of how RICH those corporations are and they leave and take their jobs with them. Hope the students that promote this learn something.
I don't feel sorry for those people. They get what they deserve. I'm happy that those hippy liberals won't be able to brag about living in the Bay area anymore.
someone's richer's gonna buy them. same thing is happening with the housing market
@@Fleshlight_Reviewer That's true.... a foreign corporation. They are buying like crazy right now. I am a RE agent and appraiser.... seen it with mine own 2 eyes, sad.
When all the small businesses are gone, and the mid size chains close - There will only be Costco , Sam's / Walmart -and Amazon. by then the Cash will be gone !
Costco has already eliminated cash at their food court here in So Cal. All totally automated.
Yea Membership stores will prevail. Because they require ID to enter. So it prevents all the homeless theft......RICH COMPANIES.....OMG....This mentality is so WRONG...Make them PAY.....so they close....WONDERFUL
Taco bell will win the fast food wars, if you remember demolition man.
That's scary AF because consolidation is the future. It's happening with our banking system right now.
YEP
I had a friend who recently went to home to Berkeley and didn't mention any of this but of course he supports Gavin and would never criticize how he's destroyed the state.
Gavin Newsom will be the Dem nominee after the party throws Biden and Harris to the curb. Their agenda is to Californicate the whole country... controlled national demolition to usher in the Great Reset.
He didn’t mention it because the video is dramatic. There are so many businesses in Berkeley and new ones that open all the time. Yeah, some stores are vacant and up for lease - where are they not? There’s literally a UC in Berkeley, it’ll be and is fine. // Making a video of what’s for lease is going to make it seem like everything is up for lease and closed. If you make a video about everything that’s open and operating, that’s an hours long video.
The lengths these people will go to to pretend everything is just fine never ceases to amaze me.
@@wtpaige, yeah, good thing UC-Berkley is there artificially keeping the area afloat. If it wasn't for the state and students pouring money into that leftist factory, things would really be bad.
@@wtpaige Sure. I live about 50 miles away in Santa Rosa, and this city is DYING as well. Homeless everywhere. Degenerates loitering and lurking all over the place. That graffiti on the walls is NOT art, it is trash in paint form.
Wow. I did all my young adult years in Berkeley/Oakland, and this is mind blowing, but worse, heartbreaking to me in the serious state of things this vast emptiness and abandonment implies. The world is a sad and frightening place; thank goodness for the moments of beauty we can all absorb in every day, even amid difficult days (I am nearly facing foreclosure...A full professional who worked hard all my life...and I am being spit out of what is my lifelong place). It is the story common to so many, amid many more severe stories. Sigh. Take good care, all.
Hope you don't vote democrat. They don't do anything except the opposite of the right thing, except enrich themselves, of course. And yes, the RINOS, which are dems anyway.
Slowly..steadily..The Fall of this American Empire...China...is owning a LOT of American Companies...A lot!! including 7-11.
Plan your lives, folks.
It’s so nice seeing the few people left walking the streets, enjoying all the closed stores.
They were window shopping for air.
@@sonnydayz2118 good one. I hear the air in Berkeley has less CO2.
@@jeffsmith1798 nothing but air inside those commercial buildings. Pretty eye opening to see so many empty buildings. Taxes and rent must have caused the businesses to move somewhere more affordable?
The city is more of college town so there are campus around the city and lots of food spots
@@RobertEdits I see. So is it the university campus police who prevent the looting or is the word just not out yet?
All the doorways of the closed businesses have become a urinal. Similar to most places in Oakland.
Oakland is even worse, much worse actually. I used to live in the N. Berkeley hills, left about 10 years ago. The decline in Berkeley had already started, but nothing like this.
Good point. That's rough.
I do Uber and Lyft for living , I drive around streets and blocks in the bay every day .Trust me, I can see things drowning around,it’s so sad cuz I love this place. Im from a third world country and guess what , I can’t see much difference between here and there , except that here people pay half of their income as taxes for nothing.
You third world people are the future of America. You must do something to improve the country. Working for Uber and lift will not help our future. Please use your minds.
The leftists in those cities are stupid. Don't feel sorry for them. They are getting exactly what they voted for.
To give away to Ukraine
The middle class paying half of their income for nothing is almost a defining characteristic of the "third world", not because of the "half of", but rather the "for nothing".
yet they still vote Democrat
And government officials would brag that shoplifting is down 100 percent.
I grew up in Berkeley 70’s/80’s I can’t believe how all of this stuff is closed yet they are building all these apt complexes. Companies are closing probably due to theft and/or rent prices outrageous!
Thanks a lot Gavin Newsom. Imagine what Newsom would do as president. Vote republican.
My son-in-law and grandson went to Berkeley about 10 years ago for a Gymnasts competition next to the University. He described the area as looking like a third world country with homeless, drug dealers, and lots of really sketchy people hanging out in area around the Sports Facility. He was nervous about parking his car, but they had lots of security in the parking lot area that day. That was 10 years ago, so I can imagine what it looks like now.
Much better today and is a dem utopia. 😅
Those were just the UC Berkeley professors. 😂
@@BetaBuxDeluxlol are u serious?
@@BetaBuxDelux
They cant afford a place to live, the cost of living is out of control in America.
UC Berkeley is much of what you see as new improved and developed and its the largest employer and would consume all of Berkeley if it could. Similar story with UC SF in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, CA legislature deeply pursuing how to arrest parents for not affirming their child… makes sense
Because that iss what gets votes. The culture in CA is no naive; they keep voting the same and are shocked when things continue to get worse. They can't put 2+2 together. If you get rid of the current legislature, the voters will only vote for the same.
It's not about sex or gender policies. It's about these stupid thieves and drug addicts running amok in Downtown. At night it is so dangerous nobody dares wake around at night. Crime is coming from Oakland aka CA Detroit.
Are they really pursuing that? Can you point me somewhere to learn more? That's terrifying.
@@nickdavila94 Not sure about arresting parents, but the court will override parents jurisdiction over their children under the guise that 'not affirming gender change is abuse'. It is a policy broken into segments across a cluster of laws so that there is no one head of this snake to attack. Much the same way Adolf Eichman (a la Hitler) broke down the final solution into small roles so that no one German felt they took part in actually killing anyone. Here is the breakdown of the California laws that were passed by the one party state this month. Notice how one provides impetus to the next. Altogether if a parent doesn't affirm (not simply stay neutral or want to discuss, but actually affirm & agree) the childs gender change, then the govt can take the child away and perform permanent, unalterable lifechanging surgery or treatment...starting from age 12:
AB957 - Passed
Defines parents who don’t affirm their minor child’s gender identity as abuse
SB107 - Passed:
Allows court to have jurisdiction over child if parents abuse (ie because the child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care)
AB665 - Passed
Allows minors to get gender treatment without notifying parents
ask Mayor Adams to bail out Berkeley and SF
You never hear this on TV though. I'm glad people like you are posting these videos to show what a democratic run city looks like!
Dowtown Berkeley used to be so fun, there were six movie theaters and a ton of great places to eat, bookstores, shops, it felt so lively. The last of the theaters were bought by developers to convert them into housing and I think everything is falling apart as a result. This video made me really sad. Thank you for covering this.
Why does it make you sad?
This is what they voted for and wanted. Now they have it !!!!!
Now downtown San Mateo has more to do than Berkeley and Berkeley is a University town. It shouldn't work that way but here we are.
Yea the highschool and campus went remote for 2 years, so those stores all died on shattuck. Good news all of the foot traffic is back. All the stores around the high school and UC are doing great. There usually 50% full during week
Keep electing liberals into your government, and this is what will eventually happen. So sad to see!
agree. I went to a movie there, years ago and it was a very happening and fun place.
My grandpa was a police officer in Berkeley from 1938 to 1968, and my uncle was also a police officer there from the 1950s until the 1970s. Berkeley was a BEAUTIFUL city until the early 1960s, when it was taken over by political a-holes who began their long trek to absolutely ruin the area. I remember asking my uncle once in the 1980s if he ever drove over to Berkeley from his home in Walnut Creek. He said, "No. It makes me cry to drive over there, so I only go if I absolutely have to".
So the problems facing Berkeley began decades ago - not with Covid. 1. Drugs. When people use a high volume of drugs, weed, and booze it up, it doesn't take them in good places. 2. Not wanting to be good. If you want to be a good person, live a clean, decent life, then you're off to a good start. But if you live in a town like Berkeley, where most people hate the US, hate the values of this country, and want to tear it to pieces, then you're not going to have a good foundation for your society.
You can do anything you want - absolutely anything - but you cannot avoid the consquences of your behavior and decisions. When your city allows and enables people to drive away the decent, hard-working citizens, then eventually you'll wind up with Detroit. And decades of single-party rule in Berkeley and 20 years of single-party rule in California is causing this, because the only people who have their feet held to the fire and forced to work, pay bills, and participate in society are being driven out of the Bay Area and out of the state of California.
The bay area has been a haven for all kinds of outcasts. Now those outcasts happen to be living on the street. Many of the surrounding areas had rampant prostitution that usually made local law enforcement rich until the feds began closing these establishments down decreasing the income of local law enforcement that was benefiting from looking the other way.
The nostalgia crowd love to preach but the bay area wasn't a utopia before THE LEFT came and infected it with their questions and ideas. There are larger economic forces operating here just as they were before 2008, creating prosperity in the same area where businesses are now shutting down. Your time frame directly contradicts any point your attempting to make vis a vis politics and prosperity.
I'm so proud of bidenomics and it's wonderful effect on the entire country.
@odietamo9376 ok well your timeline is contradicted by the lady above you. Not sure what your rambling is about here.
@@odietamo9376 It's not about "voting stupid" like you mentioned. I lived in S. Cal. for years and by far, most people hated the d-crats. It's all about rampant fraud.
Yep I was born in alta Bates 1959....went to cal B4 switching to Santa Barbara. You are correct.
Another very important issue that I've been bemoaning for years is what a disgraceful image is created for visitors as they exit I-80 and travel up University Avenue. The street and sidewalks are *never* cleaned and the filth piles up between buildings. If I had a dog, I wouldn't let it walk on University. What must all of the esteemed professors, scientists, and dignitaries think as they pass the graffiti and filth on their way up to the university? They might also expect to witness some of the ranting and antisocial behavior that not infrequently occurs. There's no excuse! You only have to look at our neighboring towns of similar size to see how beautiful their entrances and downtown areas are. Apparently Berkeley's civic leaders would rather talk about anything except that.
Well, they are communists so they probably love the sight of it. Look at China. Eating sewage oil.
They see a lot of diversity and equity.
Foreign visitors would be comforted by the lack of racisms being done to their eyes by White people having a town that looks better than theirs. This American town is feces unbound, so they will surely feel positively about where they came from.
Those people are living in the Tony areas in the Berkeley Hills to the east, life is good there.
Apparently they like it. They see it as the freedoms provided by their policies. They see the ranting anti social man as a victory, for surely if not for their policies he would be locked away. They see the graffiti as artists being free to put they're art anywhere. They see the theft of retail goods as sharing with the less fortunate. Open drug use and camping on the sidewalks are seen as a freedom as well. For being progressive though, these policies sure are moving us backwards as a society.
Last time I was at Berkeley, about 3 weeks ago, it was very busy. A lot of shops are open and lots of people walking about.
The places I went to:
1. 4th street, (unfortunately, Spengers is long gone)
2. North of University on Shattuck Ave. (Walnut Square), and yes, Chez Pannise Bistro and the main restaurant appears to still be there.
3. Telegraph Avenue, Bancroft to Dwight, very busy, lots of shops open.
4. Durant and Channing near Telegraph. Gotta go to Topdog! Yep, Topdog is still there.
5. Solano district, (still lots of shops)
6. Rockridge and Claremont district, (College Avenue near Ashby) ... lots of shops open and very nice to hang out. Nabolom's Bakery is still there... Nabolom scones are absolutely to die for!
7. And of course, the more Bohemian University and San Pablo. The reason for going here is to go to Everrit and Jones Barbeque. Unfortunately, KC, (San Pablo and Dwight), closed down a few years ago. However, one of my favorites, (Flints BBQ) is still open. Flints is still takeout only. However, The Star and Plough pub will allow folks to take their Flint orders into their pub. Nowhere else can you get to hang out with a real live folk, or Irish band, drink a pitcher of brew and have a big platter of Flint BBQ!
Now, you are showing Shattuck between Dwight and University. Also, the closely related district of University between the UC and MLK Boulevard, (formerly Grove St). This area, sadly has been in decline for decades now. The only thing going on in this district is the UC Art Museum. However, the area just north of University on Shattuck, still appears to be fairly active.
The problem with the Shattuck district is the rents are sky high, and none of the owners want, or are willing to upgrade their properties. Thus, Shattuck, between University and Ashby will always look like a warzone.
The UC Movie Theater, sadly, boarded up many years ago. I remember going to see the midnight madness Rocky Horror Picture Show in the 1970's when I was just a young student at CAL.
If you all did not notice ... Berkeley is one of my 'happy' places. I go there a lot with friends and family. The other 'happy' place for me is Santa Cruz area ... especially Aptos and Soquel.
This is how the rot starts and spreads. This is happening all over the major California cities now.
I moved to Berkeley in 1974 for graduate school and lived there until 2003. It was a place I deeply and truly loved. It is so sad to see how much it has deteriorated. I wonder how the longtime residents feel about the situation. Maybe they think internet shopping has put all those stores out of business. Sad.
This is a tragedy. I've never seen anything like this before. It can only get worse from here. Gotta be a big part of why so many people are moving out of California.
🤣 no respect
Even a mall in 2009 had only a ~35% closure rate. Berkley looks apocalyptic.
They should stay and save it. Instead they came to Florida and trying to Save Us ! 🙄
@@1sthawkfeathers547
I moved to PNW to get away from them and they followed me here. I swear, if they drag their cartel activity here, I'm going to show them what "grandfathered magazines" really means. Do not drag that rot up here! Probably too late, though. Probably already happening and I just haven't heard about it, yet.
The blue flu is spreading.
This is insane. In 2009 I lived in Oakland and worked at TopDog hotdogs in Berkeley. It was such a cool place with so much going on. It looks like a desolate wasteland in this video.
I can’t help but be suspicious that this is all by some kind of sick design.
Yea, but what's the plan i wonder??
@@DK-op3ri yeah. I wonder the same thing!
I saw one guy say that the community ruining policies were probably enacted to lower property value in the area, so much so that some wealthy entity could swoop in and buy a lot of real estate on the cheap.
The low property values would probably only stay low as long as the Bay Area is living under the mad max policies that led to it becoming like this.
So once the property was all bought up, then they’d reinstate law and order, to bring back high property value… then profit. It’s an interesting theory. Not sure how much it’s based in reality though.
No design. Just stupid people voting for stupid politicians that have stupid policies.
@dk it's true! That's the plan that's the strategy
Bingo! Destroyed on purpose. ALL First World countries are being destroyed. It will make it easier for the Globalists to kill off BILLIONS of people.
Could not finish this over how heartbreaking this is to watch. I attended Cal , graduated in 2015. The shops and cafes on Telegraph brought me so so many hours of happiness .
This is absolutely heartbreaking .
Stop voting for democrats used to be the answer. But now the republicans are paid by the same ppl to tow the line. WAF
C/o 09. For years I came back to visit the campus and stroll thru the nearby streets. I lived in nearby SF, born and raised. Moved to NYC years ago. I cannot believe how much has changed in these last few years. Absolutely tragic. It was such a magical place.
If you do t mind me asking who did you vote for?
Had friends there, visited fairly often. Place used to be totally BUZZING with activity!!! Not only every business occupied, but sidewalk cafes and restaurants, PLUS a bunch of independent FOOD TRUCKS selling everything from smoothies, to shwarma and falafel! ALL of it good!
NO, it is the result of teaching all you students that Liberalism is the wave of the future, and The US Constiution is just a minor road block to the joy of Sociailsm and a ditatorship, where everyone is equal poor with no freedoms...OPPS
Who in their right mind would want to open up a business with somebody could walk in off the street and take almost up to $1,000 of free merchandise.
Apparently not the virtue signalers who voted in favor of the law.
I mean, everybody should have seen this coming when they decided that writing was peaceful and defund the police, and that we should let everybody out of jail and make stealing legal
You mean “rioting”, right?
It is not only thieves it is your gov.it is also the judicial system.
No one defunded the police in Berkeley.
police were not defunded
Must be to protect the "Hills". Certainly not downtown!@@amberspaulding
Aaannnnd, yet people (like some of my relatives) REFUSE to connect their blind, ignorant voting habits to the death of these cities, even though they ALL have ONE thing in common 🤔
No matter the party big business is running the show. Multinational conglomerates that do not care about any country. The USA is over.
You mean voting for the super liberal Democrats?
dominionn voting machines will do this to any city. they took down venezuala
😢
What's ridiculous is that you believe it's not happening in Republican ran cities as well. The world has changed. Online shopping, online restaurants, online entertainment, pandemic, etc. have all affected retailers. It isn't a Democrat or Republican issue.
This is the town I grew up in as a kid, until I moved out of the city in 1999, for personal reasons. I could not see myself living there anymore because getting a job was near impossible. I recognized the Radio Shack store on Shattuck street that you showed. I used to go there to get parts and tools, and whatever I needed. Now its gone. I figured that if San Francisco and Oakland looked terrible from your previous videos, there would be a good chance my home town Berkeley would too. I am never returning to California, and I am telling everyone where I live NOT to move to California.
RadioShack stores were really fun to visit. Thank you for sharing.
@@LeoMetalTraveler Not every store in Berkley is closed. I just went there 2 weekends ago. Stores were open. There was people around. You should NOT lie to get your subscribers up, views up and comments up. You are so petty. Plus look at your thumb tact picture in the video. You have a bunch of cars behind you. If stores were closed then there would be NO PEOPLE there. There would be no cars parked. Like I said I was just there. Stores were opened. You are so full of crap. You lie which makes it worse.
You don't have to tell them.
Anyone with a brain that actually works for a living would never move there.
I wouldn’t even visit California let alone move there.
Shattuck is dead, i think due to pandemic when all kids being remote for last 2 years. Also grew up there in 90s and go there for work a few times a month. I say it's a lot better now kids are back in school. Berkeley is doing well.
You reporting is the best. Straight honest videos of what's really happening on the streets.
Thank you for the support . new cities in the pipeline
I visited this area around 15 years ago. I remember being angry at the able bodied 20's something people sitting on the sidewalk begging for money.
Look how far we've come.
Now, they are 35 year olds begging for money....
@@jenscheibner792 then they went woke got a governement affiliated job and became wanna be face diaper tyrants.
@@jenscheibner792Zing!
To be fair, able bodied 20 somethings have been begging for money on the streets in various parts of the Bay Area since this 60’s. 😂
@@ateam9135 Actually nobody is begging for money any more. People stopped giving them money.
As a Berkeley alumnus, this saddens me greatly. I used to visit many of these now closed places. I am not surprised it happens but still sad nonetheless. The city and the school itself have always been extremely left-leaning. Many things my classmates were spewing were so outlandish, but I didn't dare argue with them because I knew very few people there shared my opinions.
You would have been given poor grades by your "teachers".
Target is closed?!
My friend works there
Used to be andronicos
Sad that you gave up your morals to appease the crowd. THAT….is the actual problem
But it's soon liberal
@@cravenmoorehead7099the cause yes
I moved away from Berkeley 32 years ago and haven't been back. Now I know what Gertrude Stein meant when she said (upon hearing that her childhood home had been demolished), "There is no 'there,' there." Watching this video, I feel like a character in a science-fiction novel who takes a space journey of a few light-years and comes back to Earth only to find the wreckage of a vanished civilization. Weird! And not good 😥
What you say is very relatable, and spot on. Perfect way to describe it.
Exactly 💯
My experience as well. I could name what many of the closed stores were in the Berkeley of my youth: Palmer's Drug Store, the Shattuck Hotel, the Corder Building ... no need to name them, but it was certainly strange to see them all closed up.
I lived there from '91-'94. I remember as dusk fell, I would watch the sea of Oakland Raider jackets come via Shattuck. They'd threaten, assault people, smash windows etc. and the police would do nothing even then. It seemed magical when I first got there, but by '94 it was just a beautiful town committing suicide. Berkeley looked really good in the rear view mirror. I'd never go back either
I left CA for Montana about 30 years ago, I thought it was getting bad back then. While I love and will never leave Montana, the changes in CA have made me realize what "you can never really go home" actually means. It's because it doesn't exist anymore. Yep.. "There is no there, there."
I attended Berkeley back in the thriving 80s. No way I could imagine that a main street in the town would turn into this. IMO the vagrant sitting between the "For Lease" signs at 0:46 is why San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, etc., are in the decline.
Indeed, here in San Francisco, downtown workers don't want to come back to work in the Financial District. They don't feel safe, and employers discovering during the pandemic that people can work from home just fine, I see all the big cities turning into what Berkeley has become.
Work from home has declined since the lifting of "sanitary measures", and many jobs are not suitable for teleworking, unless compelled to.
For at least 30 years, Nancy Pelosi, and Gavin Newsom’s lack of leadership in these cities have caused a the demise of these cities. But this family bureaucracy had gotten very rich while the people suffered.
One simple fact they voted for Democrats got Democrat policies and this is the end result. Truly that simple.
Don't blame them, blame the idiots who keep voting for them.
If i was Pelosi I wouldn't care either and instead focus on growing my families forture as she has done so succesfully during her career, it's not like I'd get thrown out of office 😅
If this is what her voters want then that's what they'll get. That's democracy for better or for worse.
Simple facts are at your fingertips. Feinstein, Newsom and Pelosi are from San Francisco, not Berkeley. If you are not pointing the finger at both parties and the Amazon stock in your 401(k), then you are part of the problem and will continue voting against your own self-interest. This is what Trickle-Down Economics was designed to do.
And who keeps voting Pelosi, Newsome and their ilk into office?
This is their leadership, not a lack of it.
Berkley voters should be ecstatic and celebrating 🍾🎉🎊!!!!!! They voted for this.
I was just driving around Los Angeles totally tripping out at how many For Lease signs I saw ~ Melrose / West Hollywood area. Complete blocks of businesses are gone. Lots of demolition of old buildings happening too. Without small businesses we lose the essence and uniqueness of the cities.
They want the buildings gone so they can build highrises. They want single family homes gone too. They can't control you as easy when people are spread out. With highrises they can put security at the entrace/exits and control hundreds or thousands with less manpower. Look at what happened in chi na during Co vid. If people don't wake up soon, we'll stand no chance.
Tells all about the US "fantastic" economical model.
Thank you Metal Leo. I appreciate the time you take to make these videos and lettind us know what is really happening in the Bay area. What has happened to the government that our beautiful state of California is dwindling away little by little?
I would’ve never guessed when I left in 2013 that 10 years later the United States would’ve gone from uncomfortably crazy to completely collapsing
It's not the USA. It's certain towns/cities.
I live in Paradise in the USA.
A beautiful thriving Township.
USA is big.
Many of the cities run by liberals are being destroyed.
We stay away.
We can thank the race hustlers and the alphabet group mostly. They have turned our country in the laughing stock around the world.
The Usa as it had been was a huge house of cards.
I lived abroad for the past 40 yrs in several countries before moving back to the US 2 yrs ago with my husband. This country is nothing like what it used to be. Population mindset has gone bonkers. Husband wants to stay here 8 more years, but I'm counting 5 tops and just retire early and move abroad again.
@@gissellevillegas3831funny how when you leave this country how much more “freedom” you actually find.
What I have found though is that liberalism ruins everything where ever it exists.
And, USA is money in one pocket and more money out the other pocket. Look how much we pay for cel phone service in the US. Same with TV providers. And permits for this, permits for that. And now look at our housing costs. Good luck to anyone retiring here. Take your savings and go elsewhere.
Finally, the multigenerational dreams of the Berkeley city councils of past and present come true!
I remember visiting there in the 90s/2000s, lots of people walking around and so many cool clothing shops and restaurants. It's devastating to see this new California.😢
Yup. I remember visiting there around the same time. It was great. What a travesty!!
And Newsom thinks California is doing great!
Well Newsome and his friends are all making tons of cash and live far away from the consequences of thier policies. Any criticism is just bounced off of them and cast at thier political opponents, and most Californians eat it up thinking that California would be better if it wasn't for those pesky Republicans.
So yea life is great for the 1% in California.
And don't forget the street venders that sold some really cool hand made stuff that you couldn't buy anywhere else. Beautiful days gone down the toilet because of the wokesters.
I lived in Berkeley from 2016 to 2021. I used to walk all over the city frequently, especially these streets like Shattuck. What I'm seeing here is almost devastating. I had no idea how far gone this place had become after I left... almost ALL the stores shown here were still in operation before I left. This would have all happened in less than 3 years. It used to be so nice trawling the streets and seeing it bustling and all the cool stores, the drink shops, the book stores, the restaurants, clothes stores -- maybe it's not as bad on Telegraph starting from campus?? I don't know what to say -- it's very sad -- I guess I chose a good time to leave. Though in retrospect I saw tons of homeless on Shattuck so I'm not too surprised. 5:26 used to be a CVS.
I studied in Berkeley for one semester in the early nineties. It was a vibrant place full of life. Even as a foreigner (swede) this is just so depressing to see.
Man those were the times. California during the late 1990s. As a fellow European, I only know it from movies and tv shows. I have been to the Bay Area and Berkeley several times though - first time in 2011 and it was pretty vibrant back then…
@@timreverend2591yes they were the times. I've lived in California since 1989. The 90s, especially early 90s, were great. 2000s were ok, now it's just downhill.
Visited Berkeley campus in 1989 to decide which graduate school to go, I remembered sitting in a restaurant in Telegraph Street, it's very lively and bustling. So sad to see it in its current state.
90s California is but a shell of its former self. It was truly a place to be at the turn of the 20th century up until the 1960s.
Any stores closed in China?
Back in 1990, I worked with a young woman who had dreamed of moving to California. She packed up one day and moved to Berkeley. This is not the dream she was looking for, turned more into a nightmare. I often wonder how things turned out for her.
She became an addict and poops💩 on the corner of stop and 4way. Sometimes she poops 💩 at the corner of walk and don't walk 🚶♀️
She moved to Texas zz
, unfortunately. How do we in Texas assimilate these refugees that act more like missionaries for Californication?
She was raped.
I'm sure the Berkeley hills are doing fine.
I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in the 70's, and lived there in the 70's and then returned to run an art gallery for a while in the late 90's. I loved Berkeley, so full of creative and innovative people with a famous University at its center. This makes me very sad to see.
Not me.
They voted for this and got it so you should be happy for them.
@@greglane3978it's been great in Berkeley it's always been a blue Cindy and that's what made it great I couldn't imagine being a conservative City fuck that
Coming from a liberal socialist communist nut job with their eyes closed..@@kyoakland
Those must've been the days! If you posted photos of Downtown and Telegraph Ave from back in those days, it would be UNRECOGNIZABLE today--unimaginably filled with life, color, and character.
@@greglane3978A lot of people suffering through this didn't though.
Good job Berkeley, CA! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Looks like there’s nothing to do there but walk around looking at a smartphone screen.
Nice to see the old-timey washer machines are being repurposed as trash bins.
XD i shouldn't laugh, but LMAO
They're so mortified at having to actually punish the offenders, that they're rather cripple themselves. Astonishing.
Is that what dumb right winger news tells you to think?
Yes, well sounds to me that none of you commenters would enjoy Berkeley. But the people who live there do enjoy it. Unfortunately there's no low income housing there because the low income housing is taken up by high income people. But that is being fixed slowly. Rents are too high. But I'm glad you all agree with each other about what's wrong and that you;re so glad you can stay away. The charms of Berkeley are invisible to you and that suits Berkeley. I lived there for 15 years and only left 2 years ago. And I miss it.
That is a foolish theory. The police are everywhere.
Those policies are designed to destroy a city on purpose.
Pollice are NOT mortfied. Don't be Foolish. They are really bullies and cowards at the same time. They love bullying poor people and folks that are ignorant and don't know how to stand up for their rights. They have a wrong motive for allowing "offenders" to "Smash and Grab". Some even suggest they are going to declare martial law. Then NO One will be safe and there will be even more chaos. Stay in your ignorance at your own risk.
High taxes, high rent, high crime...what more could you ask for?
A caffeine enama and a hit if l.s.d.😅
WALK AWAY DEMOCRAT PARTY.........ASAP
Gavin needs your vote.
Not having Ted Cruz as a senator is everything we need to keep us in California
@@LivesinSFBayAreaYeah, completely agreed, working for your own money can't be good for your health.
I remember back in 1998 I used to go to western dental in Berkeley for my braces. I remember going in that bank and a Mexican restaurant. I remember the streets having radio shacks and record stores and all that. Every place you walked by was open and Berkeley was bustling. All that’s gone.
CALIFORNIA IS DEAD.
Thank you for sharing
Radio Shack went bankrupt 10 years ago. Walked thru the same area today and it was as busy as you probably remember it. The stores are different and there are a lot more new 5,6,7 story apartment buildings.
radio shacks? are you seriously trying to tie the demise of radio shack to "wokeness" ??
Bruh these braindead boomers somehow forgot radio shack and Barnes and noble went bankrupt because they didn't adapt to online commerce. Physical storefronts are not nearly as competitive and with rising rent, hiring workers, and competing with more agile businesses, there are only certain industries able to survive in these areas. It's really sad how incredibly ignorant these people are of the world we live in. So easily convinced that voting a certain way will magically make your lives better or worse.
Actual Berkeley resident, thank you for presenting open retail real estate. About avg for any town.
A big round of applause for Governor Newsom and the Democratic Party! 👏👏👏
Give a special shout out to Nancy....
It's funny because Californians never think it's thier fault, they always pass the blame onto others. In the 80s it was Reagan fault, in the 00s it was Bush Jr's fault.
During Obamas regime it was those pesky Republican obstructionists.
Today it's somehow trumps fault and fascist corporations.
Some even blame the 2020 BLM riots on Maga people who adorned themselves in black face and caused all the rioting to make BLM look bad. The conspiracies just get more and more absurd the further thier state deteriorates.
They will never take responsibility, ever. It will always be someone else's fault.
Pelosi and her nephew Gavin Newsom plus the Caifornia Senate and Assembly in Sacranento are fully responsible for this financial ruin. Congrats voters!
Yeah the Democrats are screwing things up...while the GOP is on it's knees to one guy, a lying seditionist wanna-be dictator.
They all get the middle finger award.
I was here last year in August . I stayed at the Graduate Hotel. It was so scary I made my friend move me to another hotel which was down the street. It was equally as bad. I hope to never go back to Berkley or San Fransisco . They are the walking Dead now!
We moved out of Berkeley over a decade ago. Saw it coming. We lived in the hills and the turning point was when they allowed mentally Ill patients roam the Berkeley hills on their own. Months after we moved out, we leaned a man was bludgeoned to death right in front of his house by one of these people.
Yeah...I remember that...Sausalito guy here....
Same thing happening NOW in Venice Beach.
Libs/Dems decided in the 60s-70s to shut the mental hospitals down because of a few random cases of "abuse"... Now these mental patients are walking the streets. There are many more now due to addiction.
James Lindsay just read from an academic paper on "Sanism". That is a form of discrimination and marginalization that society doesn't allow insane or "mad" people to teach and work in early childhood education.
If you think that description is bizarre, the arguments are worse than you are imagining.
The topic could be minimized by saying "they only mean that depression and anxiety shouldn't prevent people from working", but no, they include Foucault's ideas about madness.
Teachers who have Madness could teach kids alternative world views and Revolution.
I think they really mean ANTIFA should teach kindergarten, and being psychos shouldn't be a barrier.
Wasn't that the situation where the police were too busy dealing with the pos protestors and took too long to respond?
Thanks!-Leo!-For Going By-WALGREENS Store@Allston Way&Shattuck Ave.-I Was-A Regular Customer-There!&Now-I Go To WALGREENS Store!-Near-Berkeley Bowl Marketplace!-Where One Door Closes-Another One-OPENS!&I've Seen-Employees@Other Stores-As Well!-Raymond "Mike" Hong!&(Good Luck!-Metal Leo&Everybody-Also!-Mike!)😎👍!!!!!!!!!
Im glad this is happening. You get what you vote for !!!
I've lived in the bay area my whole life, democrat policies have destroyed California cities
I just moved from Berkeley to Selma, Alabama and it's wonderful!
Just mind boggling how Democrats can't see it or admit it.
@@EdDunkle Never EVER vote for another democrat in your life.
@jesuslopez4113 but, but, but, orange man bad. He might say something mean and hurt my feelings. That's more important than our country collapsing around us while our wonderful current president sells our country out from under us.
And Republican rule would do what?
Create a sanctuary city, hand out everything free that American Citizens have to pay for if they want them, and see where it gets you. It gets you this. Hand it to people that never worked for it, to build it. For the first time in my life, I am watching family and classmates leave the country to retire. I'm considering the same move in 2 or 3 years.
What's a good country for moving?
Hungary in eastern Europe, northern Thailand in Asia. Portugal in western Europe. Maybe Chile in South America.
Personally I will explore the possibilities in Russia. No other countries have been so vilified than Russia in recent decades. Therefore I need to examine Russia myself if possible.
Bankrupt and Bald does a lot of videos in Russia, places most don’t go. Mingles with the regular folks, very friendly, hardy people. If I could learn Russian I’d love to go too. @@chi-yangcheng8868
@@chi-yangcheng8868 keep us posted youtuber. thanks.
are you saying that America is becoming a "shit -hole " country ? because of politicians ? you should vote ! but not the same way you always do . doesn't seem to be working well .
I think penalties for smash and grab theft should be felonies, homeless people should be rounded up and put into mental institutions and drug rehabs. Once you have lost the will to live and end up on the street, then obviously you can't function as a human being and the state should step in and put you away. If you can't be part of normal society, then you lose your right to live in society. That's not harsh, that survival of the fittest. Look at all these major cities and what they look like now. It's horrible and shameful that our California leadership and leadership in other major cities are doing nothing about these issues!
I live very near the downtown area in Berkeley and have lived there since 2004, after moving up from San Diego. Over the years, I have seen the quality of life for residents in the city decline, especially over the last five years. One of the biggest problems, as I see it, is the lack of concern for the health and safety of the residents on the part of city officials. Police effectiveness in maintaining public safety is almost nonexistent and the real concern of the city is in the hyperaggressive enforcement of city codes and in pervasive fees, all for the common purpose of maximizing the city's revenue collection. The city has hired an army of meter maids who patrol the streets like hungry vultures. Another shameful practice of the city is in its complete negligence in allowing its streets to deteriorate to the point where it's almost like trying to drive on a lunar landscape.
With taxes and fees so high and the nearly impossible parking situation in the city driving away potential customers, it's no wonder that businesses would just make the decision that it doesn't make sense to try to operate a business in such an unfriendly environment. I, and others, often drive to other cities to do shopping, to avoid the theft, vandalism and lack of parking in Berkeley.
To your point, the Wall St Journal had an article a few weeks ago, with a photo, of the City of SF issuing a fine to Twitter for taking down their sign without a permit to do so (when they changed the name to X). Plenty of enforcement of petty rules like that. No enforcement of crime laws. Which behavior brings in revenue?
add in the e-scooters and e-bikes zooming on sidewalks threatening the safety of pedestrians and the wheel chair bound. NO enforcement.
Good point. It's maddening trying to dodge these people who are darting out in all directions from sidewalks and going the wrong way on one-way streets.@@ShirleyKirsten
Statistics show the cities with the HIGHEST taxes, HIGHEST percentage of homeless and with the most businesses closing are the cities controlled by democrats for decades. Instead of these people realizing their mistake,,, they move into a new safe city and keep voting the same way.
With the amount of panhandlers that started in the early 1970's and basically the city officials not really fighting to get people out of that area, Berkeley became a place where the weather was mild and there were services to help homeless people, a free clinic, a church with a daily free meal. Many were just young people in their early 20's who were trying out being away from home and surviving by your wits. There was plenty of work, but that wasn't fun. Some found vacant houses to stay in and drugs were not as heavy and people would hang around for months, go up and down the coast and then come back up to Berkeley. Many came from back East to see what the West was like. Then people started just stealing in any store that didn't have security or it looked easy, they had no bad conscience about it because it was a popular thing to do. Now you have those who can't get off the streets and their family and friends won't help them anymore and it's like a disease. All the resources for people like this in SF are downtown, so of course there's many downtown that hang out there and they make SF an undesirable place for tourists.
Help shitty people, get more shitty people. Makes send. Why don't they put those help facilities in the middle of the woods where no one is conducting business or raising families?
When the Tech companies closed down and moved out-of-state and took all their employees and jobs with them, all the business that supported them like the restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, business supplies, went out of business, people moved out-of-state, businesses closed . The more large businesses that moved and left the state the less jobs that were available, the less taxes that were paid to the state and they wonder why their billions of dollars in the hole. Keep up the good work Gavin Newsome.
It isn't because of the homeless, I live in an area with twice that amount and the stores are doing well. The problem is likely artificially inflated property values and rents. Investment firms make deals so their portfolio stays solid. Nobody can afford a business or rent but overseas investors have no idea. Thanks for bringing this to light.
@@waynecory6101so it was Newson Idea to allow high tech workers to work remotely? Did he ever sent an ordinance and enforced it?
@@Interdimensionaltravelagentthis our of our state clowns 🤡 are just parroting halve truths.
While this is a lot of damage to the once thriving city (I lived in the Bay from 2000-2010), this will have to get much worse before those who are left even begin to admit reality or even see how it happened. People are that brainwashed.
They will never admit their faults, doesn't matter how bad things get. It's an inherent flaw of neo liberal thinking. They always double down on stupid.
The blame will always be cast upon others, mostly onto people who don't even live in California.
Why not think about the GOP and the burdens they put on our economy instead of blaming permissiveness or whatever it is you've all got in your heads?
You deserve this, you get what you put out.
Mateo, from Philadelphia thank you for this video. In Pennsylvania in Philadelphia the east side of the city, there is The Market Frankford rail line. It's too depressing to say but it looks like out of a zombie horror movie. People staggering around looking for the next fix. Dirty, unkempt with open sores on their arms,legs. Terrified to walk down the street, don't want to catch anything. What scares me the most is, when this economy crashes, it will be like Mad Max movies.
I have watched lots of videos of Kensington and it looks scary.
So it isn’t only California like everyone what’s to tell.
You see blue cities collapsing everywhere. Turning into literal dystopian nightmares, but instead of paying attention to the horror, Democrats simply can't imagine why you don't want your cities and towns turning into the same thing!
Marxist and liberals want America and its cities to be third world!
The video is BS. Anyone who lives in the Bay Area knows Berkeley is one the most vibrant city in the area. Just because a bank is vacant, it does not mean the city is collapsing. Get a clue!
Hahaha Democratic cities are doing just fine. They are vibrant and thriving. Most of those businesses in the video just never rebound from COVID. Also there were a lot of foreign investors driving up/creatively inflate the real estate cost/prices/value to clean their money. It happened all over the place. Someone will rent them soon that's a college town . 😀
@@EP-ec3ukI agree! There are so many vibrant piles of poo, needles, and desperate homeless individuals decorating the streets. Facets of rich culture that are much harder to find in those drab small republican towns.
@@studiohq wow. Your check is in the mail from the Democrat Party. No, blue cities aren't doing well. There is record crime in every major Metropolis. There are record numbers of homeless, record numbers of drug addicts lining the streets, record numbers of businesses leaving, and record-low economic indicators of all sorts. And it's not just a few cities. Whether it's old school Democratic strongholds like Chicago, St Louis, or Baltimore, or a new generation that Democrats are ruining like Portland Seattle Los Angeles or San Francisco. They are failing.
Thanks for recording all of these. Hopefully, the people who come here to the USA will not repeat our mistakes.
Why would they care. No connections to our history or culture. They will turn it into just where they left. Bye, Bye America.
Who?
Those our not “our mistakes”, these cities are being systematically destroyed by intentionally bad policies!
This is not by chance.
The Dems are all in lock-step with the planned destruction of the major cities they are running (into the ground).
Look into who has donated millions to the organizations and funds that support these politicians being elected and DA’s who allow the criminals to do whatever they want, and mayors who let the homeless encampments grow and become a thing when they had solutions but blew them off.
They allowed the crime on purpose to drive away their very tax base of major retailers and other businesses.
Are you joking? You must be. They brought their 3rd world tactics right along with them. Do you think college educated people with job skills are walking and swimming here? Wake up. These are not the desirable immigrants of the early 1900's. These are takers.
Dude, that is such a bummer. I used to get ice cream at that creamery and go to the movies at that cinema all the time. What the hell is happening?
I remember when I was going to law school at UC Davis in the 1990s. I was in the reserves and did my reserve duty at Oakland Army Base and Camp Parks. Part of our duty was training ROTC students at UC Berkeley. We tried to get something to eat at the campus or in the town and were treated so badly by the people that the reserve commander essentially said that we aren't going there anymore to train anyone. If the ROTC wanted us to train them, they had to come to us.
No hope for the stupid. Now we call them WOKE-tards.
What happened?
@@Kay0Bot They would refuse to serve us or spit in our food. The worst one was one of our vehicles was defaced. That's what set our CO off.
@@TimasionI was a child in the 90s. Was there a war going on? I attended Cal in the late 2000s. I know its history as a hippie school and town, but it wasn’t as bad as what you described by the time I attended school there. In fact, one of my fellow cooperative house mates was part of ROTC. It’s how she could afford college and the housing co-ops are about as hippie as it gets. My boyfriend at the time got his tuition covered by the navy. I myself did JROTC in high school and consider myself rather liberal and generally anti-war. I’m sorry you had such a shitty experience in the 90s. A truly open minded person can accept people from all backgrounds. Unfortunately many people who think they’re open minded are actually just as close minded or narrow minded. :(
@@Timasion damn that sucks. Also kind of odd. Berkeley is known for not being actively aggressive towards those they politically disagree with or dislike.
Now its Berkeley??? omg. I always drove by there on my way to work to San Francisco, but never hanged out in the city. This whole thing starting to look concerted/pre-planned. Thanks Leo, you're videos are brave and amazing. ❤🤍🖤
You're right over the target----it was called the PLANdemic for a reason.
Thank you for the support @YuTv1408 more videos on the way !
It is all part of the plan. Eliminate the middle class. Discourage them from leaving their homes by getting rid of things they like and by forcing them to own electric vehicles which take hours to charge.
Wrecking ball is swinging by the hands of the democrats. Somehow people should soon come to the reality of their ballots.
pre-planned? how? for what?
Excellent video. Thank you. I lived in Berkeley in the 80's. It was vibrant and safe. Sad to see it's dying like the rest of the bay area.
Thank you for your support
Me too..such fun back then and I got very street educated in good ways. But my friend was killed by police in front of the Mediterranean Cafe, across from Codys book store .
That was a bad day and the drums started early and upset😢
that is an absolute lie. the crack epidemic was as bad here a NYC it was no safer then than it is now. worse was the late 90s. not having a clear memory and romanticizing your past is a huge part of this perceptual problem.
@@potatothorn I was a student at UC BERKELEY and not part of the "crack" culture, so my experience was definitely different from yours.
@@BeautifulLife000H yes you hid with the students. the rest of us had to deal with the crackheads everywhere. crime is no different now than it was then. It WAS much better in the early 2000s, but to say things are worse now than it was in the 80s is bullshit.
Lived in Berkeley for years on Gilman. Back then the city council did not let in the BIG corporation stores. Only mom and pop places. The beginning of the down fall was letting the BIG stores in because they ran out the mom and pop places. The city council that allowed the big corporations in are to blame.
You keep doing what you're doing Berkley, you're gonna keep getting what you're getting. No sympathy for the ignorant.
Moving here back in Jan 2012 from DFW (Texas), Berkeley and San Francisco was just lovely and full of life. Now, everything is in rapid degradation and despair. .
City council after watching this video: We've made great progress in the downtown area over the last ten years! You should all be very proud of yourselves.
It's been my observance as I see it anytime when you build a university or a college things start to go bad immediately within 20 years after building the University or College.
It has been more than five years since most if not all of Radioshack stores were closed. When you see the sign on a building, you know how long this neighborhood has been in decline.
Right
I am absolutely surprised RadioShack lasted that long!!!
They closed over 20 years ago over here in the Carolinas.
This is heartbreaking. I didn't know this was going on. Went to Cal. Worked in Berkely for quite a while and pre pandemic went there regularly to shop. I'm older so I have not been going since then. Shocked actually. Very bad news.
Thank you for a very informative video as I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 35 years and I have lived in Vegas for over 12 years now and I have only been back once. My ex-girlfriend's retired from the city of Berkeley and I have fond memories of this beautiful place. I am sad to see what this place has actually become :(- Kudos to you for your coverage and your efforts to this channel!!!
Thanks for doing a more honest video than the one you did in San Jose. Berkeley is 1/10 the size of San Jose, and you showed more closed places here FOR LEASE than you did in SJ, where some of them were slated for demolition and development.
I have seen the multiple coverage of the fall of SF, but had no idea this was happening in Berkeley. Thanks for posting.
It's happening in every CA city now. Santa Barbara is being ruined as well. Used to be paradise. Someone did a video of Rodeo Dr all boarded up too. I can't imagine why they people don't totally revolt and stop paying taxes over this
@@yaimavolyou can't imagine a lot of things being so dumb. The decline of US cities is a combination of a great many factors. The pandemic shifted many businesses and retailers online. There are rising rents, inflation, brutal economic unrest, homelessness and crime, among other things. People watch a 10 min walking tour and think they got it all figured out.
@@rw5622 We don't live in a vacum. Where I live the retail did take a hit but it's come roaring back. There are not blocks of boarded up stores. You know who is responsible. You just don't want to say it
Unbelievable reporting. I am astounded, having lived there in the 1960s. Berkeley was once vibrant, fertile, alive, and very well. This is a sad time we now live in. Thank you for sharing the Truth.
You can see this across California not necessarily as bad as this but in strip malls that used to be full increasingly vacant store fronts increasingly appear.
Berkeley is an affluent area. But they asked for this economic demise.
growing up , in my town our mall was awsom. now it is such a ghetto shithole , i wont go near the place.
I had no clue thanks for your generosity with info. I'm in FL. Not quite yet.❤
I graduated from UCB in 2000. So many good memories. This is heartbreaking.
Go Bears! My daughter is currently a student there.🎉
Hahahhaaaaa
I was born in Oakland and went to Berkeley’s many pubs n restaurants . The people of the East Bay wake the fuck up. Stop voting for these communists. Look what your doing to your beautiful city.
Thank you Leo for doing Berkeley. I hope this wakes up the people in the East Bay and Bay Area.
unfortunately the people in the Bay Area and LA basin keep voting for the morons that perpetuate this blight. Wokefornia is going to get worse.
It won't wake up anybody. Once a Dem, always a Dem.
@saintpreferred9223 I do agree with you on that. People don't change like that so easily. However, the way things are for the past few years, I was able to convince some people (not a whole lot) to see things differently now.
66% of Dems still think that FJB didn't do anything wrong with Hunter and influence peddling. I'm sure the same percentage think that there is nothing wrong with all these store closings.
I have heard that it's easier to kick a heroin addiction than a Democrat voter addiction! Democrat voters simply cannot grasp the principles of cause and effect.
Local municipal leaders (city councils) and courts and judges are primarily responsible for this.
Don't leave out Newsom.
If they made an announcement that any business has the right to kill to protect its property, those places would open right back up. Then any thieves or looters would die if they stole from there and the streets would clean up quick.