{"id":26984,"date":"2023-06-17T13:38:45","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T20:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=26984"},"modified":"2023-06-17T13:38:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-17T20:38:45","slug":"promoter-gets-approval-to-turn-castro-theater-into-a-nightclub-with-few-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/06\/17\/promoter-gets-approval-to-turn-castro-theater-into-a-nightclub-with-few-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Promoter gets approval to turn Castro Theater into a nightclub\u2014with few conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some activists and commissioners unhappy with the idea that preserving community institutions is all about someone making money.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By TIM REDMOND<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUNE 15, 2023 (48Hills.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another Planet Entertainment will be able to move forward with its plans to transform the Castro Theater into a nightclub<\/a> that also shows movies, city planning officials decided today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning Commission, after some four hours of contentious public comment, approved the renovations of the theater and the permits that would allow APE to change the use to nighttime entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Courtesy Another Planet Entertainment<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coalition that organized to preserve the theater was deeply disappointed, with a representative saying that the two agencies rejected the community\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt feels very disappointing,\u201d said Jen Reck, co-chair of the Castro Cultural District, told the commissioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cultural district and the Castro Theater Conservancy has asked for a list of conditions to approve the APE project,<\/a> and almost all of them were rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every case, representatives of APE said they couldn\u2019t accept the conditions because they didn\u2019t make business sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am quite disappointed in the unresponsiveness of the applicant,\u201d Commission Member Katrin Moore said. \u201cThey dismissed every point, there was no \u2018can do.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She continued saying she was upset by \u201cthe monetization of all cultural assets as soon as someone can make a buck off it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final legislation includes little more than what APE promised in its community benefits agreement<\/strong>. In fact, APE\u2019s Dan Serot objected to the idea of twice-annual meetings with the Castro Cultural District, saying that \u201cit\u2019s a lot of meetings and lot of oversight \u2026 we are in the business of operating a theater, not having meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The activists were talking about a few hours a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other things, APE objected to a requirement that a minimum of 50 days a year be devoted to LGBTQ+ programming, saying, as Serot put it, that it was \u201ccomplicated\u201d to determine what LGBTQ+ programming was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serot also objected to limits on private parties, saying it was too hard to determine what a private party is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, by a 4-2 vote, the Planning Commission approved the permits. Moore and Commissioner Theresa Imperial voted no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reck, who is also a San Francisco State professor, told us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We\u2019re upset. We\u2019re disappointed. We\u2019ve been looking to the city for leadership and to repair community relationships that have been frayed by APE\u2019s takeover of the theater. With a few notable exceptions, that leadership has been lacking.

The fact that APE says it wants the theater to be an international hub of LGBTQ culture but doesn\u2019t know how to determine what that means \u2013 because doing so is \u201ccomplex\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s where the community comes in.

This is about community access to our community\u2019s most important landmark. APE has done the bare minimum, and would have done less if not for our advocacy. We\u2019re proud of that work. We\u2019ll take some time to assess where we\u2019re at before determining next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Peter Pastreich, executive director of the Castro Conservancy, said there are some positive developments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Castro Theatre has served its community for 100 years, successfully presenting film, comedy, live music, drag, and virtually every form of art and entertainment imaginable. Another Planet Entertainment\u2019s plan will alter the physical and spiritual heart of the Castro Theatre, rendering it suitable mainly for rock and pop shows and private parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conservancy developed a plan that would restore the historic and physical features of the theater and also restore it to its place as the center of LGBTQ and cinema culture in San Francisco and in the world. However, the Nassers own the theater, and we understand that they don\u2019t wish to sell it and that APE has a lease to operate the theater for the foreseeable future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are proud that in the last year, APE has made some important changes, including the motorized risers, and guarantees of minimum numbers of films and LGBTQ-related events. That would have not been possible without the work of the Friends of the Castro Theatre Coalition and the Conservancy. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

From the start, activists complained that APE wasn\u2019t interested in reaching out to the community. As Lee Hepner, a longtime activist and organizer, testified, it took a year for the promoter to meet with community leaders, \u201cand that speaks volumes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So now APE will close the theater for renovations, which may take several years, and it will reopen as a different type of venue. The Nasser family, which owns the theater, will make money. APE will make money. That, in the end, was what this was all about: Letting private actors make money on what many consider a community institution\u2014because in today\u2019s late-stage capitalism, there seems to be no way to make anything work unless someone is able to make a private buck.<\/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":"

Some activists and commissioners unhappy with the idea that preserving community institutions is all about someone making money. By TIM REDMOND JUNE 15, 2023 (48Hills.org) Another Planet Entertainment will be able to move forward with its plans to transform the Castro Theater into a nightclub that also shows movies, city planning officials… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[359],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26984"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26986,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26984\/revisions\/26986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}