
A Map of San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley Gang Territories - matthberg
http://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1PD1YdFZWhv_-1o6ZulmPoLMkQAM&hl=en_US
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orthoganol
I always find myself explaining to new arrivals that the Tenderloin is not the
dangerous, violent area despite (non violent) crime rates, it's absolutely the
Mission. Widespread misconception for some reason, and now we have a map to
point at. I know multiple people in the Mission who were mugged or who live in
apartments above where shootings took place. Speaking as a former resident of
the Mission and victim of a violent crime myself (in the Mission), it always
amuses me when people who are, uh, sheltered to say the least, who want a nice
upper middle class bubble, speak longingly about moving to the Mission,
somehow ignorant that it's the one neighborhood on their list of acceptable
neighborhoods where they are most likely to get mugged or shot.

~~~
vosper
The Mission might be worse, but there's nothing especially nice about TL,
either. I still recommend arrivals to steer clear of it.

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gglover
The LA map is a lot more complete and interesting.

[https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ul5yqMj7_JgM5xpfOn...](https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ul5yqMj7_JgM5xpfOn5gtlO-
bTk&hl=en_US&ll=33.990303182210106%2C-118.27076720146954&z=12)

~~~
CodeWriter23
I'm not so sure about "complete". There are missing polygons around areas of
East LA, Boyle Heights, Monterey Park, Rosemead and Baldwin Park. But the
polygons that are there seem credible to me.

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almost_usual
Points of interest on the map in the Mission is where 13 and 14 touch. This
represents Sureño Norteño rival gang borders.

I've heard of drive-bys and other gun violence there but have only first hand
witnessed people get jumped or beat up.

[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/san-francisco-where-
viole...](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/san-francisco-where-violent-
street-gangs-and-silicon-valley-tech-bros-coexist-206)

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CodeWriter23
Looks like a map of future gentrification. It all starts when you see
something like this. [https://imgur.com/a/iONTY](https://imgur.com/a/iONTY)
<\- photo is a liquor store in gentrification hot spot Highland Park, Los
Angeles.

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beatpanda
There are a lot of these maps, most of them generated by Google MyMaps, by
gang members themselves.

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nefitty
This was created in 2011. I'm viewing on mobile, so I might be missing
something, but have there been updates? It seems these sorts of blurry
territory lines are liable to change frequently and suddenly.

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sumoboy
No different than any other crime ridden city with people dying,
[http://murderink.citypaper.com/](http://murderink.citypaper.com/)

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habosa
Is there any evidence presented here? I see a map with some rectangles on
it...

~~~
Hydraulix989
Yes, how can this possibly be accurate? Where can I go as a gang member to
find out where the crips' territory is? What is the authoritative source? Why
aren't there any gangs listed in the Outer Mission where I've personally
witnessed what strongly looked like gang activity first hand multiple times?

~~~
focusgroup0
Not to mention Chinatown:

[http://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Chinatown-gang-
feud...](http://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Chinatown-gang-feud-ignited-
one-of-SF-s-worst-8348992.php)

~~~
wahern
All the violence related to the Chinese mafia in the past 40 years seems to be
related to that one guy, Shrimp Boy, who seems pretty thuggish and was
intentionally trying to upset the long-established order.

My impression is that the Chinese mafia is still pretty strong in San
Francisco. They own, directly or indirectly, a fair amount of real estate. And
I presume they're behind a fair amount of grey market trade, as well as most
of the brothels. I personally know of at least one business front on Clement
St that was and is (AFAICT) still a meeting house. I used to live nearby,
noticed the odd comings-and-goings, and confirmed my suspicions with a couple
of the neighboring merchants. I distinctly remember one merchant, after asking
what the deal was with the place across the street, leaning in close and
asking me, "do you really want to know?". I said, "Well... I assume it's the
mafia". He looked straight at me and silently nodded.

Anyhow, it seems to me that they're an established institution with a strong
incentive to avoid violence or to participate in activities (e.g. drugs) that
beget violence or unwanted attention. And City Hall and the police are
comfortable maintaining the status quo, even if it means turning a blind eye
to various activities on a regular basis. At the same time I assume that the
other gangs around the city know their place in the pecking order and stay
away from the predominately Chinese neighborhoods.

And maybe that's why the Shrimp Boy thing became so violent--he was an
existential threat to the order and he knew he either had to go nuclear or go
home. But he was always destined to lose. The media labeled him a "kingpin"
but given the huge amount of money controlled by the Chinese mafia in the
city, and the penny-ante schemes he ran that recently came to light, he seems
to have remained on the fringes.

The Russian mafia also has a presence here. The Outer Richmond has one of the
oldest Russian communities in the country. Like the Chinese mafia they seem to
fit into the established political order, are plugged into the global grey
market, and likewise have an interest in avoiding drawing attention to
themselves.

Then there are the Irish. Hardly the same thing, but it's my understanding
that for a long time the San Francisco Irish community was a standout
supporter of Sinn Fein, maybe even in the same league as Boston in terms of
political and financial support. I don't even think that was hidden. You can
go to Ireland's 32 on Geary St and see publicity photographs of Sinn Fein
leaders meeting with city officials.

Anyhow, I guess my point is that one of the safest places to live in the city
is the Richmond District, where the Chinese mafia, Russian mafia, and whatever
loose organization the Irish have going (construction?) seem to keep the riff-
raff away, or at least organized riff-raff. I remember reading some stories 10
or so years ago about violence (muggings, break-ins) attributed to a nascent
Vietnamese gang in the Richmond District, but that seemed to quickly disappear
almost overnight. I doubt that was coincidental.

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Overtonwindow
How do they afford it?!

