ROCKIT ROOM TO BECOME “NECK OF THE WOODS”
SFWeekly reported this week that the Rockit Room at 406 Clement will be changing its name as of December 1st to Neck of the Woods. The old rockit-room.com site is dead, and the new website says the venue will showcase “the best local and national musical acts”.
There’s no calendar on their website yet for who’s performing when, but they do make mention of past acts that have played in the space like John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Otis Redding, Third Eye Blind, The Mother Hips and Train. So perhaps they will be moving away from the reggae and hip-hop acts they’ve been showcasing to more rock oriented performers.
The club has had a rough year, with several run-ins with the SFPD and Entertainment Commission. In February, three arrests were made on the night that Oakland rapper Philthy Rich performed, and in March, the Entertainment Commission laid down some stricter rules for the venue after hearing complaints from the SFPD and residents. That resulted in the club voluntarily closing for 30 days to regroup.
There have been no major incidents at the club since then, and perhaps a new name will help shake the old associations that neighbors have with the club, and in turn attract new live music fans. It is one of the few live music venues in the neighborhood, so here’s hoping they can turn it around and remain a healthy business.
SMALL BUSINESSES GET HELP FROM THE CITY TO AVOID ADA LAWSUITS
In other business news this week, the city officially announced a $200,000 pilot program to help small businesses receive ADA inspections and if there are issues, receive advice and planning assistance for coming into compliance. The program also gives merchants access to grant money and a $1 million loan fund to make needed improvements.
The program is designed to help merchants avoid what Mayor Ed Lee calls “irrational and abusive” lawsuits that have been threatened or filed in the past few years against restaurants and other small businesses in the city, alleging that they are not ADA compliant.
Several dozen businesses here in the Richmond District have been threatened with lawsuits. Some have been able to afford the upgrade construction expenses – like Han Il Kwan – while others have had to close like the Video Cafe on Geary and 21st Avenue and Thidwick Books on Clement (which thankfully was able to re-open a year later in a new location near 12th and Clement).
The process typically begins with merchants receiving a letter from a lawyer who represents a disabled plaintiff, alleging the business’ ADA violations and threatening to file a lawsuit if the business does not offer a financial settlement.
In September, Governor Jerry Brown signed a new law banning these types of “pre-litigation demands” and gives a break to businesses that fix their violations in a timely manner:
The law bans “pre-litigation demands,” i.e. letters demanding money from small businesses under threat of an ADA suit being filed; reduces fines for violations if they’re fixed within a certain period; and, except in rare cases, eliminates “stacking”- the levying of additional fines for each day a small business is out of compliance.
The new city pilot of The ADA Small Business Assessment Program will cover ADA inspections and planning for about 40 businesses. Qualifying businesses must be located in the Sunset District or the Richmond District, though the initial pilot is only open to businesses on Geary Boulevard between 14th to 28th Avenue. More details here on the the program and how to apply
Sarah B.
thank you for this article. information regarding ADA issues and program to help small business is really helpful.
Thank you Carmen Chu! It’s refreshing to see a Board member deal with an issue that affects the neighborhoods, rather than global/state/national issues that are best left to the bodies that can actually act on those larger issues.
That is so wonderful to hear.
Carmen Chu is an outstanding supervisor.
Just a trivial thing about the RockitRoom/NeckoftheWoods… they state that “Since 1973, the location has hosted over 10,000 different bands and artists ranging from John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Otis Redding…etc”
but of course Otis Redding died in 1967, years before there was live music at that location. Just sayin’
Way to go Carmen!
Nice to hear what about a supervisor who takes care of REAL issues as opposed to planting flowers on the medians or banning Happy Meal toys.
Derek, get a life and stop posting negative comments on the Richmond Blog. Instead of complaining about a supervisor you don’t approve of, do something positive for the local community. Idiot.
Just wondering if there is any retroactive assistance for small businesses that have already had these pre-litigation ADA suits filed against them? It’s great that Rock-it Room will get help (do they need it?) but what about some of the small time restaurants that have had to make expensive upgrades due to these all-but-fraudulent suits.
@howardtaft – Just to be clear, the Rockit Room (now Neck of the Woods) is not facing any ADA issues. They are just the first part of the story above which covers two unrelated topics (but mentioned in the same article because they are related to businesses in the neighborhood).
As for helping businesses that have already been dealing with ADA suits – this program appears to not address that issue, but rather is focused on preparing businesses and preventing more action from being levied against small businesses. It is only a pilot, but if proves successful, the city will hopefully invest additional budget and roll it out more widely.
Sarah B.
I’m really feeling the loss of Video Cafe — nice people and good “coffee shop” food (great banana pancakes) that is hard to get in the Richmond. I’m hoping the replacement will be similar, but probably won’t be.