As part of the nationwide "We Won't Get Fooled Again" Day of Action, OccupySF has taken over a vacant building at 888 Turk (at Gough). The group says the building is owned by the Archdiocese of San Francisco and has been vacant for five years. According to KGO, OccupySF plans to turn the building into a social center and food bank.

The group rallied at Union Square this afternoon to "demonstrate poor peoples' right to exist in public space." One of the organizers Paul Boden told the Chronicle that businesses "are targeting poor people as being bad for business. If you ain't shopping, they don't want you around here."

Video credit: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

OccupySF was then joined by Occupy Oakland, who were driving an old AC Transit bus, in a march down Geary to Turk and Gough, where they took over the 888 Turk building. SFist heard some future primitive beats outside our window and captured the above video clip of the march along Geary.

As of this posting and seen below, Justin Beck is live on the scene via UStream, and PunkBoyInSF is intermittently as well. Both Beck and PunkBoy have informed watchers that organizers are only letting live video recordings to take place on the first floor, but all of the action is on the second.



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Update: Photographer Steve Rhodes is also on the scene. Rhodes notes that the Archdiocese of SF has the building listed at almost 10,000 square feet for $11,000 a month. There have been numerous complaints about the owners' failure to comply with the Vacant or Abandoned Building Ordinance 194-09, along with homeless occupation and illegal activities onsite. SFPD has been monitoring the property during the occupation, and although they've been in contact with the owners, there hasn't been a complaint by them or the neighbors so far.