Parking and Safety

These incident reports were compiled by the SFPD over the summer and show reported incidents of assault, robbery, grand larceny, theft and rape. Capt. Kevin Dillon of Northern Police Station agreed with our concerns and added that �there is no safe place to park in the area adjacent to the Opera House.�

The entire area must be considered dangerous, but there are two major areas of concern to Supers. The first is the corridor from the BART and Muni stations at Civic Center to the Civic Center Garage. There have been numerous reports of harassment. Supers should continue safe practices such as carpooling, walking or driving friends to their cars or BART, and generally being alert while walking at any time in the area.

The second is the blocks west of the Opera House. The safety of Supers called to the House after the curtain, when parking spaces in the immediate area are non-existent, is of major concern. Typically the paid lots and meters are filled long before the curtain goes up, and the only options for parking are on the streets west of Gough; according to the police reports these constitute some of the most dangerous blocks in the area. Walking to or from the House, especially unaccompanied or when the streets are empty, poses a serious risk for robbery or assault.

Recently, Super Mike Harvey had the following experience with potentially dangerous crime in the neighborhood:

I was parked on McAllister between Franklin and Gough - a half-block from the Opera employee parking lot - and observed a group of young men huddled in the shadows of the housing project near the corner. As I was preparing to drive home, several cars drove up, stopped in the middle of the street opposite the men in the shadows, someone would rush out and pass something to the driver, and the car would pull away to make room for the next customer. It looks like a busy drug dealing spot.

A sub-committee from the Super Committee approached the Opera House management (April Busch and her boss, Drew Landmesser) about the problem and several points were raised during a meeting on September 12th.

Drew had recently moved to San Francisco from Chicago, and was very surprised to see that the Civic Center area is so poorly patrolled and so dimly lit. He hopes to be able to work with the City to rectify this, and is optimistic that Franklin Street can be better illuminated and that security personnel can, at some point in the future, be posted at strategic points from Civic Center Station and the Civic Center Garage to help safeguard pedestrians.

However, the Opera management is unwilling to offer free parking to Supers for a variety of reasons and, with the potential development of two of the Company's lots, the situation is unlikely to change. Drew and April have been able to negotiate, on behalf of the Supers, reserved spaces in the secure City-operated Performing Arts Garage on Grove Street. They are not free, but you can reserve a space for the entire run and your $10 per performance stipend will be used to pay for it. The advantage to this arrangement is that Supers can guarantee themselves a secure place to park close to the House.

This arrangement will be "test run"' during the run-throughs and performances of Carmen and Manon Lescaut, two shows that have late Super call times. Your PSC will provide sign-up sheets to be completed and returned in order to secure a space. Supers in both productions are strongly encouraged to participate in it and to send feedback to Committee Member Laurel Winzler.

Following is the official agreement.

OVERVIEW:

The Company has agreed to work with the Performing Arts Garage (360 Grove Street at Gough) to reserve parking spaces for Supers. The spaces will be paid for out of the compensation of each individual Super who signs up for a space. This pilot program will be implemented during the fall season for Manon Lescaut and Carmen. The success of the program and the demand will be reassessed at the end of the season, and changes may be made at that time.

WHAT IS BEING OFFERED:

Any Super in Manon Lescaut or Carmen may reserve a parking space in the Performing Arts Garage for stage run-through rehearsals and performances. These spaces will be guaranteed by the PAG, so that late arrivals will still have spaces available. Any Super signing up for a space agrees to waive their $10 stipend for the run-throughs and performances. The reservations will be handled by the Company on behalf of the Supers.

HOW IT WORKS:

Any Super in the designated shows may request a reserved parking space for all performances, or run-throughs and performances. A parking pass will be issued to that Super, to be presented at the PAG when entering the garage. No specific area will be designated for Super parking, but a space is guaranteed somewhere in the structure.

There will not be any option to choose certain dates for the pass: it will be issued for the entire run and compensation will be withheld accordingly. By signing up for a parking space, the Super agrees that they will not receive payment for performances or run-throughs/performances. They will be paid as usual for staging rehearsals. The parking pass may be transferred to another Super by the pass holder, but the pass holder is still responsible for the cost and will have their pay withheld regardless of who ultimately uses the pass. Payments to the pass holder will be withheld for every performance, regardless of whether the pass is used for that performance or not.

HOW TO SIGN UP:

The Production Super Captains for Carmen and Manon Lescaut will provide the necessary sign-up form. The Company will then reserve a space for you in the Performing Arts Garage, and will adjust your compensation accordingly. A pass will be issued to you by the Company.