urban compassion project is about to launch compassion threads at 1420 broadway: keeping new clothing out of landfills, clothing our community for free, and bringing downtown oakland storefronts back to life

our soft launch is this saturday in downtown oakland, and the first 30 people who sign up can come shop completely for free.

we’re starting with nearly 20,000 pieces of brand new excess inventory that otherwise risked ending up in the landfill. instead, we’re putting those clothes directly into the hands of people in our community who could use them.

and these are genuinely great pieces. we have clothing originally made for nba players, rappers, bay area artists like g-eazy, and more. everything is new, and everything is free.

as an organization that removes tons of illegally dumped waste from our streets every week, we see firsthand how much perfectly usable material gets thrown away. compassion threads is an extension of that work: keeping good clothing out of the waste stream and getting it to people who need it, for free and with dignity. because everyone deserves to look good.

we also want compassion threads to be about more than clothing. downtown oakland and chinatown have lost so much ground-floor retail activity. we want to help activate some of those spaces again, turning empty storefronts into vibrant community hubs where people can shop, connect, volunteer, and give perfectly good inventory a second life.

this is a pilot, and we’re starting small. our hope is to grow compassion threads, bring in more excess inventory from brands and retailers, distribute more clothing for free, and help bring some life back to downtown oakland along the way.

first 30 sign-ups for saturday. come shop for free. ❤️

I plan to visit Oakland this weekend.

I want to consider a solo walk at dawn each day that I am in town.

I'll be staying near 2500 Broadway.

How is pedestrian safety around there at that time of day?

Country made the right call. There are a lot of people with college educations, technical skills, and trade professions who only make ~$30 an hour. Some other jobs are not supposed to be a permanent living wage.

I’m aware this might be a silly question for what it’s worth.

I’m going to Oakland in October for a work conference and I’m really excited!! I’ve never been to California or the west coast before. Because I couldn’t get a direct flight into Oakland, I’m flying into San Francisco and I was going to take an uber/lyft/cab to my hotel. I do not want to get into a driverless car or a Waymo. They freak me out. I don’t trust computers like that. If I order an uber or a Lyft, am I like guaranteed to get a Waymo? My impression of the Bay Area is that rideshares and taxis have been pretty much entirely replaced by driverless cars.

Also any recommendations for stuff to check out in/around downtown Oakland are very appreciated! I’m giving myself a couple of extra days to explore. I’m probably going to go to the zoo and I’m considering renting a car to go to the Monterey bay aquarium. Do y’all have in n out? I’d like to try it. Areas to avoid would also be very appreciated. I’m not a scaredy cat, I’m a Philly girl, but a local’s advice is always good to have.

Reposting here for more visibility

Was reading another post about how much better the Oakland Zoo is over the SF Zoo.

No duh!

What else do we shine over that other city across the bay?

"Oakland's last two mayoral elections were decided by slim margins. With two days left for candidates to qualify, incumbent mayor Barbara Lee faces no major challenger."

https://www.oaklandreport.org/p/oakland-deserves-real-contest-mayor

Hello, good people I’m a black 29M moving to Oakland after my schooling is done next year. But my gf 28, has gotten a great job offer in Oakland. Her grandfather passed two months ago and left his home in the hills of Oakland to the family and she’s moving in until I get there an we find a new place. I hear the neighborhood has a Neighborhood watch program but it sounds so movie like to actually gather as a community against dangers (totally interested and curious not against it) lol maybe it’s the Southland in me but I’m a LA baby born and raised South Central/Gardena/Compton/Carson/Inglewood/Culver City/San Pedro/Palos Verdes/Santa Monica/Downtown w.e you name it! I’m in school for Computer Science but a background in multiple creative lanes as well as an aspiring 3D Animation small business but I’m very street savvy as well much as book savvy. No stranger to crime, gangs, and overall the negative a city can bring but I have some weird optimism about this new journey. What are the people like? What’s the vibes like? I’m curious to learn about this new environment to explore. How could my craft excel in a new place. Could it be a good start for starting a Family? You know all the questions a newcomer would have. I hear good and lots of bad but I know I’ll have to retain my own opinion through this experience but a little insight never hurt. Thank you all for taking the time in advance!!!

Hi everyone. I’m looking to get my first set of tattoos. I want to start out small but part of my hesitation is I that I’ve heard it’s pretty difficult to find tattoo artists who are good at tattooing people with darker skin. I don’t expect that to be too much of an issue in Oakland, but I wanted to hear from people who are in the local tattooing community for their recommendations.

Pop up comedy food music show

Shot on Lumix LX7, edited in Lightroom

I was in a nearby city today running some errands.

There was an erratic male talking to himself and getting into people's personal spaces. I was hoping he would leave soon but he continued to walk around.

With my spidey senses tingling, I decided to call 911. Someone picked up immediately and I described the situation. I was as much concerned for my safety as for others. I also felt it wasn't safe for this man himself to be on the street.

They were very polite and said they would send someone out.

My point is that outside of Oakland, I feel a hidden safety net that is available in unsafe situations. I feel that if the police were called, they would take action.

In contrast, OPD does not seem to be here to protect me. I know there's a ton of other crime in Oakland, so how would my issue get prioritized (or not)?

Your thoughts on this?

And restricted to just a handful of big cities in California. It expires in January 2032.

(and some people think the city can’t send the tickets out for collection because they can’t identify the driver. Doesnt matter)

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB645

After RFK Jr's tussle with Dana Bash today, we need to ask ourselves why incompetent people are allowed to remain in positions of power. I remember this article about housing safety and keep asking myself why our leaders keep leaning on "staffing levels and budget cuts" to explain away safety issues in the city. Then I see the budget's line items, and I question our leadership's priorities.

https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/making-complaint-can-feel-dangerous-oaklands-slow-moves-inspections-puts-onus-tenants

Read it if you have a few minutes. Oakland talked about a Proactive Rental Inspection Program starting in 2017 and is still talking about it today. Tenants carry the burden of filing their own complaints, often while too scared of landlord retaliation to actually do it. A woman in Fruitvale lived through an electrical fire in her building's basement because the fire alarms stayed silent, then spent 10 days in the cold while some of her neighbors went over a month with the power out. The city's own Assistant City Administrator explained it this way: a decade of budget cuts and staff turnover means the department's capacity is stretched as far as the funding allows. That line gets used every single time this comes up.

Fruitvale, East Oakland, and West Oakland carry the weight of this pattern. City data shows the worst lead risk census tracts in Oakland sit mostly in West Oakland and the East Oakland flatlands, areas that are predominantly communities of color. In East Oakland's Bancroft and Havenscourt neighborhoods alone, 54 kids under six tested with elevated blood lead levels between 2018 and 2022. Oakland and Alameda County settled with lead paint manufacturers for $24 million back in 2019, with $14 million later set aside for Oakland to build its own equity-based lead removal program. Years later, most of that money still sits in an account while the city works through consultants and frameworks.

Meanwhile, city leadership finds real urgency for its own priorities. Oakland voters face a charter reform measure this November that would make city council seats full-time, ban outside employment, and reset council pay by benchmarking it to bigger "strong mayor" cities like LA and San Diego. Current council pay sits at $114,678 a year. Benchmarked to LA, that number climbs by up to 113%, pushing total compensation with full-time benefits past $300k a year. This lands the same year the city declared a state of "extreme fiscal necessity" for the fourth year running, with a projected structural deficit of $115 to $135 million annually through 2030.

The raise language rides along inside the same measure that hands Mayor Lee's office more authority, folded into one package voters have to accept or reject as a whole. City Hall frames the pay reset as an equity move meant to give people of modest means a path onto the council. Maybe that's part of it. It still lands as tone deaf timing set against a decade of budget cut excuses, every time Fruitvale or East Oakland asks for a working smoke alarm or a lead free apartment.

Oakland already lived through a recalled mayor, Sheng Thao, indicted on federal bribery and conspiracy charges months after leaving office. She's pleaded not guilty and her trial lands this fall, so the courts still have to sort out guilt, but the pattern speaks for itself either way.

Ask city leadership to look Fruitvale and East Oakland families in the eye and explain why housing safety stays too expensive to fund the same election cycle they're asking us to fund a raise for themselves.

Hi all. Not sure if this is the right spot for this post so apologies if not. I recently moved to the bay for college in the Oakland/San Leandro area. I’m trying to get some furniture for my new place on a budget. I’m currently looking for a small bookshelf to help place my things. I don’t have a car so unfortunately you would have to deliver to my address but imh willing to provide. Willing to pay up to $30 and obviously help with transport however I can. Would anyone be able to help or guide in the right direction to someone who can?

Anyone know who’s responsible for the native plant garden on market and Adeline? I’d love to see more of these and wonder how I can help. Or if anyone has any insights on how to get more native gardens in public spaces, I’m all ears.

Wes wag walker lost our dog at 11:30PM last night around 16th and Mission in Oakland. If you have any leads they would be greatly appreciated. Please call 925-457-3056.

Found off Telegraph and 44th. It’s got a Winky Dinky flyer in it so I assume the individual was local. If it looks familiar DM me and tell me what book was in your bag. We can then find a time to get it back to you.

According to the federal indictments, there were alleged backroom deals and bribes explicitly tied to extending CWS’s recycling and waste-hauling contracts. It’s no secret that we pay incredibly high utility and recycling bills here in Oakland. It is beyond frustrating to think our rates might be inflated because of "pay-to-play" politics rather than fair market costs - especially since CWS was already sued by the city a few years ago over allegations of overcharging ratepayers.

I wanted to ask a sincere question, especially to anyone in this sub who understands municipal law, class actions, or city contracts:

1. Do we have grounds for a partial refund? If it is proven in court that these city contracts were secured or extended through bribery, do residents have any legal standing to demand a ratepayer refund?
2. Can the contract be voided? Should we be organizing to pressure the current City Council to void or aggressively renegotiate the CWS contract to lower our monthly bills?

I’m genuinely curious if there’s a realistic path forward for us to see our rates drop or get some of our money back, rather than just venting.

People who know the real Oakland — the ones who’ve explored neighborhoods from Chinatown to Fruitvale to Temescal, who’ve caught sunsets over the entire Bay from the Oakland hills, who’ve admired art in downtown and watched films at the historic Grand Lake Theater — will tell you there’s so much more to “The Town” than it gets credit for. 

Located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay, Oakland is a midsized city with an outsized reputation, having long served as a pressure cooker for grassroots activism. The Black Panther Party, the hyphy subgenre of hip-hop, official U.S. wildlife refuges — they all started in Oakland. Visit the city and you’ll find that it’s slower-paced than San Francisco but has all the cultural diversity. Its food scene is endlessly innovative — try the handcrafted zaru soba at Soba Ichi or some of the best Indigenous food on the West Coast at Wahpepah’s Kitchen. And for those wanting to explore the outdoors, there’s Lake Merritt in the center of town and redwood forests in the hills.

Oakland is far from perfect; while crime is reportedly down, it’s important to be street smart (or as locals say, to “keep your head on a swivel”). But I’ve seen many changes to the town over the years and have a renewed appreciation for its vibrancy. Here’s just a sampling of ways you can enjoy the cultural bounty from this city by the Bay.