work out there. i'm actually with the police department, and we're actually going to be neighbors. we just opened the brand-new facility at evans and toland. it's not open to the public, but it's our new crime lab but just a couple of quick questions. this first one is actually for staff, and i'm just curious. did we get a floor plan with conditions and locations of security? >> no, we did not, but i think it would be good for miss

rogers pharr to describe security. the location is not indicated because i believe it would be different from event to event. >> maybe if you just pick one of your spaces and just kind of briefly walk us through how you envision the security handling of space. >> so let's say we were having an event. for me, it's more about the reservations that come in from the public. our community would instandly host our well secured rehab, regularly secured for the property and day-to-day, but let's say someone was doing a family celebration, and they were also going to [indiscernible] into the

amphitheater for whatever their event would desire. you have to have separate event security focused on your event, and they would be focused at the main entrance, and then, depending on the size of the event, they would have to have additional staff, and that would include roving the parking lot for security, as well. >> okay. and then, do you -- do you envision kind of having someone from your team interacting with that security group all night long, kind of making sure they're secure? >> we will have entry level

staff that would support the efforts in that role, and they would work to coordinate with security, caterers, all aspects of the event, but definitely so. thank you. >> thank you. well, best of luck. thank you. >> thank you. >> all right. i do got one, one more follow up. how do you go about, on your private events, how do you do your screening or how do you allow people to use your venue? >> so as i mentioned, we're developing an on-line reservation system. previously, we were paper based, which was a little bit maddening. we have some parameters at the southeast community center that helps to set rules, policies, and regulations, so we're actually in the process of updating those rules and

regulations for use and priority of use. and essentially, i'll give you an example of where there are limitations. for example, quinceaneras and birthday parties, they have the biggest possibility to get out of hand, so additional security requirement would be to support the event, we have sometimes asked them to get off duty -- to get police efforts to support the event, and then, if alcohol is involved in the event, we will be asking for insurance waivers and deposits and all kinds of that.

we keep -- we don't do reference checks. that hasn't been in my tenure, but that would be with the organization before i came there. there's a lot of different things at play. not just the safety and security, which is always paramount, but there are other activities on the property going on, so some activities aren't compatible with day use, for example. we don't have loud parties in the middle of the day. >> as long as you're aware of

it, your experience, having been through it. places like the fillmore and the y, they start out at birthday parties, and then, they go another way. >> they grow into other things. >> yeah. i just want to make sure there's some kind of a process. >> yeah, absolutely, absolutely. >> okay. >> and if you think about the fact that we've been doing this in a small center at the 1800 oakdale site for almost 30 years, when we do have small events, they are really annoying. 99 to the billionth percent, infinity, we're sitting up systems and policies in place that encourage good behavior,

and i am a firm believer that if you set up a good system and you expect a good time, and you expect people to behave well, they do. >> okay. yeah. i mean, just be prepared for anything. >> but be prepared. >> exactly. okay. >> dave? >> just a quick question for the deputy director. i think she just went off camera. she's back. is there a staff recommendation on this? i'm just not seeing it in the folder. it's probably me not finding it. >> it's just scroll -- it's just the good neighbor policy, commissioner falzon. staff recommendation is approval with the good neighbor

events. >> so i don't have any questions. everybody covered all the other things. i'm excited about this. it's fantastic. i think it's a new home that's extraordinary. we look forward to hanging out sometimes. thanks for coming in, and you strike me as a sanely competent human being. so with that, i want to go ahead and open this up for public comment here. is there any public comment? >> operator: i'll flash the slide for a few seconds. checking, and there is none. >> okay. we'll close public comment, and

we can discuss briefly. commissioner falzon, it sounds like he may want to make a tweak or include it in his motion. >> i have no discussion. i would just ask that an event calendar be sent over to bayview station to allow the station have eyes on the event. it doesn't have to be part of the amendment, kaitlyn. >> i have a question for you, commissioner. do you recommend that it be sent to the bayview station or

should it come to the commission, as well. >> that would be a great idea. perfect. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. >> i'll second the motion. >> excellent. all right. we can vote. >> clerk: all right. [roll call] >> congratulations on this exciting project. have some live music down there. that sounds great. follow up with our staff for next steps. >> thank you, and you all are invited to our grand opening. if you're interested, contact me, and i'll have my staff

reach out. >> thanks, emily. >> all right. moving along. all right. so the next agenda item is the -- number 6, which is the -- correct me if i am wrong, but i think i got it right -- discussion and possible action to amend the permit conditions of place of entertainment permit, d.b.a. 26 mix located at 3024 mission street, san francisco, regarding incident that occurred friday, january 21, 2022, and deputy director azevedo will present this. >> okay. thank you, president bleiman. so this agenda item is to discuss the homicide that occurred inside of 26 mix on friday, january 21, 2022.

in your file, you'll find a copy of the 72-hour suspension for public safety issued by director weiland on january 28. complaint history from 2019 to present: a timeline of our history with the business, a copy of their p.o.e. permit, including the conditions the business was out of compliance with during the incident as well as their security plan. on january 21, 2022, an altercation happened by the pool tables. the altercation turned into a brawl, and the victim was stabbed in the neck by one of the pool sticks. unfortunately, the victim died from his injuries. the following morning, we were in contact with the managers of 26 mix and the captain of mission station. we strongly encouraged the business to go dark and close for the weekend, which they agreed to do.

the following week, we had a meeting with the captain of mission station to go over the details of the incident, and on january 26, myself, director weiland, and the chief met with the our attorneys and the head of 26 mix. after our meeting, we determined that the business is out of the following conditions. the permit holder failed to comply with the foblg permit conditions. there shall always be a manager on-site during hours of operation who is able to respond to neighbor complaints in real-time. regardless of occupancy, beginning at 8:00 p.m. daily, there must be a minimum of three security inside, and two security outside. on monday through fridays from 4:00 p.m. until closing and saturdays and sundays from 2:00 p.m. until closing, security will perform pat

downs, bag checks, and use metal detector wands on all patrons entering and reentering the venue. we learned that there was no manager on-site, there was only three security guards on-site, and they were not patting down the patrons on-site. during the past four visits by inspector fiorentino, they have been in compliance with their security plan, including patting patrons down upon entering and the required number of security guards on

the premises. at this time, staff are not requesting permit reconditioning, we are asking for the business to comply with their current security plan, which is robust. we did invite mission station captain and officer ortiz to speak this evening. it looks like officer ortiz was here but was not planning on presenting anything. if you have direct questions for him, he may be able to speak. let me know if you have any questions, otherwise, here to speak is tony, as well as their head of security, farouz. >> operator: all right. i see farouz and williams is

raising their hand. >> yes, it's william. okay. i'll go ahead and try it again. >> hello. you're unmuted, and then,

farouz, if you want to speak, you'll have to unmute yourself, as well. >> hello. >> so who's going first? >> my name is [indiscernible] william, and i am one of the managers at 26 mix. on the night of january 21, an incident happened where unfortunately a person lost his

life, and we're truly sorry about the loss. we're trying to comply with the conditions, and we know we weren't compliance with the conditions, and we're really sorry for that. we have implemented a process -- >> william, i apologize. can you back up. i didn't catch why -- something about labor laws. can you start over again? i didn't get that part. >> the reason we failed to comply with the entertainment commission, we were trying to comply with some of the other labor law conditions, but at the same time, we failed to

comply with the entertainment commission conditions because we had one security out with covid. he tested positive with covid, and unfortunately, the company wasn't able to provide another security guard. that was unfortunately, an unfortunate event that happened, but ever since this, we worked with the company to make sure we have four securities. the new plan that we have is one manager for the company will stop by for two hours and allow the company to take their break, and in the event, the

manager will will not come to the site, and then, the guards will be take their break or meal time, and they will get paid overtime. that way, there's someone at all times complying with the entertainment commission. we have [indiscernible] and we're replacing them every six months just to make sure they are working properly. manager, hiring -- we're in the process of hiring two more assistant managers, and that way, if the manager needs to step out for the way to get dinner, lunch, there's someone

there. and just to also -- just to mention that even though we're one guard down, i mentioned a number of customers that we had, we were pretty much in the requirement of the [indiscernible] just mention that. if you have anymore questions about what happened that night, happy to answer. >> go ahead, dave. >> so since william opened the door, why don't you go ahead and explain your version of what happened that night? >> well, there was a group of people. one group was playing pool, and

the other one was just hanging around at the end of the pool tables. everything seemed to be fine. you know, seemed like the guys were there for maybe an hour or so. at one point, one group approaches the other group. didn't seem like much, just one group approaching another group, but in a matter of seconds, a brawl broke out, and that's when, unfortunately, the incident happened. >> and where was your security when this all happened? >> [indiscernible] they were outside of the front door, and

one was on break at the time. >> so you had no security inside at the time? >> [indiscernible] we should also tell the commission that she is in the process of getting her guard card so that way, we have someone that has the guard card, as well. >> so william, let me just share my perspective, as well. it is critical that we have an honest and clear relationship going on. what's a little disheartening and frustrating to me is i'm asking you very direct questions and i'm getting vague questions. this is your opportunity to directly answer the questions. so there was nobody inside the

club when this happened? >> correct. >> thank you. so my point is, we can work together if you comply, but my problem is a drawn-out narrative that becomes a distractor. what we're trying to do is understand what happened that night and figure out what we can do better moving forward, and i think that's a reasonable productive approach. that's why it's important, when we have this conversation, to recognize where you came up short. so the bottom line is, based on your security conditions, you were not properly staffed for security that night, and no one was inside the club. what i need to know is, moving forward, that you are complying with your security plan, and

even though we know what the security plan is, your plan is a little different. i heard you saying you're planning on hiring additional managers, so my question is, if you're not appropriately staffed, are you planning on closing until you are? >> we already have a person that knows a lot of the procedures. he's worked there about two, 2.5, three years, and we're going to promote him to assistant manager, and we're looking at hiring another assistant manager. >> okay. let me just stop.

farouz, were you there that night? >> no. >> okay. are you the owner of the third party security guard company? >> yeah. >> have you been working with 26 mix for a while? >> yeah, we've been working with them for a long time, about five years. >> okay. so you clearly know the footprint of the place -- >> clearly know exactly what happened, and i can give you whatever information you need have me. >> well, i mean, what i just need to hear tonight from both of you is that there's a commitment to be fully staffed, because honestly, farouz, what i want to ask you is how long you've been out of compliance and when is the last time you staffed the premises to full staffing, but i've got to be

honest, what happened is not relevant to our form, and i just want to make sure that the place is secure going forward. >> yeah. i've added two staff, and it's really hard time to find guards that are reliable. especially on friday nights, they call off. but especially with the situation with 26 mix, we're over staffed, and we're not going understaffed to the location. >> well, i think for a period of time, overstaffing's not a bad idea. it's great for customers -- >> no, it's not, and that's exactly what i told tony william there. we need to be over staffed, we

need to make the customers feel a little bit more coming back to this place. >> yeah. >> if the customers are not feeling safe, that's my main concern, is making sure from here on out, everybody is in compliance and making sure that the customers are excited. >> as you know, farouz, it's all about the optics, and a strong security presence is going to make more money for the club and keep people coming back. let me pause my commenting and get some feedback or comments from my commissioners. >> [indiscernible] and farouz, you're the owner of the place? >> no, i'm the owner of the security company. william is the manager of the -- >> william is the owner of the -- >> no, i'm the manager. >> you're the manager.

so where is the owner? >> the owner is sick at the moment, so he had to fly to mexico where he can see his regular doctor. he tried to make it here tonight, but he's not able to make it. his language barrier, as well, is an issue. he only speaks spanish, so he allowed me to speak on behalf of the club and, you know, we're relaying all the information back to him. >> so my question, is maybe to talk to the owner, i'm coming as the perspective as an owner. we can hire all the security we want to, but if the owner doesn't care about his business, you can have 100 security, and it's not going to work. a lot of us are there or we train managers that we can trust. it's, like, giving a $1 million key to someone you can trust.

you can go to dinner somewhere or somewhere, but if your manager doesn't care, that's not responsible. i've been in this situation before, so i know there's going to be some legal ramifications on your business, and we don't know what's going to happen, and we don't want businesses to close. having that many security can be cost efficient. so i can ask, having people that really just there -- having a bar manager there that cares about their job, as well. >> that's [indiscernible] he

has to know that, you know, he as an owner's going to be liable for everything, right? whether somebody slips on the floor or now somebody's been injured. so i have a question for security. when people go to smoke, do you guys -- where do they go to smoke out? do you have a smoking area outside? >> the only area that we have

for smoking is out in the front. >> so people out on the street can actually talk to people in the smoking area. so let's say i'm walking by, and then, there's somebody on the smoking area on the other side of the fence. do they have contact? are they able to contact this person or have a conversation? >> yes. >> so do you -- >> so there's a bus stop in front of the location, and there's an opportunity for conversation. >> okay. so when the person comes back in the building, do they go

through security? >> yes. if they go out, and they come back in, they're going to get patted down again? so if they're a chain smoker, and they go out five times, they're going to get patted down five times? >> they're going to get patted down every single time. >> it's easy to pass things over the fence. i'm just trying to cover all bases to make sure that this doesn't happen again. all right. that's all i have to say. without the owner -- and he's sick, and i understand that, and william, as the so-called manager, the owner, somebody has to be on that premise, 4:00 until closed, and you're second in command, four hours for you, four hours for the other guys.

>> and right now, i'm working seven days of the week right now. i'm there mondays through sundays. >> all right. well, there's nothing else we can say but give him a chance, i guess, with all his extra precautions, but, yeah. thank you. >> thank you. >> more questions? commissioner falzon? >> i agree with commission staff. i don't think that adding conditions is really the solution, especially when william, you've been out of compliance with your existing conditions, but here's what i do want to understand. the bar that i'm setting was consistent compliance. i need to understand because it's not fair to burden us with confirming that, so i'm curious with what your solutions are

going to be in letting us know that you're choosing to be in compliance. have you given that any thought? >> can you repeat the question again, please? >> sure. the bar that i'm setting tonight and what was introduced earlier was constant compliance. it seems that the only way we can ensure constant compliance is to send an inspector out every night, but that's an impossible burden for the city. so i'm asking you, how are you going to demonstrate constant compliance? >> i'm open to suggestions, but at the same time, like i said,

myself is going to be there seven days of the week. we're going to make this other person an assistant manager. we're going to be constantly talking with farouz so we don't have to miss a call, and manager side with him on point shot, so if anyone [indiscernible] to send a replacement for that guard. like i say, we making sure that if a manager [indiscernible] cannot come for the guards to take their break, we will be playing the overtime for the guard not to take their break or meal time, and that way, we'll always be in compliance. >> okay. clearly, i think you understand for the foreseeable future, you are underneath the microscope. >> yes, we do. >> okay. so let me run a hypothetical by

you. farouz is not able to send enough security there for the night. what are you going to do? >> [indiscernible] which is currently working on her guard card. she works six days of the week, and she'll be there in any event something like that might happen. >> okay. so let me just give you a suggested response, and i'm very sincere about this. what i think is a more appropriate response given the gravity of the situation that you're in is if you can't meet the conditions of your permit, you should not be open. however you back these positions, it's up to you as long as you're in compliance with your security rules and guard card conditions. you need to talk to the owner

about is if you can't come up to proper staffing, you need to be prepared to not open. now that's not us telling you to do that, that is an operational decision that you need to make, and i'm just trying to make sure that that's on your radar as an option. >> yes. at this point, we are willing to consider any possible procedures to be in compliance. >> okay. so if you cannot meet all the possible conditions of your permit, what are you going to do? >> we're going to close down. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you. >> that's all i have. >> anymore questions? so i don't have any specific questions, but i just have some

comments. i -- you know, we've put a lot of thought into this incident, and it's just such a tragedy, and it seems like it could have been avoided. it's a tragedy on many levels, but the rules that we had put in place to prevent violence and try to mitigate issues at this specific place weren't being followed, that for breaks or whatever, the very things that we put in to try to prevent something like this were, you know, potentially not followed and then potentially the reason that something like this could happen. i think it's really serious. i have concerns. i ann many bars -- or i don't now, but i've owned many bars, and i know what happens in a bar if there's not a consistent presence of somebody that's an owner there, and i think it's

nearly impossible to run a bar without any consistent ownership presence, so i do have concerns. i would say this: the job of this body is very specific. the job of this body is to determine whether or not an operator is responsible enough to have a deejay, essentially, to have life music. it's not necessary -- live music. it's not necessarily to have an alcohol permit, to be open for business, but whether or not they can follow the rules to have a safe environment and a respectful environment for having a deejay, and having a deejay sounds kind of like a joke, but it does bring a lot of issues with it, right? live loud, you know, thumping music can bring crowds. depending on the music you're playing, you can bring different kinds of crowds. when you're managing them

appropriately, it can be a good place, but the rules in this case were not followed, and now, somebody is dead, and it's really, really concerning to us. i understand the break system in california. i understand these things it kind of sounds -- i don't know. i'm not a huge fan of that -- you know, similar to commissioner falzon of that line of narrative. it just doesn't ring right, considering somebody's dead. but my thing, this body, we have to kind of determine whether or not we believe that this license holder can be responsible enough to follow the rules that we put in place. and i totally agree, that i think reconditioning might not be necessary because the conditions that we had were pretty strenuous to begin with, but i do want to throw out

there that we do have an option to condition hours, the hours of entertainment, if approximate we don't think that -- if we have doubts or we have concerns that the operator may not be able to follow the rules, and, you know, that could be, as commissioner lee said, the numbers just don't add up. i have trouble understanding how you can have three or four security guards in a place as small as you are and remain open. i -- i just did the payroll for my businesses today. i have difficulty ubdsing how those numbers pencil -- understanding how those numbers pencil out, but i have no further questions here, but i would like to have a discussion here among this group if we can, whether or not, in good conscience, allow them to go forward. commissioner falzon, you did

have a good comment, that we're going to be checking this venue multiple times a weekend. i can't imagine when we're going to stop to make sure they're in compliance, so to be under that sort of microscopic view, that's a hard one. and i will say this, i've asked the executive director and my team, that if anything, any part of your plan in these last few weeks, we'll have to call you back in, but that's all i'll say. and sometimes, you can't control violence. you can do everything right, and unfortunately, it'll still happen, but you didn't do

everything right in this case. any way, i don't need to hear from the permit holder, but i would like to hear from the other commissioners because i think this is really serious. steven, go ahead. >> well, the biggest issue i have is there's no -- there's nobody on duty, like, an owner or a manager that -- a partner who really, like, cares, per se, you know? they let the security guard kind of run the club in a sense, so up to the security -- and the thing is, for me, and commissioner falzon knows this, i don't like hiring outside security. i hire internal staff that have guard cards, and we in turn

have kind of a company guard system, guard permit, as far as, like, being a company. but at least i have some control, and i get to tell my guards what and what they cannot do. and if you guys are not on the premise, you know, you're definitely going to let the security guards may or may not do the right things, and i can't see you letting somebody else run your business. so for me -- and, you know, and this has happened to me not inside the club because inside the club, or outside the club, to be waiting for homicide show up and actually seeing somebody in that position, you know, being injured in that way, it's a wake-up call, you know, as an

owner. and if that person doesn't understand that, they shouldn't be in the business in the first place. security can do all they can, but if you don't have somebody watching where it's your bar, where it's your front door, where it's your whatever, you're going to be in the situation again. so for me to condition it right now, it's been a while. i'd like to see if they learned anything from this, but we definitely don't want them to have another incident, even a fight or reports of fights, and if so, we should bring them in. i mean, that's my opinion. i hope they learned something. that's all i can say. that's my comment. >> commissioner falzon?

so just to reiterate something that president bleiman said, we all know despite the best anticipated problems, bad things can happen. i think what's disappointing here is you weren't prepared, there weren't the right people in the right places, and i think the problem with us entertaining adding conditions right now because i agree with president bleiman and commissioner lee, the program in place is sound. i think most of us, in our hearts feel that if you had been in compliance, that his people would have swooped in on this pretty quick, because they would have picked up on the escalation of noise, and they would have separated the parties apart pretty queen. but there was no one inside, and i think what's really

alarming is it does make my worry how long that style of management or lack of security had been going on. but again, i don't want to focus on the past because what happened, happened. it's devastating, and it most likely was avoidable. but what we need to understand is, william, moving forward, you guys have a solid security plan, and if you don't have a solid secure plan, you're going to take appropriate action. again, back to what president bleiman said, i think if you step out of line, we should come down aggressively, bring you back. i think your owner's inability to communicate is not a reason not to be here. we have resources in place, translators, so if you do come back, he should be here. i'll go with the fact that he's sick right now, but i won't

accept a language barrier. san francisco speaks every language on earth, and it's what makes it the amazing city on earth. again, i don't want to filibuster, either, but again, i just feel that when we need is your commitment to just follow through on your existing conditions, and at least then, if something bad happens, to go back to what commissioner bleiman says, you can be with the best of management, totally on it on game day, and something unfortunate can happen. that is the nature of any venue, but that is not your case. you left a lot of gaps, you took a lot of risks, and now, the ultimate penalty has been played, and that's the loss of life.

i really hope that really sets in. it has to be a devastating experience for your staff. they didn't deserve that, your guests didn't deserve that. the family that have to live on now without that person doesn't deserve that. i just really hope -- i hope you and the owner have a long heartfelt discussion about that and really think about the business that you're in because sometimes the solution is to not be in the business. the other part i want to be transparent about that commissioner lee had mentioned, if the numbers aren't pencilling out, and you're incapable of meeting the business plan that you set out for us, you need to come to us and have that conversation. but being silent, it just puts

more responsibility on you. i really can't think of much more to add than that. >> all right. so just to keep -- anybody else have anything else? okay. so just to keep things moving along here, i think personally [indiscernible] plan in place because i don't think that was -- i don't think it's on us. i think we put a plan in place that was more than adequate, and it just wasn't followed. but i would say we have a number of tools at our disposal going forward, and there's a full revocation, there's suspension that we have. those are our processes that are onerous and always on the table, and we don't like to use them. but they're -- the easiest solution at our fingertips is limiting the hours of entertainment.

what i would say is not a lot of people go out for deejays at 6:00 p.m. it's usually 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 p.m., so our ability to limit when deejays can play can also have an impact on businesses. so what i'm okay with, and which won't require a vote, i don't believe, and we can ask director weiland, is to just continue on with the existing regimen that we have but to give our office a pretty high-level scrutiny just to this particular license owner given that i'm terrified that there's going to be another incident on that. does anybody have any thoughts to add to that?

>> i mean, i think the worst case scenario, we could limit them until 12:00, and of course, it's going to be quiet there for a while. but again, i mean, that's -- you know, that's okay, too, you know? i guess, because of covid, everybody has been shutdown for a while, and it's been a while since we've heard from them, and i guess people got kind of lax. i go -- if anything happens again, we go to the next step and limit their hours. >> yeah, and we don't have to make any decisions like that here, commissioner lee, but knowing that we have those options and all agrees that we have those options, and the license holder knowing that we have those options, going so

far as if there's anything that's out of place or not being complied with, we should call them in and have enough meeting and see if the license holder has enough presence, enough responsibility in order to operate a safe night establishment. that's where i'm at. we don't have to project what that means, but -- commissioner falzon? >> you know, i want to make sure william understands, because i hear you and commissioner lee loud and clear. number one, we want to put you in a position to be economically successful. if we limit your hours, it's not if, it's when you're going to close. if we put in hours that simply

aren't successful for the industry, you're not going to be around very long. i just want to make sure that you're hearing what i'm saying loud and clear. >> we are. >> the other thing i would say, is just like these businesses -- i don't know, but i think the entertainment commission is one of a few things that you're going to be dealing with, and is not going to be most important, and i don't know, but i think