BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING AT TEN 15 FOLSOM

Mandatory Searches, Video Surveillance Required at SoMa Dance Club

After months of negotiations with the City Attorney's Office and the San
Francisco Police Department, Ten 15 Folsom, the city's largest after-hours
nightclub, reached a settlement on May 31 that will allow the club to stay
open but not without strict new rules that threaten the privacy of club
patrons.

The 25-page settlement includes so many unprecedented new requirements
including a mandatory search of everyone entering the premises that some
fear it may drive much of Ten 15's clientele away.

The settlement marks a dramatic escalation of the war against nightclub
operations in San Francisco. In addition to paying a $200,000 fine, the
nightclub must install security cameras to monitor every inch of public
space inside the facility (except for the bathrooms, which are to be
patrolled by uniformed guards).

Anyone caught with even a tiny amount of drugs will be detained and turned
over to the police, the settlement states.

The club agreed to "maintain a [video] monitoring system that is readily
accessible to security personnel and that allows instant viewing of any and
all images from the surveillance cameras."

Joe Wood, attorney for Ten 15, insists that the cameras will be obvious to
patrons. "The cameras won't be hidden this will be overt. Everyone will
know they're being filmed," he told the Bay Guardian. "In fact, we
anticipate taking advantage of the cameras by creating large video monitors
inside the club which will allow patrons to see themselves and other
patrons dancing, thereby enhancing the mood and vibration created by the
music and the movement of the crowd."

The settlement calls for the club to thoroughly search patrons for drugs
and weapons at the door.

In the past, Wood said, if security found small amounts of drugs, "we did
what police suggested, which was destroy the suspected drugs and never let
the person in again. Police now say that despite the amount of work it may
create for them, we must contact the police every instance we find anything
that looks like drugs at all."

Over Memorial Day weekend, there were 19 narcotics arrests made at Ten 15
Folsom. Last weekend there were no arrests.

The club must also submit a log of the coming week's entertainment schedule
to the permit officer at SFPD's Southern Station, Rose Meyer. The log
includes, according to the settlement documentation, "the names of the DJs,
promoters, and, if a private event, the name and contact information of the
person renting the club and an estimate of the total number of expected
patrons."

The logs, Meyer said, "will allow us be aware of what type of activity will
be going on that night, and if a promoter has been problematic in the past,
we will contact [the] owner of [the] nightclub so they don't rent their
space to the particular promoter."

Wood said that providing the SFPD with the list should not be threatening
to anyone. "It's no secret who the DJs are; that's not confidential. If
that makes them feel better, we don't feel bad about providing that
information."

DJ Jeno, who plays regularly in local clubs, told us the settlement "stinks."

"If every time I play in a club in San Francisco, my name is going on a
list down at the SFPD, then obviously there is an assumption that I (and
all the other DJs in this town) may be involved in some kind of criminal
activity," he stated in an e-mail. He said he's concerned that the police
will blacklist politically controversial promoters and DJs.

Sup. Mark Leno, who is interested in forming an entertainment commission to
remove the nightclub permitting process from the jurisdiction of the SFPD,
said he believes that the provisions are unacceptable.

"Many aspects of this settlement are quite disturbing," he told us. "The
surveillance cameras and the reporting of DJs and promoters certainly
proves that the club is in a tough spot. If anything, the situation of Ten
15 calls out for an entertainment commission, which I have been proposing."

Chris Smith, founder and president of Om Records, told us, "The idea of
putting security cameras in a San Francisco nightclub is pretty horrifying.
I don't want the police looking over my shoulder when I choose to go out
and party. It's unfortunate that Ten 15 has been put in this position."

Ira Sandler, owner of Ten 15, said he's hopeful that patrons will not be
deterred by the provisions of the settlement. "Ten 15 is, as always, trying
to create the best possible entertainment venue for its patrons," he said.
"In making that effort, we are necessarily taking strong measures to ensure
that the club environment is safe and free of illegal activity. Once people
understand the purpose of those measures and see that they are being
uniformly applied, they are happy to comply with them."

According to Sylvia Harper, captain of the SFPD's Southern Station, Ten
15's case is not a reflection of things to come. "Not all club owners will
have to be this strict; I would not make this demand on everyone," she told
us. "But since each club is individual, each club will have to do whatever
it takes to ensure the same level of security." Harper said she believes
that Ten 15 patrons will be happy with the new changes. "The people who are
going there to have a good time will appreciate that no one is offering
them drugs or having illicit activities. This is a place I could send my kids."