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I. INTRODUCTION <br />Study Objectives <br />The Department of City Planning undertook a study to evaluate the nature and extent of adverse <br />impacts associated with adult entertainment uses in other localities and in New York City. The <br />study responds to concems of city residents, businesses, and elected officials about the <br />proliferation of adult entertainment establishments in various para of the city. The issues posed <br />by adult uses are complex, and often involve speech or conduct protected by the federal and <br />New York State constitutions. Any regulation must be based on a careful analysis of past, <br />present and potential adverse impacts of adult uses upon the quality of life in the city's <br />neighborhoods, as well as the effects of possible regulatory solutions upon protected speech. <br />This study includes (l) a survey of exi-drig studies concerning the impacts of adult entertain- <br />ment establishments and of regulation of such establishments, in other localities; (2) a <br />description of the adult entertainment business in New York City; (3) a review of studies and <br />reports on adult entertainment establishments in New York City; (4) a DCP survey of the <br />impacts such establishments have on communities in the City; and (5) a set of overall findings <br />and recommendations. <br />Definition of Adult Entertainment Establishments <br />There is a vast array of businesses that may be considered "adult." These include video and <br />bookstores, motels, massage parlors, sex clubs, topless and bottomless or nude bars (not all <br />of which serve alcohol), and peep shows. Materials may include sexually explicit videos or <br />magazines. Services may include body rubs, or entertainment such as nude dancing. <br />For purposes of the DCP survey, an adult entertainment establishment is a commercial use <br />that defines itself as such through exterior signs or other advertisements. Thus, a "triple -X <br />or XXX" video store is an adult entertainment establishment, but a neighborhood video store <br />,that devotes a small area to triple -X videos is not. This self -defining characteristic allowed <br />the survey to focus on those establishments for which there is some consensus that the use <br />is adult. It also means that it is possible to obtain adult entertainment materials, such as <br />videos and magazines, at establishments that sell primarily non -adult materials and that some <br />EVER00100 <br />