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tv   [untitled]    July 29, 2010 7:00am-7:30am PST

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it is unfair to limit the problems to clientele. it is pretty much truthful to say those people will do so. i value living in this city. it was always exciting until i got older, it got cold, the parking got bad. [laughter]
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the romance left. i moved to oakland. i want to invite you, if you want an experience, come on sunday. you can bring a security guard with all of his attributes,, and experience it. i would put my life at risk to get to jelly's. i have left jobs, funerals, family gatherings to get to this club. [laughter] i don't get off of it until they close. i have given myself an enormous physical checkup. i have emotional revival, which means i can bypass a church, and
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my attitude is that i can deal with all of the world's situations. i will extend an invitation to all of you. come as you are and step into it with your sunglasses on and feel the emotional charge and a safe environment, life affirming, life supporting experience. the people are charged and happy. i certainly invite you all to come. [applause] commissioner joseph: thank you. it is a hard act to follow. >> commissioners, i was sitting there listening to all of this, and all of a sudden i remembered that we at the international arts festival had a party at jelly's and how great it was. it reminded me of another bar in san francisco before they
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decided to turn it into some sort of a money-making venture that is now dead and solis. maybe that is who should be investigated, and not jelly's. [applause] the first permit that this commission ever issued was to the pound out at pier 96. that was just one day, having spent $250,000, saying, sorry, we promised you a lease but go away. it is destroying the soul of san francisco in this particular instance. people ought to be aware of that. it is a place that you can rent for cheap, it is a place that had a 16-year-old a venue -- 16-
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year-old of a new that people loved. -- venue that people loved. let's not have some other solis restaurant for yuppies -- soulless restaurant for yuppies. it is time to look at this and save what is left of san francisco. [applause] commissioner joseph: any other public comment? you had your shot. seeing none, public comment is closed. well, to say the least, i have made some notes. [laughter] #1 tonight, i am a new yorker, a transplant.
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i also think that the owners are doing something right and they should be very proud of all of their loyal customers. i remember going to all of oil when i first got here back in 1982, 1983. something like that. it was a place that gay girls got to go because it was a gay girl bar back then. they had been in that spot for a very long time. in has been there in excess of 25 years as an entertainment venue. i don't know how long it was opened before i arrived. i also am impressed a little bit by had reversed the clientele is and that you draw some many people from outside of san francisco. i did want to also say that i would like to support our staff and those people that commented on the suspension.
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it was appropriate as a cooling- off time considering the events that occurred. please don't be angry with our staff. they were doing their jobs. is there anyone from the port that was here that wanted to address us? ok. all right. commissioners? commissioner meko, commissioner alan? commissioner alan: it is clear that we cannot interfere with an ongoing police investigation. we have no jurisdiction with regard to the relationship between the landlord and the tenant. but the reason this condition exists, one of the very best reasons we exist is the amount
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of experience we bring to the table with regard to how we regulate existing permits. and that is what we are centered on this evening. we have an opportunity here for however long this venue continues to operate at that location to take a fresh look at this permits which was issued 16 years ago and at that time only had three conditions apply. we have learned a lot more about what can be done with a venue, what is legal, what is constitutional, and what works. that is what our staff has brought before us, recommendations that we have found that in 99% of all of the cases that come before us, they are logical, they work, and they
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should be applied. i don't want to take a lot of time to review this, but simply recommending they maintain control is simply logical. they should always have a manager on the site, no matter who is sponsoring that particular evening's festivities. they recommend one security guard for every 80 patrons. that is not overly strict. it requires all staff have a state issue guard card. they require pat-downs or metal detecting wands. they have abc lead training. i think leaving your operator indicated they have no problem with these. the police department sent along
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17 more recommendations that we should consider. one would be a requirement that they provide a phone number that is always going to be answered. that is part of our good neighbor policy. the policy will be imposed, i would assume, just automatically. that is another 12 or so conditions that we apply to every single venue that comes before us. a lot of the other recommendations from the police department simply duplicate recommendations that come from our staff. there is a discrepancy between the amount of security we recommend, one for every 80 patrons. we could split the difference. that is basically in it. i would like to hear from my fellow commissioners how they
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feel about these conditions, in particular, the ones that are recommended from the police department. i would support for however long their venue remains in operation at this location, that we immediately reconsider this permanent and apply the conditions that are before us. commissioner joseph: i did want to address one issue before i go to commissioner alan. they wouldn't have a california driver's license. we are taught in training that and i d is a government issue document that has a picture, as a physical description. there are five points, i believe, that an idea can have.
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it can be a passport. it does not have to be a driver's license. a can be a license from another state. don't worry about the idea scanner because if he need have id to get into a venue any way, it will take care of that. it is not just a california id. commissioner alan: i may call back at the attorney for jelly's. you asserted in your statements to the commission that the incident that was in front of this perspective suspension and basically the cause of this hearing for reconditioning the permit had nothing to do with an incident inside the venue.
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>> that is based on direct conversations and confirmation by the lead homicide inspector assigned to this case. it is not based on just my client review and videotape. it is based on the statement of the assigned homicide inspector. commissioner joseph had raised the point that the police investigations can be confidential and for that reason, the police can't declined to provide information. in this case, they have affirmatively and publicly given false statements to the press. it is incumbent upon them to correct them. it is entirely within your right to ask for the accurate information because they have stated openly that there were arguments that related to this incident, and that is not true. they have made those statements not just to the press, but they have made those statements to
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your staff. you have the right and irresponsibility to correct it, because your suspension cannot be meaningfully separated in the minds of the public from the misinformation that surrounded it. finally, there has been some suggestion at least by some of the comments that it is unquestionably going to be leaving the port. we're going to fight that and i encourage anyone who wants to help to contact you. commissioner alan: and if i may ask officer dalton to return to the microphone? i have been chastised for asking questions about an ongoing investigation, and i want to turn my attention to the second incident. you mentioned that there were too serious incidents.
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has there been any adjudication of the prior advent to your knowledge that could be brought in as testimony to give us some understanding that there has been closure on that incident in the eyes of the police department? >> the first incident that i often reference was on january 6, 2008. outside, there was a note here that the suspect was arrested. i have no further knowledge of that. the other shooting was non- fatal. that was on november 22, 20008. that event happened july 11. >> there has been no formal adjudication? >> not other than to know that i
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have seen. commissioner alan: thank you. commissioner joseph: order. >> i know that in a shooting that occurred on broadway in front of a venue known as fuse, it was found that the shooter was a serial armed robber and that the incident had nothing to do with the venue. i only mention it because in a scenario where we are put in a position to serve as the servants of public safety without having all of the information and without having the benefit of the time to pass to allow the adjudication of the actual incident to occur, we have to act on how we feel based
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on the knowledge and best practices that we have. and this is an imperfect process. this is an intent to say to everyone involved whether it be the landlord, the general public, our fellow commissioners or the fellow entertainment venues, that there can be an improvement in standards that can possibly result in an improvement of public safety. and until further evidence is brought before us, this is the best we can do. we are not in a perfect position to act perfectly tonight. my recommendations are going to be based on what my experience shows are going to do the best to ensure public safety going forward. that is the motion to accept the conditions that have been generated by staff, to accept
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the conditions of the good neighbor policy, to except the condition of notice to the bayview station of events, and that would be my motion. commissioner joseph: there is a motion on the floor. is there a second? >> seconded. commissioner newlin: how does this a motion affect the district station? >> as best i can determine, we don't have a side-by-side comparison, the only thing that i can determine that is not part of my motion would be a scanner of the ids. the reason for not including that is because of the imperfect
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nature of that technology and the fact that we are a destination city where a variety of identifications are used in the can't all be scanned by the same devices. i think a video recording of people coming and going is going to be much more valuable than an imperfect record through a scanner. i am looking at this as you are. that is the only condition that i have not included, and for that reason. >> i would like to recommend that we add that based on the fact that it may not be perfect, and as he stated, a lot of things aren't perfect, but i think it would possibly aid in the eliminating or solving of future problems. i think that they're willing to accept all these conditions, so
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i think the police department in good faith has put that in there. i see no reason not to include that. commissioner joseph: i am not sure that jelly's is going to be there more than 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. we don't know what the port is going to do. when they don't know what their fate is, it is punitive beyond what we should do. commissioner meko: i would like to offer a friendly amendment which would include all of the police department conditions with the exception of condition six which references the scanner, and asked staff to do a side-by-side comparison where they basically, you know, to
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whittle out those that would be duplicating each other such as the issue of security. i would recommend we go 1-80 instead of 1-75. but also to include all of their recommendations that are not already present with the exception of the scanner. >> i would like to recommend -- i can support that if we would consider the scanner again in conjunction with the ownership of the venue and bayview station at such time that the lease is continued. >> i was going to offer that as a suggestion that since the financial obligation is such that it would only make sense that they would be able to
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continue at that location. i think that commissioner meko's suggestion is redundant because it would basically be my motion. commissioner joseph: is there any further discussion? >> is the motion to include everything but the scanner with the concept that if the lease is renewed that the scanner issue will be revisited by the commission? >> i would accept that. commissioner joseph: is it accepted at the second? say yes. >> yes. [roll call vote] commissioner joseph: good luck, jelly's. [applause]
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the next item on our agenda, there has been a request for a recess. we are taking a five minute recess. >> thank you. commissioner joseph: reading of light and number seven, -- item number seven, is someone here? >> i am number seven on your permit memo. applicants will apply for an extended hours per met to open a
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comedy club and restaurant lounge at the corner, basically. she sought conditional use authorization from the planning department and received it in august of 2009. for all the uses described in the application. they expressed concerns regarding the extended hours permit application and she can tell you she agreed to what i think amounts to a six month continuance of that part of this application. so we will be required, if that comes to pass and the commission dirac's, it will be required to post mid january. to bring that application back
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to you. the business plan describes the local and national comedians, tableside breakfast service, there is an abc license, an occupant limit of 273. the security plan includes a hiring a universal protection service, the applicant has also submitted numerous letters in support for the business from residents and neighbors recommending approval with a set of conditions that you should find behind this memo. staff at the time, based on information, we are recommending conditional plans and a continuance to january 2011 of
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the extended hours permit per request of the applicant. >> hi, i'm holly. commissioner joseph: you are welcome to make a presentation, holly. >> i am looking to open a comedy club. it is at that address and has been there for six years. it is a historical landmark. i am sure that you are aware of the space and it is really lovely. we're hoping it will increase activity in the area. there is no happy our venue at all in the area. -- happy hour venue at all in the area. we are hoping to provide an upscale menu as well.
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i am now looking to postpone on the suggestion of officer gallagher, it would provide for a late-night breakfast venue on saturday night -- friday and saturday night from midnight until 4:00 in the morning. we would like to provide tableside service, bananas foster, with the possibility of live music. the concern from northern station was that any venue that might be open after 2:00 in the morning might provide a venue for an savory activity. i would like you to know that my intention is to provide a more
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sophisticated and elegant environment for a more mature clientele for late night dining other than, no offense to denny's, but something a little more upscale which really doesn't exist in this city. >> that is what they all tell us. [laughter] commissioner joseph: do you agree with officer gallagher? >> after hearing about some of the situations that have been happening in the city, i am concerned. his suggestion was that a venue such as mine, even though it may be upscale, might be rushed by a gang or group, and they might take over my venue. that concerned me. it scared me quite a bit, because that is not something --
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commissioner joseph: did you feel any kind of grass? >> absolutely. i appreciate it, but a major factor in my dream is the late night breakfast aspect, because in my background, i did do comedy. and when the comedians will finish playing at the various comedy clubs, they would join together at a diner and have breakfast together and recount their evening. i wanted to provide a place for those comedians where they would come to my venue, and i think that customers in the club might enjoy the comedians enjoying breakfast there as well. commissioner joseph: if we are willing to discuss this moving forward with your extended hours permit, would you still want to postpone it, or would you prefer
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to have it now? >> i would rather have it now. commissioner joseph: you said you have all kinds of comedy stars? like who? >> i just returned from the montreal comedy festival. i spent a week there, and i met some many comex. i would really like to cater to young up-and-coming comics. the a-listers, of course, who ever i can get. but i would like to provide a venue for young aspiring comedians. i am hoping that maybe it robin williams, dana carvey, to local comedians -- you have to spend money to make money. i have some fairly go