If you take a casual afternoon stroll through San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood, you might notice the sound of birds chirping or the ambient hum of wind gently rustling through the trees. Miles away from and far above the bustle of downtown, it feels serene, otherworldly, even. But as you get close to the high-end block of Broadway between Broderick and Baker, part of what’s known as Billionaires’ Row — the atmosphere changes. The grating din of power tools interrupts the peace. Black Range Rovers and pickups clog the roads. Workers diligently paint fences and trim rose bushes under the watchful gaze of overt surveillance cameras.
As a result, parking in this enclave is a nightmare for the employees of these wealthy households and the frustrated neighbors who live nearby, according to several people who were granted anonymity in accordance with Hearst’s ethics policy . Each of them shared with SFGATE a range of experiences where they say they were followed by men in dark suits and sunglasses, personally admonished by powerful public figures or came back to their cars to see that they had been mysteriously damaged.
This moneyed block is home to San Francisco’s elite. Residents include Mimi Haas — the billionaire Levi Strauss heir and mother of Mayor Daniel Lurie. Living nearby is Jonathan Ive, a former Apple executive who helped Steve Jobs design the iPhone. Other high-profile neighbors include Sergey Petrov, the consul general of Russia, Laurene Powell Jobs, Larry Ellison and reality television star star John Willenborg from “The Apprentice.”
The street, which already has a parking shortage due to constant construction in the area, is often lined with sleek white cones to keep the general public away from the lavish mansions on Broadway — and quietly rebelling against this affluent area’s unspoken rules seems to have consequences …