Oakland Merchants Join Hands to Aid SOBO, 17th St. Businesses

The South of Broadway, Oakland District, SOBO, the 300 block of 17th Street, is a tree-lined, fun shopping district that represents all the diversity of Oakland in the many small, locally-owned businesses that thrive there. After the violence in downtown Oakland which spread to their neighborhood, some of the stores had to be temporarily boarded up and business has been affected.
The Lakeshore Business Improvement District, the Oakland Merchant Leadership Forum and the SOBO Merchants’ Association with assistance from Oakland Events and the City of Oakland are sponsoring the Celebrate 17th on 17th this Saturday. The street will be closed to traffic from 2 to 5 PM for your strolling enjoyment along with that of merchants, musicians, and community groups, and businesses will stay open into the evening. There will also be an Open Forum Wall where all can express their grief over the death of young Oscar Grant and promote their hopes for change.