2005/06/15 Council Agenda Packet

Impacts Identified in the Chelsea Business Survey In August, 1993, the Chelsea Action Coalition and Community Board 4, Manhattan, prepared a study describing the effects that sex-related establishments have on other businesses in the Chelsea section of New York City.58 The Coalition called upon the city to "develop zoning proposals that will disperse, but not eliminate, these (adult) businesses ..." - The Chelsea Action Coalition called for zoning proposals because it felt that the neighborhood " was being transformed before our eyes into a red light district." The study identified the locations of sex-related adult establishments in a 76 block area of Manhattan between 13th and 32nd Streets, and Fifth and Ninth Avenues. Nine legal triple -X video stores, eleven locations closed in fiscal year 1993 for illegal sex-related activities, and seven locations of "multiple indoor prostitution arrests" in fiscal year 1993 were mapped within the study area. The Coalition stated that the concentration of triple -X video stores and peep shows "is intolerable," and "harnful to our community, noting that " ... under the Constitution the City is permitted to prohibit this type of concentration." Representatives of the Coalition and Community Board surveyed 100 businesses located near the triple -X video stores "to determine whether these `adult use' businesses had negatively impacted upon the economic vitality of the Chelsea business community." Responses to eight questions were tabulated, and illustrative continents made by respondents were included in the study report. Negative impacts stemming from the adult video establishments reported by area business- persons included: a decline in the overall reputation of the community, a reduction in the economic vitality of individual business; a decliningpotential for business in the community; and observations that businesses may leave or have left Chelsea because of the adult video stores. Sixty-one percent of respondents felt that the triple -X video stores had a negative impact on their business. Ninety-five percent believe that the reputation of Chelsea has been hurt by these stores. Nearly two-thirds think the economic vitality of their business has been hurt, and 88 percent think the potential for doing business in Chelsea has been negatively affected by the adult stores. SA -The Chelsea Business Survey, An Assessment of the Economic Impact of XXX -Rated Video Stores in Chelsea," The Chelsea Action Coalition and Community Board 4, 1993. 38 EVER00137