About The Bay: BART Strike Blues For San Francisco's Glen Park Businesses
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)—As the BART strike continues, the collateral damage can be seen everywhere. I decided to take a walk around one of areas among those likely hardest hit by this strike—Glen Park. The San Francisco neighborhood is like a small village in the urban landscape, full of mom-and-pop stores. Glen Park depends on the roughly 15 thousand riders who use its BART station.
I stopped by Viking's Giant Submarines where the sizzle is gone. I felt bad and ordered a sandwich from owner Stephen Chang, who said his business has but been cut in half.
"After work, I don't know what they do?" he said.
About The Bay: BART Strike Blues For San Francisco's Glen Park Businesses
Later, I strolled over to Jung Lee's Glen Park Market where, again, I was the only customer in the store at an hour when the shop is normally busy.
"I'm so worried how long they are going to keep this BART Strike. Hopefully they will settle it down soon," Lee said.
Lee said her business was also down 50 percent.
The Glen Park Station—the bar not BART—was open, but not crowded. Bartender Dick Underhill, drowning his sorrows in a cup of coffee, said that, during the last strike, business was down by a third.
"It's a big part of our business," Underhill said. "Shame on them. It's tough to put all these people on the spot that are just working people,"
But Underhill added that he doesn't care which side gives in; he just wants it over.
There are some, however, who are experiencing an uptick in business, like cab driver Eddy Scobal. Scobal is making constant runs to the airport—though he doesn't like to gloat.
"It's very difficult. I don't want to express too much happiness. Many people are not happy and I can understand that. It's a pretty bad situation," he said. "But it's out of my hands."
For business owners in Glen Park and the rest of the Bay Area: there are far more losers then winners from the BART shutdown.
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