Sponsored link
Friday, January 2, 2026

Sponsored link

Cans not condos – the war on very poor people

By tiny aka Lisa Gray-Garcia

My hands caressed the edges of the Coors can – it was softer than the 211 can, almost like velvet.  And unlike the Coke, Pepsi, or Sprite cans, they were always empty when I found them. Tonight as I sorted my cans and bottles, one of the many ways this po’ displaced mama has survived through harder times, I prayed for all my brothers and sister poverty workers/ recyclers on the racist, classist streets.

“Cans not Condos, Cans NOT Condos!!! Cans Not Condo

-Bill Gandy, Community Housing Partnership organizer

The most recent attack on the already broken and trying to mend backs of us po’ folks in what I am now affectionately calling GentriFUKation City is Safeway’s move to close all of its recycling centers that have been housed in their giant parking lots for years, providing a dire service to elder and disability worker-recyclers and mama, youth, and daddy recyclers just trying to bring in a few extra dollars to survive. (more after the jump)

 

Marke B.
Marke B.
Marke Bieschke is the publisher and arts and culture editor of 48 Hills. He co-owns the Stud bar in SoMa. Reach him at marke (at) 48hills.org, follow @supermarke on Twitter.

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Sponsored link

Sponsored link
Sponsored link

Latest

Drama Masks: Year on Stage 2025, part 2—the good stuff

When times got tough, our best artists got fierce: Golden Thread, OTP, Mime Troupe, Marga Gomez were standouts.

Six big stories you might not have seen in local news media in 2025

Everyone's talking about the biggest stories of 2025. Here are some that the local media ignored

In 2026, let’s not follow failed housing policies in progressive San Francisco

Housing First works. So why is SF siding with Trump to try do undo it?

Good Taste: 8 delicious reasons to welcome 2026

Ferry Building additions, Presidio newcomers, and a “no holds barred” supper club: Next year is looking tasty already.

You might also likeRELATED