ADULT VIDEO STORE IN RESIDENTIAL AREA ORDERED TO CLOSE UNDER MAYOR GIULIANI'S ADULT-USE ZONING MORATORIUM
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani announced that last night, under the authority of a Court order, the New York Police Department, Department of Buildings and the Corporation Counsel padlocked the Video Warehouse Outlet, an adult-triple X video store on Maurice Avenue in Queens, which violated the zoning requirement that adult-use establishments shall not operate within 500 feet of a residential district. The Mayor introduced these provisions to restrict where such adult establishments may operate. This store was the first new adult-use business to open illegally since the moratorium went into effect. According to the Mayor, last night's closure illustrates the City's commitment to keep residential neighborhoods free of sex shops and X-rated video stores.
"Sex shops destroy neighborhoods," the Mayor said. "With the closure of the Video Warehouse Outlet, families can feel comfortable working the area, enjoy cleaner streets and benefit from a more family-oriented and livable neighborhood. Our adult-use zoning regulations not only mean that valuable commercial areas like Times Square will be cleaned up. but that sex shops will no longer be allowed to destroy the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. And when our plan is fully implemented, only 29 of the 177 sex shops that existed in 1993 will be permitted to remain open."
"The new zoning requirements and combined efforts of the Mayor's Office of Midtown Enforcement and 42nd Street Development Corporation, have resulted in the closure of over 80% of the adult-use establishments in the Times Square and 42nd Street Area. The area has been revitalized and now attracts family-oriented businesses, such as Disney, the New Amsterdam and New Victory Theaters, Madame Tussaud's and a new hotel. To date, nearly a billion dollars in private investment has been committed to the revitalization of 42nd Street, creating over 6,000 jobs."
In 1995, the City Planning Commission approved amendments to the Zoning Resolution governing adult entertainment establishments. The resolution took effect on October 25, 1995. The amendments are applicable to adult book and video stores, which often provide booths for on-premises viewing of videos ("peep shows"); adult eating and drinking establishments, such as topless or nude clubs; and adult theaters, which may offer movies or live entertainment.
Contact Us | FAQs | Privacy Statement | Site Map