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.

This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 YearsAccess the gold market with leverage up 1:1000 and tight spreads. Fast signup. No hidden fees. Trading derivatives involves high risk to your capital.IC Markets|
Sponsored

“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.”

New Dave and Buster’s coming soon to Oakland

article

Oakland is poised to get a new Dave and Buster’s in the coming months.

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.”

Featured

Trial in brutal San Francisco shoving death of 'Grandpa Vicha' winds down

article

Attorneys are wrapping up closing arguments in the high-profile trial of a man accused of killing an elderly San Francisco man, affectionately known as Grandpa Vicha, five years ago in a brazen attack.

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.

Man gaining notice for picking up trash across East Bay

undefined Looks like we’re having trouble loading this video. You can check out other videos while we get it together.

Man gaining notice for picking up trash across East Bay

Wang is an electrical engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who drives to Oakland to clean up the streets.

Victim minor celebrity for picking up trash

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.