"I've been in business in Jackson Square for 50 years and I'm very concerned about this homeless shelter they're going to put at the entrance of Jack London Square," said Raymond Gallagher, founder of Scott's Seafood Grill and Bar. "We're in the center of a dining and entertainment district, and this is not what we need. There's plenty of other opportunities in Oakland to house the unhoused."
"I don't think we need to do anything in this city that forces businesses to have to think about whether they want to make that drastic decision of closing their doors," said Leronne Armstrong, former Oakland Police Chief turned City Council candidate.
"I think the city, the government have a duty to house people. I don't think they should be housed in a commercial corridor," said Derreck Johnson, owner of Home of Chicken and Waffles. He indicated that he decided to move his business in anticipation of the shelter's opening.
It’s not okay to stigmatize people because they're poor and to assume that they're going to have a negative impact on your neighborhood simply because th...
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