SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION
STREET ARTISTS COMMITTEE

Wednesday, July 12, 2017
2:30 p.m.

401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 125
San Francisco, CA 94102

Regular Meeting

Minutes

Commissioner Frankel called the meeting to order at 2:45 p.m.

1. Roll Call

Commissioners Present:
Simon Frankel, Acting Chair
Mary Jung
Marcus Shelby
Janine Shiota

Commissioners Absent:
Barbara Sklar, Chair

Staff present: Deputy Director Rebekah Krell, Street Artists Market Manager Anne Trickey
 

2.   General Public Comment.
Tad Sky made thanked Commissioner Jung for visiting Justin Herman Plaza and requested more staff support at the market. He submitted the following written public comment.

“WISH LIST:

"MOU" WITH REC/PARK FOR JHP ARTS&CRAFTS MARKET

“MARKET MANAGER ON SITE FOR BUSIEST DAYS: FRI SAT SUN

“COMPETENT, THOROUGH CRAFTS MONITORING AT MARKET PLACES

"FOLLOW-UP" MONITORING ON STREET OF NEWLY SCREENED ARTISTS. USE OF TABLET TO COMPARE SCREENED WORK WITH WORK ON PISPLAY.

“COMPETENT INVESTIGATION OF CRAFTS VIOLATION COMPLAINTS: COMPARING PHOTOS OF "SCREENED" CRAFTS TO PHOTOS OF WORK ON DISPLAY

“BANNERS AT JHP MARKET: DESCRIBING LOCAL, HANDMADE WORK ON DISPLAY AND AFFILIATION WITH THE SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION

“INTERN TO ASSIST SAP STAFF…HIRE ASP.

“ADHERENCE TO BLUE BOOK FOR PROGRAM RULES AND GUIDELINES SO ARTISTS AND STAFF HAVE A COMMON REFERENCE

“SUBMITTED BY TAD SKY(#166) JULY 12, 2017”

Abby Ellis elucidated that her desire for the program to go slow is due to economic and social factors that need to be understood in order to implement programmatic changes.

Ann Treboux submitted the following written public comment.

“A SFPD officer approached me a few weeks ago. He said he was contacted by Deputy City Attorney Margaret Baumgartner. She asked him to appear at a Board of Permits and Appeals hearing. She wanted him to speak against me and that the SFAC wanted to block the issuance of a Street Artist permit he said he didn't have anything to do with it and didn't know why he was contacted.

“Anne Trickey has yelled at me for no real reason three different times and I would like for this to stop. In 2015, in the lobby of 25 Van Ness Ave.-she ran down to the guard's desk screaming to call 911. She was reprimanded by management. 2016, she ran into the Street Artist office screaming to call SFPD. I was attending a public meeting. Both SFPD and management reprimanded her. 2017, I went into the office to ask a question. Trickey, screamed that, "I was over the line". There was no line. I would like for this to stop.”

There was no further public comment.

3.   Hearing and possible motion to approve two month suspension of certificate for street artist Henoc de Alba #8962 for interfering with another artist's business, engaging in a physical altercation, and using inappropriate language in regards to a minor.

Ms. Trickey gave a summary of the incident and went over the procedure for violations. She described the process for witness statements and the hearing which includes submission of documents in favor or against the issue in question and said each artist would get five minutes to speak.

Mauricio Trabuco gave a recounting of the incident for two minutes, supporting the initial report. Jennifer Greco gave a recounting of the incident from her perspective for three minutes. Ms. Greco stated that she didn’t want the hearing, but wanted Mr. de Alba to understand how this had impacted the safety of her family and participation in the program.

Henoc de Alba gave a recounting of the incident with the assistance of an interpreter. He feels that the incident was orchestrated to get him out of the market due to frustrations surrounding copying his designs. Outside of starting the argument by accusing Mr. Trabuco of copying his designs, he denied the complaints stated in the violation.

Ms. Trickey asked the Commissioners if they had questions. Commissioner Shiota asked if there were any other witnesses. Ms. Trickey clarified that a summary of the witness statements was in their packet, but the witnesses were not present.

Commissioner Shiota asked about a previous incident of violence mentioned by witnesses; Ms. Trickey said no complaint had come through the office, so there was no record of it on file.

Ms. Trickey mentioned that in regards to copying, as stated by the City Attorney, unless there is a court decision in federal court regarding copyright law, the office has no legal recourse on enforcement of copying. This continues to be a contentious issue in the program between artists.

Commissioner Shelby asked about previous issues regarding copying. Ms. Trickey clarified that the City Attorney opinion is what is stated, and that the Bluebook states copying is not appropriate or kind; she added that the Bluebook is currently only in English. Commissioner Frankel asked what was copied and Ms. Trickey responded with a particular jewelry design of an elephant.

Commissioner Shelby said that it should not be up to the artists to self-police the copying issue and that there should be some way for the Arts Commission to offer technical assistance to artists for protecting their work as a way to avoid arguments, violence and threats between artists that compromise the safety of the program.

Commissioner Jung recommended education and said that behavior standards should be clearly stated for artists entering the program. She asked about the absentee witness statement. Ms. Trickey reviewed the statement. Commissioner Jung asked about previous statements regarding Mr. de Alba. Ms. Trickey stated that previous complaints against Mr. de Alba included noise, not cleaning his selling space, and a previous interpersonal argument. Commissioner Jung asked if Mr. de Alba was denying Mr. Trabuco’s statement regarding the incident and Ms. Trickey clarified that his statement at the hearing did not align with his previous statement taken at the office.

Commissioner Shiota asked, and Ms. Trickey confirmed, that Mr. de Alba said his anxiety was the reason he began the argument.

Commissioner Shelby asked about the recommendation for discipline. Ms. Trickey clarified that a two-month suspension is the standard recommendation to the Committee.

Commissioner Frankel asked for clarification regarding when Mr. de Alba's permit ended. Ms. Trickey responded that his license expired June 30, and he has not had a valid license for the first twelve days of July.

Commissioner Jung referred back to Ms. Greco’s statement and mentioned the impact of being unlicensed on Mr. de Alba. She said two months seemed harsh.

The interpreter asked for clarification on the definition of suspension on behalf of Mr. de Alba. Ms. Trickey referred to the other options available in the city with the Peddler Permit.  She stated that any decision was appealable to the Board of Appeals. Commissioner Frankel asked how that would impact Mr. de Alba. Ms. Krell stated that an appeal process suspends the decision of the Arts Commission while the Board of Appeals reviews the case. Ms. Trickey stated that she would have to review the Board of Appeals recommendation on a previous case to be more specific regarding impact.

The Commissioners discussed what their options were with the staff recommendation of two months' suspension and the impact on Mr. de Alba regarding his permit. Ms. Trickey clarified that current permits were quarterly or yearly and that artists were given a one-time option to prorate for alignment, and that the office was currently not prorating permits for artists already aligned.

Commissioner Jung stated that Mr. de Alba needed to review appropriate behavior for participation in the program.

Ms. Greco asked for an apology and to ensure safety for her family.

Commissioner Shiota asked that the program address these issues through technical assistance for artists.

Commissioner Frankel stated that a basic principle of copyright law is that it doesn’t protect an idea, but only a particular expression of an idea. He clarified that the idea of an elephant might not be protectable, but a particular artist’s expression might be. He recommended California Lawyers for the Arts as a resource. Ms. Trickey asked if they provided language access. Commissioner Frankel stated the difficulty of rendering judgement with the facts before the Committee. He recommended that Mr. de Alba consider his anxiety when participating in the program going forward.

Commissioner Shiota also commented on the implications of the Committee's decision. Ms. Trickey stated she would check in with the City Attorney regarding prorating fees.

Commissioner Frankel stated they could include the twelve days of July as part of the penalty. He recommended that the suspension be for fifteen days and stated it would be better if it could be prorated, but they understood that was not under their jurisdiction.

Commissioners asked for Ms. Greco to comment. Ms. Greco stated it was not her intention to bring Mr. de Alba harm and that she did not know it would result in his inability to sell for the first two weeks of July. She wanted some expression of remorse from Mr. de Alba and his promise that this would not occur again.

Commissioner Jung stated that in this process she hopes that some understanding of that would be imparted to Mr. de Alba.

Commissioner Frankel called for public comment.

Public Comment:
Tad Sky stated that it is better for artists to work out their differences than bring them to the Committee.

Ann Treboux stated that this was a pattern of behavior for Mr. de Alba and her interactions with him.

Abby Ellis stated that the program should not enable inappropriate behavior in the marketplace.

Maria Sky stated that the process regarding the hearing was unfair and gave comment on incidents not on record with the office.

David Campos stated that the misunderstanding could be language-based even between Spanish speakers.

Santiago Alonso gave public comment with the help of the interpreter. He stated that he considers copying his art to be more violent than a physical altercation.

Mr. Trabuco gave comment that he is not copying anyone and that the inappropriate language used to reference his daughter is the same in every country. He stated that he preferred that Mr. de Alba work as long as the safety of his daughter is ensured.

There was no further public comment.

Ms. Trickey clarified the process for the hearing regarding language access for artists and feedback with translation and interpretation.

Motion to approve a fifteen day suspension, commencing July 1, 2017, of the certificate for Street Artist Henoc de Alba, #8962, for interfering with another artist's business, engaging in a physical altercation, and using inappropriate language in regards to a minor: Shiota, Jung.

The motion was unanimously approved.
 

5. New Business and Announcements.

There was no new business or announcements.

Public Comment:
Ann Treboux submitted the following public comment.

“A special meeting of the Sunshine Task Force convened last month.

“Staff members were invited to attend. Only, Kate Patterson attended.

“She personally attacked and slandered me as a response to document requests.

“She has been doing this for the past 5 years. Not only are her attacks unfounded,

“she, "invents" situations that have not taken place and has never bothered to read

“and understand the Sunshine Ordinance. She is reprimanded at almost Sunshine hearing.

 

“The last Street Artist meeting, the section which talks about censoring personal attacks

“at public meetings should apply to Kate Patterson. Public comment is politically

“protected free speech under the First Amendment. Slander, as a response was to why the

“SFAC to give over is illegal. Patterson has hidden behind the, "SF City Attorney's

“Office" for over 5 years. It is time, Street Artists of San Francisco get the information

“they want and deserve.

Abby Ellis asked if the Committee could meet more often.

Tad Sky requested that agendas be noticed earlier on Fridays for better communication to artists.

Maria Sky said that lottery committee members should be consulted in regards to further hearings and asked for more staff time at Justin Herman Plaza.

There was no further public comment.

7.  Adjournment.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:05 p.m.

7/26/17, 9:15 p.m. AT

Approved 8/7/17
 

Respectfully submitted by:
Anne Trickey, Street Artists Market Manager

An audio recording of this meeting is available online at the following address: http://www.sfgov3.org/index.aspx?page=4151

The schedule of the Street Artists Program Committee is available here: http://sfgov.org/arts/street-artists-committee/meetings

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Anne Trickey, 415-252-2213, anne.trickey@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。
如需協助，Anne Trickey, 415-252-2213, anne.trickey@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Anne Trickey, 415-252-2213, anne.trickey@sfgov.org.

Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Anne Trickey, 415-252-2213, anne.trickey@sfgov.org.