APRIL 17, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Board of Supes committee today approved language that would landmark the fixed seating and raked floor in the Castro Theater<\/a>, sending a message that Another Planet Entertainment needs to come to a an agreement with community activists about the future of the theater quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2-1 vote by the Land Use and Transportation Committee amended the landmark designation to including the phrase \u201cfixed theatrical seating configured in a movie-palace style,\u201d which would make difficult, if not impossible, APE\u2019s plans to replace the orchestra seats with a level floor and movable seating to accommodate live music shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The promotion company\u2019s plans to remove seating just hit a roadblock<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sups. Dean Preston and Aaron Peskin supported the amendment, which Preston introduced. Sup. Myrna Melgar opposed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The entire landmark package, as amended, will come back to the committee next week, and then go to the full board, where six votes will be required for passage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preston said that the \u201cthe Castro is more than an entertainment venue, it\u2019s a cornerstone of the LGBTQ community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the supporters of his amendment: The LGBTQ Cultural District, Soma Pilipinas, the GLBT Historical Society, both the Alice B. Toklas and Harvey Milk Democratic Clubs (which are often not on the same side on political issues), SF Heritage, as well as former Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, Cleve Jones, Marga Gomez, Juanita MORE, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n APE opposed it, but most of the organized opposition appeared to come from GrowSF, <\/a>a Big Tech and Real Estate group devoted to defeating progressive candidates and policies. The vast majority of the letters to the committee were generated by the group\u2019s website and had identical language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sup. Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro, opened the discussion by in essence siding with APE, saying that the amendment \u201cwould send the wrong symbolic message.\u201d He also said he\u2019s not sure that the landmark designation would prevent the city from approving plans to tear out the seats and level the floor.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sup. Rafael Mandelman, who said negotiations over a deal failed, wound up on the side of APE.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that APE didn\u2019t initially work well with the community, but the company has come \u201ca long way.\u201d He said that the supes \u201cshould not second guess the work of the Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Historic Preservation Commission didn\u2019t exactly decline to landmark the seats; that agency, in its findings, suggested that the fixed seats are important, but the final language wasn\u2019t clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opponents of the landmarking language argued that the only way the theater will remain viable is as a mixed-use venue with the flexibility to host different types of entertainment. APE is looking to turn it into a type of nightclub, with bars and a dance floor, for live music shows<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to support flexibility,\u201d Melgar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some Castro merchants said that allowing more live music events would attract visitors to the neighborhood and be good for community businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peskin said he wanted to see a legally enforceable agreement between APE and the Castro community, but \u201cAPE has frankly stonewalled. \u2026 They are treating this as a PR and lobbying exercise,\u201d not a community process, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also noted that APE, which has the lease for the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, promised more than ten years ago to spend $10 million upgrading the facility. \u201cOnly $564,475 has been spent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That revelation immediately spurred a statement from the supporters of Preston\u2019s amendment. From a press release:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAPE\u2019s failure to make timely repairs does not inspire confidence in their ability to manage other cultural institutions in our city,\u201d said Tina V. Aguirre, Cultural District Director of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District. \u201cThe improvements to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium include obligations to improve disability access. Frankly, when it comes to APE\u2019s promise to invest $15 million in the Castro Theatre, that starts to look like a promise that APE will never keep.\u201d David Perry, a spokesperson for APE, issued this statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tonight\u2019s vote is not the end of this discussion. It is perplexing that after public comment of which three quarters of the speakers supported Another Planet, two members of the Board of Supervisors with no direct experience of the Castro neighborhood overrode fact, majority opinion and the economics of 2023 to hobble a private business from investing $15 million into a struggling community.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Preston, who once owned a live music venue, said that the debate about APE and live music is missing the point: \u201cAPE can renovate the theater to host film, comedy, and live music. I don\u2019t accept that this kind of use can\u2019t be done, and I\u2019m confused by the opposition to this amendment. It\u2019s strange that to carry out the intent of the landmark language is somehow an effort to kill the Castro.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, Peskin said, APE might have the motivation to cut a deal that would involve a privately enforceable contract with the community. \u201cThe Planning Commission puts conditions on approvals all the time, and they are rarely enforced, and when politics gets involved, they are never enforced,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preston said that the one-week continuance might encourage further negotiations. \u201cWe all care about the Castro Theater,\u201d he said.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tim Redmond<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He spent much of that time as executive editor of the Bay Guardian. He is the founder of 48hills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Move might bring promoter back to the bargaining table; full board still has to approve. By TIM REDMOND APRIL 17, 2023 A Board of Supes committee today approved language that would landmark the fixed seating and raked floor in the Castro Theater, sending a message that Another Planet Entertainment needs to… Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image-29.png\")
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\u201cAPE should be spending less money on a PR campaign around the Castro Theatre and more energy fulfilling its existing promises,\u201d said Terrance Alan of the Castro Merchants Association, a nonprofit association of businesses in San Francisco\u2019s Castro neighborhood. \u201cThese latest revelations should lead to heightened scrutiny of APE\u2019s capability to effectively manage the Castro Theatre. It should put the community on notice of who we\u2019re dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n