The arrests last week of 6 dancers, the DJ, the manager, and the “house mother” at the All-Star Men’s Club on the corner of Winrock and Westheimer — along with legal action against the club for operating a sexually oriented business without a license — are the latest rounds: “‘This is part of a bigger effort by the White administration to use the powers that are available to the city to protect and improve the quality of life in the city’s neighborhoods,’ said private attorney Patrick Zummo, who was hired by the city to help enforce its sexually oriented business ordinance. ‘We are working on another lawsuit that would include many of those businesses that are operating illegally, and which will probably be filed in the next couple of weeks.’ . . . Frank Michel, a spokesman for Mayor Bill White, confirmed Friday’s legal action is the beginning of an offensive against sex clubs that operate in areas where they would not qualify for a city license.” [Houston Chronicle, via Boyd's Blog]; previously in Swamplot]
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6 Comments
Guess I’d better keep my day job.
The city seems to be acting fairly slowly on this (perhaps the right word is methodically). I wonder where these places will migrate to… Unincorporated parts of Harris County? Industrial areas, far from residents, churches, and schools? It seems unlikely that they’ll just disappear.
Gee, the city really cares about “protecting neighborhoods” from those mean-old strip clubs now that the land they are sitting on near the Galleria is worth $175/sq. ft.
Apparently they weren’t a problem five years ago when the land was only trading for about $70/sq. ft.
“Gee, the city really cares about “protecting neighborhoods” from those mean-old strip clubs now that the land they are sitting on near the Galleria is worth $175/sq. ft.”
There is no doubt that there is a financial aspect to this. (That was certainly in Guiliani’s mind when he cleaned up Times Square.) But I don’t think it is as simple as you say. If it were, they would be going after Treasures or Onyx, both of which which are closer to the actual Galleria than All Stars.
The licensing/zoning law was created in 1997, but was appealed by strip clubs. It wasn’t until August 2007 that the city could enforce the law. Even then, the clubs tried to appeal up to the Supreme Court (which may have deterred the city from acting). The Supremes declined to hear the case in March of 2008.
It took until December 2008 for the city to shut down the Penthouse Club, the first victim of the 1997 law. But since then it has also shut down the El Rondo Motor Lodge (which apparently was a prostitute hotel) which was definitely nowhere near the Galleria.
I’m sure the city believes that removing SOBs will increase property values and thus increase tax revenues. But it doesn’t look like they have been timing the enforcement of this law–they seem to be acting deliberately and only going after open-and-shut cases.
As a strip club player, I think it is disgusting Houston would mess with the strip clubs. These places are a pleasant relief for business travelers and men in dull, boring marriages. I for one don’t believe in monogamy. Prostitution should be legal in Houston and Galveston. I would like to see Bikini Girl Call Girls allowed to operate on Sewall Boulevard. My dream is a sex enjoymnet amusement park / casino complex in Galveston where prostitution was allowed to operate openly. Think of all the sexy gals that would then flock to Galveston to work. It would literally be a paradise on Earth!
I recently visited a couple of strip clubs in houston while in town for my job. I do n ot wnat to disapoint naybody but these were the most boring excuses I have ever seen for “strip clubs”. Give it up folks. The right wing conservative power prudes that be have won in houston.