Foxy Lady, RI, Closed for Good
Call.Me.Ishmael
Rhode Island
From the Providence Journal newspaper:
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Foxy Lady closed by licensing board
PROVIDENCE -- The Providence Board of Licenses voted Wednesday to permanently revoke licenses for the Foxy Lady strip club, closing the legendary gentleman’s club for good.
The club can appeal the decision, which led to audible gasps and protests from Foxy Lady supporters who crowded the fifth-floor room where the board met.
The Foxy Lady, on Chalkstone Avenue, had been ordered temporarily closed since shortly after the arrests of three employees on misdemeanor prostitution charges on Dec. 11. That gave the board a chance to consider city officials’ recommendation that it close. On Wednesday, they acted, shuttering the strip club in part because it hadn’t come to the table for a plan to fix its problems.
The decision was three votes to one.
City and police officials said the management was well aware of what was happening at the strip club, which has been in business for nearly four decades, with one major calling it a “prostitution parlor.” A lawyer and a manager for the Foxy Lady denied they had anything to do with prostitution and asked for the club to be reopened.
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Foxy Lady closed by licensing board
PROVIDENCE -- The Providence Board of Licenses voted Wednesday to permanently revoke licenses for the Foxy Lady strip club, closing the legendary gentleman’s club for good.
The club can appeal the decision, which led to audible gasps and protests from Foxy Lady supporters who crowded the fifth-floor room where the board met.
The Foxy Lady, on Chalkstone Avenue, had been ordered temporarily closed since shortly after the arrests of three employees on misdemeanor prostitution charges on Dec. 11. That gave the board a chance to consider city officials’ recommendation that it close. On Wednesday, they acted, shuttering the strip club in part because it hadn’t come to the table for a plan to fix its problems.
The decision was three votes to one.
City and police officials said the management was well aware of what was happening at the strip club, which has been in business for nearly four decades, with one major calling it a “prostitution parlor.” A lawyer and a manager for the Foxy Lady denied they had anything to do with prostitution and asked for the club to be reopened.
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20 comments
I suspect that this is also be meant to send a message to other Providence clubs.
It's going to be a cold winter, I think ...
Most people don't want to be perceived that way (even if it's true...). And many can't afford to be perceived that way. You will never see a broad public protest of a strip club closure.
It's the low-hanging fruit of local politics.
Dancing in front of someone naked for money is now considered prostitution?
WTF!!!
And then there is the issue of $$$ and gentrification where SCs are seen as obstacles to big-business/developers.
If not, then unless there is a successful movement to legalize prostitution one can assume things will only get worse
This is a result of those arrests and the investigation.
Foxy isn't a major source of tax revenue, especially since so much of the money that changes hands there is cash. Also, even if all the taxable income was reported, it's still peanuts as compared to Textron, Fleet Bank, and many other Providence businesses.
If you're referring to kickbacks to politicians and city workers, though, you might have a valid point.
"if they wanted to close it because of the alleged rape, why did they go undercover to get extras?"
This is how the city goes after strip clubs that don't keep their house in order. They don't care that it's (arguably) different issues.
"In one fell swoop Providence put 100s of people out of work at Christmas time. Nice job."
See my post above about perverts and societal outcasts. The same applies to anyone who works at a strip club. There is no public sympathy for strip clubs, the people who work there, or the people who go there.
Most of the public is probably annoyed that it didn't happen sooner.
But everyone is going to be walking (dancing...) on eggshells for a good long while I predict. It's obvious that the city has its eye on the Providence club scene and isn't feeling forgiving.
I mean, I want to believe that you're right. But people privately being okay with strip clubs and people publicly supporting strip clubs are two different thing, really.