tuscl

Here we go again, Detroit lawmakers take up strip club regulation

vincemichaels
Detroit

There is a cycle in legislative oversight. Every couple of years, Detroit takes up the issue. Current ordinances are restrictive but aren't enforced. Why bother?

Penthouse still has a battle ahead of it. The new Detroit City Council takes office on January 1, 2010 with 5 of the 9 members newly elected. We don't know what they will do about this. Read on.

Topless bar sues Detroit over license transfer
Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
Detroit -- The city is facing another federal lawsuit from a topless bar, after the Detroit City Council blocked the club from transferring its license to a new owner last month.

The Penthouse Club filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday over the 4-4 council vote on Nov. 20, which halted the license transfer. The club's request had been pending since March 2007.

Penthouse wants a judge to order City Clerk Janice Winfrey to send a resolution approving the transfer to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. The bar was sold in 2007 to new owners, who spent about $5 million reconstructing the building, said Tim Murphy, Penthouse's attorney.

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"We have an absolute legal right to transfer the liquor license," Murphy said.

The city's Law Department found the club didn't meet any of the City Council's criteria, which would have allowed council members to reject the transfer, Murphy said.

Council members who rejected the transfer have said they are responding to religious and neighborhood groups, who say the clubs bring down the city's property values and increase crime. The community members have specific complaints about Penthouse because of the 500 square foot sign of a scantly dressed woman draping much of the building.

The city revoked the bar's permit for the sign in May. In Tuesday's lawsuit, Penthouse is also maintaining that revocation was unconstitutional.

Ed Cardenas, a spokesman for Mayor Dave Bing's office, said that his office does not comment on pending lawsuits.

Detroit is facing several similar federal lawsuits from topless clubs, including from the Zoo Bar. In that case, the city council also rejected its license transfer. The new owners planned to open a Larry Flynt Hustler club at the location. The lawyer for the bar has said damages could be "in the millions."

The new council, which will hold its first meeting Jan. 5, could consider a broader strip club crackdown next year, which could include a ban on lap dances and VIP rooms. Topless dancers would have to stay 6 feet away from customers, on stages at least 18 inches high and in rooms of at least 600 square feet.

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12 comments

  • vincemichaels
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    15 years ago
    Ooops, I borrowed this article from a review from Superdude and forgot to give his due thanks for posting this article in one of our local papers. Thanks, Superdude.
  • samsung1
    •
    15 years ago
    strip club regulations have already killed off several Columbus, OH strip clubs. If they kill off Detroit strip clubs you can take the tunnel over to Windsor for their nude clubs and legal escort agencies.
  • Clubber
    •
    15 years ago
    So vm, do you know melon girl?
  • sanitago
    •
    15 years ago
    seems a common theme: someone sees a way to look 'virtuous' and 'morally upstanding' for the Morality Police types and grabs hold of it with both hands. we had something like that near here a couple years back. the district attorney was wanting to make a name for himself so he decided to target the only strip club in the county (Heartbreakers GC). made lots of noise about it being a 'bad influence' (even though the place had been open for five or so years at that point) and vowed to shut it down. he won the election handily and, guess what, he suddenly didn't have a problem with there being a strip club in his county anymore. ain't that amazin'?
  • vincemichaels
    •
    15 years ago
    Clubber, I wish I did know melon girl. Her profile on a social networking site caught my eye(lol). I saved this and another one of her pics. As I expected though, when I IM'd her, it turned out to be some Nigerian scammer using stolen pics. At that point, I didn't care and ripped it a new one, having already saved the pics.
  • SuperDude
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    15 years ago
    VM--No problemo. The real issue is how will the new city council deal with the SC issue. Will Detroit's "clergy" continue to dictate policy on this issue?
  • samsung1
    •
    15 years ago
    In Columbus for a long time the law enforcement groups voted against casinos because of the moral issues brought by clergy. Then they started to realize the increase in money for law enforcement that casinos would bring so they changed their shift. I guess moneys speaks louder than morality. If these detroit strip clubs started donating more to the clergy then they would not be so against SCs. Instead it seems like Detroit SCs are making it an "Us vs. them" battle with the clergy...if you can't beat them buy them!
  • gk
    •
    15 years ago
    We clubbers have rights too. So every time our liberties and those of club owners are thretaned like this, ownership should make it financially painful for cash strapped cities to pursue such foolishness by tying things up in court, forever, if possible. And we should support them --not by getting involved in any debate about the morality of clubs or rights of patrons--but by sending "letters to the editors" of local papers that point out the financial waste and pandering of these efforts. We make that point and shift the focus away from morality to common sense. If we can't do that, we shouldn't complain about clubs closing.
  • gk
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    15 years ago
    Excuse me--t h r e a t e n e d. Thought I fixed that!
  • vincemichaels
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    15 years ago
    Superdude, I don't know, the last City Council got poleaxed on the issue when one of the members walked out of the session preventing any vote. What the new council will do is a mystery with as you point out over half of council being first time members. Detroit already passed similar restrictions last time around, the clubs got nervous for a while, but nothing has really been enforced. The clergy will make its' political power known, being a black majority city, they do have potent political power. The club owners legal teams will be in evidence, the dancers and other employees will make their points, so I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see.
  • samsung1
    •
    15 years ago
    It is tough for some of us clubbers to support our clubs in politics because so many of us would rather remain anonymous clubbers. No one wants to be seen in the news or have their letters posted in a newspaper. Too risky that our friends, family, or coworkers would find out about our clubbing activities.
  • SuperDude
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    15 years ago
    I have tried to get club owners to get more poltical and less agressive. The huge sign on The Penthouse Club really upsets the folks in the surrounding neighborhood. It would be a minor concession to change the sign and remove the dancer's image. A colorful, but neutral sign will still tell customers where the club is located. Club owners need to target the "charitable" foundations of the political clergy and start making serious contributions. Yes, they can be softened up by discreet green. And club owners need to donate to key political campaigns and help dancers and employees do the same. So far, ACE in Detroit has been effective in Federal Court, but they next time they go to court they may or may not get the same judge and YMMV.
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