Beginning on the week of December 15th, 2003, the San Francisco Police Department began a concerted and non-stop crackdown on street performers in San Francisco What follows is a list of our dealings with the city to date. The new story began on Tuesday Octber 9th 2007 when the Port of San Francisco adopted a program to allow Street performance and CD sales however the struggle to improve the port program is far from over.
March 31, 2004-Several musicians and jugglers meet with Supervisor Aaron Peskin to discuss our situation and present our “Proposal: Street Performers Initiative”. We are introduced to Jocelyn Kane of the Entertainment Commission. We’re told it will be the entertainment commision’s task to help us obtain permits.
April 1, 2004-A short-term proposal to deal with performing at the “Crab Sign” is dismissed by SFPD Captain Tachini.
April 14, 2004-A “Large Group” meeting of two dozen concerned parties takes place at City Hall hosted by the Entertainment Commission’s boss Bob Davis and Jocelyn Kane.
April 28, 2004-A “Small Group” meeting takes place at City Hall, which re-iterates the concerns of the previous meeting. Jocelyn Kane alone hosts this meeting.
May 12, 2004-A “Large Group” meeting takes places at City Hall which again serves to re-confirm the concerns raised at the previous meetings. Bob Davis states that legislation will have to drawn up to present to the Board of Supervisors but that due to the “Budget Process” nothing can be expected until August or September of 2004.
June 29, 2004-I call Jocelyn Kane who assures me “Things are moving along”. She has met with SF Port Officials and spoken with Wendy Nelder who has a recollection of the Street Artist Program being instituted with some sort of “Recognition of Street Performers”.
July 8, 2004-I speak with Wendy Nelder who has a recollection of Street Performer legislation proposed at least a decade and a half ago as having been killed for no specific reason that she could recall. She suggested I call a lawyer Ephraim Margolin who might have represented street artists in the past.
July 21, 2004-I speak with Ephraim Margolin who volunteers his view that “Hotel owners and business people” direct the mayor and that “better performers” would be the preference of “power interests”. I can not afford $500/hour rates he charges, so the conversation is quite brief.
August 17, 2004-I call Rose Chung who transfers me to Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s scheduler to set up a meeting.
August 19, 2004-Calls to the entertainment commision go unanswered. Glenn Morgan puts in calls as well.
September 2, 2004-More calls to Entertainment Commission go unanswered.
September 9, 2004-More calls to Entertainment Commission go unanswered.
Mid-September, 2004 I receive a call from Bob Davis who assures me the Entertainment Commission is looking at street performer spots “Near clock off Stockton” and “Near Union Square”. I asked, what about the Fisherman’s Wharf area? We don’t want to be moved away from the flow of traffic-we would like to maintain the same proximity to visitors extended to the Street Artist Program. Also, I ask if the City Attorney’s office is involved in writing legislation and mentions a couple names of people in the City Attorneys office.
September 19, 2004-Hubert “Emerson” Ortis is arrested and hauled away to a San Francisco Police station for trying to perform music on the corner of Jefferson and Taylor streets. He says he was subjected to torturous conditions while in police custody. The medical response team releases him after having been taken to the hospital.
September 22, 2004-A 10:30 meeting at Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s office attended by Dave Earl, Owen Baker-Flynn, Emerson Ortis and myself to hear an update of proposed Street Performer Legislation to be presented to the Board of Supervisors. Bob Davis forgets about the meeting, is tracked down and upon showing up in Supervisor Peskin’s office, agrees to have the rough draft of legislation in 4 weeks. A meeting date is rescheduled for October 20, 2004.
September 28, 2004-Jocelyn Kane tours the wharf area in the company of Dave Earl and Stephen Dreyfuss, we tell her about the history of performing spots and let her know which ones we think work well and why.
October 20, 2004-Aaron Peskin meets with Dave Earl, Emerson Ortis and Stephen Dreyfuss in order hear draft legislation dealing with Street Performer issues to be presented by Bob Davis. Bob Davis does not show up and Aaron Peskin has to leave to attend another meeting in Brisbane.
October 21, 2004-I received a call from Rose Chung who said Bob Davis had called to apologize to Aaron Peskin and was wrapped up in emergency personal problems. I reschedule a meeting with Aaron Peskin for November 23, at 10:00AM
October 22, 2004- I Call Entertainment Commission and ask about update of legal work left on answering machine.
October 26, 2004-Call to Entertainment Commission still unanswered. I send an e-mail about the up-coming meeting on November 23. I call Jocelyn who says some legislation will be available this Friday Oct. 29th.
October 27, 2004-I call Entertainment Commission and Bob Davis returns my call, apologizes for delays and says he will e mail me a PDF file of the legal draft on the 29th of October.
October 29, 2004-No PDF file is sent.
November 1, 2004-Call to Entertainment Commission unanswered.
November 2, 2004-I connect with Bob Davis who tells me he was swamped with Halloween events in the Castro District. He has been in touch with Virginia Dario Dellasandro for the City Attorney’s office and should have had it all by last Friday. He says he will call me later today
November 5, 2004-Call to Bob Davis unanswered. I call Jocelyn Kane.
November 9, 2004-Glenn Morgan calls Entertainment Commission. No reply.
November 9, 2004-I call City Attorney’s office and leave a message for Virginia Dario Delassandro. No reply.
November 15, 2004-I spoke with Virginia Delasandro of the City Attorney’s office and she said she needed additional info from her “clients”, specifically, the Board of Supervisors and the Entertainment Commission. She assured me she is aware of the Street Artist Program, which I wanted to suggest as a template for street performer issues. Rose Chung said Aaron Peskin would use the scheduled meeting time to confer with the City Attorney about what is going on.
November 22, 2004-I received a call from Rose Chung canceling the meeting scheduled for November 23 with Aaron Peskin. The cancellation was due to insufficient progress from the City Attorney’s office.
November 23, 2004-I receive a call from Jessie McCracken . She presents herself as a student doing a term paper on Street Performers and wants to interview me. I agree to meet her ASAP.
November 24, 2004-Rose Chung calls to update me on the meeting yesterday with Aaron Peskin, Bob Davis, and Virginia Dellasandro from the City Attorney’s office. Discussion centered on First Amendment Constitutional challenges to proposed legislation, the need for permits, and street music performance locations. November 24, 2004-I left a phone message for Bob Davis in order to get another perspective of what might have transpired at the meeting with Aaron Peskin et al. Hoping for a response this time I put a call to Deputy Director Jocelyn Kane. She says “I’m not in the loop”.
November 24,2004- Bob Davis calls me. He tells me that three attorneys from the C.A.’s office were at the meeting and that “I was pretty disappointed”. Perhaps permits can be issued through the SAP (Street Artists Program). Changes to sound ordinance appear unlikely. He wants a small group meeting on Monday the 29th and I agree to set it up for 3:00PM
November 29, 2004, 3PM-Glenn Morgan, Emerson Ortis, Dave Earl, Hirtzon Valasques and I meet with Bob Davis. We are told the move to draft legislation on our behalf is 100% dead. The C.A.’s office is afraid of endless court challenges. Mr. Davis is upbeat and says he thinks he can get us permits to work and sell on the street. He says we will be working for "The Christmas Season" if we can get him some documentation. He needs Sound Pressure Levels (SPL's) and maps with the performance locations. We leave feeling confident.
December 1, 2004-I met with college student Jessie McCracken and gave her an interview for her term paper chronicling our cause.
December 2, 2004-Dave Earl, Emerson Ortis, and I deliver the location document and sound guidelines on time, to Bob Davis. Mr. Davis says he will have something for us on Monday, December 6th
December 6, 2004-I stop by Bob Davis’ office on the way home from business I had downtown just to make sure he received the most current e-mail documents from Dave Earl. He says he will call me Tuesday Dec 7.
December 7, (Tuesday)-I left a phone message with Bob Davis at the Entertainment Commission-No Reply. I phone Jocelyn Kane’s number and leave a message.
December 8, 2004- I reach Bob Davis by phone and he tells me he was sick and did NOT meet with Aaron Peskin on Monday December 6, but he will try to meet with him Friday. He will also meet with Monique Moyer of the SF Port Authority concerning land use at the Port. In addition “Lee Ann” of the BID (Business Improvement District) does not want entertainment around Union Square.
December 9,2004-Emerson Ortis has a court date at 1:30 PM at 850 Bryant Street, Department A in order to contest one of dozens of tickets he has been issued in violation of MPC 869 (selling without a permit). The three citations being contested at this trial were #097522250, #097791525 and #097494036. SFPD Officer Pete McLauglin who wrote the first of the 3 tickets explained to the judge that Emerson was being forced to obtain a license which does not in fact exist. The judge asked him where the crime was. Officer McLaughlin explained to the judge that Emerson could sell his CDs if he got a Street Artists Permit. Subsequently, Emerson explained the stipulation of the Street Artist Program against dealing with performers (Page 27, Paragragh 3)
The judge then said to officer McLaughlin, “You know the police department and the Street Artist Program are jerking him around, don’t you officer?”
Officer McLauglin replied, “I know.”
The judge then did not want to hear any more. He found Emerson not guilty of selling without a permit, but advised him to try and get one. He also told Officer McLaulglin that he did not want to see either of them back in his courtroom on such a trivial matter anymore because all street artists and performers should have equal protection under the law and benefit from the legal clause currently set aside for street artists. He then reiterated to Emerson Ortis that he should go back to the street artist program and get a permit to facilitate his street performance and CD sales.
December 14, 2004-I e-mail and phone the following message in to Entertainment Commission.
“We are inquiring whether or not you have had a chance to speak with Monique Moyer about performance spots and if you have spoken with Aaron Peskin recently. The main question we have is whether or not you have spoken with Howard Lazar about the feasibility of street performer sales permits being issued under the Street Artist Program. We are looking forward to a response via e mail or telephone.”
December 15, 2004-THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE CRACKDOWN ON STREET PERFORMERS BY THE SFPD I called the Entertainment Commission and asked for an update. No Reply.
January 3, 2005 Dave Earl phones Bob Davis. He's told that we're on hold until a meeting between Mr Davis and Mr Aaron Peskin on January 18, 2005
January 10, 2005-Dave Earl creates our website, SFStreetMusic.com in order to share our plight with the public.
January 19, 2005-Dave Earl emails Bob Davis at the entertainment commision and recieves a swift reply that reads as follows
"Hello Dave,
I met with Supervisor Peskin yesterday (1/18) and I now will be meeting
with Rich Newirth and the city atty from the Arts Commission to try and
finalize the process for your inclusion in the "Street Artist Program". I
will keep you informed."
January 25 2005
Stephen Dreyfuss attended the board of supervisors meeting and delivered a speech about our plight during the "public comments period" Supervisors McGoldrick and Peskin were both in attendance. He unveiled the existence of this website to the supervisors.
When leaving the chambers he encountered Bob Davis who told him a meeting was scheduled next week concerning our issues.
January 31-I played at the crab sign for the first time all year and Officer McLauglin rode up and told me I would have to put away my CDs. I explained to him that we have just as much right to occupy space and sell our art as any street artist does, but he did not want to hear it. I said I could not remove my CDs as a matter of principal. Officer McLauglin then said he would have me hauled away to the County Jail and said 'Steve-have you ever been inside the county jail?" as if it promised some unspeakable ill too awful to contemplate. Officer McLauglin furthermore promised all my equipment would be confiscated and "taken out to Hunter's Point". He then said I was delaying his response to a couple of police calls involving actual crime. I did not point out the irony in this but agreed to leave for the day.
The week of Jan 31-Feb 6 came and went without a meeting between Bob Davis, the City atty, Rich Newirth, and Howard Lazaar taking place. Bob said he tried to set up a meeting but the parties involved would not commit and seemed to be evading him.
Email sent 2.11.05 by Dave Earl
Hi Bob,
I called Tuesday 2/8 and left a message on your machine. We're hoping for
an update regarding a realistic time frame for our getting permits to play
our music and sell our CD's on the street.
Thank you,
Dave Earl
www.sfstreetmusic.com
Bob Replied
"am waiting for the City Atty to give me language for the "sound permit "
portion of the over-all permit package. Our city atty did meet with Richard
Newirth and they did reach and accord on the "Street Artist" inclusion. So
we have two parts left to do, (1) get the sound permit in order (it would
be for one year fixed location) and then pick spots. I'm sorry it continues
to drag, we are pushing as hard as we can."
Bob Davis
Dave Earl Replies with
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the reply. What I'm looking for is some kind of rough projected time line so we can gauge our expectations on that.. When we met in December you said you thought we'd be up and running by Christmas. Obviously it's taken more time than anticipated however at this point we haven't the slightest idea if the permits are something we can expect soon or not.
Do you feel we may have our permits in February? March?
Thanks again,
Dave Earl
Bob replies on Feb 14 2005
Dave,
I thought when we met in December that "the process" would have been
complete by now. I will have a better idea of the timing within the next
two weeks. Sorry I can't be more specific.
Bob Davis
Dave replies on Feb 15 2005
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the reply and all your efforts to date. I understand pin-pointing a timeline doesn't seem possible at this point.
All of the members of the San Francisco Street Musicians Guild have serious concerns about the process right now.
We're of course pleased you've met with Rich Newirth but feel as if we are not being "dealt in" in the dealings with Howard Lazaar, the street artist program, the city attorney etc.... You've indicated you've reached an accord but we've had no representative at the table and no real information about what was decided. As the primary stakeholders we want input in the creation of the program that we're going to have to live with.
Can I speak with you on the phone for just a few minutes to hash some of this stuff out please? Maybe we could do a phone appointment soon to relieve some of our concerns?
I'll make myself available anytime suits you best.
Thanks again
Dave Earl
No reply to this email
Feb 23, 2005 Rose Chung returns Stephen Dreyfuss' phone call. A meeting is scheduled for March 16 2005.
Feb 28, 2005 March 16 meeting is cancelled due to conflict Rich Newirth's schedule
A new meeting is scheduled for either either march 21 or March 30
March 1, Peskins office called to reschedule again for April 11 or 13
Later the same day March 1, -Peskin's office called to re-schedule to April 25
March 3-Rose Chung from Aaron Peskin's offic called to say
"right now, Supervisor Alioto Pier is interested in working on this legislation and we would like to pass it on to her". The April 25 meeting wont't happen"
Then she sent the following 2 e-mails
Dear Stephen:
Per our conversation, I am referring you to Jennifer Entine Matz of
Supervisor Alioto Pier's office who is taking over the Street Peformers
legislation. I understand you will email her information to update her on
the struggles the Street Performers have gone through. Good luck and
please keep our office posted. If I may be of further assistance, please
don't hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
Rose Chung
Office of Supervisor Aaron Peskin
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place #256
San Francisco, CA 94102
phone: 415/554-7453
fax: 415/554-7454
Hi Stephen:
I sent this email to Bob Davis, Virginia Elizondo and Richard Newirth.
Hello All:
This is to inform you that our office is referring the Street Performers
legislation to Supervisor Alioto-Pier who is interested in addressing this
issue. You will be contacted by her aide, Jennifer Entine Matz. Thank you
for your time and effort thus far.
Rose Chung
An email from Ms. matz to the SF Street Musician's Guild
Greetings all:
I've reviewed all of the information contained on your web site and
now understand your frustration.
I will be in touch first thing Monday morning and together we'll move
quickly and decisively to create a permit program that works for all
parties.
I'm looking forward to restoring your faith in city government.
Best regards,
Jennifer Entine Matz
Legislative Aide to Supervisor Alioto-Pier
March 18, 2005 Stephen Dreyfuss, Glenn Morgan and Dave Earl met with Jennifer Entine Matz and discussed how to proceed at this point. Ms. Matz grasped the issues quickly, shared with us the current status of the project and has begun to take some positive action on our behalf.
March 22, 2005-Seven Musicians from various groups attend the bi-monthly San Francisco Port Commission meeting and ask the Port Authority for some "Sound Designated Areas" in essentially the same areas we have been playing music and performing for decades.
Stephen Dreyfuss displays a fourteen page roll of maps showing currently designated Street Artist locations to contrast with the current number of presently sanctioned spots for musicians which is .......ZERO.
March 31 The one year anniversary of our intitial meeting with The Entertainment Commission's office.
Nothing substantial has transpired on our behalf.
May 2-Stephen Dreyfuss attends the monthly meeting of the San Francisco Arts Commission in order to deliver a short speech during the public comment portion of the meeting. The speech focuses on the discriminatory policies of the Street Artist Program as presented in the Street Artist Handbook co-authored by Howard Lazar who had been in attendance. Howard Lazar quickly leaves the meeting chambers before the speech is half delivered clearly making himself unavailable to defend his own creation. Commissioner Rod Freebairn-Smith asks me if we have tried contacting any other city agencies. I briefly detail the many agencies listed in this chronicle and again plead for an accelerated solution as we feel we are being passed around from one city agency to the next much like the proverbial hot potato nobody wants to touch. Commisioner J.P.Johnson comments that it is not the purview of the Arts Commission to deal with entertainment or film. Although the implication is there are other commissions to deal with us, the main import of his comment appears to be "It's not our job". He urged the commissioners to look over the material I had distributed and the meeting was adjourned.
May 3 Dave Earl calls Jennifer Matz and is informed by her answering machine she no nonger works for Supervisor Alioto-Pier. It seems someone else will have to "restore our faith in city government" He calls the referal number on the machine but no-one bothers to return the call.
May 5 Dave Earl calls Rose Chung to see if Supervisor Peskin can do anything for us since we are so out of the loop. Ms Chung returns the call quickly and says she'll try to schedule another meeting with Mr. Peskin.
May 9-A recent series of phone calls to executive staff members and managers of the San Francisco Port Authority appears to reflect a genuine effort to deal with Street Performer and Musician issues-issues which are complex, but hardly insurmountable. Confusion surrounds the lack of specific sales permits on par with Street Artist Permits, and the use of reasonable amplification needed to be heard above the din of tour buses, service trucks and motorcycles. A consensus seems to be emerging; that actual spaces may indeed be allocated as "sound designated" by the SF Port Authority. The time, manner and place of performance can all be dealt with, we feel, in a manner similar to the current Street Artist Program.
July 13 Stephen Dreyfus calls Howard Lazaar on behalf of the Guild to attempt to discuss implementation of city Attorney opinion #83-61. He leaves a clear message with his contact information. This is ignored by Mr. Lazaar.
July 30 Dave Earl calls Mr Lazaar with the same intent as Stephen's last call- to try to meet Mr Lazaar and discuss the issues at hand and find an equitable resolution. He leaves a message with his contact info but is also ignored by Mr. Lazaar.
October 19, 2005-The Board of Supervisors Land Use committee convenes. Item number one on the agenda is the yearly request by Howard Lazar for Seasonal Holiday sidewalk spaces around Union Square for the sidewalk vendors of the Street Artist Program. Supervisor McGoldrick questions Mr. Lazar concerning whether or not musicians are part of the Street Artists Program. Mr. Lazar assures Supervisor McGoldrick that musicians are indeed in the program. Stephen Dreyfuss loudly objects on the grounds that there are no permits issued to performing musicians within the Street Artists Program. In addition, the two-year SFPD crackdown on musicians appear to have been triggered in part by the attempt by Mr. Lazar to move his sidewalk vendors onto Port Property traditionally used by musicians, mimes and juggling acts. A two week continuance of this issue is decided upon by the Land Use Committee.
November 2-Item number 4 one at the convening of the Land Use Committee is once again, the request for Union Square Holiday spaces for the vendors of the Street Artists Program. Five musicians speak up expressing their desire to be granted permit parity with the Street Artists Program. Half a dozen or so Street Artists who appear to have been “bussed in” by Mr. Lazar speak up in their own interests and seem to have a remarkable lack of understanding of the plight of permit-less musicians. Supervisor McGoldrick lets it be know he will urge a vote for the approval of SAP Holiday spaces. There is simply not enough time before the Holidays to fashion a solution. He expresses sympathy for the problems faced by musicians and resolves to help find a solution declaring “This is not rocket science”. The musicians agree wholeheartedly and leave the meeting feeling somewhat optimistic.
November 10-Stephen Dreyfuss performs music on the corner of Jefferson and Taylor Streets for the first time since the Land Use Committee meetings and is ticketed yet one more by SFPD officer MgLaughlin for “Violations of MPC 869-selling CDs without a permit”. Dreyfuss objects to Officer McLaughlin because these tickets never come to trial and are routinely dismissed. Officer McLaughlin says he has no control over which tickets come to trial and which get dismissed.
November 30-A meeting of the Police Commission is attended by Stephen Dreyfuss and during the public comment portion, Mr. Dreyfuss objects to yet more “harassment” tickets issued under the guise of violating MPC 869. In addition to outlining a brief history of the musicians’ struggles, he includes the following passage concerning his own recent ticket.
“I HAVE HERE IN MY HAND THE MOST RECENT TICKET I RECEIVED ON NOVEMBER TENTH. I WILL CONTEST THIS VIOLATION AND IN THE PROCESS, BE FORCED TO APPEAR AT 850 BRYANT STREET, THE HALL OF JUSTICE, THREE TIMES WHEREUPON IT WILL BE SUMMARILY DISSMISSED WITHOUT COMMENT. THIS IS A WASTE OF TIME FOR THE COURTS, AND THE POLICE,… A PUNITIVE WASTE OF MY OWN TIME AND A SUBVERSION OF JUSTICE.”
Chief of Police, Heather Fong expresses an interest in the situation and asks if we have sought to speak with the Captain of Central Station, Captain Dudley. We have not sought direct council with Captain Dudley but have been discouraged in reaching any substantive discussion by his predecessor, Captain Steven Takini from early in 2004 and onward.
Emerson Ortis appears towards the end of the public comment portion and expresses his sense of frustration with the whole ongoing situation of the harassment of musicians by one officer in particular, Pete McLaughlin, who appears well supported by his commanding officers.. Mr. Ortis receives a few general offers of assistance and we musicians are indeed still seeking a solution. Below is the full text of the comments delivered to the San Francisco Police Commission on November 30, 2005:
My name is Stephen Dreyfuss. I represent many of the Street Musicians who perform at Fisherman’s Wharf. For the past two years there has been a concerted campaign by the SFPD to ticket us, primarily through violations of MPC 869, selling our own CDs without a permit. These tickets are routinely dissmissed by the courts, and in fact, rarely do the ticketing officers appear in court. This clearly constitutes a form of harassment. One judge, in throwing out tickets issued to Emerson Ortis, specifically requested that the Police not bring such cases into his courtroom again.
We have been working steadily with a variety of city agencies to rectify this situation. Those agencies include the offices of Supervisors Peskin, Alioto-Pier and McGoldrick, as well as the Entertainment Commision, and the Port upon whose property we are performing. All of these entities have expressed their support and desire to help us achieve our goal: A fair and reasonable permit process, as has already been established by other major cities including Boston, New York, Seattle, and Denver.
We believe the intent of the voters who passed Proposition L in 1975 did not exclude performing artists. The fact that the Arts Commision, in implementing Prop L chose to exclude performing artists in no way diminishes the rights we share to be supported and protected equally under the law. We ask that the Police Department cease immediately this persecution which we believe is unlawful while we continue to work with the various agencies to find an equitable solution. Thank youMonday, January 16, 2006-I am issued a brand new ticket from Officer MgLauglin for violating MPC 869. I complain that these tickets never come to trial, and so this is an outright harrassment by the SFPD and by officer MgLauglin in particular. He insists he has no control over whether or not the tickets he issues ever come to trial. I complain to him that I will have to go to 850 Bryant Street three times only to have this ticket dismissed. He seems unconcerned about the inconvenience it might cause me but asks me not to schedule a trial date he would be subpoenaed for on his day off because it would personally inconvenience his family. We agree to disagree.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006-I receive a returned call from Captain Dudley of the Northern Station and who is also Officer MgLaughin’s Commanding Officer. I ask the Captain if he could ask his patrolman to exert a bit of common sense discretion in regards to Street Musicians. He begins to read me chapter and verse of the MPC 869. I assure him I have my own copies of MPC 869. Captain Dudley insists his officer will uphold the law and I counter that in that case, I would very much like to see these tickets come to trial so the legality of city policy might be examined. At this point, Captain Dudley counters my request by letting me know that if I want a trial, he would make sure I was declared a Public Nuisance as well as a Scofflaw. Furthermore, he personally would bring the DA in on the case to make sure I will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Later that afternoon, I received a couple of documents from Betty Chan who is the legislative assistant to Supervisor Jake McGoldrick.. We musicians and performers were very impressed by the product of Ms. Chans’ work. The Documents include a report from the office of the Legislative Analyst(OLA No. 073-05) summarizing the permitting schemes for street performers to sell their products in other cities. The findings are very well laid out along with other associated issues to consider. There is an Excel chart comparing performer rules and regulations in 7 other major US cities including Santa Monica, Cambridge and Chicago among others. Along with the OLA report is a resolution which seems to have been generated by the office of Supervisor Alioto Pier. The resolution has no force of law but it is the most positive step we have seen in a long time. We thank all those who put in such good work towards finding a solution and must especially thank Betty Chan for her ability to look at a fairly complex issue from a wide variety of viewpoints and compel some positively revealing reports to be circulated.
Tuesday January 24-Supervisor Jake McGoldrick introduces the resolution at roll call. We musicians support the sense of this resolution and hope it will help to pave the way towards a serendipitous solution.
March 23, 2006: Howard Lazar, Richard Nuwirth, Bob Davis, Jake McGoldrick and Betty Chan sat down to a meeting centered on how to solve the problem of Street Artist Sales Permits being denied to musicians wishing to sell their own music on the sidewalks of San Francisco. No musicians or performers were invited but a synopsis of the meeting was provided to us after the fact. The meeting apparently got off to a rocky start with the Arts Commision/Street Artist representatives insisting they absolutely could NOT administer a program to extend sales licenses to street musicians. Bob Davis speaking as director of the San Francisco Entertainment Commission countered that the administration of such a program COULD be handled by his agency. He apparently expressed a decisive desire to handle the issues. The Entertainment Commision clearly has the ability to issue sound permits and there appears to be an in-house monitor available to check up on musicians' permits. An agreement was reached whereby the Board of Supervisors Resolution #060121 would be tabled for the time being. Mr. Davis asked for positive guidance and a lack of political interference from whatever forces are opposed to issuing permits to musicians.
This previous aspect is especially important in light of the fact that the Street Artists Program tried to take over the very sidewalks musicians have performed on for the past three decades. For further details and confirmation, check out the minutes of "Street Artists Committee, Wednesday April 9, 2003" and "Port of San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf Waterfront Advisory Group Minutes, May 20, 2003". These two documents detail the boldface land grab by the Street Artists Program. Howard Lazar in particular has been the chief behind the scene operator in bringing so much needless grief and trouble upon musicians. I confronted Mr. Lazar about this very issue in late summer of 2005 on Jefferson Street. To paraphrase our heated exchange:
Stephen Dreyfuss: "Mr. Lazar, when the police crackdown began on musicians in December of 2003, how could you not even let us know you had made formal moves to annex the land we perform on for the exclusive use by vendors of the Street Artists Program?"
Howard Lazar: "Well…, I don't work for YOU guys."
And indeed he does not and never has been concerned with anything but securing more San Francisco sidewalk space for bead stringers, T-shirt silk screeners and sketch artists.
This is all very germane to a successful resolution. Now what remains is to:
(A) secure permission form the Port Authority for designated performance spots and
(B) Secure the sales permits. This last piece of the puzzle centers on the language of Article 24 of the Municipal Code. The legal language is ambiguous especially when it is cross- referenced with the text of Proposition L from 1975. The language of Article 24 must either be changed slightly or a "Memorandum of Understanding" clearly extending sales to musicians must be drafted. These are the contested legal issues which are prevented from receiving a courtroom hearing when tickets are issued for violating MPC 869 are continually dissmissed.
March 27, 2006-Yet one more ticket issued to Stephen Dreyfuss is routinely dismissed by the clerks at "The Hall of Justice".
April 18, 2006-A Substantive City Hall meeting included two members of the Port Authority staff, staff from the Board of Supervisors as well as Jocelyn Kane and Bob Davis of the Entertainment Commission who were all introduced to each other to discuss the issues of permits and spaces. The four musicians in attendance took the occasion to present their comprehensive “Street Musician Guidelines”. There was a target date from the Port of July 1 to establish a legal framework.
May 9, 2006-A Port meeting attended by Emerson Ortis as well as Officer MacLauglin proved animated when discussing Port Property and patrols by the SFPD. Apparently Officer MacLauglin grossly exaggerated the dimensions of the problems created by Open-Air Musicians performing on Port property. A curious aspect of Officer MagLaughlin’s testimony:
Officer MagLaughlin is well known for issuing tickets for violations of MPC 869-tickets, which have been proven to NEVER come to trial. At the same time he has harassed us, he has claimed he is just doing his job and would love to see a permit system in place. It is more than a little curious that in his testimony before the Port authority, Officer MagLaughlin never once mentioned that he would like to see some sort of permit system in place for Open-Air Musicians. That would have been a wonderful opportunity to do so. In fact, what he DID do was lobby the Port Authority for extra funds to patrol more hours on Port Property. We Open-Air musicians are taken aback that he would ask for a handout, financially. If patrolling the Port to crack down on Open-Air Music is such a priority, let it be paid for with the regular funds the Police use to get paid. A long history of capital transfer in the form of “10-B-funds” has served the Street Artists Program in pushing their agenda. In the interests of simple and honest fairness, we musicians would like the equal rights to supply the SFPD with our own “10-B Funds”. Saturday, May 13-Open-Air Music provides musical ambience to an emotionally charged community function at the request Bob Davis on behalf of The Mayor’s Office.
June 13, 2006-Bob Davis sends an e mail reply assuring us the City Attorney’s Office along with staff from the Port are working on language that can be taken to the Port Commission
August 13, 2006-The concept creating a Sampler Promotional CD of Open-Air Musicians takes form and leads to the pre-production work on a positive promotional tool.
November 29, 2006-Emerson Ortis receives one more ticket for selling CDs without a permit (MPC 869) and an additional ticket for the unauthorized use of an amplifier (MPC 43a). Officer MgLaughlin also confiscated some of Mr. Ortis’ electronic cords and connectors. To date, it appears the amplifier ticket has been dismissed, but the electronic cords have not been recovered by Mr. Ortis. A court date is scheduled for MPC 869 on January 9th, 2007. Emerson has recieved about 40 tickets so far. What kind of a city makes public music a crime?
November and December 2006-Officer Pete McGlaughlin, badge number 2186, has begun ticketing musicians for blocking the sidewalk MPC 63a), and using amplification (43a) in addition to the longtime "infraction" of selling our own music without a permit (MPC 869). This 3 pronged approach has resulted in successfully clearing any and all Open air musicians out of the Fisherman's Wharf area during the time is on duty, daily through 3:30PM. At 4PM, unliscenced vendors selling sunglasses, twinkly lights, laser-printed artwork and all manner of mass-produced merchandise flood the area. Officer McGlauglin has stated publicly that he feels abandoned by the Police Commission and Police Command structure, which clearly does not seem to care about posting more foot patrols to further his crackdown on musicians or unliscenced vendors after he is off duty (after 4PM). He makes the further claim that he is unable to distinguish between musicians and other "unliscenced" vendors. This is not nearly as complex an issue as Officer McGlaghlin claims it is.
April 18th, 2006- we musicians submitted our proposal "Guidelines for Open Air Entertainers" to the San Francisco Port Authority, the Entertainment Commission, members of the Board of Supervisors staff and any and all interested parties. This document incorporates many of the ideas presented originally by Port staff, as well as using many of the successful principles of the Street Artist Program from which we musicians have been excluded for over 30 years. These include a clear and fair lottery system for "Sound Designated Spaces" and a yearly permit fee to sell our own CDs as musical artists conversant with the craft of music. We musicians feel this proposal is solidly crafted and will be very workable once permits are issued to us to sell, and "Sound Designated Spaces" are assigned to us in the same manner in which the Street Artists Program has successfully garnered thousands of square feet for permitted vendors. Clearly, the San Francisco Police Department protects Bead Stringing and we are asking for equal protections under the law.
The latest flurry of tickets is as follows:
Citation #: 002672401 (MPC 869) 10/29/06 dismissed 1/9/07
001885643 (MPC 21) 10/29/06 dismissed 1/9/07
001344313 (MPC 43a) 10/29/06 dismissed 1/9/07
001885730 (MPC 43a) 11/06 pending
002672445 (MPC 63a) 11/06 pending
000289984 (MPC 869) Late '06 pending
These latest harassment tickets boost the grand total to over 100 bogus tickets issued in the past 3 years, almost all by one officer. This represents over 1000 hours of punitive time spent by recipients in the process of clearing up these "infractions". This does not even take into account the time wasted by the various legal departments tracking and recording these tickets.
Feb 16, 2007
Dave Earl entertains visitors to SF on the corner of Jefferson and Taylor. Officer Mcglaughlin feels compelled to shut him down stating "no amplifiers on the street" Is this really the best use of our police force?
It's been nearly 3 years since our initial meeting with Supervisor Peskin and Bob Davis. The situation on the street is worse than ever.
March 7, 2007-The severe crackdown on amplification during the day shift of the SFPD wharf patrol continues. The SFPD evening shift does not enforce ANY of the rules enforced in the daytime. This has resulted in an unprecedented chaos in the evening hours. "Merchants" display hundreds of square feet of laser printed artwork on the sidewalks using generators to power lights and music. Spray paint artists release toxic plumes of spray paint into the crowds while the artists protect themselves with charcoal filter masks. Rows of tables block the sidewalks in order for a manager to run crews of salespeople selling LED lights and sunglasses to the accompaniment of sound speakers and lights powered by the very same types of generators prohibited in the daytime.
It appears at this point that the San Francisco Police Department is acting with impunity and disregard for equal protection under the law. Complaints or objections about SFPD policy are simply brushed aside with "official pronouncements", buried in lost or misplaced paperwork or just not addressed at all. This is a shame to the City and blight upon good government. The visiting public clearly has an expectation of some Open Air musicians and street performers of various kinds. These very performers are prohibited from entertaining the public while the crass merchandising at night is clearly running wild.
On March 22, 2007, a meeting was held with some of the principle representatives involved in the oversight related to street performers and street musicians at Fisherman's Wharf. In attendance were, Katharine Arrow, senior property manager for the Port, Brad Benson, manager from the Port, Karen Bell, from the Community Benefits District, Bob Davis director of the Entertainment Commission, Rodney Fong, president of the Fisherman's Wharf Merchant's Association, Virginia Dario-Dellasandro, from the City Attorney's office as well as Betty Chan, aide to Supervisor McGoldrick. Ms. Chan relayed to me the essence of this occasion.
The fact that so many of the principle representatives involved attended this discussion and have done so without including any performers who have precipitated this meeting is illuminating for a couple of reasons. It was unquestionably our own lobbying and advocacy efforts as musicians and performers which precipitated this meeting and in fact, we have not only contacted all the above mentioned parties ourselves, met most of them face to face and introduced them to EACH OTHER, in many cases. The good news is that it would appear our issues are being looked at seriously. The bad news is the fact that we have been excluded from this meeting speaks to our lack political and administrative muscle. What follows is Betty Chan's brief on the meeting and a wrap-up of a quick discussion she and I had concerning these issues point by point.
Brad Benson began by pressing for a "master lease agreement" which would yield a "Master License" to "designate space for usage" and presumably control performances. This would be distinctly different from the "Street Artist Permits" in that it would grant the ability to control performances rather than simply BE a permit to sell and perform. I mentioned to Ms. Chan that we are very wary of a management company coming in and controlling everything such as JMJ Management currently does at Union Square and Yerba Buena Gardens. Betty Chan said that there are complaints about JMJ exerting a stifling control over Union Square. She and I further discussed how it is not in the interests of street performers to be caught up in having to negotiate an extra layer of bureaucratic management just to work on a weekly basis. JMJ currently schedules 2 concerts a week and we have reason to believe they are PAID performances, most likely out of the SF Hotel and Visitors' tax a portion of which is apportioned to the Arts Commision. I'm not 100% about how the funding DOES work. In any case, Brad Benson would like to have a "Master License" for certain spaces, and someone would manage the property.
The model of Pier 39 was discussed as a possible goal to emulate. I strongly countered this suggestion with Ms. Chan because Pier 39 is a privately leased space that is tightly controlled with very limited playing time and space. Although the lottery and scheduling models of pier 39 are exemplary, we musicians and performers would like more than ONE MORE single performance space legalized. In OUR overall vision, we would certainly want public performance spaces more on par with the Street Artists Program (many spaces, multiple locations) than the Pier 39 model.
Karen Bell of the CBD mentioned the need for a monitor and someone would need to be there every day. There seems to have been some discussion of making sure spaces are open somewhere for someone who just stops by and has no permit. In a previous discussion with Rodney Fong, he and I had discussed the "Open Space" (non-permitted or sound-designated) portions similar to public tennis courts
Whereby a 2-hour slot could be signed up for by an unscheduled performer- (details to follow.)
Bob Davis said the Entertainment Commission could issue sound permits as has been stipulated previously. Betty Chan says the Board of Supervisors could put code amendments before the board. Presumably, Virginia Dario Dellasandro would draft those. Katharine Arrow apparently provided some sort of balance and detailed some of the performance issues.
Betty Chan summed up her feelings about the meeting in general by saying that "the devil is in the details" and so it is. She finished up by saying that it was agreed that the next meeting should include the some of the principal musician's advocates such as Emerson and myself. I forwarded her the most likely days for mid April and that is where things now stand.
March 24, 2007
Dave Earl entertains visitors to SF on the street at fisherman's wharf .Officer Noel Deleone feels compelled to shut him down stating "no amplifiers on the street". Although the officer was very cordial the bottom line is enforcement in this manner completely shuts down live music on the street. This is a loss to the city.
April 10, 2007
Emerson, Stephen Dreyfus and Dave Earl have an impromptu jam session at the crab sign. They hand out flyers informing visitors of the struggle to legalize street musc. When several people complained they couldnt hear the acoustic guitar over the traffic noise Dave Earl plugged in a small battery amplifier. Within minutes Officer De Leon came on his bicycle and threatened equipment confiscation if the amplifier were not shut off.
July 17, 2007- The San Francisco Port Authority unveil a draft "Street Performer Guidelines and Rules". We've seen versions of this document and have had some input to it's content in the last 2 years.
This Program was well received and Officer Fred Crisp of the SFPD Permit Bureau expressed support for a program to be implemented. A second policeman Officer Lee also spoke in favor of the program. Karen Bell of the Community Benefits District expressed a desire to see some final adjustments concerning liability, locations and enforcement.
A community workshop is scheduled for Monday, August 6th under the guidance of the San Francisco Port Authority in order to fine tune this latest draft. An early September Port meeting is slated to vote on the adoption of a Street Performer Program on a trial basis..
A draft copy of the proposal can be downloaded from the Port Web site:
Click July 17, 2007, 10a Attachment-Draft Street Performers Program Guidelines and Rules.
Monday, August 6th
The workshop is held at the Hilton Hotel in SF. Most all interests were strongly represented. The current draft proposal was reviewed with verbal input from interested parties. Follow-up workshop is scheduled for 10am Thursday August 16 2007 at Pier 1
Thursday August 16 2007
Workshop meeting was held and issues were discussed. Hopes are that the proposal can be ratified for October 2007 implementation. It's been three and a half years since we began this process.
Thursday August 23 2007
Senior Property Manager Katharine Arrow, Soundman Vajra Granelli and others from The San Francisco Port Authority met with street performers and conducted sound level tests and reviewed potential sites for performance viability. Musicians were given a one day reprieve from the outdated ordinances that the police have been forced to enforce and The wharf was alive with song once again. The San Francisco Musicians Guild had musicians from Powell St to Hyde St.
Tuesday October 9, 2007
The SF Port commision adopted a pilot program that is designed to allow performers to legally perform on the streets of fisherman's wharf and sell their CD's. The original draft was authored by Claudia Davison with input from all interested parties. Senior property manager Katharine Arrow was greatly instrumental in getting the plan approved.
Tuesday March 11, 2008.
The Port Commission voted unanimously to make the street performers plan permanent
saturday July 10 Hector is arrested and equipment confiscated
Sat July 19 2008
Emerson is Handcuffed by police
Tuesday Aug 5, 2008
Stephen Dreyfus, Dave Earl and Betty Buttons attend meeting at the Cannery to discuss these last 2 events with police. Lt. Hogue is affable says she'll look into it.
March 2009
SF Port Property Manager Claudia Davison, one of the key people in getting
the performer program approved retires. This month is the 1st that the slot selection is lead
by street performer Darryl Johnson.
April 2009
The Police have said over and over that the Port Program Guidelines are unclear
and can't be enforced.Members of the SF Street Musician's Guild embark on a mission
to clarify and update the guidelines in order to strengthen the program.
June 2009
Jay Edwards is hired by SF Port to replace Claudia Davison as the new property manager
under Katharine Arrow. We're hoping the new regime will adopt the much needed changes and
improvements to the guidelines we've proposed.
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