Spiraling in San Francisco’s Doom Loop

A daily mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always evolving neighborhoods and skylines. [Curbed]( WEDNESDAY, MAY 10 URBANISM [Spiraling in San Francisco’s Doom Loop]( What it’s like to live in a city that no longer believes its problems can be fixed. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images In the spring of 2019, Marc Benioff surveyed his kingdom and it looked good. He stood on the top floor of the Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco, named after his company, then the largest employer in San Francisco. You could see every part of the city and out across the bay. The UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and the Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland (to which Benioff had donated $250 million). The site of a 200-bed Navigation Center for the homeless (which Benioff had defended in the face of other rich — but less rich — San Franciscans who tried to fight it off). The city looked sun-kissed and thriving from this view: the elegant Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks, the surreal green of the Marin Headlands. “It’s cool up here, right?” said Benioff. “And the vibe. Are you getting the vibe, too? There’s, like, a vibe.” There was indeed a vibe. That Friday afternoon, like every Friday afternoon in those days, Salesforce employees and their families promenaded on the top, or ohana, floor of the building — ohana means “extended family” in Hawaiian; appropriating Hawaiian culture was still considered corporate okay — drinking the free espresso drinks, marveling at the tremendous view. [Continue reading »]( [Exclusive Anniversary Offer:]( Get a limited-edition tote plus save up to 60% on unlimited access to Curbed and everything New York. [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The Latest [Have You Seen the Courthouse Where George Santos Surrendered? Richard Meier’s behemoth is the Death Star of the Southern State Parkway.]( [A ‘Greater New York’ for Designers At the new Bushwick gallery International Objects.]( [‘I Would Like Everyone to Pretend That Was Their Son’ AOC on Jordan Neely’s killing and who gets to feel safe in New York.]( [Hannah Levy’s Two Studios in One The sculptor took over a floor of this South Bronx building with ten friends, each carving out their own space.]( By Wendy Goodman [MrBeast Is Building a Hype Neighborhood The viral stunt philanthropist is buying up a cul-de-sac in his hometown for friends and family.]( By Clio Chang [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Read More From Curbed]( Introducing The City Desk, a weekly newsletter about New York. [Sign up to get it every Thursday](. [GET THE NEWSLETTER]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](link.nymag.com/manage/588/optout-curbed?email={EMAIL}&hash=6c53b63a8e3fad70ad4ef13004527437¶m=curbed) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved