CB 7 Wants Sex Shops Reined In

An email from Community Board 7 explains why a petition campaign is returning now. It has to do with a loophole in NYC's sex shop legislation closing. Apparently, the local sex shops have said that there are no longer complaints about them, so their negative impact on the area must be gone.

While the shops may have a point, it could also be resident fatigue considering that this legislation has been languishing for eight years. How many 311 calls does one make with no change?

I don't have anything against sex shops in general; there are quite a few around the City that serve the community in many ways. However, several of the shops on 3rd Avenue have been magnets for unsavory behavior that has directly impacted residents living in the area.

See the text of the CB 7 letter below. If you want a copy of the petition in English or Spanish, write bestviewinbrooklyn (at) yahoo (dot) com, and I will send them to you.

January 12, 2009

Dear Friend:

Last week we received a phone call from the New York City Law Department informing us that the industry lawsuits against the City’s sex shop legislation is finally moving forward after eight years. If the City prevails, a loophole in the law will be closed and this will have a positive impact on our community.

However, the Law Department informed us that part of the industry’s strategy is to claim that these businesses are no longer a problem because communities no longer complain about them.

We informed the Law Department that this remains a high priority for our entire community and vowed to make sure our community’s opinions are heard. As it has been four years since our last petition effort on this issue, we believe this is an appropriate time to once again raise our voices in unison.

We therefore ask your assistance in collecting petition signatures to close the loophole in the law which allows these businesses to proliferate in Sunset Park.

This is an urgent matter as these lawsuits will soon be before a judge. We urge you to return original petitions to our office as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Randolph Peers Jeremy Laufer
Chairman District Manager