Yoshi’s Can’t Disguise Redevelopment’s Failure in the FillmoreRandy Shawbyline‚ Nov. 27‚ 2007The opening of Yoshi’s Jazz Club on San Francisco’s Fillmore Street this week is being widely heralded as signaling the transformation of a long-beleaguered community. Yoshi’s is the anchor venue for the heavily-hyped “Fillmore Jazz Preservation District,” the linchpin of the Redevelopment Agency’s last-ditch effort to justify their demolition of a once-thriving African-American neighborhood. But a visit to Fillmore Street will leave most observers deflated rather than exhilarated. Yoshi’s is surrounded by Agency-backed fast food businesses like Panda Express and Subway, and this section of Fillmore lacks the economic vitality and street energy that preceded the Redevelopment wrecking balls. While the Agency’s attempt to recreate a jazz district four decades after it killed the original one may be well-meaning, it's a reminder of the lack of vision that has dominated Redevelopment’s efforts in the Fillmore since the ill-fated urban renewal process began nearly forty years ago. |