2005/06/15 Council Agenda Packet

Those citing negative impacts from adult establishments noted crime most frequently, and quality of life impacts such as littering, noise, late night operations, offensive signage, and general perceptions about neighborhoods or certain streets. For example, the President of the 42nd Street Development Project, referring to a concentration of sex-related uses on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, cited a 60 percent drop in crime after the Project took title to two-thirds of the project area in April, 1990 and a majority of the 'site was cleared. The operator of a not-for-profit SRO stated that persons loitering near two adult establishments located across the street from the residence have made the street "intim- idating," giving it a "different feeling" from that which had existed before the second adult use moved to the street. Some observed that offensive signage depicting eroticism or sexually explicit words were noted as especially problematic for children; sometimes these signs were located,near school bus stops. Some noted that the impacts from adult entertainment establishments were positive, e.g., a burlesque theater owner stated that her business provided 50 percent of the business of the commercial parking lot located.across the street. The positive impacts of adult entertainment establishments were further noted in a meeting held by DCP and industry representatives. They maintain that their businesses earn revenue for the city, provide jobs, and stimulate tourism. Through the fall of 1993 and continuing into 1994, DCP surveyed street and signage conditions, local organizations and businesses, real estate brokers, and police and sanitation officers, and analyzed criminal complaint and property assessment data for six study areas throughout the city to obtain information about the impacts of adult entertainment establish- ments. Four of the six study areas were in boroughs other than Manhattan and in some cases contained a single isolated adult use. Surveyors found few problems but much of the work involving street conditions (noise, loitering, litter) was done during the winter months, and the results should be reviewed with caution. Significantly, the survey noted that signage for the adult entertainment establishments is characteristically at odds with that of other nearby commercial establishments. In half the study areas, signage for the adult use occupies a greater percentage of storefront surface area than other commercial uses located within the same blockfronts. In one study area, accessory business signs cover approximately 25 to 40 percent of the storefront surface area, but the adult use signage occupies 80 to 100 percent of such area. In four of the six study areas, adult use si-nage tends to be illuminated when that of non -adult commercial uses is not. In one study area, approximately 80 percent of the ground floor commercial accessory business signs are non -illuminated; in stark contrast 75 percent of the adult . 63 EVERool61