A man who has gained recognition for picking up trash on his own time was robbed over the weekend while cleaning a West Oakland street corner.
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“It’s been a bit rough the past two days,” Andy Wang, 30, said Tuesday. “I’ve just been kind of contemplating, kind of going over what happened.”
Wang added that the incident “really caught me off guard, and it did kind of damage how I feel about Oakland in a way.”
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Confronted after cleanup
What we know:
The robbery occurred around 5:30 p.m. Sunday at 16th Street and Mandela Parkway. Wang said a man on a BMX bike grabbed his camera and the tripod he uses to document his work.
“Immediately grabbed my GoPro,” Wang said. “I think he was trying to head towards me, but I had my phone held tightly in my hands, and I think he was trying to get my phone.”
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Wang, an electrical engineer who lives in Livermore, often records time-lapse videos of his cleanup efforts to show progress. He said there was another reason for the equipment.
“One is to protect myself, which is kind of ironic,” he said. “What I mean by that is in case I get accused of illegal dumping.”
On Saturday, Wang recorded a video of himself removing piles of trash, including dirty syringes and green waste.
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Wang is an electrical engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who drives to Oakland to clean up the streets.
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The backstory:
Wang was profiled by KTVU back in 2023. His volunteerism has earned him respect for dedicating his days off and weekends to cleaning East Bay streets.
“He’s putting in his own time, his own money, his own effort picking up trash, and that’s the reward he gets? It’s terrible,” said Chase Hoblitzell, who works nearby.
Mirais Holden, who walked past the corner on Tuesday, agreed.
“It’s really cool someone would try to do something about that, but really sad they got victimized as part of that,” she said.
Wang blames himself for what happened.
“I feel very bad because to me, I felt like this was entirely my fault,” he said. “I should have known better.”
For now, the volunteer said he is pausing his cleanup efforts.
“I think I need to take care of myself first,” he said.
