Entertainment Commission OKs Later Hours For Armory Events

Entertainment Commission OKs Later Hours For Armory EventsPhoto: Armory Studios
Tony Taylor
Published on June 23, 2017

This week, the Entertainment Commission made several modifications to the Armory’s entertainment permit, just in time for a Pride event that’s expected to attract as many as 4000 attendees.

Nearby residents have expressed noise concerns, but the venue's owners say recent soundproofing upgrades have addressed that problem. After a June 9 inspection, the Entertainment Commission agreed.

The major amendment was to the Armory’s hours of entertainment permit, which previously allowed events Sunday through Wednesday until 11pm, Thursday until midnight and until 2am on Friday and Saturday, including the day before legal holidays.

With the change, the venue can now stage events Sunday through Thursday until 1am, and until 2am on Friday and Saturday.

The Armory's drill court is the largest enclosed space in the city. | Photo: Armory Studios/Facebook

Via a special permit granted by the commission, Jungle | Pride at the Armory, aims to be “the biggest Pride party in San Francisco’s history,” according to the event’s Facebook page. The event, which begins at 9pm, will last until 4am Sunday morning.

“We certainly took the concerns and did everything possible to rectify them, both in concrete improvements to the building and in spirit,” said Armory spokesperson Mike Stabile.

“We understand that while this is a major event space on a major corridor, it's also located near residential areas. We want to be a good neighbor, and ultimately be a benefit to the area we're in.”

Normal security conditions require venues to create a 50-foot security buffer from their property line, but the Armory's previous security conditions required them to secure 200 feet.

With the amendment, that zone shrinks to 100 feet, but Stabile said the Armory plans to have 40 guards patrolling the venue's perimeter and ensuring that crowds disperse from after events.

In April 2016, the commission voted 4–2 in favor of limited event hours. Complaints about disruptive music that rattled windows and rowdy partiers having public sex after events were submitted to the Entertainment Commission.

Photo: Armory Studios

Maggie Weiland, Deputy Director of the Entertainment Commission, says the last complaint was October 2016.

In February, after two unpermitted shows — and subsequent fines — the Armory spent more than $1.8 million to soundproof the historic Mission building.

“We've invested a lot in making the Armory not only a safe venue, but a quiet one,” said Stabile in a statement to Hoodline.

“We've spent nearly two million dollars in upgrading the sound proofing, including installing sound-blocking vestibules on all the doors, sound and light-blocking shutters on all the window, and redoing the entire roof so that it, too, is sound-proof.”

Photo: Armory Studios

The Armory also installed its own sound system that "allows us, and only us, not the acts themselves, to control the maximum volume," said Stabile. "That was one of the major issues in the past.”

Jungle | Pride will be the first big Pride event since the space hosted Prison of Love in 2014.

The previous permit, granted April 6th, 2016, allowed the Armory three one-time requests to exceed regular hours of entertainment per year, Jungle being one of the exceptions. They are now allowed six requests.

The intention is to extend hours for events on New Year’s Eve, Pride, two nights for Halloween, Folsom Street Fair, and a floater request, according to Weiland.

According to the Entertainment Commission, the Armory was in compliance with noise regulations after an inspection on June 9.

“The whole city will be celebrating the LGBT civil rights movement that was born in San Francisco,” said District 9 supervisor Hillary Ronen in an email. “I hope that all of the venues in the Mission celebrate Pride in a way that is safe, respectful to our neighborhoods and considerate to the people who live in them.”

Stabile added that trees and exterior lights have been installed along the streets to help with safety.

“We've installed a neighborhood hotline at all shows so that those in the neighborhood can quickly and directly contact us if there's an issue,” he said. “We don't expect problems this weekend, but we also want to be able to respond quickly.”