San Francisco’s board of appeals on Wednesday night decided to uphold an entertainment ruling that limits live music after midnight at a popular nightclub.
The owner of the club called it a death sentence.
"Having a condition to kill our sound at midnight will kill our business in 90 days," Hue nightclub owner Bennett Montoya said after making a full-court press to persuade the board to reverse an earlier ruling that forced the midnight cut-off.
Surveillance video taken from a business next door to Hue showed some of the problems people say take place there regularly. Those include fights and public drunkeness, leading to numerous calls to San Francisco police.
Nearby business owners say it makes for an unsafe environment not only for them and their patrons, but also for people just trying to walk down the Broadway corridor.
While police say the midnight limit is about safety, Montoya said his business is being targeted by neighbors and police because the club’s clientele is mostly African-American.
"I encourage people who use race as a motive to damage Hue to stop being a part of the problem, but be a part of the solution," Hue patron Fred Mack said.
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Supervisor Aaron Peskin was pleased with the decision.
"It’s time for the commission to let people know we will not tolerate violence in our community," Peskin said.
In addition to upholding the midnight curfew on Hue, the appeals board ruled that the club will have to better monitor sound coming from the venue at all hours.
