Illegal club had been a magnet for crime
SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 23, 2019) — City Attorney Dennis Herrera has delivered an early Christmas present to Bayview residents by shutting down an illegal nightclub that was a hotbed for violent crime.
The City Attorney’s Office worked closely with the Police Department, Sheriff’s Department, property owner and local residents to successfully evict and shutter the nightclub at 2110 Palou Avenue, which had plagued residents for months. The property owner evicted the club operators on Dec. 19 after the City Attorney’s Office led a code enforcement inspection of the property and prepared to take legal action.
“I’m pleased we could restore safety and peace of mind to Bayview residents just in time for the holidays,” City Attorney Dennis Herrera said. “Keeping our communities safe is our top priority, and we use all the tools at our disposal to do so. This underground operation had been a magnet for crime. I’m pleased we were able shut it down while saving taxpayers the cost of a lawsuit. I want to thank the staff in my office, Supervisor Shamann Walton and the police and sheriff’s departments for their hard work on this. In particular I wanted to recognize the great collaboration our office had with SFPD Captain Troy Dangerfield of the Bayview Station and Commander Peter Walsh of the Field Operations Bureau.”
Herrera notified the property owner in April 2019 of numerous complaints about an illegal club operating out of a portion of a building and urged the owner to take action. (Another part of the building houses an automotive shop.) The illegal club generated dozens of 911 calls in the past year. San Francisco police officers responding to these calls documented a disturbing pattern of dangerous and illegal activities occurring at the property, including illegal gambling, noise complaints, robberies, assaults, gun shots and apparent gang activity.
Police were called to the scene six different times in March 2019 alone, including for a person with a gun and three different fights, with all of those incidents happening after 3 a.m.
In a different incident, police were called after an assault with aggravated force was reported on the street nearby. After the assault unknown subjects drove past the witness and told him: “Don’t say anything.”
After repeatedly urging the owners to intervene, the City Attorney’s Office led a Code Enforcement Task Force inspection of the property in September 2019. Complaints continued to come in about the location. Facing impending legal action from the City Attorney’s Office, the property owners finally initiated court proceedings against the scofflaw nightclub operators. Upon the court issuing an eviction order, the Sheriff’s Department executed the order on an expedited basis. In a coordinated effort, the eviction was completed safely and without incident.
With the eviction of the illegal nightclub, the City Attorney’s Office is confident that the site no longer poses a threat to public safety.
More information can be found on the City Attorney’s website: www.sfcityattorney.org.
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