2005/06/15 Council Agenda Packet

Marketing According to a representative of the two topless clubs, it is essential to be near tourist areas where people are drawn to adult uses by publicity and signage. About 40 percent of the approximately 5,000 weekly patrons at their club on Broadway in Midtown Manhattan are tourists; approximately 15 percent of the clientele at their Downtown Manhattan club are tourists. However, the manager of a triple -X video store in the East 50's in Manhattan, and the owner of a triple -X video store in the West 30's in Manhattan, said they have a non- tourist clientele; most customers are local residents or office workers: -One of the video store owners said that eighty percent of his customers are men between 30-50 years old and 20 percent are couples or women; customers want cleanliness and safety in a convenient location that is not "sleazy." Signage for his store, he said, was originally obtrusive (to "announce" the store's presence) but is now muted in an effort to blend into the neighborhood blockfront. State Liquor Authority (SIA) Participants representing topless bars stated that their establishments are particularly orderly and well. run because they must conform to stringent State Liquor Authority (SLA) requirements. If the SLA finds a "pattern of disorder" during an inspection, the bar owner will face disciplinary action — ranging from a warning letter to revocation of a liquor license. The SLA regulates liquor sales and the degree of performance nudity. Since SLA regulations do not allow total nudity, nude clubs do not serve liquor and are not governed by the SLA. Trends In response to a question about industry trends, the group responded that there was oversaturation of adult businesses in New York City, particularly in Manhattan, and that these establishments were closing. It should be noted that of 177 invitations mailed to the adult entertainment establishments identified in DCP's survey, 27 were returned primarily because the adult business was no longer located at that address. Concentrations of uses were said to be due to the "copycat factor" and the tendency of bar patrons to want to "barhop." These statements, indicating a tendency of adult uses to concentrate in a community confirmed the conclusion of DCP's analysis of the location of adult uses by community districts. It was said that the emergence of Blockbuster Video (which does not carry any triple -X videos) had driven out some 'mom-and-pop' video stores that had a small section of triple -X videos, leaving the field clear for triple -X video stores in a few neighborhoods. E VER00126 27