Cumbersome Process to Close a Rowdy Nightclub
 
March 11, 2009 - San Francisco, CA

There are several things that seem nearly impossible in San Francisco: renting an apartment for less than a third of your salary, getting a seafood dinner for less than $17, and finding a way to close a rowdy nightclub.

Actually, with a little effort you might be able to accomplish the first two. But closing a nightclub? You must be dreaming.

The Byzantine process of city government is never more evident than when problem after noisy, obnoxious problem crops up outside a club. The city attorney's office can make demands, and the Entertainment Commission can check permits, but there's no one who can determine that it's a problem and just shut it down.

Take the case of Pink Diamonds, a Tenderloin strip club that has a history of fights, permit violations and gun violence.

A recent filing for an injunction by the city attorney's office may say it best: "Defendants have ... been repeatedly admonished by members of the San Francisco Police Department since September 2007 about the illegal, disruptive, and/or unpermitted events and activities at the club."

Hardly anyone disagrees with that.

"There's a lot of commotion," said Clint Ladine, operations manager for Rescue Mission, which is next door. "We had shots fired about a month ago and the police came out in full riot gear. It just seems to keep going on."

So let's review. This is a strip club that seems to attract trouble. The police have cited the club for improper permits and the neighbors have complained. The city attorney's office, having designated the property a public nuisance, is in court to try to require the club to agree to things such as hiring security guards, keeping the noise down and installing a video security camera.

And what has happened?

Nothing.

Deputy City Attorney Alex Tse is doggedly working his way through the injunction. At one point the club owners agreed to temporarily shut down and meet the conditions in the injunction, but out-of-control bashes in late January led to yet another call to the police.

"We certainly want to put them under more close control," Tse said. "But this has been a fairly protracted process. I think it is fair to say that it is difficult to get enforcement in San Francisco in general."

Complicating the matter is the strip club's landlord is Terrance Alan, one of seven people who sit on the Entertainment Commission. He didn't return phone calls or e-mails Wednesday.

Bob Davis, the commission's executive director, knows that his group has been criticized for not moving more quickly but said that's not the case. He said the club has never applied for an entertainment permit or liquor license. And, although the police have previously photographed empty liquor bottles on the premises, Davis said that doesn't appear to be a problem anymore.

"Apparently they've stopped," said Davis. "We certainly think there are problems with the venue. And we want to do all we can."

Davis said various proposals, which were reported in Tuesday's Chronicle, would allow the commission to immediately close a club for up to three days. Currently, the commission can take the drastic step of closing an establishment for 30 days, but only after giving 30 days notice.

"We want to take action, but not put them out of business," Davis said. "When there are lapses in management, we want to move quickly."

That would be a nice change from what is happening now. The city attorney documented shootings outside Pink Diamonds in October and December 2007, and another last November. In January, two women reportedly got into a brawl in front of the club at 4 a.m. and couldn't be stopped until they were sprayed with Mace.

And yet the venue stays open. As Ladine said, even the gunfire continues.

For those who say the club's problems are just a reflection of the Tenderloin, community organizer Dina Hilliard, who lives and works in the neighborhood, said this didn't happen with the previous tenant.

"When it was a gay club, six or seven years ago, it was absolutely no problem - ever," she said.

Supporters of the club are shocked - shocked! - to hear that they are being blamed for the problems. Terence Hallinan, a former San Francisco district attorney and the lawyer for Pink Diamonds, said this is all a misunderstanding.

"Most of the problems are outside, not inside," he said. "They kind of do get blamed for everything that happens."

Well, yeah. That tends to happen when there are consistent problems in exactly the same spot over and over. What's the other explanation? Sunspots?