If you want an inside look of what that area is actually like (I left Seattle in 2021 after being disgusted by the state of the city), this article has some great interviews. People on that block steal and then sell anything from diapers to beer to drugs to socks; all for a couple dollars.<p><a href="https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2022/03/04/67776468/the-people-of-3rd-and-pine" rel="nofollow">https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2022/03/04/67776468/the-peo...</a><p>I think it's great reading for anyone who believes homelessness is an issue that can be solved by throwing free housing at people.<p>Here's an excerpt -<p>>Andre said he has struggled with homelessness on and off since he was 14. That’s when he started selling at 3rd and Pine. He’s been there almost everyday since. He’s 30 now.<p>“You get caught up,” Andre said when I asked him why he’s spent half his life on this corner. “You make your first sale, you get a little money. Then you’re 30 and you’re still at 3rd and Pine.”<p>>Andre lives in an apartment thanks to a city-run housing program, but he doesn’t have a job other than selling flipped merchandise. Over the last two years, the government has forked over financial relief to taxpayers with formal jobs, but people like Andre, who work informal jobs, have not seen such benefits.<p>By "informal jobs", they actually mean selling stolen merchandise.<p>>I asked Andre what the city could do to get people to stop selling at 3rd and Pine. He said the city could give them something else to do: “Maybe build a basketball court? Somewhere to shoot hoops?”<p>The logic being presented here is that because the government has only given them free housing and not a free place to play basketball, it's reasonable to expect that they'll fill their days selling stolen goods. By building somewhere to shoot hoops, the problem could be solved.<p>This is a city where nearly any deli or corner-store has a We're Hiring sign and will gladly pay people under the table. Homelessness is a social phenomenon, not an economic wart caused by expensive housing.
Seattle homelessness has 2 standout aspects that I have not seen with homelessness in other cities.<p>The first is the high degree of mental illness & civilian harassment per capita. In my experience, Seattle's homeless come across as particularly scary in their audaciousness and willfulness to commit minor crimes. Part of it may have to do with the car centric design of Seattle, which does not give you the NYC-esque safety in numbers. Whether it be 2 am in an empty-ish subway or a park with a lot of homeless people taking shelter, I have never been harassed in NYC. On the contrary, I seem to get confronted by a homeless person rather often when I walk through Seattle's most affected areas. FWIW, my intuition is that drug abuse is much more rampant among Seattle's homeless communities.<p>The most confusing thing about Seattle's homelessness, is that it coincides with the high foot-traffic touristy areas. In most other cities (Boston, NYC, DC); popular walkways, green spaces and core touristy areas tend to be policed and kept clear of homelessness. The problem persists, but doesn't directly interfere with your average civilian's life as much. In contrast, Seattle's most scenic and pedestrian-dense parts are more affected by this problem. Walking from one end of downtown (Pioneer Square) to the adjacent party neighborhood (Capitol Hill) is practically a walking tour of the city's homelessness crisis. I know a few people who do not leave their houses in downtown/pioneer square without a car.<p>I want to blame the last decade's incompetent city leadership. But then again, it is the people of Seattle who are voting for them.
Headline is a bit misleading, as this isn't all of Seattle and just one specific location. That location has been one of the worst spots in Seattle for as far back as I can remember, so it was always a bit odd they had an office there.<p>Still I'm sure Amazon will take any excuse it can get to reduce headcount in Seattle given the city council's feelings towards them. They've been shifting to Bellevue for a few years now, and most hiring in Seattle proper has slowed or stopped due to headcount caps.
Homelessness is the biggest driver of remote, and a big reason why I haven't taken my family to San Fran or Seattle. Flying down there once a quarter is fine for me, an adult male. But there's no way I'm subjecting my children to that level of lack of safety.
That's kind of taking Amazon's word for it as to reason. Amazon has been gearing up to reduce it's Seattle presence since the Tax Amazon campaign in Seattle.<p>The situation on 3rd Ave is bad, but Amazon also wants to show the city council that raising taxes on them would result in them loosing an employer, not getting any revenue.
Link to the WSJ article referenced in the article: <a href="https://archive.ph/hUmyv" rel="nofollow">https://archive.ph/hUmyv</a><p>Summary:<p>>> The testimony revealed business desperation, but don’t expect help from Seattle’s politicians. In response to a business owner’s question about how to address gun violence, City Council President Debora Juarez
said, “I don’t have an answer for you” about “what’s going to happen to stop people from getting a gun and coming into your store.”<p>>> She admitted that black Seattle residents want some assurance of safety. But she added that “to be frank with you, I don’t also believe that hiring way more police or addressing every issue with a gun and a badge works either. Because we know who gets affected the worst. It’s people of color. They get killed.”<p>>> In other words, as criminals terrorize Seattle, its leaders still think police are the problem. The lawlessness will persist until Seattle voters stage a revolt.
LOL, the area home to what I called "The Bulletproof McDonald's" on my last visit. All food is served through a slot. The storefront resembles a bomb shelter. No one is allowed inside.
CyberPunk 2077 hits different if you live in Seattle. I'm not saying Seattle is as bad as a dystopian video game, but more of a point on the same line.
Multiple articles have been written about this. It's not just Amazon that it's impacting.<p>Seattle city council made deep cuts (but stopped short of totally "defunding the police") to the police there and ... shockingly ... crime has gone way up since then. The vote was 8-1 <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2021-11-23/city-council-cuts-seattle-police-budget-drawing-criticism" rel="nofollow">https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/...</a>
If anyone is curious how sketchy this location in Seattle is, this is the Yelp reviews for the McDonalds nearby. It has had a marked history for the past decade or so.<p><a href="https://www.yelp.com/biz/mcdonalds-seattle-27?hrid=wXm1o4rv1JkFNZyp-8zf7A" rel="nofollow">https://www.yelp.com/biz/mcdonalds-seattle-27?hrid=wXm1o4rv1...</a><p>There was also a twitter page for a while:<p><a href="https://twitter.com/3rdandpike" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/3rdandpike</a>
Recent and related:<p><i>Amazon shuts small Seattle office after spate of crimes in area</i> - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30635654" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30635654</a> - March 2022 (115 comments)
I am especially interested to hear from HN readers who live (or until very recently lived) in Seattle, as to whether or not the impression this gives of the city matches with your experience?
Ban begging and sleeping on a streets, make huge homeless shelters on outskirts of a city and provide basic healthcare to those people in need.<p>Is it that complicated and costly compared to this shame? USA people are so strange.
Since threads about topics like this often have a very similar vibe regardless of forum, I would like to make one ask:<p>Please, remember that actual people live here and not just bits displayed on a screen. Also remember that these are incredibly complex problems and that any solution you type into this text box is not going to be easy to implement, easy to track, or easy to push to resolution. Life is not a set of Jira tickets.<p>I have lived inside the city limits of Seattle virtually my entire life. Except for a brief stint in Texas for work, Seattle has been home. Seattle, like all cities, has its warts and problems. The absolutely staggering level of income and wealth inequality we have experienced in the last decade has taken all of those problems and multiplied them tenfold.<p>Seattle is a beautiful city with a lot to offer...which is why tens of thousands of people move here every year.<p>Should there be crime on 3rd Ave? No. Should there be crime anywhere? No. But, finally, please remember that agendas exist and are being pushed and, bluntly, Amazon has a lot of arrows in its quiver if it wants to make a proper good influence on our shared hometown. Odd that it so rarely uses those arrows, except for press releases.
San Francisco and Seattle are turning into sister-cities. What baffles me is why drug DEALERS are allowed to do so with impunity.<p><a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/safe-sights-drug-dealers-tenderloin-sf-use-soma-13286197.php" rel="nofollow">https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/sa...</a>
Seattle and San Francisco got so rich while forgetting that a greater society outside their bubble exists.<p>The class difference in these areas is staggering. The taxation method is regressive (at least in Seattle and Washington). And there's very little public service outside of neo-liberal solutions provided to the greater city.
Living in HCOL metropolises is like thinking ICE cars make sense because they make a 'vroom vroom' sound.
I visited a big city for the first time in two years this past weekend and couldn't stay for more than 30 minutes. People on top of people, litter, crazy traffic you name it.
I moved to a cozy coastal area where people know each other by their first names. People take the time to get to know you, make a joke, or help you out. After living all my life in big cities now the whole concept of it seems so foreign.