Noise pollution and street closure harmful to merchants and residents, an appeal is filed against the permit for lion dance performances on all weekends year long on Grant Avenue

(SAN FRANCISCO) Removing parking and lacking of moving traffic are known as killers of local businesses. For the past over three years since the pandemic, the residents and merchants along three blocks of Grant Avenue in the center of San Francisco Chinatown have also suffered the loud noise from drums and amplified sounds as well as inaccessible vehicular traffic on both Saturday and Sunday year long on all weekends.

Now they have filed an appeal to the city seeking the closure of weekly lion dance street performances in front of their storefronts and apartments.

One April 17, the San Francisco Board of Appeals will rule on the appeal filed by the Chinatown merchants and residents asking the city to revoke the permit which was approved for the LionDanceMe to close three blocks of Grant Avenue in Chinatown for lion dance performances on all weekends year long.

It has been widely known by community members that lion dancers would perform on the 700 block of Grant Avenue between Sacramento and Clay Streets in the afternoon on both days on all weekends since the pandemic.

In addition to the performances, three blocks of Grant Ave. might also be closed for traffic and parking due to the permit allowing the organizers to do so on both Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 7pm.

Similar permits were approved for the past three consecutive years. LionDanceMe, the applicant of the permit and host of the lion dance performances, submitted an application again this year for a permit allowing them to perform and close 3 blocks of Grant Avenue on all weekends from April 6, 2024 to March 31, 2025.

On March 19, the Entertainment Commission unanimously approved the LionDanceMe permit application claiming there was no opposition from neighbors.

According to the merchants, what the staff member presented at the Entertainment Commission meeting was not based on facts. They learned about the permit application and sent opposition letters to city leaders prior to March 19.

In early March this year, new signs were installed on poles along the 700, 800, and 900 blocks of Grant Avenue with traffic regulations, no stopping from 9am to 7pm on all Saturdays and Sundays (for lion dance performances) and no stopping from 3pm to 10pm on 2nd Friday of the month (for night markets).

Ben Marcus-Willers of Red Blossom Tea Store and David Au of Wai Hing Chinese Crafts Imports first learned about the lion dance permit application by finding vehicles being towed by the traffic control officers in front of their 800 block Grant Avenue storefront due to the newly-installed signs. Then they started to communicate with other merchants and organized the opposition efforts against the permit application.

There was a meeting held on March 12 at the Far East Restaurant. The merchants who opposed the permit, LionDanceMe founder Norman Lau, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin and members of the SFMTA staff were among the attendants.

"It was well aware by all parties in the meeting that the merchants opposed the permit application," said Marcus-Willers. He and other merchants who joined the meeting thought that the matter was resolved.

However, Marcus-Willers and other merchants surprisingly found out afterwards that the Entertainment Commission unanimously voted for the permit at the March 19 meeting by saying there was no opposition from the neighbors after all applicants conducted community outreach.

The merchants along Grant Avenue decided to filed papers to the Board of Appeals demanding revocation of the permit which allowed LionDanceMe to close three blocks of Grant Avenue from 10am to 7pm on both days of all weekends year long in order to perform lion dances.

The merchants launched an online petition, Keep Chinatown Open, on March 28 to share more information about their decision to file an appeal against the permit.

Lau, founder of LionDanceMe, and his supporters followed to start another online petition on April 5 seeking support to sustain the permit application.

San Francisco Chinatown is a commercial and residential mixed use neighborhood with storefronts on street levels and residents at the above apartments. 5,000 residents who live in Chinatown are mostly seniors and immigrant families with young children living in small and old apartment units.

For the past several years, merchants and residents along those blocks wanted to oppose the non-stop loud performances on both days and weekends, but they didn't know how and where to express their concerns. Many of them are immigrants and not well aware of their rights.

"Keep Chinatown Open! Chinatown street closures harm local merchants and residents," Merchants wrote in the petition.

"Chinatown street closures are disguised as 'supporting the community,' but in reality, these events disturb hundreds of residents and drive business away from local, rent-paying merchants. Instead, street closures support outside performers and vendors who use these closures to profit from our community at our expense," merchants said why they opposed the permit in their appeal.

The noise pollution from the performances by hitting drums and using amplified sound have also created health risks for many residents, especially the seniors and young children who live in the nearby buildings on all weekends year long.

Some parent residents said their school aged children had not been able to do homework or study at their apartments when the loud noise usually began after 2pm in the afternoon on Saturdays and Sundays except there were no performances due to the performers' schedules.

"We need to close for business for one day in the summer of 2023 because the performance stage was set up in front of our tea shop and the noise was so loud," said Alice Luong, owner and buyer of Red Blossom Tea Company which has been in business in Chinatown since the mid 1980s.

"The noise pollution (often exceeding city ordinances), causing an undue burden on our community," the merchants wrote in their petition. "Furthermore, community outreach from the City and the various applicants regarding planned street closures has been severely lacking, with impacted residents and merchants receiving either last-minute or no notice of permit hearings. The exclusion of our community in the decision process — due to the language barrier and for the sake of administrative expediency — is discriminatory and unjust."

Jennifer Kwa, who owns Jen's Gems Jewelry Store, and Chloe Huang, who owns 807 Grant Avenue Gift Shop, agreed that the lion dance performances have not been bringing in more customers for them, instead hurting their businesses.

"Our businesses are heavily relying on weekends and tourists. Once Grant Avenue is closed for traffic, the tour buses and tourists are not able to drive through Grant Avenue, the tourists and customers would be gone. We have seen very few people who gather here to watch the lion dance performances would come by and shop," said Kwa.

“Of course, we are all small business owners and like to see more customers coming in, but it has not been not the case for the past three years,” Huang echoed.

Both Kwa and Huang suggested the lion dance performances could be moved to another venue like parks, schools and community centers on weekends to continue for cultural preservation. The small businesses in Chinatown have been struggling for survival since the pandemic. “The 9am to 7pm long-hour removal of parking and vehicular traffic on both Saturdays and Sundays have hurt us the most,” Kwa and Huang said.

"We are not against cultural preservation. They (LionDanceMe) are misleading the public. We all love and cherish the lion dance tradition and culture. But street closure is a wrong way to gain a venue for them to practice lion dance and take away businesses from merchants," said Lily Lii, owner of the Ten Ren's Tea which has been in Chinatown for over 40 years.

LionDanceMe started its online petition, "Save Chinatown's shared spaces', on April 5 against the appeal.

"Stand with us in solidarity as we strive for the preservation of Chinatown's cultural legacy. Our petition advocates for the continued support of vital street closures that fuel the heartbeat of our community."

"These closures aren't inconveniences; they are the lifeblood of our neighborhood, fostering cultural vibrancy and economic vitality. By signing, you champion the essence of Chinatown, ensuring that its streets remain alive with the spirit of tradition and opportunity for generations to come," LionDanceMe further said in its own petition.

Lau argued in his petition that the lion dance performance and street closure have not driven business away from local merchants. "Instead, the initiative provides a unique opportunity for businesses to showcase their products and attract customers, thereby generating increased foot traffic and revenue for the local economy," Lau said.

Lau mentioned in the petition that the LionDanceME performances have regularly involved only the closure of one block of Grant Avenue, one day a week, for a few hours. The performances were also not limited to Chinese lion dancing, but also included performances by youth dance groups and singers.

However, Lau did not clarify why he applied for a permit for street closure on both Saturday and Sunday every weekend from 10am to 7pm for nine hours for the entire year.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who represents Chinatown, said he would play a role as a mediator to resolve the matter by talking to both sides.