The Tenderloin is a downtown San Francisco neighborhood that is pretty sketchy and seedy. In fact, that’s part of its charm. Still, the (comparably) cheap rents make it attractive to a broad demographic, psychographic, and just plain psychos. A few months ago, Adam Jackson, 22, moved there and was surprised by the crack deals, violence, and general rabble-rousing outside his window. So he and his girlfriend set up a couple Web cams and a site, AdamsBlock.com. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Jackson’s camera has caught a man throwing himself into the side of a bus, apparently hoping to work an injury scam. It didn’t work. The bus didn’t stop. Viewers have also watched fights, car chases and break-ins…
Jackson is now hoping to parlay that interest to a fundraising effort for (nearby church) Glide Memorial. Starting at noon on Dec. 13, he will host a 24-hour live Web fundraiser. He’s hoping to pull in $5,000 to help fund Glide’s programs…What about those who say they are they an invasion of privacy? They will not get a sympathetic hearing from (police captain Gary) Jimenez.
“What’s the big deal?” he said. “We may have a thousand cameras in the Tenderloin. You cannot walk down the street without being filmed. If a few more people want to jump on this, I say God bless ’em.”
Adam’s Block (adamsblock.com),
“Front-window spy cam puts Tenderloin on the Web” (SFGate.com) (Thanks, Jason Tester!)
UPDATE: Eric Hunt points out that Jackson received a death threat last week. “Tenderloin Webcam Founder Receives His First Death Threat” (SFist)