Shop owner Ben Wang is refusing to give up on San Francisco, despite six figures’ worth of clothes and merchandise being stolen from his fashion store — just the latest robbery he’s experienced.
Wang, the owner of Dare Fashions in San Francisco, has had his store robbed five times in the past three years. The most recent robbery caused more than $300,000 in damage to his store, forcing him to close the store. GoFundMe page.
But Wang isn’t giving up on the city where he’s run his business for 17 years — in fact, he told Fox News Digital that the San Francisco dream is still alive for him.
“I love San Francisco,” Wang said, “really, really love it. I really believe in the values that San Francisco has always stood for. San Francisco has always been a progressive place that tries new things, and it’s always been a place that cares about others.”
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Shop owner Ben Wang explained why he’s not giving up on San Francisco, despite $300,000 worth of clothes and merchandise being stolen from his fashion shop on May 1. (Courtesy of Ben Wang)
“But I think we were a little bit ahead of ourselves. We tried some things and when it didn’t work, we just tried harder.”
California passed Proposition 47 in 2014, which downgraded certain theft and drug possession crimes from felonies to misdemeanors if the value of the stolen items is less than $950.
Wang stressed that he is not a politician and is not offering specific policy advice to the city, but said it is time for San Francisco to “rethink things.”
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San Francisco’s homelessness and drug problems have worsened in recent years, Wang said.
“There’s a lot of human waste on the streets,” Wang said. “We have to admit that this is unsanitary and disgusting.”
Wang said his love for San Francisco remained after his store was robbed, and that’s why he insisted on relocating to another part of the city, but he acknowledged that he knows business owners whose businesses have gone bankrupt because of the coronavirus.
“I know there are certainly businesses that have closed,” he said, “and there are people who have lost everything, who have lost their businesses.”
“I know people who left,” Wang said, arguing that San Francisco politicians have an opportunity to ask “why people are leaving” and “what’s so hard about doing business in San Francisco?”
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San Francisco’s homelessness and drug problems have worsened in recent years, Wang said. (Fox News Digital flight risk)
“Overall,” Wang said, he’s interested in bringing San Franciscans together, especially since the pandemic.
“One of the reasons I love San Francisco is [is that it] “Throughout its history, it’s been a place that has served people who didn’t necessarily feel like they belonged in the communities they came from,” he said.
“People have always come to San Francisco to fly the flag of freedom and to be themselves,” Wang continued.
“Even if you have bad policies, even if you have a lot of other things, I don’t think you can crush that spirit,” he said.
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