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Board upholds 25-day DPH suspension for Alcatraz Market by default after tie vote
Summary
The Board of Appeals left intact a 25-day tobacco-permit suspension for Alcatraz Market after a 2–2 vote failed to overturn the Department of Public Health’s action; DPH had issued the suspension following a decoy sale to a 16-year-old.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on March 6 left intact a 25-day suspension of Alcatraz Market’s tobacco permit after a motion to overturn the Department of Public Health’s penalty failed on a 2–2 vote.
Alcatraz Market owner Aradim Bridal Benhamini told the board he had run the store for nine years and characterized the sale as an honest mistake by an employee who was training another clerk. "We're working, making sure that incident wouldn't happen again," he said.
Janine Young, a senior health inspector with the Department of Public Health, described the Police Department’s decoy program and said the decoy in this case was 16 years old. Young told commissioners that state and local guidance — including an easily-read horizontal California ID with a blue strip indicating year of majority — made age checks straightforward and recommended upholding a 25-day suspension, noting that the department could impose up to 90 days for a first offense.
Commissioners expressed sympathy for the owner but also concern about proximity to youth. Commissioner Toto moved to deny the appeal and uphold the 25-day suspension; the motion failed on a 2–2 roll call. Because four votes are required to overturn or modify a departmental action, the department’s 25-day suspension remains in effect by operation of the rules.
The board did not take additional action tonight on the Alcatraz Market permit.
(Procedural note: DPH records identify the suspension as Director's case number SMK-121238.)
