The start of the Lunar New Year is just four days away and San Francisco city leaders are now outlining their plans to make sure local celebrations for this Year of the Dragon are both fun and safe.
Celebrations in San Francisco are among the oldest in the world and it’s touted as the biggest outside of Mainland China. And this year, with the pandemic fully behind us, and a heavy push to bring visitors back to the city, Mayor London Breed says San francisco is pulling out all the stops to ring in the Year of the Dragon.
"With the significant influx of people, there are things that the city has done and will continue to do, to make sure that those experiences are amazing!” said Breed.
In the run up to the Lunar New Year, city crews are fanned out across Chinatown, getting it ready for the upcoming celebrations.
Graffiti is getting painted over, streets are getting a power washing, and police officers and street ambassadors are stepping up high visibility patrols.
Police Chief Bill Scott said his department's coordinated effort in the community is already making a noticeable difference when it comes to public safety.
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"Burglaries are down by 40%,” said Scott. “Overall, the property crime this time last year was 1,066. This time this year is 392, so about 600 crimes."
Across the city, the police department says they're seeing a drop in several types of crime. A key concern as hundreds of thousands are expected to gather to ring in the new year.
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Among the crimes on the decline are car burglaries.
In December, there were a reported 942 car burglaries -- that's less than half of the 2,040 that were reported the same month a year before.
In Chinatown now, community leaders say it's been great to see tourists begin to return.
The hope is that the Year of the Dragon will bring even more prosperity.
"The business is so vibrant that you can see that this is almost like before the pandemic,” said Calvin Tse, president of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association.
Several neighborhood events are planned in the run up to the big parade, which is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24.
