Ghost Town (sometimes spelled Ghosttown) is the informal name of the Foster Hoover Historic District neighborhood in West Oakland, Oakland, California.[1][2] The community is known for its violence and blight.[1][3][4] The name probably originated from the two casket companies operating side by side on Filbert Street between 30th and 32nd Streets. One of these companies, "American Burial Casket Co" (sign intact) is located at 3102 Filbert Street. The second company was located at 3104 Filbert Street (no signage). Other explanations for the name may have originated in the times when eminent domain forced hundreds of families out of their homes and the town looked like a ghost town.[2] Another anecdote refers to the town as having so many killings it was becoming a ghost town.[2] It stretches from 31st Street to 35th Street in the area immediately southwest of the Macarthur Maze.[1][2] This neighborhood has an active citizen crime patrols, including one group of seniors who walk the neighborhood weekly to get physical exercise and report blight.[5] Jerry Brown, governor of California and Mayor of Oakland stated: "Instead of an omnibus crime bill, you have to deal with shootings in Ghostown in West Oakland and sideshows in East Oakland."[6] Brown made attempts to turn around the blighted West Oakland neighborhood after 60 Minutes featured it in a television profile.[4]
The term "Ghost riding" has been attributed to this Oakland neighborhood. According to the Contra Costa Times and The Washington Post, local rapper Mistah F.A.B. popularized the term with his song "Ghost Ride It"[7] and speculated that its origins are in Ghosttown.[8]
Both Foster/Hoover Historic District(Ghosttown) and Sobrante Park, were targeted for youth intervention programs by the city of Oakland in their "Measure Y" campaigns.[9] The specific program is termed by the city the "City-County Neighborhood Initiative". Its strategy, according to the Human Services Department, is "based on best practices, has community builders going door-to-door to support and encourage neighbors to address their issues (e.g., typically truant youth, blight, and loitering) and help them ultimately to organize (e.g., Friends of Durant Park, West Oakland Mini-Grant Committee, Resident Action Council, Block captains, neighborhood watches, Home Alert, Renters or Home Owners’ Associations) and take ownership of their communities. This strategy is based on the theory that violence must be addressed in the context of the community in which it occurs."[9]
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