2005/06/15 Council Agenda Packet

format, saying he "did not want to insult the community or church." "Communities have a lot of power in situations like this (because) if nothing else works, they could make it economically impossible for the club to operate by continuously picketing the place," said a local official. Concerted community action has also been effective in Astoria, Queens. When an awning advertising "Adult Video" was installed for a store undergoing renovation on Ditmars Boulevard, irate civic leaders, politicians, clergy and residents hastily assembled a group called the Coalition for the Protection of Children. "I've never seen 'the community united like this on any issue," said a local politician suggesting that this was because the store was in the middle of a residential area and within walking distance of four schools. After negotiations with the landlord and store owner failed, the Coalition scheduled twice-daily protests opposite the store. Local newspapers provided publicity, listing protest times and telephone numbers for further information as well as the name of the store owner. The owner soon assured the Coalition that the store would become family-oriented with an adults -only section but it was finally shut down in the face of continued opposition. The Coalition vowed to demonstrate against other adult entertainment uses because "this is a significant problem in the city," according to one local legislator. Residents on the Upper West Side joined with local politicians to picket and rally in front of a triple -X video store on Amsterdam Avenue. The store is still doing business but the signage was altered to a format less objectionable to the community. A year later, some neighbors picketed a newly -opened sex "boutique" eight blocks away between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, calling it a "smut shop." A couple living in the small building said they were afraid the store would attract transients and expose children to X-rated material. "We don't have any control or say about what's moving onto our block," said a woman w} o complained to the community board. "I believe in freedom of speech," added a neighbor who organized the demonstrations. "I understand that people have the right to sell and buy these things. I just don't want it across the street." Concern over a triple -X video store on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village located 200 feet from a church and parochial school prompted an informal protest by residents that led to the cancellation of the lease. "To have a store with pictures of a donkey having sex with a woman located 40 yards from an elementary school is simply unacceptable," said a member of a nearby block association. Another resident, concerned that an influx of triple -X video stores could harm the tourist business in the Village, stated: "No one wants to do away with the First Amendment but this is degrading to the quality of life in the neighborhood." A 44 EVER00143