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An Analyaie of the Relationship 8«tw«en
Adult EotertainiMnt Establighmeata, Crim«,
end Housing V&luag
Submitted to the Consumer Services Committee
Minneapolis City Council
by
Marlys McPhersoo
Executive Director
and
Glenn Si Ho way
Research Associate
The Minnesota Crime Prevention Center, Inc,
121 East Franklin Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
October, 1980
Copyright (c) 1980
No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written
permission from the Minnesota Crime Prevention Center, Inc.
An Analysis of the Relationship between Adult
Entertainment Establishments, Crime, ana Housing Values
Table of Contents
Preface 1
ChAPTKK 1 - BARS AND CRlliE 3
Section A - General Relationship between Bars and Crime 4
1. Introduction: The Research Question 4
2 . Methodology 4
3. Analysis and Findings 8
4. Summary: General Relationship Between bars and Crime.... IS
Section B - The Effect of Changing ch« Liquor Patrol Limit*:
New bars and Crime 16
1. Introduction: The Research Question 16
2. Methodology 17
I). Analysis and Findings 19
4 . Summary Find ings 24
Section C - Characteristics of "Nuisance" Bars 25
1. Introduction: The Research Question..... 25
2. Methodology 25
3. Analysis and Findings 29
4. Summary of Findings 34
CUAPTEK II - ADULT LNTEKTA.IKMENT ESTABLISHMENTS AMD
NEIGHBORHOOD DETERIORATION 35
Introduction. 36
Section A - Policy Issues 38
Section a - The Research Design 42
1. Introduction: The Research Question 42
2. Variables and Oat a Sources 44
i. Level of Analysis... • 49
Section C - Analysis and Findings 50
1. Simple Relationships 50
2. Complex Relationships 52
3. Tests for Linearity 67
4. Causal Analysis 67
Section b - Summary and Conclusions 73
CdAPThX III - LHPIttlCAL FINDINGS AND POLICY RLCOMMif.UATlOKS 76
APPENDIX. A - Supplementary Materials for Chapter I:
bars and Crime A-l
APPENDIX b - Supplementary Materials for Chapter II:
Adult Entertainment and Neighborhood Deterioration— b-1
An Analysis of the Relationship Between Adult
Entertainment Establishments, Crioe. and housing Values
Preface
This study examines two separate but related issues: 1) the
relationship of bars to crime, and 2) the impact of adult entertain-
ment establishments on neighborhood deterioration.
The first issue is specific in its focus and is limited to studying
the Impact of alcohol-serving establishments on crime in the immediate
geographical area (a six-block radius) around the bar. This relation-
ship between bars and crime is analyzed in three sections in the first
chapter of this report. These analyses investigate:
1. The general relationship between bars and crime, taking type
of neighborhood into account;
2. The effect of eliminating the liquor patrol limits in 1974;
and
3. The characteristics of "nuisance" bars as compared with
"non-nuisance" bars.
The second issue is broader, and more complex to answer. The
study looks at all adult entertainment establishments < • . saunas,
rap parlors, adult theaters, etc., in addition to bars. It examines
their relationship to neighborhood deterioration as measured by crime
and housing value. For this part of the study, "neighborhoods" are
defined as census tracts. Other factors affecting neighborhood
deterioration are controlled for in order to measure the independent
effects of adult entertainment establishments. The research questions
Involve establishing whether or not there is an association between
adult entertainment and neighborhood deterioration at the census tract
level, and then determining whether the evidence supports the hypothe-
sis that adult entertainment precedes neighborhood deterioration.
The second chapter of the report presents the analysis of these
issues in four sections:
1. A summary of the policy issues that motivate the study,
2. The research questions and study design derived to investigate
these policy issues,
3. The analysis and results of Che study, and
4. The summary conclusions.
This study was commissioned by the Minneapolis City Council in
winter, 1980 to provide some empirical basis for policy decisions
regarding the licensing and zoning of adult entertainment
establishments* The research questions were derived through
discussions with the members of the Council's Consumer Services
Committee, and with members of the committee appointed to assist the
research, including John Bergquist, manager of the Department of
Licenses and Consumer Services, Roger Montgomery of the Police
Inspection Unit, and t->ary Wahlstrand of the City Attorney's office.
Numerous other city employees were generous with their time and help-
ful in their suggestions.
CHAPTER I
BARS AND CRIME
***>*• Section A
*"*""'' General Relationship between Bars and Crime
1. Introduction: The Research question
The hypothesis investigated in this section is that bars are
significantly associated with crime. This portion of the study
examines the general association of bars to crime as well as the
association ot certain types of bars to crime, while controlling for
neighborhood setting. The general hypothesis in this context can be
reinterpreted as specific research questions:
a. Are selected crimes distributed non-randomly in areas
surrounding bars as a group? Do they cluster around bars?
b. Do these distributions provide evidence of an association
between types of bars and crime, i.e., do the crimes tend to cluster
around the various types of bars?
c. Do these observed distributions change when controls (factors
***** other than bars or crimes) are taken into account?
»»**" '2. Methodology
a. Variables and Data Sources
The major independent variable is all licensed alcohol-serving
(on-sale) establishments in Minneapolis. This variable is measured by
identifying the location (address) of each bar. The license cate-
gories established by the city — beer, wine, or liquor bars, and
Class A, B, or C entertainment — are subdivisions of the independent
variable and are considered separately in some analyses below. Bars
are also classified into two categories according to the volume of
food service business they do.
The data source for identifying bar locations was the records of
the License beparf.nent of the City of Minneapolis. According to these
records, there were 203 liquor licenses, 21 wine licenses, and 143
beer licenses issued in 1979. Each of these businesses is also
licensed for a certain entertainment level. The data source for
classifying bars according co volume of food business were the
observations of members of the License Department and the Minneapolis
Police Department. 215 of the 367 licensed establishments could be
classified in this way. The remaining 152 bara are dropped from any
analysis based on food categories.
The dependent variable is the density of crime in areas
surrounding the bars. The crimes that are measured for the analysis
are street robbery and assault. These crimes are reasonable in that
we might expect to find a relation between alcohol consumption and
these personal crimes. No theory connecting crime and drinking in
public places exists, but we have sufficient experience with th«
effects of alcohol on aggressive behavior to make the connection. In
addition, bars serve as gathering places where outbursts of aggression
have handy targets. Finally, neither observed relationships (as in
the adult entertainment portion of this study, which shows a low
overall relationship between bars and residential burglary, for
example) nor logic argue for the inclusion of other crimes. One
important candidate may be vandalism, but reported vandalism rates are
so unreliable by present measurement techniques that it could not be
Included.
Crime counts were made at the address level using the offense
report data automated through the tlinneapolis Police Department's
Integrated Criminal Apprehension Program (1CAP). These counts were
aggregated into frequencies for each crime and for each area
surrounding a bar ^r & one-year period from Hay 1,^379 co April 30,
1980. Assaults and street robberies were considered both separately
and together to various analyses.
finally, Che analysis takes into account the type of neighborhood
as a control variable. "Neighborhood" is here defined as a census
tract, and it is measured by the percent of owner-occupied homes by
trace. It was necessary to use the census tract aa the unit of
measurement for this variable because the address level data necessary
to construct the exact distance decay areas was not available at an
affordable price. Percent owner-occupied, taken from the 1970 census,
is known to be highly related to other indicators of socio-economic
status such as income, and in addition it is believed to Indicate in
some degree the important properties of stability and salience of
neighborhood identity on the part of residents. The actual measure
used is a Z-score, dividing the variable into three categories (low •
-.5 standard deviations or less, medium - -.5 to .5, high « .5 or
greater).
b. Unit of Analysis
The units of analysis are the areas around each bar, and the sub-
divisions of that area, these units of analysis are not existing
civil divisions, like census tracts, but rather are created by spe-
cialized processing software which uses the address-level crime data
provided by ICAf to first aggregate the data into uniform areas around
each bar and then perform standard analyses on the densities of crimes
found in these areas for each bar or group of bars. This technique is
known as distance decay analysis.
Distance decay analysis determines Che decree to which crime is
uniformly distributed geographically about a particular site. Where
crime is not uniformly distributed around a site but displays a pat-
tern of being densely distributed near the site and gradually becoming
less dense as di-stance from Che site increases, then it may be the
case that the site is associated with crime. There are three tests to
determine whether a site is statistically associated with crime:
1. Is a distance decay curve present, that is, does the density
of crime decrease as we move away from the site?
2. Is there a significant chi-square statistic demonstrating that
the areas around sites vary from normal density?
3. la there a significantly negative slope to the curve as
measured by a signs test?
Only if all three tests are positive do we consider a site associated
with crime. Thus, this study uses a conservative test in order to be
confident that the relationship between crime and bars actually
exists.
The sub-areas constructed around each bar by the distance decay
software are six approximately concentric rings of 1/10 mile in width
each, for a total area with a 6/10 mile radius.^ The technique com-
pares the proportion of the total crimes in each ring to the propor-
tion of land area within each ring to get a measure of the density in
crime in each concentric ring. These measures (six for each distance
decay) are then tested by the three tests outlined above to see if the
density of crime is non-random and if it is concentrated at the middle
of the area (the "node") where the bar is.2
'•The technique is most easily described with concentric rings as the
units of analysis. The actual unit of analysis used in this study was
city-blocks.
Appendix A.I for a further description of distance decay
analysis .
3. Analysis and Findings
a* Are selected crimes distributed non-randomly in areas
surrounding bars as a group? Do they cluster around bars?
This analysis looks at the general association between bars and
selected types of crime. Separate distance decay analyses were per-
formed on the 367 bars and a summary analysis was prepared for all
bars. Ibis was done for each of the crimes separately and for the two
crimes combined.
The summary analysis of bars and assaults in Figure I.I demonstrates
a classic distance decay curve. As can be seen in Figure I.I, as
distance from the bar increases the density of assaults decreases.
Both the chi-square and the signs test are significant. As a group,
bars in Minneapolis are significantly associated with assaults. This,
of course, does not mean that every bar is associated with assault.
Figure I.I
Distribution of Assaults Around Bars
3
Relative
Crime
Density (R.C.b.)
.1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6
(bisCanee in tenths of miles from bar)
2325.b Sig. .05 Slope negative .03
The association of Minneapolis bars and street robbery is
demonstrated in-figure 1.2. Once again, there is a fairly strong
distance decay curve which Indicates a concentration of street robbery
around bars that, decreases as distance from the bar increases. Both
the chi-square and the signs are significant. In general, bars in
Minneapolis are significantly associated with street robbery.
Figure 1.2
Distribution of Street Robbery Around Bars
3
Relative
Crime
Density (K.C.L.)
123456
(Distance in tenths of miles from bar)
X2 • 1968.4 slg. OS Slope negative .03
Because bars are associated with both assaults and street robberies
separately, we may expect that they will be associated with the two
crimes combined. This is the case as presented in Figure 1.3. Again,
the chi-square and signs test are both significant. It is the case
that bars are associated with the crimes of assault and street robbery
both separately and combined.
II
Figure 1.3
Distribution of Assaults and Street Robbery Around Bars
• 3
• 2
Relative
Crime
Density (K.C.D.)
123456
(Distance in tenths of miles from bar)
x2 - 4122.0 Sig .05 Slope negative .03
b. bo these distributions provide evidence of an association
between types of bars and crime, i.e., do the crimes tend to cluster
around the various types of bars? Co these observed distributions
change when controls (factors other than bars) are taken into account?
Despite the relationship between bars and crime in general, it is
quite possible that this relationship does not exist for some cate-
gories of bars but does hold for others.
Bars are licensed according to the type of alcohol allowed to be
served. The city has three categories: liquor, beer (3.2), and wine.
The level of entertainment allowed in a licensed establishment also is
licensed by the city and is used to categorize bars. There are three
classes of entertainment defined by license categories: "C" (juke
boxes, machines, T.V.); "B" (single performer plus those permitted
under "C"), and "A" (live bands, shows, dancing, plus those permitted
under "L" and "C").
10
In addition, Trie city staff expressed interesc^tn the effect of
volume of food business on crime. The assumption to be tested is that
bars with lower food volume have lower associations with crime Chan
bars with greater food volume. The two categories of food volume
are: high - greater than 50 percent food, low - less than 50 percent
food volume. This section looks at bars and their association with
crime in each of these three categorizations: alcohol, entertainment,
and food.
Because many other studies on crime have found that the type of
neighborhood has a great influence on crime, it was decided to add
neighborhood type as a control variable. Therefore, the study analy-
zes the relationship of all bars with the selected crimes while
controlling for the environment in which a bar exists.
(1) Bars by sub-type and crime
Summary distance decays were run tor each of the six license cate-
gories of bars, plus two categories of food volume in the businesses,
measuring the density of the combined crimes of assault and street
robbery.^ The results of these eight summary distance decays are
reported in Figure 1.4.
Wine and Class B entertainment bars, and bars which have more than
50 percent of their total voluue in food service do not show signifi-
cant associations with the distribution of the selected crimes in the
surrounding areas. All other categories do exhibit significant
^•Separate analyses for each crime were performed, but the results
were similar and therefore the combined measure was used.
11
Figure I.A
Distribution of Crime Around Bars by Categories of Bars
Liquor'Type Entertainment Type Food Volume
3
R.C.L). 2
1
3
R.C.D. 2
I
N - 143
V
^S^^4
Distance —
Beer
ft - 21
/\y\>^\
3
k.C.b. 2
1
N - 264
V^^-*
3
R.C.D. 2
1
> Distance — >
Class 0
Entertainment
3
R.C.D. 2
1
N • 13
Av_^
3
R.C.D. 2
1
Li stance — > Distance — >
\K - 108
V
>**
Distance —
Less Than
50% Food
N - 107
/v
^^Distance — .
Wine Class B More Than
Entertainment 50% Food
R.C.D. 2
1
- 203
R.C.L. 2
1
Distance —>
Liquor
N - 90
Distance —>
Class A
Entertainment
*These distance decay curves are significant according to the three
tests outlined in the text.
tendencies toward clustering around the bars as types.* In the cases
of wine and Class B bars, these results nay be due to the spatial
results for wine and Class b bars may be questioned by some
because of the snail number of bars in those categories. However, the
technique aggregates the number of crimes in surrounding areas to get
a density measure, and it would be sensitive to low N if the number of
crimes in a ring were small. In these cases, all rings in the aggre-
gated measures count over several hundred crimes (some crimes are
counted more than once), so the number is adequate.
12
distribution of the bars in the city and the way the distance decay
technique aggregates events within these distributions. Wine bars
are also bars with high food volume which may in fact account for a
lower crime association. Class & bar effects cannot be accounted for
in any simple way by the kind of entertainment permitted since bars
with both fewer (Class C) and more (Class A) entertainment options are
significantly associated with crime.
(2) Crime around bars controlling for neighborhood type
Figure 1.5 reports three summary distance decays for all bars within
the three types of neighborhoods as identified by percent owner
occupied housing.
Figure 1.5
Distribution of Crime Around all Bars Within Types of Neighborhoods
Low Owner Moderate Owner High Owner
Occupied Occupied Occupied
Relative 3
Crime
Density 21
N - 256 a*N - 42
Distance Distance
*Indicates significant distance decay.
Distance
As Figure I.S shows, the measured densities of the crimes of assault and
street robbery are signficantly associated with the location of bars
in all three types of neighborhoods.
13
This finding is especially interesting in Che cases of the
•
moderate and high owner-occupied neighborhoods where the possibly con-
founding impact of the downtown bars has been eliminated. The low
owner-occupied cell contains all of the bars from the downtown area
where few people own the homes they live in. This concentration of
bars may exaggerate the impact of bars on crime because we know that:
1) assaults and street robberies are concentrated in highly commer-
cialized areas, such as the Central Business District, which suggests
that the observed relationship between bars and these crimes may be
due to some characteristic of the commercial area other than bars, and
2) the aggregating technique used in the distance decay analysis over-
weights crimes around extreme clusters of bars, such as is found
downtown.
however, these considerations are not present in higher owner-
occupied neighborhoods, which tend to be lower crime areas and removed
from concentrations of bars like that found in downtown. The fact
that a greater density of crime around bars remains in these areas
gives us somewhat more confidence that the finding of a relationship
between bars and crime really exists. Concentrations of bars or the
fact that bars are in commercial zones still could be confounding
these results, but this is substantially less likely when the downtown
bars are- eliminated from the analysis.
4. Summary; General Relationship Between Bars and Crime1
What is Che general relationship between bars and crime? Does che
relationship hold when other variables associated with crime are
controlled?
a) An aggregate analysis of all 367 bars in Minneapolis shows
that bars as a group are associated with the crimes of assault and
street robbery.
b) This relationship between bars and the selected crime types
remains when type of neighborhood (as measured by percent owner-
occupied housing) is controlled.
c) bars whose food volume accounts for over 50 percent of total
volume, bars with wine licenses, and bars with Class H entertainment
licenses are not associated with the crimes of assault and street
r obbery.
^Additional distance decay results showing groups of bars cross-
classified by type of license or food volume and type of neighborhood
are provided in Appendix A. Those results support the ones reported here.
15
n
Section B
The Effect of Changing the Liquor Patrol Limits;
New Bars and Crime
1. Introduction; The Research Question
Liquor pacrol limits have had a long and controversial history in
Minneapolis. Initially established in 1887, the patrol limits
restricted liquor licenses to be located within certain boundaries.
The original liquor patrol boundaries were drawn closely around the
central city so that Minneapolis Police Department foot patrolmen
could reach the ends of the limits. (An indication that the presumed
relationship between bars and crime is indeed an old idea.) There
were several unsuccessful attempts during the 1950's to extend the
patrol limit boundaries, with the issue ultimately bound up with the
larger issue of the economic and physical redevelopment of the down-
town area. I City voters finally approved a charter amendment to
extend the patrol limit boundaries in 1959. 2
The liquor patrol limits continued to be a political issue
throughout the 1960's. In 1974, voters approved a charter amendment
abolishing the liquor patrol limits altogether. The restriction that
on-sale liquor establishments can be located only in seven-acre
1-Many groups argued that the narrow confines of the patrol limits
would guarantee that another skid row would develop, simillar to the
one along Washington Avenue that was cleared in the 1950's and that
resulted in many liquor licenses being forced to relocate. Therefore,
one of the principal arguments was to extend the limits to permit a
wider dispersal of the bars.
2The boundaries in effect after 1959 extended the patrol limits to
franklin on the south, Lyndale on the west, Broadway on the north and
the hississippi River on the east, along with a section in Northeast
Minneapolis along University Avenue.
16
commercial zones remained in effect, however. As a result of
Minneapolis' liquor licensing restrictions, major portions of the city
remained without liquor bars until L974 (with the exception of several
"distressed" licenses issued outside of the limits).
One of the purposes of this study is to examine the effect on crime
of the 1974 rescission of the liquor patrol limits. If bars are asso-
ciated with higher incidences of certain kinds of crimes, as has been
hypothesized, then one would expect to find aignificant increases of
crime around those liquor bars established outside the old patrol
limits.
2. Methodology
a. The Research Design
In order to answer the question about the effect on crime of the
elimination of the liquor patrol limits, "before" and "after" analyses
of the amount and distribution of the crime of assault were conducted.
The logic of the design is illustrated below (Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.6
Before and After Research Design for Assessing
Impact of Abolishment of Liquor Patrol Limits
Before
(One year period,
July 1, 1974 -
June 30. 197S)
Amount (number) of
assaults within
six blocks of the
site
Introduction of
a bar to the
site
After
(One year period,
Way 1, 1979 -
April 30. 198Q
Amount (number) of
assaults within
six blocks of the
bar
Distribution of
crime as indicated
by distance decay
analysis of
sites
Introduction of
a bar to the
site
Distribution of
crime as indicated
by distance decay
analysis of
sites
17
As indicated, Che design looks at crime in areas outside the
patrol limits before new liquor licenses were established and then
compares it with crime after those liquor licenses have been in
existence for a period of time. An area with a radius of six blocks
around each new bar site was selected for the unit of analysis. This
is the same unit as was used to examine the general relationship
between bars and crime. If those liquor licenses granted after 1974
have an effect uppon crime, it would be expected that the amount or
distribution of crime (or both) around those sites would change
between the two time periods•
b. The Data
Bars located outside the old liquor patrol limits were identified
by mapping the 1980 liquor licenses and Identifying bars located out-
side the boundaries in effect in 1974. The City License staff then
provided the dates on which licenses were granted for these locations.
A total of twenty-three bars were Identified that met the following
criteria: 1) had been granted licenses at locations outside the
patrol limits after the 1974 change, and 2) existed before the 1979
data collection period. A list of these bars can be found in
Appendix A.
The crime variable used in this analysis was number of assaults
reported to the Police Department.1 As suggested previously, the
general relationship between bars and crime was explored
using data on assaults and street robberies. The same definition of
the dependent variable, crime, would have been used for this analysis
except that address-level data on street robbery was unavailable for
the 1974-75 period. But, as the previous analysis indicates, both
assaults and street robberies show similar patterns.
18
hypothesized relationship between bars and the crime of assault is
supported on logical grounds. The data on assaults comes from two
sources-. For the "before" period, crime data for July 1, 1974 through
June 30, 1975 was taken from the Crime in Minneapolis study in which
address-level crime data was coded from police offense reports.1 The
*-
Minneapolis Police Department's ICAP (Integrated Criminal Apprehension
Program) system provided data for the "after" time period of May 1,
1979 through April 30, 1980.
c. The Analysis
In order to test the hypothesis that on-sale liquor licenses
granted outside the old patrol limits are associated with a dispropor-
tionate increase in crime, both the number of assaults and the distri-
bution of assaults within the six-block radius are* of each of the 23
new liquor license sites were analyzed for the two time periods.
Distance decay analyses were performed to analyze the distribution of
crimes in the areas around each of the sites. For a complete
discussion of the distance decay technique, see Appendix A. If the
distribution of crime around the sites changed significantly during
the five-year period, one would expect to find a random distribution
of assaults in 1974-75 (as Indicated by the distance decay curve) and
a non-random distribution (i.e., a significant chi-square and negative
slope in the distance decay curve) for the 1979-80 data.
3. Analysis and Findings
a. Amount of Crime
The results of the comparative analysis (1974-75 to 1979-60) of
the number of assaults in the immediate vicinity of the 23 liquor
I'D. Frisbie, et al., Crime in Minneapolis, Minneapolis: Minnesota
Crime Prevention Center, Inc., 1977.~~
19
, .;«"w™,
^^y
licenses granted outside the old patrol limits does not show an unex-
pected increase. That is, on the average, assaults in the areas
surrounding these sites did not increase at a greater rate than for
the city as a whole. These results are presented in Table I.I. In
general it cannot be said that the introduction of bars into new areas
of the city resulted in an increase in the amount of crime (assaults)
in those neighborhoods, although this was true for some particular
bars.
Table I.I
Comparison of the Number of Assaults, 1974-75 to 1979-80
Areas surrounding the
23 new liquor license
sites
Minneapolis city-wide
totals
1974-75 1979-80
2,124*
4,156
2,384*
5,614
Percent
Change
-H2I
+352
*Note that the crime counts in the cells for the
1974-75 and 1979-80 new liquor licenses are not actual
crime counts for those areas, but reflect the aggre-
gating procedure used by the distance decay technique.
The percent change for the new licenses can be com-
pared to the percent change for the city as a. whole.
The temporal change within a row is also a valid
comparison, as the areas are the same at both times.
b. Distribution of Crime
Comparative analysis of the distribution of assaults within the
six-block radius area surrounding the 23 new liquor license sites
suggests an apparent tendency toward a greater concentration of
assaults in the immediate one-block area where the bars are located.
As Table 1.2 illustrates, in 1974-75 none of the sites had significant
distance oecay curves (defined in terms of a significant chi-square
and a significant negative slope). In other words, the assaults did
not cluster around the sites, but were more randomly distributed
throughout the area. In 1979-80, however, six of these sites had
significant distance decay curves, and an additional seven sites
showed an increased concentration of assaults within the block of the
bar although the increases were not sufficient to achieve
significance.
Table 1.2
Comparison of Distance Decay Analyses of New
Liquor License Sites, 1974-75 to 1979-80
1974-75 1979-80
Number of Significant*
Distance Decay Curve
Analyses for the 23
sites
*Signifleant chi-square at .05 level and significant negative
slope.
Table 1.3 provides additional confirmation of a greater con-
centration of assaults within the immediate block where new liquor
licenses are located. As this Table suggests, while the increase in
assaults for the six-block areas where the 23 new licenses are located
(12 percent) was less than the city-wide average (35 percent), the
percent increase in assaults within one block of the bar sites was
considerably higher (69 percent).
21
Table 1.3
Change in the Distribution of Assaults Around
New Liquor License Sites, 1974-75 to 1979-80
Number of assaults within
one block area of the 23
new liquor license sites*
Number of assaults within
six-block radius area of
the 23 new liquor license
sites*
Minneapolis city-wide
totals
1974-75
110
2,124
4,156
1979-80
186
2,384
5,614
Percent
Change
+69*
+12%
+35Z
*Note that the crime counts in the cells for the 1974-75 and 1979-80
new liquor licenses are not actual crime counts for those areas , but
reflect the aggregating procedure used by the distance decay
technique. The percent change for the new licenses can be compared to
the percent change for the city as a whole. The temporal changes
within rows are valid as the areas are the same at both times.
Finally, a comparison of the summary distance decay curve for the
23 sites in 1974-75 to the summary curve for those same sites with
liquor licenses in 1979-80 shows that the concentration of assaults
within the first .1 mile band has increased significantly. The rela-
tive crime density for the first .1 mile band has increased from 1.86
in 1974-75 to 2.81 in 1979-80. This comparison is illustrated in
Table 1.4.
22
Table 1.4
Comparison of Summary Distance Decay Curves
1974-75 to 1979-SO
Relative
Crime
Density (K.C.U.)
- 1974-75
1979-80
123 4 5 6
(Distance in tenths of miles from bar)
The x2 for both curves is significant at .001 level;
both curves have significant negative slopes
From these results we may conclude that although there was some
change in the amount and distribution of crime around some of the bar
sites, in general the Introduction of bars in areas outside the liquor
patrol limits has not had the effect of increasing the amount of crime
in the neighborhoods around these sites, however, there was a fairly
uniform effect of increasing the concentration of assaults within one
block of the bar sites. This indicates that bars may have an affect
on crime, but the area is geographically limited to the immediate
surrounding area. It may be that groupings of bars (concentrations)
have a wider range effect on distribution of crime, but we were unable
to test this hypothesis given the limited number of such con-
centrations among the new licenses issued.
23
4. Summary Findings
What Is the effect on crime of che 1974 rescission of the liquor
patrol limits?
a. IVenty-three liquor licenses were granted outside the old
liquor patrol limits between 1974 and 1979. An analysis of the num-
bers of assaults in the areas surrounding these sites shows that, on
the average, assaults did not increase at a greater rate than for the
city as a whole.'
b. In general, there was an increased concentration of assaults
within one block of the bar sites where liquor licenses were granted
outside the patrol limits.
24
Section C
Characteristics of "Nuisance" Bars
1. Introduction: Ihe Research Question
There are a number of bars la Minneapolis that generate "nuisances"
and crime-related problems for the citizens of the city. These
nuisances are in the fora of relatively minor crimes such as
vandalism, noise, litter, and discomfort of local residents. Yet,
nuisance situations often are more obvious to citizens and cause then
more concern and worry than serious crimes, such as assault and
robbery. Although this was not part of the contract, several city
officials expressed interest in knowing whether bars which generate
nuisance situations differ systematically from bars which do not
generate nuisances. If there are systematic differences between
nuisance bars and non-nuisance bars, are these differences
controllable through licensing restrictions? A third purpose of this
portion of the study was added: to conduct some preliminary and
exploratory analyses of the characteristics of nuisance-generating
bars.
2. Methodology
a. The Research Design
Members of the City staff and the City Council suggested a number
of factors that could be important in explaining why some bars
generate nuisance situations and others do not. The factors suggested
included: 1) the volume of food business, 2) proximity to a primarily
residential area, 3) the type and availability of parking,1 4) the
'•City staff and Council members expressed concern that bars that do
not have off-street parking can create nuisances. It is assumed that
customers parking in front of houses and in front of other businesses
create conflict situations which result in disturbances and nuisances.
25
type of entertainment,i 5) the type of liquor license, 6) the type of
clientele, and 7) bar management practices. The data on the first six
of these characteristics was collected through on-site observational
visits to a sample of 40 Minneapolis bars.2
The research" design is based on comparing two samples of bars, 20
bars identified as generating nuisances and 20 non-nuisance bars, on
the six characteristics identified above. Although nuisances often
result in calls-for-servlce to the police, at present the Minneapolis
Police Department does not have an automated record keeping system for
these calls that provides easy access to this data. Because the city
has tens of thousands of calls each year, a study of all bars and
their relationship to nuisances was outside the scope of this study.
Instead a sample of bars believed to generate nuisances and a sample
of bars that do not were selected for the comparative analysis.
•~.>- A chi-square statistic was used to determine if there was a
statistically significant difference between the two samples of bars
on the characteristics.
Members of the Minneapolis City Council were asked to identify
bars in their wards which generate complaints to their offices as well
as to identify "exemplary" bars. Members of the Police License
Inspection Unit were asked to identify bars in these two categories as
well. Froa these nominations, 20 bars from each type of bar (nuisance
and non-nuisance) were selected from their nominations. A list of
^•Entertainment at a bar has been cited as a potential source of
nuisances because of the number and type of people it attracts.
the observational method selected and the relatively short
time spent at each bar, we were unable to collect data on the variable
of management practices.*
26
Che 40 bars included in the two samples can be found in Appendix A.
On-site observations using a structured data collection instrument
were made at the 40 bars by HCPC, Inc. staff. A copy of the data
collection instrument used is also included in Appendix A.
b. Definition of the Variables and Data Sources
(1) Volume of food. The 40 bars were categorized according
to whether their food business constituted over SO percent of their
gross business sales. Host of this data came from the Police
Inspection Unit with supportive data from on-site observation.
(2) Proximity to residential neighborhood. The bars were
categorized according to their proximity to residential areas using
the following classifications: 1} within a block, 2) between one and
two blocks, and 3) greater than two blocks distance. The data was
collected by on-site observation.
(3) Type and availability of parking. The sampled bars were
categorized according to the type of parking available for their
customers: 1) street parking only, 2) mete red street parking,
3) other parking lots available in the vicinity, and 4) the bar
provides its own adequate-sized parking lot. The data was collected
through on-site observation and inspection.
(4) Type of entertainment. The 40 bars were categorized two
different ways according to type of entertainment. The first category
consists of the types of entertainment license issued to bars by the
City's Licensing bepartuent: Class C, Class B, Class A (see p. 10
above for a discussion of these classifications). The second category
is Che type of entertainaent actually present (as opposed to that for
which they were licensed), based upon the on-site observations. The
27
,:,**v categories used were the following: I) none, 2) single performer, and
>l""'' 3) band (and/or major disco-type sound system).
(5) Type of liquor license. The City issues liquor licenses
based upon the type of alcohol which can be served. There are three
classifications^ 1) beer (3.2 alcoholic content). 2) wine, and
3) liquor. There are very few wine licenses in Minneapolis and
neither of our samples Included any bars with wine licenses, so for
this portion of the study the two remaining types of alcohol were
used: 1) beer, and 2) liquor.
(6) Type of clientele. The city has little direct control
over the type of clientele a bar attracts; thus, this aspect of bars
is not directly affected by city policies. Although the analysis of
clientele may be interesting, the value to policy makers may be quite
limited.
..,„• ' The factors describing clientele included age, class, residence
and social pattern. Information about these variables was collected
by on-sltc observation and was analyzed. As might be imagined, the
measurements on this set of variables were subject to considerable
error. Since only one visit was made to each bar, and the measure-
ments were taken according to the judgments of one observer, the
results obtained were considered to be too unreliable. Therefore,
they are not included in this report.
(7) Game rooms. Although information on game rooms was not
a part of the original data collection instrument, this information
was collected. The criteria used to classify bars on whether or not
they had a game room was: 1) the games constituted a clearly defined
28
area of the establishment, and 2} the games were air Important attrac-
tion for the bar. Bars with one or two machines vere not classified
as having a game room.
3. Analysis and Findings
a. Volume of Food
The data on the relationship between volume of food and type of
bar (nuisance or non-nuisance) is presented in Table 1.5.
Table 1.5
Relationship of Volume of Food Business to Type of Bar
Less Than More Than
SOX Food 50Z Food
69% (20)
31X ( 9)
OZ ( 0)
1002 (11)
Nuisance Bars
Non-Nuisance Bars
Total 1002 (29) 100Z (11)
x2 - 15.172 Idf
sig. .001
As this Table indicates, none of the bars with over 50 percent food
business were nuisance bars, while the majority of the bars with low
food volume tended to be nuisance bars. This difference is statisti-
cally significant. It suggests that if a bar does a large volume of
food business it is less likely to generate nuisances than if it does
a small volume of food business.
b. Proximity to Residential Neighborhood
Table 1.6 shows the results of the analysis for the relationship
between proximity to residential neighborhood and type of bar.
29
Table 1.6
Relationship of "Proximity-to-Neighborhood" and Type of bar
nuisance bars
(Jon-Nuisance Bars
Total
Within
1 block
63% (10)
372 ( 6)
1-2 blocks
222 (2)
782 < 7)
2 or
more
532 ( 8)
47% ( 7)
1002 (16) 1002 ( 9) 1002 (15)
x2 . 3.844 2df
sig. .15
The results are more ambiguous than was the case for volume of
food. Although there is a tendency for bars closer to residential
areas to be nuisance bars, this result is not statistically signifi-
cant at a level which justifies reaching general conclusions,
c. Type and Availability of Parking
The results of the analysis of the relationship between the type
of parking available and type of bar are shown in Table 1.7.
Table 1.7
Relationship Between Type of Parking Available and Type of Bar
Nuisance bars
Non-Nuisance Bars
Total
Street
692 (9)
312 (4)
deter
332 (1)
672 (2)
Other Lot
712 (5)
29* (2)
Own lot
292 ( 5)
71% (12)
1002 (13) 1002 (3) 1002 (7) 1002 (17)
- 6.424 3df
sig. .10
30
These results are ambiguous, but the tendency exists for nuisance bars
to rely on street parking, while non-nuisance bars tend to have their
own lots. These results are significant at the .10 level.
To carry the analysis further, a comparison was made between bars
that have their own lot available and those that do not (i.e., they
rely on all other types of parking). This Involved combining the
first three categories. The results of this comparison are clearer
and statistically significant. Table 1.6 indicates that bars without
their own lots are much more likely to be nuisance bars, while bars
with their own parking lots are less likely to be associated with
nuisances.
Table 1.8
Relationship Between Ownership of Parking Lot and Type of Bar
Nuisance Bars
Non-Nuisance Bars
Total
Other Parking
Facilities
65Z (15)
35Z ( 8)
Bar
Owns Lot
29%
71%
( 5)
(12)
loot (23)100%(17)
- 5.013 Idf
sig. .05
d. Type of Entertainment
Using the first definition of this variable, type of entertainment
license issued by the City, the results in table 1.9 are obtained.
Table 1.9
Relationship Between Type of Entertainment License and Type of bar
Nuisance liars
Non-Nuisance Bars
Total
c
53% (10)
47% ( 9)
B
33X (1)
67X (2)
A
501 ( 9)
SOX ( 9)
100X (19)100X (3)
2 - .386 2df
no sig.
100X (18)
As this table Indicates, there Is not a significant relationship
between the type of entertainment license a bar has and whether or not
it Is a nuisance bar.
When the alternative entertainment classification scheme (observed
type of entertainment) is used, the results are slightly different.
These results appear in Table I.10.
Table 1.10.
Relationship Between Observed Type of Entertainment and Type of Bar
Nuisance Bars
Non-Nuisance Bars
Total
None
44X (12)
56* (15)
Single
25* (I)
75% (3)
Band
782 (7)
22X (2)
IOOX (27)100% (4)
2 - 4.111 2df
sig. .112
100* (9)
32
This data shows some tendency for the bars with higher levels of
entertainment Co be associated with nuisance bars, but this is not a
statistically significant finding.
e. Typ« of Liquor License
Table 1.1L contains the data on this variable and its association
with whether or not a bar is nuisance-generating.
Table I.11
Relationship between Type of Alcohol and License and Type of Bar
Nuisance bars
Non-Nuisance Bars
Total
Eeer
33Z (2)
67Z (4)
Liquor
53Z (18)
47* (Ib)
100X (6)100X (34)
- .784 Idf
no sig.
According to these results froa the sample of bars, the type of liquor
license a bar has is not related to whether or not it generates
nuisances, bars with one type of alcohol license are not more likely
to be nuisance bars than bars with another type of license.1
£. Game KOOM
Table 1.12 shows that the relationship between game rooms and type
of bar is significant. Bars with game rooms are more likely to
generate nuisances than bars that do not have game rooms.
i-The sampling procedure makes this result dubious since the city-
wide distribution of beer licenses versus liquor licenses is 143 ver-
sus 203, quite different proportions than 6 versus J4.
33
55-
Table 1.12
Relationship between Game Rooms and Type of Bar
Nuisance bars
Non-Nuisance Bars
Total
ho Game Room
32Z ( 8)
68X (17)
Game Room
80X (12)
20* ( 3)
1002 (25)100Z (15)
x2 - 8.640 Idf
sig. .01
4. Summary of Findings
Are there any systematic, significant differences in the charac-
teristics of bars which generate crime-related nuisances when compared
to bars that do not generate nuisance complaints?
a. Bars which do less than 50 percent volume of business in food
tend to be nuisance bars.
b. There is no statistically significant relationship between a
bar's proximity to a residential neighborhood and whether or not it is
a nuisance bar.
c. Bars which do not have their own parking lots tend to be
nuisance bars.
d. bars with a higher level of entertainment (e.g., bands) tend
to be nuisance bars, but the finding is not statistically significant.
«. There is no relationship between the type of liquor license a
bar has and whether or not it is a nuisance bar.
f. Nuisance bars are more likely to have game rooms than are non-
nuisance bars.
34
CHAPTER II
ADULT EKTtkTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTS AMD
NtlGUBORUOOD DETERIORATION
35
-'' Introduction -~-
,.*$&**.
'^^. The general purpose of this section is to examine the impact of
adult entertainment establishments on neighborhood quality. The study
is empirical, and uses statistical techniques to examine the rela-
tionships between concentrations of adult entertainment establishments
and measures of neighborhood quality. On the basis of this analysis
of data, inferences about whether adult entertainment establishments
are associated with neighborhood decline and whether the establish-
ments follow or precede neighborhood decline can be made.
The concerns represented here are neither unique to tilnneapolisl
nor new to the city.2 There is widespread recognition of the impor-
tance of the use of city policy to encourage healthy, viable
neighborhoods, and there is a suspicion that adult entertainment
businesses — bars, saunas, adult bookstores, and the like — may be
undesirable in such neighborhoods.
Two fairly common measures of neighborhood quality are used in
this report: the crime rate, and a measure of housing value. While
neither of these measures is perfect, each of them embodies real con-
cerns of residents of the city. These measures consistently reflect
our intuitive ideas of a "good" neighborhood; that is, relatively high
quality housing (as reflected in housing value) and low crime rates
are better than low quality housing and high crime.
LS«o, for example, City of Los Angeles, "Study of the Lffects of
the Concentration of Adult Entertainment tstablishnents in the City of
Los Angeles" (Los An&eles: Department of City Planning, 1977).
2tor a nunber of years the city has attempted various approaches
to controlling the effects of adult entertainment. The liquor patrol
limits, zoning regulations, licensing of saunas, and so forth, are all
part of this effort.
In this study "Adult entertainment establishments" include all
types of alcohol serving establishments, plus businesses which commer-
cialize sex— saunas, "adult" theaters and bookstores, rap parlors,
and arcades. The various combinations of these establishments will
be considered for their impact on the measures of neighborhood
quality. They are considered the independent variables.
The entire analysis in this report is conducted at the level of
the census tract. All of the measures used here were available at
that level or could be easily aggregated to that level. The census
tract is not necessarily the best level of analysis for all the pur-
pose* of this study, but the others are either Impractical due to cost
or availability. For example, block-level analysis is possible given
available data, but the cost of acquiring that data and running analy-
ses on about six thousand cases was prohibitive in this study. Though
there are problems with the census tract level of analysis, it is a
common and useful way to measure phenomena that are of interest at a
geographical area larger than the site.
The remainder of this chapter is divided into four sections.
Section A summarizes the policy issues that motivate the study.
Section B then gives the empirical research questions to be examined
here that follow from these policy issues. This second section
briefly reports the research design folloved in answering the research
questions. Section C provides the results of the study in written and
tabular form. Section D is a summary of the study results in light of
the policy issues identified in Section A. Appendix B describes and
justifies the methods used In this portion of the study.
37
Section A
«—————~
Policy Issues
«
The central issue is whether the city can and should use its
zoning and licensing powers to regulate the concentration and com-
binations of adult entertainment establishments. It has been well
established in law that zoning is a valid use of the state's police
power to protect the "health, safety, morals and general welfare" of a
community.I Likewise, the licensing function la an established way to
regulate the existence and condition of a business. The more narrow
question is whether these powers can be exercised to regulate adult
entertainment without infringing on other guaranteed rights of
proprietors and customers, such as the First Amendment right to free
speech.
In Young vs. American Mini Theaters, Inc.,2 the Supreme Courtw
held that a Detroit ordinance that caused the dispersal of adult
theaters from certain other "regulated" land uses, including adult
bookstores and theaters, and on-sale liquor establishments, was
constitutional. It was held that, in principle, the ordinance did not
deprive proprietors and customers of the right to distribute or con-
sume certain ideas, specifically those with explicit sexual content.
Further, the particular limits placed on adult businesses by the law
were seen as justified by a "compelling state Interest" to preserve
the city's neighborhoods. The ordinance represented a rational
1Villag,e of Luc lid V. Anbler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, cited
in fredric A. Strom, Zoning Control of bex Businesses (New York:
Clark boardman Co., Ltd., 1977), p. 21
24id7 U.S. 50
3b
response to Che problem of neighborhood decline based on the testimony
and evidence of expert witnesses.*
The conditions laid down in Young vs. American Mini Theaters are
narrow, and the legal issues are complex. It is not the intention of
this report to enter the legal thicket in search of optimum solutions.
The relevant point raised by the Detroit decision is that one of the
conditions that must be satisfied to sustain the use of zoning powers
to regulate adult entertainment businesses is that there must be a
demonstrable public interest to be served by such regulation. Among
the considerations raised by the Young case are the concerns that a
concentration of adult entertainment businesses in a neighborhood may
have an adverse effect on property values, result in an increase in
crime, or undermine the stability of businesses and residents in the
area. These are among the concerns that are empirically examined in
this study, as indicated by the primary measures of relative neigh-
borhood deterioration, housing values and crime rates.
This study looks at the effects of both sexually-oriented and
alcohol serving adult entertainment establishments on neighborhoods in
Minneapolis. Alcohol-serving establishments and movie theaters art:
subject to both licensing and zoning restrictions, while many sexually,
oriented businesses are subject only to zoning restrictions (as of
July 1, 19ttO).2
of certain sexually oriented businesses, e.jj., saunas
and rap parlors, has proved difficult since the licensing can be
avoided simply by changing the ostensible purpose of the business.
Also, several past attempts to use license violations to revoke
licenses have been challenged successfully in court.
39
Discussions with Council members and City staff produced several
specific policy questions that can be pursued in this research:
*1. Do different types of alcohol-serving establishments have
different impacts on neighborhoods?
This is a complex question since City Council and License Staff
members have raised numerous ways to classify bars. The legal
definitions embodied in licensing requirements are included in the
classification scheme, used here, e.g., liquor, wine, or beer, class
A, b, or C entertainment. A further consideration raised is the
extent to which a business is based on serving food and how this may
alter the effects of the establishment on the neighborhood.
2. Do particular combinations or concentrations of adult
entertainment establishments have particular impacts on neighborhoods?
This question asks whether the location of adult entertainment
establishments in clusters will have different or greater impacts on
neighborhoods than will similar establishments separated by a signifi-
cant amount of distance. As of July 1981, the zoning code will regu-
late sexually-oriented businesses -to SOU foot intervals between them
and with 500 foot intervals between the businesses and other priority
uses like residences or churches. One assumption in the regulation is
that concentration of these establishments will exacerbate their nega-
tive impacts on neighborhoods. This assumption requires empirical
support.
3. Does the location of a bar or sexually-oriented business in
an area precede the decline of a neighborhood or does it follow it?
Ihere is some evidence that adult entertainment businesses
locate in areas that are already in decline, or perhaps are undergoing
rapid change in character with relatively few stable residents or
40
businesses. The problem then is to determine if adult businesses
further or contribute to the cycle of decline that is already in
existence.
Given the severe limitations in the quality and availability of
data on neighborhoods for most years, some of these policy questions
are very difficult to answer. However, they can be translated into
research questions that can be investigated empirically. There can be
no absolute certainty in answering questions of this sort, but
information can be produced that will place policy decisions on firmer
&rounds.
Section B
The Research Design
The policy concerns expressed in the previous section must be
translated into 'research questions amenable to appropriate statistical
techniques- This section discusses the research questions identified
above and provides an outline of the techniques used in answering
them.1
1. Introduction: The Research Question
a. Are the location and number of adult entertainment
establishments and the various sub-types within this general category
associated with measures of neighborhood decline?
This portion of the research utilizes simple correlation analysis
to establish whether or not adult entertainment establishments of
various types are empirically associated with measures of neighborhood
deterioration at the census tract level*
b. Do these relationships between adult businesses and
deterioration change after controlling for the impacts of other
variables known to be associated with deterioration?
If the the simple relationships described in a. are established,
it is reasonable to ask if they remain after the effects of other
variables that may be associated with neighborhood decline are
controlled. Two related statistical techniques are used in this por-
tion of the analysis. First, the simple correlations are re-analyzed
while "holding constant" some other variables thought to be related to
the measures of neighborhood quality. Second, multiple regression
analysis is performed to determine if any or all combinations of the
adult entertainment establishments are associated with measures of
^Methodological issues and discussion of the choices of
.,.r' ) techniques are contained in Appenaix b.l.
42
neighborhood quality when considered together with other control
variables. The regression equations permit some estimate of the
impacts of adult entertainment establishments on neighborhoods in com-
parison with other variables, using the regression coefficients.
c- Does a concentration of these establishments have a
disproportionate impact on neighborhood decline? That is, are the
observed relationships non-linear?
The relationship established in a. and b. may reveal that
changes in neighborhood deterioration increase at a greater or lesser
rate than Increases in the concentration of adult entertainment
establishments. If this is the case, the relationships are
non-linear, and it may be possible to identify the point at which
further increases in the concentration of adult uses will have dispro-
portionately great impacts on surrounding areas. The simple rela-
tionships are tested using one-way (bivariate) analysis of variance
techniques to Identify significant departure from linearity. The
multi-variate regression analyses are tested through examination of
residuals.
d. Do the relationships observed in the data, either over
time or cross-sectionally, permit the inference that adult entertain-
ment establishments precede or accelerate neighborhood decline?
For policy concerns, it is important to determine whether adult
entertainment establishments precede or follow neighborhood
deterioration. This will be impossible to prove empirically.
However, circumstantial evidence can be developed which is consistent
with our suspicions about neighborhood decline. In the present case,
the statistical technique of path analysis is used to determine
whether adult businesses precede or follow signs of deterioration.
We hypothesize that deterioration does follow the location of such
43
businesses, (in the sense Chat adult businesses contribute to the
existing cycle of decline in the neighborhood), even though it nay be
the case that adult businesses are attracted to areas already in the
process of decline (the businesses follow decline).
It is also possible to examine hypotheses about causal rela-
tionships using longitudinal data. Observations of actual changes in
variables over time were made, comparing 1979 to 1970 measurements,
but these observations were unsatisfactory due to measurement error
and lack of sufficient data points. Therefore, these cross-time
measurements and the analyses of them are not reported in this
document.
2. Variables and Data Sources
Numerous data sources were used to obtain measures of the many
variables used in this study. 1 Measurements were taken at two points
In time for as many variables as possible. Generally, the years for
which measurements are available are 1970 and 1979, although some
variables were measured for different years if data was not available
for one of these years. These can best be discussed as independent,
dependent, and control variables.
a. Independent Variables
The independent variables are all on-sale liquor serving
establishments of all types and classes, plus sexually-oriented
businesses.
(1) On-sale liquor establishments - Establishments may
be licensed to sell beer only, wine and beer, or liquor, wine, ana
1Appendix B.2 contains a complete list of variable names and
their descriptions and/or measurement.
beer. We will refer to these simply as beer, wine, or liquor. Wine
licenses are issued to businesses whose total volume is expected to be
at least 60 percent food service. These businesses also obtain dif-
ferent types of licenses depending on the kind of entertainment pro-
vided on the site. As discussed in Chapter I, a Class C license per-
mits only juke boxes, machines, T.V. and the like. The Class B
license permits a single performer to play an instrument, plus the
entertainments permitted under the C license. The Class A license
permits any of the entertainment allowed under the first two licenses,
plus live bands, shows, dancing, and so forth. Table II.I shows the
numbers of bars in each category for 1970 and 1979, excluding the
downtown tracts.!
Table II.1: Number of Bars by Category, 1970 and 19792
Class A
beer
Wine*
Liquor
Total
10
0
28
38
1970
Class &
3
0
3
6
Class C
175
0
58
233
Class A
5
1
47
53
1979
Class B
2
0
3
5
Class C
128
17
62
207
*"Ulne" was not a license category in 1970.
LDowntown tracts 45, 46.01, 46.02, 44, 47, 53, and 54 were eli-
minated from moat analysis because they are not, properly speaking,
residential areas. There are numerous households in the area, but the
predominance of commercial and other non-residential uses, combined
with the high concentration of adult businesses, distorts the analysis
performed here. See Tables 11.7 and II.8 for some results including
downtown.
^Counts here differ from those in the previous section because
downtown tracts are excluded. The 1979 citywide total, including
downtown is 367. In this study, the total is 26S.
45
(2) Adult sexually-oriented businesses - These businesses
include adult (x-rated) movie cheaters, adult book stores, saunas and
rap parlors, plus bars vdiich provide live sexually-oriented
entertainment. The 1980 data is complete, but information on sexually-
oriented businesses that were not licensed in the period around 1970
(e.g., sexually-oriented entertainment in bars) cannot be reliably
measured at this point and were omitted from the analysis.
Table 11.2 provides counts of these businesses for 1970 and 1979,
again omitting downtown.
Table 11.2: Number of Sexually-Oriented Businesses by Category,
1970 and 1979
Saunas, etc.*
Adult bookstores
Adult theaters
Bars with sexually-
oriented entertainment
W70
11
UNK
1
UN'K.
1979
14
7
6
5
License records are available beginning with 1973.
The source for saunas and theaters are License Department records
for the different years. Complete up-to-date counts of these busi-
nesses plus adult bookstores, rap parlors, and so forth, were also
obtained from the Office of the Zoning Administrator, bars with live
sexually-oriented entertainment in 1979-1980 were identified by mem-
bers of the Minneapolis Police Department and License Department
staff.
b. Dependent Variables
Ihe main dependent variables used in this study are raean housing
value and an index of crime rate per 1,000 population, at the census
tract level. These variables are generally recognized to be good
indicators of neighborhood deterioration.
(1) Homing value * For 1970, mean housing value is the owner
estimated single-family housing value in the 1970 census, averaged for
each tract.
For 1979, the mean housing value is the average assessed value of
the single family housing in each census tract. The Property
Management System of the City of Minneapolis is the source of this
Information.
Though neither of these measures perfectly reflects the arm's
length market value of housing, each should provide an unbiased esti-
mate of housing value in each tract for that year, thus producing
valid measures of variation from tract to tract.
(2) Crime rajte - Adequate census tract level data on crime
rates is not available for 1970. The substitute measure used here is
an index of crime using data from a one year period extending from the
middle of 1974 to the middle of 1975. This data was collected by
staff of the Minnesota Crime Prevention Center as part of a study of
crime in Minneapolis.^-
Crime data for 1979 and 1980 was collected from the files of the
Minneapolis Police Department's Integrated Criminal Apprehension
Prograa, for which the Minnesota Crime Prevention Center provides
technical assistance. A crime index was constructed from this-data
using commercial robbery and burglary, residential burglary, personal
robbery, rape and assault. The index is an aggregated tract-level
measure of the number of crimes per 1,000 population.
'•Douglas W. triable, et al, Crime in Minneapolis, fiinneapolis:
Minnesota Crime Prevention Center^ Inc. , 1977.
47,
finally, other measures of neighborhood qualiCy were considered
for inclusion in the list of dependent variables, including measures
of commercial vacancy rates and area condition estimates. Some analy-
sis waa performed using these variables, and will be reported where
appropriate*
c. Control Variables
Certain third variables believed to have an impact on neighborhood
quality were also measured for 197u and 1979. These variables are
used in the analysis to determine the extent to which the associations
of adult entertainment establishments with neighborhood quality are
actually due to the control variables rather than the independent
variables themselves. It is possible that both the location of adult
businesses and the level of housing value or crime rate are caused by
some third variable. Control variables can be held constant with sta-
tistical techniques to see how the variables of major concern are
related when the controls can no longer make a difference.
Statistically speaking, these variables are used to identify spurious
relationships or to help confirm the effects of an independent
variable. Because a large number of these third variables are used,
the data sources and variable definitions will be presented only in
summarized fashion.
(1) 1970 Data - The major sources used for measuring 1970
control variables were the 1970 census and the Polk Company's
Minneapolis City Directory. Tract level measures of neighborhood
characteristics like residential stability and percent of owner
occupied dwellings were taken from the census. The Polk directory
provided information on commercial structures in 1972.
48
1979 Uata - The 1979 data was obtained from several
sources, bata on residential units, including age, type, condition,
number, gross building area, lot size, and tax status (i.e., homestead
or not) were collected from the Property Management System.I
The bulk of .the commercial property descriptions were taken from
the Polk city directory for 1978. In addition, estimates of 197b
household income and tract population were taken from Polk data.
Measures of household occupancy and turnover rates were taken from
the Minneapolis quarterly report on vacancy and turnover for January
1, 1980 to March 31, 1960 produced by the Minneapolis Planning
Department. The original source of this data was the NSP billing
tapes.
3. Level of Analysis
All variables have been measured at the census tract levels. This
means that observations for a given variable have been aggregated
within a tract for the appropriate time period, and a summary measure
produced. For example, the measure of all alcohol serving businesses
for 1979 is a count of all types and classes of on-sale licenses
issued by the city for that year, by census tract.
1Programming and tape creation for PUS data were performed by
the City's Management Information Service.
49
Section C
Analysis and Findings
1. Simple Relationships
- Are the location and number of adult entertainment establish-
ments and the various sub-types within this general category
associated with measures of neighborhood decline?
Based on previous related research and discussions with interested
persons, we expected to find that a high concentration of such busi-
nesses is associated with an increased crime rate and decreased
housing values. 1 The simple correlation coefficients confirm these
expectations.
Table 11.3: Pearson Correlation Coefficients: Adult Entertainment
Establishments and Measures of Neighborhood Quality, 1979
All adult businesses
Sexually-oriented businesses
Alcohol-serving businesses
Beer
Wine
Liquor
Class A
Class B
Class C
Mean
liousing Value 1979
-.1320
-.1533*
-.1208
-.2531*
.1079
.0267
.0584
' -.0691
-.1409
Crime Rate
Index, 1979-80
.1926*
.2440*
.1380
.1683*
-.0441
.0760
.0405
.2415*
.1421
Correlations are significant at the .05 level or better.
As Table 11.3 shows, several categories of adult businesses have a
statistically significant relationship with the measures of neigh-
borhood deterioration. Concentrations of sexually-oriented businesses
and beer bars show relatively strong relationships with both housing
value and the crime rate in the expected directions.2 The
Minnesota Crime Prevention Center, "Neighborhood Deterioration
and the Location of Adult Entertainment Establishments in St. Paul,"
Minneapolis: MCVC, Inc., 197«.
Appendix B.I for a breakdown of the crime rate Into four of
its component crimes and their associations with adult establishments
relationship between the location of adult entertainment businesses
and crime is generally stronger than that between these businesses and
housing value, "host of the observed correlations are very weak.
The relationships in Table 11.3 vary among the sub-types of adult
establishments: - some of the types are more closely related to the
neighborhood variables than others. It is possible that these dif-
ferences are due entirely to differences between the types of
establishments, but that seems to be only & part of the issue. It is
likely that other variables are affecting the relationship.
Included among these other variables, the effects of city policy,
business decisions, and the general environment of the adult business
are likely to make a difference in the way the business is related to
housing value and crime. The classification of the businesses that is
used here already reflects the licensing procedures of the city, but
other policies, especially zoning regulations, may have an impact.
Zoning regulations affect the size and type of commercial area within
which different types of adult businesses may locate, with possible
consequences for their impacts on neighborhoods. One business deci-
sion that Council members suggested might affect an establishment's
relationship with crime and housing value is the proportion of the
business that is devoted to food service. Businesses that are
actually restaurants that happen to have alcohol licenses may be dif-
ferent than those that are primarily bars. The residential environ-
ment of che adult business may be characterized by many variables that
could have an impact.
In this study, these concerns are measured and taken into account
through the use of statistical controls. The zoning policy issue.is
51
53
,*•»»» summarized In a measure of the proportion of commercial units found in
"***** each tract. The restaurant vs. bar distinction is based on a measure
of the proportion of a business that is food-related, with those that
are greater than 50 percent food considered primarily restaurants.*•
The residential'environment is characterized by a measure of average
household income in a census tract. Income is very highly related to
other measures of residential area type.
The simple relations between these control variables and the types
of adult entertainment establishments suggest that they might make a
difference in the relationships between types of adult businesses and
crime or housing value.2 xhe next section presents some analyses that
explicitly use these control variables to examine the relationship
between adult business and neighborhood deterioration more closely.
Summary Findings; Simple Relationships
, . (1) Concentrations of beer licensed bars and sexually-oriented
businesses are significantly related to lower housing values. Most
types of adult businesses are negatively related to housing values,
even if they are not significant.
(2) A summary measure of all adult businesses, sexually-oriented
businesses, beer and Class B entertainment licensed alcohol-serving
businesses are significantly related to high crime rates. All but one
type of adult business are positively related to the crime rate.
(3) Overall, the relationship between adult business con-
centrations and neighborhood deterioration measures are weak.
2. Complex Relationships
- bo the observed relationships change after controlling
for the impacts of other variables known to be associated with neigh-
borhood quality?
^•Members of the Police Department and Che Licensing staff
supplied the list of licensed establishments that are primarily in
food service.
Appenuix b-1 for a presentation and discussion of these
results.
51
This section is in two parts. The first part presents first
order partial correlations between concentrations of adult businesses
and measures of-neighborhood quality, controlling for the policy rele-
vant variables of food percentage of business and commercial charac-
teristics of bar, locations, in addition to controlling for the effects
of type of residential area on the relationships. In the second half
of this section, even more stringent statistical tests are reported
which permit an estimation of the amount of impact of various com-
binations and concentrations of adult businesses on neighborhood
quality, while simultaneously controlling for the effects of other
variables.
a. Partial Correlation
Table 11.4 shows how the simple relationships between adult enter-
tainment establishments and neighborhood quality measures change when
the effects of other variables that measure important policy and
environmental factors are controlled.
The partial correlations in the third and fourth columns of Table
11.4 show the effects of controlling for food business on the rela-
tionships between adult entertainment business types and the neigh-
borhood deterioration measures.1 Bars that are devoted primarily to
serving alcohol are more strongly related to lower housing value and
higher crime rates. With the effects of restaurant-type businesses
removed, more of the relationships are significant, and nearly all of
them are in the direction expected, i.e., concentrations of bars
Sexually-oriented establishments and all adult business partial
correlations arc not reported iu this case because there is no indica-
tion that sexually oriented businesses serve food.
53
are associated with lower property values and higher overall crime
rates. Liquor bars and Class C entertainment licensed bars, in
particular, are significantly related to crime and/or housing value
when food business is controlled.
Table II.A: Partial Correlation Coefficients:
Adult Entertainment Establishments
and Neighborhood Quality, 1979
All adult
Sexual ly-
oriented
Alcohol-
serving
Beer
bine
Liquor
Class A
Class b
Class C
Simple
Correlations
house
Value
-.1320
-.1533*
-.1208
-.2531*
.1079
.0267
.0584
-.0691
-.1409
Crime
Index
.1926*
.2440*
.13bO
.1683*
-.0441
.0760
.0405
.2415*
.1421
Partial Control
for food
house
Value
_
-
-.2b65*
-.2254*
-.2800*
-.1592*
-.1137
-.1310
-.3217*
Crime
Index_
-
.1751*
.1618*
-.0029
.1039
.0645
.2494*
.1667*
Partial Control
for Percent
Commercial
House
Value
-.0707
-.1415
-.0405
-.2423*
.1627*
.1022
.1191
-.0441
-.0856
Crime
Index
-.0147
.2314*
-.0700
.1418
-.2154*
-.1482
-.1514
.1898*
-.0560
Partial Control
for Mean
Income
bouse
Value
.0738
-.1089
.1023
-.2036*
.2219*
.2254*
.2334*
.0360
.0303
Crime
Index
-.0861
.2153*
-.1398
.0879
-.2034*
-.1659*
-.1975*
.1420
-.1066
*Significant at the .05 level or better.
The controls for commercial area (the fifth and sixth columns in
Table 11.4) and mean income (seventh and eighth columns) also change
the simple relationship dramatically, and the two variables are fairly
similar in their effects on the relationships of particular types of
adult businesses to neighborhood deterioration.
When the percentage of all units in a census tract that are commer-
cial is used as a. control, the overall relationship between adult busi-
nesses and deterioration is reduced almost to zero, however, when the
various sub-categories of adult businesses are investigated, some
fairly strong relationships remain.
54
Sexually-oriented businesses continue to be related to higher
crime rates, and beer bars continue to be related to lower property
values, even when commercial business concentrations are controlled.
Beer bars are likely to be nearer to residential areas than wine or
liquor bars are,- in part because of zoning requirements. The fact
that sex businesses are significantly related to crime even after the
commercial concentration is controlled possibly suggests that these
businesses may have an impact on crime rates independent of other com-
mercial businesses.1
On the other hand, the control for commercial characteristics
raises the relationships between liquor or Class A bars and crime from
zero to almost significant levels. In the case of the liquor bars,
this probably reflects the zoning restrictions which requires that
they locate In "seven-acre" commercial zones. Wine licensed
businesses* relationships to neighborhood deterioration change from
insignificant to significant, but in the opposite directions expected,
i.e., wine bars are associated with higher housing values and lower
crime rates when commercial concentration is controlled. This finding
is suspect because of the small number of establishments involved.
Controlling for income (coluuna 7 and 8) produces strong rela-
tionships between liquor, wine, and Class A entertainment bars and
higher housing values, and between these types of adult businesses and
lower crime rates. These relationships are opposite to what would be
*See Appendix B.I: information in Tables 7 and 8 in Appendix B.I
also suggests that the relationship of sex businesses to crime is due
to the type of area these businesses are in. Specifically, sex busi-
nesses are significantly related to commercial vacancies. They are
also highly related to commercial crime even though they are not, at
the tract level, associated with high commercial concentrations.
55
expected if all concentrations of bars were associated with neigh-
borhood decline. They suggest that income — or the social conditions
in neighborhoods that income represents — accounts for a large pro-
portion of the simple relationship between these alcohol-serving busi-
nesses and neighborhood quality. One Inference is that a bar may be
an amenity if the neighborhood is already of higher socio-economic
type as indicated by income. Generally, the observed relationships are
similar to those observed when commercial land use was the control,
only more pronounced. As with the commercial control variables, beer
bars and sexually-oriented businesses continue to be related to the
deterioration measures in the same direction, although not as
strongly, when income is controlled. The effects of these establish-
ments are relatively constant, or independent of changes in mean
income in surrounding tracts.
One possibility that these partial correlations do not take into
account is that the control variables themselves are related to each
other and have effects on the relationships between adult businesses
and neighborhood measures in combination. This possibility will be
explored usinj, multiple regression in the following section.
b. Multiple Regression; Adult Entertainment Establishments
and Crloe-1
The objective of this section is to determine whether adult busi-
nesses have an Impact on neighborhood quality when other factors — the
control variables described above — are considered simultaneously,
lSee Appendix B.I for a description of the methods used in this
portion of the analysis, and for some further results. Unless other-
wise noted, the regressions do not include downtown census tracts.
and if these establishments do have an impact, how ^reac is this rela-
tlve to the other variables.
4
A set of multiple regressions using the crime index as the depen-
dent variable are reported in Table II. 5 The regression coefficients
^
indicate how much change in the dependent crime variables Is asso-
ciated with a change of one unit of the independent variables. For
example, in degression tl, the regression coefficient, b, indicates
that the crime rate per 1,000 population drops 28.20 crimes, on the
average, for each tract in which all the bars serve 50 percent or more
of their volume in food (since the measure of food volume is a
proportion). Care must be taken when interpreting the regression
coefficients because the units they are associated with are noc always
comparable. The b for the income variable is very small, but it is
more significant than the food service variable. For the purposes of
this report, the significance of the coefficients and the beta weights
provide the key Information. If a coefficient is significant (.05 or
less), then the beta weight provides a way to compare the strengths
of. the relationships between the independent variables (type of adult
business) and the ueasure of crime rate.
Consistent with the partial correlations discussed in the section
above, only the sexually-oriented businesses have significant coef-
ficients and are associated with a higher crime rate. Both liquor
bars and Class A bars are associated with lower crime rates when other
factors are taken into account. No other type of adult businesses are
significantly related to the crime index when they are considered
simultaneously with the control variables.
57
Table It.5: Ibltlple Regression: Adult Entertainment Establishments and Crlre, 1979, with Controls
Control Variables
Independent
Variables
S unwary
Statistics
Z serving food
Z of area units ounmerclal
Kean Income
All adult
Sexually-oriented
Ears
Beer
Wine
Liquor
Class A
Class B
Class C
X
R
R2
Significance
Regression #1: Control
variables and crime.
.b
-28.20
.6550
-.0063!
error
of b
10.81
.2966
-.001 1<
8i«.
.010
.029
-O-
beta
-.191
.208
-.513
.658
.433
•O-
Regression #2i Controls plus
all adult businesses and
crime.
.b
-26.42
.7057
-.0066
-.8835
error
of b
10.99
.3020
.0012
.9669
sig.
.018
.021
.000
.363
beta
-.1787
.2242
-.5315
-.0735
.661
.437
.000
Regression #3:Controls plus
all adult businesses and
criiae,
.b
-76.23
5.850
.0076
.3936
including dcwntown.
error
of b
58.09
.9756
.0354
3.201
sis.
.192
.000
.165
.903
beta
-.1022
.6745
.1251
.0121
.594
.353
.0)0
Table 11.5 Continued: Miltlple Regression: Adult Entertainment Establish*
Control Variables
Independent
Variables
Sumary
Statistics
X serving food
X of area wilts commercial
Mean incone
All adult
Sexually -oriented
Bars
Beer
Wine
Liquor
Class A
Class B
Class C
X
R
R2
Significance
Regression 14: Controls plus
sexually oreinted bueisnesaes
and crime.
.b
-26.51
.6365
-.0062
9.151
error
of b
10.65
.2917
.0011
4.080
si*.
.014
.031
.000
.027
beta
-.1794
.2023
-.4963
.1564
.676
.A57
.000
Regression 15: Controls pi
bars and crime.
.b
-24.85
.7388
-.0067
-1.517
error
of b
10.98
.3002
.0015
1.008
8l«.
.026
.015
.000
.135
be
-.1
.23
-.5
-.1
.666
.444
.000
COPY
The first regression shows Che relationships between the three
control variables of food, commercial concentration, and mean income.
«
All of them are significantly related to the crime index, although the
beta weights suggest that mean income is associated with the greatest
^changes in neighborhood quality. Both mean income and the percent of
bars predominantly in the food business (SO percent food service or
greater) have negative signs which indicate that higher incomes and
more bars that are primarily food businesses are in lower crime areas.
Crime increases as the percent of an area that is commercial
increases.1 These coefficients are about the same size and have the
same signs in all the regressions in Table II.S except for number 3,
which includes downtown tracts.2 This indicates that the estimates
for these control variables are fairly reliable, at least with respect
to the adult businesses*
The sub-types of the adult businesses that do have significant
relationshps with crime — liquor bars, Class A entertainment bars,
and sexually-oriented businesses — are shown in Table 11.5.
The presence of sexually-oriented businesses in a census tract is
not as strongly related to the crime rate in the tract as any of the
control variables, as indicated by the beta weight. Yet, these
1ln part, this is an artifact of the data: the crime index is
defined to Include commercial crimes which happen only in commercial
areas, by definition. However, redefining the index to exclude com-
mercial crimes does not change the regressions very much overall. And
the greater changes in the commercial variables represent an Important
loss of Information.
inclusion of the downtown tracts shows the way these tracts
change the relationships among the variables.
60
businesses do have a significant relationship with crime: the
regression coefficient, b, suggests that the addition of one sexually-
oriented business to a census tract will increase the overall crime
rate index by 9.15 crimes per thousand people per year, after the
control variables are taken into account.1
Liquor bars and Class A entertainment bars are also significantly
related to crime, but not in the expected direction. After the
effects of the control variables are taken into account, these types
of adult businesses are significantly associated with lover crime
rates. This confirms the evidence drawn from the partial
correlations, above. In the case of liquor bars, each one is asso-
ciated with a decrease in the crime rate of 2.7 crimes per thousand
per year, and the beta indicates that this bar variable is about as
strong in its associations with the crime rate as the restaurant
control variable. Class A entertainment bars produce an even stronger
relationship, on the average, with a decrease of 5.15 crimes for each
additional bar of this type in a tract.
In literal terms, when the environment of a bar, as described by
the commercial and residential variables, and its internal business
procedures, as described by the food control variable, are taken into
account, bars of some types may be an amenity to a neighborhood in
tents of crime. But, common sense argues that bars are not very
likely to produce safety from crime in a neighborhood. The more
realistic interpretation of these results is that the associations
between liquor bars and Class A entertainment bars and crime are
*The citywide average crime rate index by tract is approximately
48.62.
61
greatly affected by their surroundings. In other words, the envlron-
•OSIM*' } meat of the bar produces the conditions that spawn crime, not the bar
itself.1 Nevertheless, the bar may be a focal point for whatever
crime disturbances do occur -- these data do not necessarily contra-
dict that point.
c. Multiple Regression: Adult Entertainment Establishments and
Housing Value
Table II.6 contains regressions that evaluate the impact of the
control variables — food in bars, commercial concentration, and mean
income — plus the impact of adult business on housing value. The
only type of adult entertainment establishment that is significantly
related to housing value is the wine bar.2 Higher concentrations of
wine license bars in a tract are associated with lower housing values.
This finding is probably spurious: there are relatively few wine
licenses in the city, which exaggerates the impact of each one on the
*****" measure of housing value. Since several of these licenses are in
businesses like the restaurant in the Art Institute, the fact that
they are in neighborhoods with low housing values is due to the loca-
tion of the business prior to acquisition of the license. The wine
license per se is almost certainly not "causing" deterioration. This
conclusion is further bolstered by the fact that wine licenses were
1-This Interpretation is also supported by the partial
correlations. The food control, as discussed, produced relations in
the expected direction, however, the residential and commercial
environmental controls changed the relations between these types of
bars and crime from weakly positive to significantly negative.
inclusion of downtown tracts, as usual, changes these
values. The adult businesses then become significantly related to
housing value. See regression if 3 in Table 11.6.
62
Vr,
Table 11.b; Multiple Kcgression; Adult Entertainnent Establishments and Housing Values, 1979
Control Variables
Independent
Variables
Suonary
Statistics
X serving food
Z of area units oonuercial
Mean Income
All adult
Sexually- oriented
Bars
Beer
Wine
Liquor
Class A
Class B
Class C
RR2
Significance
Regression H: Control
only, with housing value.
.b
36123.3!
77.63
3.199
error
of b
4438.1'
121.79
.466
Big.
0
.525
0
beta
.5449
.0550
.574
.724
.525
-O-
Regression 12: Controls plus
all adult businesses and
housing value.
.b
36985.7
101.99
3.090
-425.76
error
of b
4507.3
123.80
.4769
396.43
sig.
.000
.412
.000
.285
beta
.5579
.0723
.5546
-.0789
.728
.529
.000
Regression 13: Controls plus
all adult housing values:
Includes downtown.
.b
38683.7
-237.73
2.333
-648.93
error
of b
4464.3
74.96
.4186
246.59
sig.
.000
.OK.ouo
.010
beta
.5386
-.2*6
.3981
-.2074
.768
.588
.000
1
Table 11.6 Continued; Hiltiple Regression: Adult Entertalnnent Estal
Control Variables
Independent
Variables
Suonary
Statistics
Z serving food
Z of area units oomnercial
Mean Income
Crime Index
All adult
Sexual ly • oriented
Bars
Beer
Wine
Liquor
Class A
Class B
Class C
VR
R*
Significance
Regression 14:Controls,
including crime index, plus
adult, an) housing value.
.b
33611.6
192.13
2.247
-127.73
-538.62
error
of b
4409.5!
120.96
.5155
36.65
379.74
Big.
.000
.115
.000
.001
.159
beta
.5070
.1361
.4033
-.2848
-.0998
,758
.575
-0-
Regression 15:Controls
sexually* oriented buslne
and lousing value.
.b
35823.3
80.94
3.162
-1627. «
error
of b
4451.0
121.88
.4682
1704.8
Big.
.000
.508
.000
.342
.727
.528
.030
not issued in the 1970 sample, so neighborhood deterioration was
probably well underway before any business acquired a wine license.
In summary,.adult entertainment establishments do not appear to
have a very strong relationship to changes in housing value when other
variables are taken into account. The relationships are weaker than
the ones found for crime as the measure of neighborhood quality.
Although housing value is negatively associated with adult businesses,
these coefficients are statistically insignificant, and therefore no
conclusions should be drawn. Similarly, the measure of commercial
concentration is insignificantly associated with housing value. Since
adult businesses must locate in commercial concentrations, it may be
reasonable to interpret the lack of a relation between adult busi-
nesses and housing value as a reflection of the lack of association
between commercial concentrations and housing values.
Overall, one reasonable interpretation of the patterns in these
regressions is that housing value may be high or low whether or not
there are concentrations of adult businesses. The direction of the
relationship probably depends on particular businesses in particular
neighborhoods. In part this depends on the kind of neighborhood
surrounding the commercial establishments, as the consistent rela-
tionships in the other control variables, such as mean income,
demonstrate. In other words, when mean income is low, a relatively
high crime rate probably exists given the strong negative relationship
between income and crime, regardless of whether bars or other commer-
cial businesses are present.
(ol
Summary Findings; Complex Relationships
Controlling for the effects of policy relevant and environmental
variables changes the relationships between many of the types of adult
establishments and neighborhood deterioration measures.
(1) The Affects of beer bars on housing values is negative
and significant regardless of which controls are used, as long as they
are used one at a time*
(2) The effects of sexually-oriented businesses on crime
rate index is positive and significant regardless of which control
variable is used.
(3) Controlling for those businesses that are basically
restaurants changes the simple relationship between several types, of
bars and crime or housing value very strongly in the expected
direction. It appears that primarily alcohol-serving businesses are
much more strongly related to low housing values and high crime rates
than are food service businesses.
(4) The impact of zoning policy can be weakly discerned in
the relationships when commercial concentration is controlled.
Commercial areas themselves have some independent impacts on crime and
housing value as indicated by the changes caused by controls. Wine,
liquor, and Class A entertainment bars, which are all more likely to
be required to locate in highly commercial areas, have stronger —
though not always significant — relationships, especially with crime.
(5) When mean income by census tract is controlled, liquor,
wine, and Class A entertainment bars have a positive association with
neighborhood quality, i.e., they are associated with higher housing
values and lower crime rates.
(6) Sexually-oriented businesses continue to be associated
with higher crime rates, even when the control variables1 impacts are
considered simultaneously.
(7) Liquor bars and Class A entertainment bars appear to
decrease crime when the controls are taken into account. This is
taken as evidence that the neighborhood residential and commercial
characteristics are really determinative regarding the crime rate.
The bars reflect their surroundings.
(8) Only wine bars have significant associations with
housing value, appearing to decrease that value, however, the small
number of licenses and the types of establishoents that have wine
licenses suggest that this finding is spurious.
66
3. Testa for Linearity "—
There are two reasons to be concerned about whether or not the
relationship here are linear. First, non-linear relationships would
mean that increases in concentrations of adult businesses would have
effects on neighborhoods in geometric proportion, which could mean
that concentrations are especially undesirable. Second, discovery of
a non-linear relationship would indicate that the methods used in the
previous section are Improper, as they are based on the assumption of
linearity.
The analysis of variance tests performed on the two-variable
regressions of adult entertainment and neighborhood measures show no
significant departures from linearity. The Inspection of residuals
from multiple regressions reveal no clear-cut Interactions or cur-
vilinear relationships.1 Therefore, the linear methods and
assumptions, and conclusions drawn from them, are appropriate for this
s tudy.
4. Causal Analysis
This section addresses the following question:
- Do the relationships observed in the data, either over time or
cross-sectionally, permit the inference that adult entertainment
establishments precede or accelerate neighborhood decline?
In order to provide answers to this question, we must make use of
special techniques and make assumptions about what causes what. If
the data are consistent with the assumptions, then there is cir-
cumstantial evidence that the causal relations assumed are correct.
1See Appendix £.1 for further discussion.
67
The major technique used here to assess causality is path
analysis-I This approach uakes use of Pearson and partial correla-
tions to test sdme assumptions about the causal impacts of adult
entertainment establishments on neighborhood quality. To perform this
anlaysis, summary variables for neighborhood quality in 1970 and 1979
were created. These variables take into account many factors
describing neighborhoods other than adult businesses, mean housing
value, or the crime rate.2 These summary variables are used as
controls. In the analysis presented here, only the 1979 factor scores
are considered.
The central hypothesis tested is that adult entertainment
establishments have a direct causal impact on neighborhood quality
measures, but that they also follow from neighborhood quality. That
is, these businesses are in a cycle where they are more likely to
locate in areas where there is already some deterioration, and then
contribute to further decline of the area. This hypothesis is con-
sistent with both our intuitive notions about the matter, and with
Appendix B.I. (Section D, p. B-ll) for further discussion of
the technique.
^These summary variables were created from a set of 12 variables
describing the residential and commercial characteristics of
neighborhoods, including density, stability of residents, percent
owner occupied, commercial vacancies, and so forth. The technique
used was an R-factor analysis with Quartimax rotation. A single fac-
tor accounting for 62 percent of the shared variance of the variable
set was used to develop factor scores for each census tract. This new
variable was used in Che path anlaysis. A 1970 factor was found that
accounted for lUO percent of the shared variance of the variables.
J
some evidence developed in an earlier study in St. Paul.1 Using
arrows to indicate the direction of causality, Figure II.1 represents
this hypothesisl Causally speaking, Figure II.1 assumes that 1} che
overall measure of neighborhood quality is casusally prior to all the
other vaciablesr 2) that characteristics of adult establishments are
caused by the general quality of the neighborhood; 3) that crime is
caused by both general quality and adult businesses; and 4) that
housing value is dependent upon all of the other variables. Table II.7
contains the relevant predictions and actual values of the correla-
tion coefficients obtained froa the data.
Figure II.1: Path Diagram of the hypothesis that Adult
Establishments Contribute to On-Going Processes
of Deterioration in Census Tracts
Variable 1:
Neighborhood
Duality, 1979"
Variable 4:
housing _,
Value, 1979
Variable 2:
Adult
Establishments, 1979
T
Variable 3:
Crime Index,
1979
1Minnesota Crime Prevention Center, "Neighborhood Deterioration
and the Location of Adulc intertainraent Establishments in St. Paul"
(Minneapolis: HCPC, Inc., 1978). Using different methods, the St.
Paul stud> found that the location of bars was related to both prior
measures of neighborhood deterioration, and to subsequent ones. It
concluded that adult businesses may be part of a cycle of decline in
which they contribute to or accelerate an on-going process.
The model in Figure II.1 says chat there should be a direct rela-
tionship between adult entertainment establishments and housing value,
even when the general effects of neighborhood quality are taken into
account. According to the logic of the path analysis, this means that
a number greater than zero should describe the relationship even after
general neighborhood quality is controlled. This relationship is
shown in Table II.7 in prediction 13. However, the observed partial
correlation in Table II.7 Is -.0044 (Actual Value #3), which is too
close to zero to accept the prediction as being accurate. The actual
value suggests that when the general effects of the neighborhood
quality index are taken into account, adult business concentrations
have no relationship to housing value. In other words, the general
character of the neighborhood is responsible for both housing values
and concentrations of adult establishments.
Table II.7; Path Analysis Predictions and Actual Empirical Values1
Predictions
(1) Pearson's r, variables 2 and 4: r24 " (r!2) (r!4)
(2) Pearson's r, variables 2 and 3: r23 " (ri2) (^13)
(3) Partial correlation, variables 2 and 4, controlling for
1: r2A.l > 0.
(4) Partial correlation, variables 2 and 3, controlling for
1: r23.i > 0.
Actual Values
(1) r24 - -.1320 - (r12) (r14) - -.130
(2) r23 - .1*26 - (r12) (r13) - .25
1 " --0044
- -.0761
logic of predictions in path analysis is discussed in
Appendix B.I.
70
The predictions for adult businesses and crime (predictions #2 and
are not so clear cue. The predicted correlations in Table 11.7
are similar to Che actual ones (r23.1 * -.0767 > 0). Conservatively,
we must conclude that some small direct relationship between adult
businesses and the crime index remains, even though the magnitudes
involved are very snail* Alternatively, since the partial correlation
between adult businesses and crime, controlling for the neighborhood
quality Index, drops toward zero, we might also conclude that the
neighborhood quality index is responsible for both the crime index and
the presence of adult entertainment. This is similar to the case of
housing value. However, the evidence suggests that a direct connec-
tion between crime and adult businesses is possible, but slight.1
Figure 11.2 shows the revised model that seems to reflect the data
more adequately than Figure II.1. The dotted line between adult
entertainment and crime indicates that a weak direct link between
Figure 11.2: Revised Causal Path Model of Adult Entertainment
and Measures of Neighborhood Decline
Neighborhood
Quality, 1979~
housing
Value, 1979
Adult
Entertainment, 1979
V
Crime Index,
1579
^lt should be noted that for all predictions an analysis of
regression coefficients for these variables generally confirms the
results reported here. The regression for crime, with both the
quality index and adult business as independent, suggests chat the
adult variable loses significance, and its coefficient drops toward
zero.
71
73
adult businesses and crime reuiains. The link between housing value
,,-«•»»,
, and crime disappears completely. These results are consistent with
other findings here which indicate almost no relationship between
housing value and adult businesses remains when any of a number of
different controls are used. Even though the crime rate index does
have a slightly stronger direct relationship with adult business
(r - -.076), it, too, is very weak and tends to disappear when other
variables are considered.
Summary Findings; Causal Analysis
(1) The assumption that concentrations of adult entertain-
ment businesses have a direct impact on property values Is not born
out in the path analysis. Controlling for general neighborhood
quality indicates that, at the census tract level, adult businesses as
a group do not lower housing value.
(2) The assumption that crime has a direct link with adult
businesses is confirmed in this path analysis, but very weakly.
72
"74
Section D
~^^~— — ~
Summary and Conclusions
«
Thl* portion of Che study of adult entertainment in Minneapolis
has produced several tentative conclusions.
(1) Different types of adult entertainment businesses are
different in their relationships to crime and housing value. Some
types of these businesses have significant relationships with crime or
housing value; others do not. Neighborhood stabilization policies
should attempt to take these differences into account.
Sexually-oriented businesses and beer bars are significantly
related to both crime and housing value. In addition, a summary
measure of all adult businesses and Class B entertainment bars are
significantly related to crime, using simple bivariate statistical
techniques*
(2) Taking factors which reflect business decisions, urban
policy decisions, or neighborhood environment into account changes the
simple relationships between adult businesses and neighborhood
deterioration a great deal.
The evidence suggests that past policies or residential devel-
opments may have greatly affected current observations of the rela-
tionships between types of adult businesses and crime or housing
value. By law the liquor bars have to be located in seven-acre com-
mercial zones, and therefore they are more likely to be statistically
related to commercial crimes (since they are in proximity to more com-
mercial establishments) than residential crimes. Wine licenses are by
law only given to establishments that primarily serve food, and
the partial correlations reflect this fact. When average income is
taken into account, some types of bars — such as liquor bars and
Class A entertainment bars — even appear to have desirable effects,
73
i.e., the neighborhood crime races are lower. This is a result which,**•».
%•»••• ) actually indicates that the type of surrounding neighborhood deter-
mines a great deal of the relationship between adult businesses and
measure* of deterioration.
(3) Evaluation of the data using the technique of path
analysis suggests that adult entertainment variables are not causally
prior to crime rate and/or housing value.
The path analysis is a technique which can be used to test the
compatibility of a hypothesis about the causal relationships among a
set of variables with empirical data. The hypothesis tested here was
intended to answer the question whether adult entertainment preceded
or followed neighborhood deterioration. Specifically, it was assumed
in the path model that adult entertainment was likely to locate in
areas that were already in decline, and then contribute further to
that decline. This assumption is very weakly supported in the case of
';\ crime, but it is clearly not supported in the case of housing values.
-;SH:^" y
Adult entertainment establishments do concentrate in areas that are
relatively deteriorated, but they do not appear to cause that
deterioration. At most, they contribute very weakly towards its
continuation.
(4) Sexually-oriented businesses have * greater number of signi-
ficant relationships to high crime rates and low property values than
any other type of adult entertainment establishment in this study.
The relationship between sex businesses and higher crime rates
is especially strong,. The association between these businesses and
lower housing values disappears, however, when other factors are taken
into account. In addition, these businesses are quite strongly
related to percentage of vacant commercial properties, which is often
used as a measure of a declining commercial area. These associations
74
alone are not evidence that a sexually-oriented business locating in
an area cauaes other businesses to leave, or property values to go
down. Alternatively, these associations may indicate that sex
businesses locate where property values have already fallen and demand
for commercial space is weak enough to permit them to compete success-
fully for space.
(5) The most general finding is that while adult businesses
appear to be located in areas of higher crime and lower property
values, this is not because they have caused these undesirable
conditions. Once in place, they may contribute to the maintenance of
such conditions in a neighborhood.
The central thrust of the findings in this study is that adult
entertainment establishments do tend to be located in areas of higher
crime and lower property values than other parts of the city. The
conditions which encourage the businesses to locate in an area may
also be the ones that cause lower property values and higher crime
rates. This is especially clear for the sexually-oriented businesses.
For alcohol-serving businesses, it is less consistent. The license
types are apparently not related to neighborhood decline, but there is
some evidence that other properties of bars — such as extensive food
service — may change or modify the Impact of a licensed establish-
ment on a neighborhood. These characteristics, such as management
procedures, cannot be studied in an approach like the one taken here.
The final implication of the study is that these establishments appear
to have very localized impacts: even though we know of some bars that
are associated with significant amounts of crime or angry neighbors,
they do not, on the average, show up in this analysis of census
tracts.
75
CHAPTER III
EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
7JJ
In a sense, this study is an evaluation of the effects of past
policy decisions. Directly or indirctly, some of the assumptions
underlying those policies have been examined, with an eye toward spe-
cifying policies for the future that will help achieve the goals of
the city.
One very general finding of the study is that the relationships
between adult entertainment establishments and crime or housing values
show the effects of past policy decisions. For example, the com-
bination of the old liquor patrol limits and zoning requirements
which restrict liquor licensed bars to large commercial areas are
reflected in the fact that most of this type of business is located
downtown, or in a few commercial areas of the city. Likewise, beer
licensed bars are permitted in smaller commercial zones and they have
not been restricted by the liquor patrol limits. Thus they are less
concentrated than liquor bars, and they are, on the average, closer to
residential areas.
The purpose of this chapter is to draw upon the findings that are
strongest and most consistent in both portions of the study and relate
them to policy concerns. The two portions of the study used different
methods, different measurements, ana different data sources to
investigate a related set of research questions. Wherever these dif-
ferent approaches converged on similar findings, we can have more con-
fidence that they are providing an accurate picture of the rela-
tionships as they actually exist, even though some oi the statistical
results may be weak.
77
below are several tentative policy recommendations we make Co the
City Council, based on the results of the study. The recommendations
are stated, and the rationale for them follows.
1. Establishments which intend to serve alcoholic beverages as a
complement to food service should be viewed favorably in licensing
decisions, other things being equal.
2. Applications for wine licenses also should be viewed
favorably, assuming current requirements about volume of food business
necessary to qualify for these licenses are maintained.
Certain categories of alcohol-serving establishments are not
significantly related to crime, either in immediately surrounding areas
as measured by the distance decay analysis, or in the neighborhood as
measured at the census tract level. These are wine-licensed bars and
establishments that do more than 50 percent of their business in food
service. The common characteristic here is the food service aspect.
Because of current licensing requirements, wine bars do a high
percentage of their business in food service (the wine license requires
that the vendor have at least 60 percent of his/her business volume in
food service). Restaurant-type businesses are not associated with
crime or lower housing values. If the Council issues wine licenses
without the food service requirement at some point in the future, the
relationship between wine licenses and crime or housing value would
have to be re-evaluated.
3. The City should avoid locating sex businesses in residential
areas.
4. The current policy of avoiding concentrations of sex
businesses can neither be supported nor contradicted.
Sex businesses do have significant and consistent positive corre-
lations with the crime rate index and a negative correlation with the
mean single family housing value, measured at the census tract level.
The relationship with crime remains when commercial concentration and
'*»-' J average household income are taken into account. The small nun bee of
these businesses, plus their distribution, means that no large con-
centrations of them exist. The large majority of census tracts that
have sex businesses have only one. The two-or-three-establishment
concentrations that exist, such as along Lake Street, cannot be ana-
lyzed apart from their generally commercial surroundings using the
techniques in this study. These sex businesses are statistically
related to high commercial vacancies and high commercial crime rates,
which suggest that they locate in less desirable commercial areas.
5. Adult entertainuent business (including bars) should be per-
mitted only in locations that are at least 1/10 mile from residential
areas (about 500 feet).
6. Adult entertainment establishments and other kinds of late
night businesses should not be placed adjacent to each other.
-->... The effects of adult entertainment establishments, if any, occur
\
in the immediate vicinity of the business. They do not extend far
into surrounding neighborhoods. This general finding is .supported by
both portions of the study: the distance decay analysis suggests in
numerous places that crime is concentrated in the areas immediately
surrounding bars, and the census tract analysis reveals only weak
relationships between adult entertainment and crime or housing value
at the neighborhood level.
The latent of recommendation (b) is to avoid mixed commercial uses
that may have undesirable effects. For example, the location of a bar
next door to a movie theater or late-night laundromat may result in
patrons of the non-adult businesses interacting with patrons of adult
businesses, possibly increasing their chances of victimization.
79
S/
7. Ihe circumstantial evidence generated by the study suggests
that, although concentrations of adult businesses may not have dispro-
portionate effects, they can raise the total level of crime or reduce
housing values more than single establishments. So, all things being
equal, concentrations of adult establishments should be encouraged
only if a concentration of crime and housing value effects is also
desirable.
8. Concentrations of adult business in declining areas should be
avoided.
One policy issue is whether the concentration or the dispersal of
adult businesses will have better overall effects on the quality of
life in the city. The information the study generates on this issue
is fragmentary, but several patterns emerge.
- Concentrations are not disproportionately related to crime or
housing value, e.g., five bars located right together have no greater
total impact on assaults than five similar bars in widely separated,
but similar, areas.
- Concentrations are weakly related to lower housing values and
higher crime rates at the census tract level, e.g., the Impact of five
bars located together will be greater than the impact of one, two,
three, or four similar bars located in the same area.
- Controlling for other characteristics of the neighborhood, like
percent commercial or average income, reduces or reverses the
relationship and deterioration. Thus, the impact of concentration of
adult businesses at the tract level may depend on the kind of neigh-
borhood in which they are located.
- There is no direct evidence in the study that shows that adult
businesses have greater impacts on deterioration in declining areas,
but the possibility cannot be eliminated. Further, other studies of
bO
urban development suggest chat adult businesses may be seen as a
.*""*.
^ ) barrier to upgrading neighborhoods.1
- Dispersal, as observed in Che removal of the liquor patrol
«
limits, has not had any area-wide impacts that raised the crime rate
higher than would have been expected anyway.
9. Adult entertainment establishments should be located in
large commercial zones in various parts of the city.
The intent of this recommendation is to locate adult businesses in
a number of large comounity-level commercial areas in different parts
of the city, not to create a singular concentration of adult businesses
like Boston's infauous "combat zone." Rather, the intent is to confirm
what is really current city policy, with some extensions. It is
already the case that adult businesses, especially liquor licensed
bars, are quite concentrated downtown. In addition, zoning restric-
tions already ensure that many adult business land uses will be in
••••<-•> highly commercialized areas- What is recommended here is to continue
and accentuate this policy, consistent with the other recommendations
made here.
Concentrating bars (and probably other adult uses as well) in large
commercial zones will neither raise nor lower crime rates appreciably.
There have been numerous indications in this study that it is the
commercial areas of town where assaults and street robberies occur.
This confirms what has been found in other studies. Because bars are
all located in commercial areas, by definition, It is difficult to
separate out the crime effects due only to bars from those due to com-
mercial areas, however, we believe that the independent impact of
*Phillip L. Clay, Neighborhood Renewal, Lexington, Mass:
Lexington Books, 1979, pp" 47, 6A-b5, b2.
81
commercial areas is quite great, and could not be appreciably affected
^^ ) by removing bars. This is also confirmed by previous studies.I
Such a concentration would improve the efficiency of some city
efforts, such as police patrol, and it would also make the achievement
of some of the other recommendations made here, like separating adult
uses from residential areas, more practicable. It is Important to
emphasize that this recommendation should be seen as a complement, not
a replacement to other recommendations made here.
1C. In the long run, policies which foster or supplement attitudes
and activities that strengthen the quality of the neighborhood are
more likely to have desired impacts on crime and housing value than
simple removal or restriction of adult businesses.
There is no evidence in either portion of the study that adult
businesses cause neighborhood deterioration, although other measure-
ment or analysis techniques nay reveal such a connection. On the
basis of this study, the alternative hypothesis that general neigh-
•-•-«• : borhood quality determines the kind and quality of businesses to locate
in the neighborhood seems more plausible.
11. The study tends to support the position that adequate off-
street parking or equivalent spaces on non-residential streets adja-
cent to the establishment should be required for issuance of licenses
to serve alcohol.
12. Type of entertainment, specifically game rooms, may have a
relationship to the nuisances generated by an establishment.
13. Individual differences among alcohol-serving establishments
should be taken into account in licensing decisions.
14. Parking, entertainment, clientele, and oanagement practices
of adult entertainment businesses should be investigated further.
*Crime in Minneapolis, op.cit., p. 174. The proportion of
assaults where the victim was either intoxicated or leaving a bar was
12.5% in 1975.
82
The part of the study that analyzes Che relationship between cer-
tain characteristics of bars and whether or not they are "nuisance"
bars has pointed, to several factors that nay help to explain the dif-
ferences among indiviaual bars in their effects on crime and other
measures of neighborhood quality. The "nuisance bar" portion of the
study was developed in response Co the concern of several Council mem-
bers expressed during the course of the research. The nuisance study
should be considered preliminary, but it does tend to confirm the
expectations of Council members and staff regarding the effect of
parking, and possibly other characteristics as well. We believe that
these characteristics can be studied in a systematic and straight-
forward way. Currently, licensing decisions are made on a case-by-
case basis, using some of the kinds of information for each case that
further study would classify and evaluate more systematically. The
efforts of the Council to use this kind of information in licensing
decisions appears to be justified.
SS"
APPENDIX A
Supplementary Materials for Chapter I:
Bars and Crime
••«*«*<•• !
APPliNOIX A.I
Distance Decay Methodology
<
Discancy decay is a dec hod for analysis of crime at a limited
level and a means for deriving crime impact statements. The method
described is baaed on the distributional characteristics of crime
which can be attributed to the geographic location of individual
sites. The approach proposed here focuses on the types of crime
patterns which can be derived from the analysis of the geography of
crime with respect to individual sites. We have taken as a priori the
assumption that for some types of crimes, and some types of sites,
there is a distinct geographic pattern that can be derived for the
distribution of crime around these sites. Further, we assume that
given the derivation of such a distribution, the actual impact of the
sice on crime can be derived and transformed into a crime impact
assessment of Individual sites, and sites of a similar character. It
is important to note that these assumptions are only valid if there is
some theoretical interpretation that can assign meaning to the
observed associations.
The approach taken for this evaluation is derived from distance
decay analysis common to urban geographic studies. Distance decay
analysis is a methodology which measures the density of events in
relationship to the location of a single site or node. The assumption
tested by distance decay analysis is that the closer one gets to the
node, the wore events, or crimes, occur. Thus, the node is theoreti-
cally as summed to be a point from which events or crimes emanate or
are drawn toward. In order to develop a distance decay analysis, one
generates a distance decay curve as shown in Figure I.
A-l
Figur-j 1
£An Interpretive Guide to Distance Decay Curves
Relative
Crime
Density
Relative
Crime
Density
Relative
Crime
Density
low
DISTANCE DECAY PATTERN
Crime density decreases
as distance from site
increases.
.1 .2 .3 -4 .5 -6
r.:;f.-<-:c< frora ?<ie (in :-'. 11. s)
low I
NO DISTANCE DECAY PATTERN
Crime density is constant
as distance from site
increases.
.2 .3 .* .5
frci» Site (in nilrs)
INVERSE DISTANCE DECAY PATTERN
Crime density increases as
distance from site increases.
.1 .2 .3 .4 -5 .
Distance from Site (Jr. rjl«-s)
se • :« 1 IM c tyi".-«. Actt
.-••*•'. /or cu: vilir.c.irlty.
ti::».-s : ..ty •Uf.play .s'-..-c .-..-c-i.r.l of r.;.-<!cia
COPY
The uses of-a Distance Decay Analysis are:
a) to ascertain whether the crime density changes system-
atically as one approaches a specific geograhic location,
x-b) to ascertain the direction of this change, I.e., whether
the crime rate increases or decreases as the site is
approached, and
c) to estimate the magnitude of the change in the crime den-
sity as one approaches the site.
As with any statistical technique, the distance decay analysis
will produce misleading results if it is used improperly. As noted
above, the analysis is meaningful only if some theoretical assumption
about the relationship of the nodes to the events in the areas around
them can be made, and the measurement conform to these assumptions.
Otherwise, associations produced by this technique may be spurious in
the same way that other kinds of statistical associations may be
spurious. For example, If a bar Is next door to a fast food outlet
where teenagers hang out and cause trouble, the distance decay analysis
using only bars to define the nodes would assign crimes actually
related to the fast food outlet to that bar. If the fast food outlet
were explicitly taken into account, weighting procedures to overcome
this problem could be developed, and an evaluation of the theoreti-
cally suggested relationship of bars and crime could be made.
Individual distance decays should be carefully assessed to determine
that the results are actually due to the measured node and not to some
other unmeasured factor(s) within the distance decay area.
A-J
The distribution of crimes around the various nodes can b«
S*»»<)
aggregated to perform a single distance decay analysis for a class of
nod«s as defined by some theoretical or policy-relevant criterion.
Distance decays of this sort should be interpreted similarly to
distance decays -for individual sites, remembering that the analysis is
producing an averaged result which may be valid for a class of nodes,
but not necessarily for all individual nodes within the class.
Aggregated distance decays follow a similar procedure to the
single node distance decays as described below with one difference.
The aggregation procedure used is to identify th« total number of
events (e.g., crimes) occurring in each ring of each individual
distance decay, then adding these to get a total number of events for
the aggregate analysis, and then proceeding as usual for calculating
.•".. the density of events and testing this distribution for significance.
""*•"' -''' The counting procedure thus introduces an implicit weighting function
wherever the areas around nodes overlap: any event which lies within
two or more areas will be counted two or more times in the aggregating
procedure. This is only one of many weighting procedures, and it is
one which heavily weights crimes counted numerous times, especially if
they are counted as members of the same or adjacent rings in the
aggregate analysis.
Figure 2, below, and its associated text, provide a step-by-step
guide to the distance decay analysis.
,<****,,
A-4
istrue *iny a Distance D<.-r-iy Cur
SC A I'l STANCE DF.CAY CL7.VE
TJ'.sf • ...c c( .(, ) ' <
»>.« r- f '(! of ':i' • : • *-r •
'•tt«
1. C- ,...t t:.c .• V-r rf . . ; s >.tthtn .-...:h t.-.nd.
2. T: .- : - 'f-r;s <••.••>! <-"i:nt • •• o » rrlr.-; jiioyort frn by ^IvJ-"
rn:s of .-11 .f!_.-s -.itMn .6 11- i of the site of t..i.
3.' Tr.':.- fc:r. .-.-?» «-i'.-.c ... ,.1.1 «---n «i.to a i.-t.rtvc . i»-..»
of t>ic t^tal ;.r<»A !n tl;»t
riot the r.s.i
t.^r.ce '«* ?<f
' .; 'y rhe
Jng crlr.a r.-»t«?s for r.ich l».->nd .ij...t'>st t'.o i*ts-
Di?)V.SCE_n:-rATr CRi^E 5-OrK SHKt
F.K1AT1VC
DIS'1/NCE 10 SITE COl'ST OF CRIKE >FEA
. i:rltlt-?) ._ .C.^.M'S1, lHO_PCiR1[iOS^ r_P.OiX.M ION
0 tf.ru::£h .1
.1+ thi. !gh .2
.2* through .3
,3«- Uirc-jh .4 .
.A* though .5
.5* thro-jh .* __
Si-M OF Cf.iMF.S: ..
^Cjnnt of ol..« t?
?C.--.«nl of ni-f fi
In.MiVnt* for v<ll Vin<<
.1339
.1914
.2500
.3056
..is ••••J by s
3Crf::* f rv; ••! f f^n -!!v!^. •! Ly nroa pi Cj-crt Ion.
The rolnt
of the foim:
butuvcn crime tft-nsity is .TS-H.- i-d to be
D -i /* ((list.-,:,.-«)
wli(.-re 5 is the density of crim^, .md f denotes the f tine It on relating
distance to density. For our purposes, it is unnecoss.iry to derive
A-S COPY
the fmpJrical function /, which r.,r» rosily be Jr-rivA un«i,g rirple <»r
polynomial regression t<-r|,iii(jiip<>. Our pri:r.,:.y »-c.->.i-rn is with '!<-iivir.g
the ch.ir-.ct':rist>c slope of F, ««r F1. We r.m s »V;jl i M i • .-, 1 ly .-'.*.. rve
thnt if f* < 0 then n «1tsr-,iire I't-r. iy rffr-rt'is ; r. - • nt. I f /' > 0 fl,«n
a dir>f-'.ncc I'^-rov fff'-ct is not 11 r !•"•••• ut. O^ir ii'i! v~i' •; ?.is !'•• ''I «'"fff'-ct is not ]in-".«-iir.
--ainfng Ll»c «!^jivcc > o vliich -.-c can .i
T.;o f'-sts have fc.'r-n ••..••;>loy-.d 1.0 Jf.-rive 'if!5- tt?< \-: "f ; '.c . :i .n-
dc ir.:-.r-ss of >". The first is a rl.i«r:ic rlit -v.qi: * ru itifi-fic -M-:h
rcpoits •••3n-tli»?r cv-ni'S in the r.^.nre are unifw<..ily d i sf i i 1..-ite<1. A -^ig-
nifi«'.n>t rht -square is t.iV.-n to in<Mi :«Le ncr.'ni! for. .i ty ?n r?,c •;•!'•*?.
Tlie s«-rond t«.-5t is the 5i^ns t. ut .ij-j>liod to l!ic -!i J f«-i. .-..-..i J;ct.... en
dict...nce <lr-r.iy coefficir-,)t.s in ^ b.!.;d of l.-s2t:r r.nlius .(..d a Ki.id of
gror.i.-r radius. Sinrc vo It-ive six b.i.ids, we .ire i.. iking fiva cc: p-irisons
;uid i tying ':o. .i<-;cr-s the cJ.^rce to --hich the cr-otfii i..-nts v.ny in rela-
tion to •• .M :h ot!.-r. '-1.. i « the s50ns uf nil fi.c r.-,.;•..< i ? ro:is -i i o •;« j;.-.f ive
(i.e., . :-!» ^.j-s'I's < •«-.«• f f i< i«-nt is 1- s i 1 t,i I'l.-it vf 'J-.i !..;.••! f. ..Ji.i.-ly
I ,js« t i *...-J t.o it), il..-ii -.;c - «rj .-i- -;t • ...» .-i j.t...'. 1; il 11 y '.>f 1/2* to ihe ob-
seiv< d s*--pc of i he overall iH^t ,,i«-e «K?''."iy cuive.
'.".i.-re -ill three tests, the dts^.-ire '!••' ..y <-v«uv<», ».I,e <"M .^-..ire,
ii;d \\if. sijj.is test i;i«lic.ite sigui f i<*uiit .-ii»^.iL i .'C sloju-s, .1 «11 *t .;ur.e
J«?f,iy eff«-ct is nssuir.cd to be ob?eiv.-;d in the J.nta.
COPY
A-t.
Appendix A.2
Results of Summary Distance Decay Analyses for
Detailed Categories
Figure A.2.1
Distribution of Crime Around Bars by Types of Liquor Licenses,
Controlling for Neighborhood
Low owner Moderate Owner high Owner
Occupied Occupied Occupied Row
123 Total
3
Beer 2
1
Wine 2
3
Liquor 2
1
3
Column
Total 2
1
U • 52
N - 15
A/ v\
"- 169|
\
IT- 23lf
N - 56
N - 3
N - 28
V
N - 89
\
N - 33
A/1
\N - 6
N - 42
N - 143
* • significant
N * number of bars
A-7
U - 21
N - 203
Q-?
'-«*»*•'
Figure A.2.2
bistribution of Crime and Bars by Type of Entertainment
Categories, Controlling for Neighborhood
Low Owner Moderate Owner high Owner
Occupied Occupied Occupied
Row
123 Total
3
Class
C 2
1
3
Class
b 2
1
3
Class
A 2
1
3
Column
Total 2
1
N - 151
V.N,^*
N - 13
/\
N - 72
"X.
\^N*
N - 236
\
V.^N
"^^.s*x-**
h - 73
\
\i\
\—^- ^-
— *
N - 16
^-x.
^N - 89
•s
\
*
i N - 40
\V,
*
\ N - 2
\
\
'^v _/
^ v—- •
N - 42>
•
^'-"^* "^*
N * 264
\
^~— --,"*
N - 13
A
/ \
•' 'Wx
N - 90
^v
X^v^
\*
K - 367
* - significant
K - number of bars
A-6
Figure A.2.3
Distribution of Crime Around Bars by Volume of Food,
Controlling Neighborhood
Less 3
Chan 50%
food 2
More 3
than 502
food 2
Column
local 2
Low Owner
Occupied
1
Moderate Owner
occupied
2
High Owner
Occupied
3
Row
Total
•N - «8
N - 89
177
N - 16
N - 13
•%
N - 29
N - 5
N - 108
N - 107
* - significant
H » number of bars
A-9
'•<**»«'' j Appendix A.3
Crime Concentration Values for Category Analysis
Values for Figure A- 2.1,
Cell L
Cell 2
Cell 3
Row Total
Cell 4
Cell 5
Cell 6
Row Total
Cell 7
Cell 8
Cell 9
Row Total
Column 1 Total
Column 2 Total
Column 3 Total
Values for Figure A.
Cell 1
Cell 2
Cell 3
Row 1 Total
Cell 4
Cell 5
Cell 6
Row 2 Total
Cell 7
Cell 8
Cell 9
Row 3 Total
Column Values
Values for
Cell 1
Cell 2
Cell 3
How 1 Total
Cell 4
Cell 5
Cell 6
KOW 2 Total
Column 1 Total
Column 2 Total
Column 3 Total
2.38
2.67
3.49
2.52
1.15
2.32
.90
1.21
2.19
1.93
4.37
2.20
2.18
2.52
3.59
2.2, Type
2.31
2.40
3.54
2.35
1.56
None
None
Same as
2.11
3.33
5.14
2.15
Same as
Figure A. 2
2.b9
2.47
4.25
2.8b
1.57
1.36
2.b8
1.57
2.13
2.01
3.90
Type of Liquor License and Neighborhood
1.50
1.29
1.19
1.42
2.08
1.14
3.60
2.04
1.63
1.17
1.18
1.62
1.63
1.27
1.26
1.08
1.06
.93
1.07
1.07
1.16
1.09
1.07
1.29
.96
1.03
1.28
1.25
1.04
.95
of Entertainment
1.40
1.25
1.28
1.38
2.15
Cell 4
1.86
1.40
.68
1.84
I
.3, Volume
1.57
1.39
1.25
1.56
1.69
.bb
2.24
1.6b
1.64
l.lb
1.50
1.18
1,09
.95
1.16
1.07
1.39
1.18
1.25
1.38
.96
.98
1.16
.97
1.37
.92
.89
1.34
1.01
.92
1.10
1.01
1.02
.96
1.14
Categories
1.01
.97
1.15
1.01
.87
1.07
.92
.73
1.07
.86
.83
.81
.85
.70
1.0
.90
.71
.84
.79
.75
.84
.84
.83
.80
.84
.90
.80
.86
.67
.82
.41
.66
.71
1.11
.77
.71
.72
.93
.78
and Neighborhood
.86
.84
.81
.86
.90
.79
.74
.57
.79
.79
.95
.77
.81
.77
.61
.86
1.13
.62
of Food and Neighborhood
1.29
1.23
.99
1.29
1.24
.68
1.16
1.23
1.26
1.01
1.03
1.10
.96
1.16
1.10
.99
.87
.82
.99
1.04
.93
1.07
.75
.71
.7b
.75
.92
.94
.75
.92
.85
.Bl
.77
.68
.91
.72
.09
.73
1.27
.74
.74
.71
L.06
.72
A-10
Appendix A .4
Liquor Licenses Granted Outside the Liquor Patrol Limits
Between 1974 and 1979
Name
1. Ames Lodge 1106
2. Artist's Quartet
3. Black Forest
4. CC Club
5. Calhoun Beach Club
6. Campus Club
7. Howie's
8. Improper Fraction
9. Jimmy's
10. Martini's and Bagels
11. Minnikahda Club
12. Occie's
13. Poodle
14. Popeye's
15. Rainbow Cafe
16. Society of Fine Arts
17. Stardust Lanes
18. Stub n' herbs
19. Sunny's
20. Uptown bar and Cafe
21. Waldo's
22. Walker Art Center
23. Williams Pub
Address
1614 Plymouth Avenue
14 East 26th Street
1 East 26th Street
2600 Lyndale Avenue South
2730 West Lake Street
300 Washington S.E.
2119 West Broadway
710 Washington S.E.
367S Minnehaha Avenue
302S West Lake Street
3241 Zenith
2951 Lyadale Avenue South
3001 East Lake Street
36U1 East Lake Street
2916 liennepin Avenue
2400 3rd Avenue South
252O 26th Avenue South
227 Oak Street S.E.
2944 Chicago Avenue
3016 liennepin Avenue
4601 Lyndale Avenue North
Vineland Place
2911 hennepin Avenue
A-ll
Date Liquor
License Granted
5/28/76
12/20/74
10/8/76
7/25/75
2/25/77
8/25/77
1U/10/75 •
4/25/76
2/28/75
3/17/78
12/12/75
2/28/75
2/4/75
3/27/75
3/27/75
7/25/75
8/8/75
2/14/75
2/28/75
2/13/76
11/27/74
4/30/76
3/26/75
Appendix A.5
List of Bars in the Nuisance Study
Bars Identified as
Nuisance bars
Addison's
Beanie's
Carousel
Dollie's
Duffy's
Jimmy1s
Lonfehorn
Moby Dick's
Moore on University
Mousey's
hr. Arthur's
Mr. Z's
Hew Wonder bar
Occie's
Poodle
Rainbow Bowl
Spring Inn
Uncle Sata's
Union
Waldo's
Bars Identified as
Non-Muisance Bars
Arthur's
Black Forest
Cedar Inn
Charlie's
Duff's
Dusty's
Elsie's
Famous Bar
Hub Cap
Jax
LaFamilla
Lake Inn
Monte Carlo
Nye's
Parkway
Sebastian's
Sunny's
The First Story
Williams Pub
Zurbey's
A-12
Appendix A.6
Collection Instrument for Nuisance Bars
NAM£: Arthurs ADDRESS:
1. Is Che volume of food business more or less than 50 percent of
che bar's total volume?
< 50 percent - 0
^^^_ > 50 percent - 1
2. What Is the proximity of the bar to a predominantly residential
area?
Within 1 block - 0
1-2 blocks - 1
Greater than 2 blocks - 2
3 . What is predominant parking situation?
_ Street parking - 0
_ hetered parking - 1
_ Other lots available - 2
_ Own lot « 3
4 . What predominant type of clientele frequent the bar?
_ 19-29-0
_ 30-45-1
_ 46+ - 2
Race
_ Whit* - 0
_ Mixed - 1
_ Minority » 2
Social Pattern
Single - 0
Couples - 1
Croups - 2
A-r3
APPENDIX B
Supplementary Materials far Chapter II:
Adult Entertainment and Neighborhood Deterioration
lot
Appendix B.I
•^fc.^^/ /
Methods used in the Research on Adult Entertainment
A. Simple Relations
The Pearson correlation, as reported, only establishes that a
»•
relationship exists, to what degree, and whether it is positive or
negative. What degree of confidence we can have that the observed
association is not due to chance (significance) can be easily
calculated. These coefficients are appropriate for exploring a set of
data when theoretical expectations are absent or minimal. They cannot
be interpreted as indications of causal order, especially in the
absence of a theory. They are used in this report to establish bench-
marks for more complex analyses building up toward testing of causal
assumptions.
) Some simple, blvariate correlations are presented here to
substantiate and extend the discussion in the main text.
To begin, the overall crime rate index reported in the main text
hides some important differences due to type of crime. Table 7 shows
four of the crimes that make up the crime index and their simple
correlations with the different types of adult businesses. Table 7
shows a fairly great range of correlation between type of adult
establishment and type of crime. In particular, note the significant
positive correlation between beer bars and residential burglary as
compared with the significant negative relation of liquor and Class A
bars with residential burglary. These figures illustrate the impact
of zoning policy. The relatively high correlations between sex
businesses and commercial criues may indicate that these businesses
B-l
are located in relatively undesirable commercial areas, an interpreta-
tion substantiated by the fact that sex businesses are significantly
related to percent of commercial vacancies as shown in Table 8.
Table 7: Pearson Correlation Coefficients:
Adult Entertainment Establishments
and Selected Crime Rates, 1979
All adult businesses
Sexually-oriented
businesses
Alcohol-serving
businesses
beer
Wine
Class A
Class B
Class C
Beer Class A
Class B
Class C
Wine Class A
Class u
Class C
Liquor Class A
Class b
Class C
Assault
Rate
.1889*
.1876*
.1258
.1173
-.0356
.0951
.2487*
.1232
.0357
.2330*
.Ott79
.0195
M.A.
-.0401
.0456
.1273
.1175
Kesidentia
Burglary
Rate
-.1010
.0648
-.1239
.2008*
-.0225
-.2365*
.1402
-.0518
.0555
.2701*
.1412
.0333
N.A.
-.10b6
-.1090
.0722
-.0873
Commercial
Burglary
Rate
.0937
.3096*
.0315
.1210
-.0907
-.0197
.1084
.0565
Commercial
Robbery
Rate
.0317
.3003*
-.0315
.1054
-.0629
-.0869
.1266
-.0191
Significant at the .05 level or better.
B-2
Next, Table 8 gives the simple Pearson correlations between types
of adulc businesses and various measures of business and city policy
effects. Specifically, the food service measurement and three dif-
ferent measures of commercial activity in a tract are related to adult
businesses. Again, clear confirmation of the fact that different
types of adult entertainment cluster in different areas in response to
zoning policy is given. For example, liquor bars cluster in areas
where the overall proportion of the tract that is commercial is high,
but they are negatively related to number of non-manufacturing
businesses. Both of these results may reflect the seven-acre zoning
requirement for liquor bars, since many seven-acre zones include some
manufacturing or wholesaling establishments.
Table b: Pearson Correlation Coefficients:
Adult Entertainment Establishments
and Measures of Policy Infuence
Proportion
of business
predominantly
food
All adult businesses
Sexually-oriented
businesses
Alcohol-serving
businesses
Beer
Wine
Liquor
Class A
Class b
Class C
.2565
-.0486
.3212*
-.1183
.61b3*
.3259*
.3076*
.0927
.2b7b*
Proportion
of Tract
Commercial
.4219*
.0873
.3960*
.0925
.2825*
.4023*
.3410*
.1603*
.36b9*
Number of
non-manu-
facturing
businesses
.4030*
.0453
.4290*
.2375*
.3994*
-.3318*
.3063*
.1487
.4569*
Proportion
of Com-
mercial
Property
Vacant
.2081*
.2457*
.1736*
.0422
-.0042
.1609*
.1867*
.1774*
-Obl5
Significant at the .05 level or better.
B-3
Finally, Table 9 shows the relations between the measures of
neighborhood deterioration — crime and housing value — and the
control variables.
Table 9: Pearson Correlation Coefficients:
Measures of Neighborhood Deterioration
and Control Variables
Mean Income
Food Business
Commercial Concentration
Mean housing
Value
.4686*
.4856*
-.1631
1
Crime Rate
Index
-.6216*
-.0676
.4840*
Significant at the .05 level or better.
One general conclusion to these figures is that the various adult
businesses relate to their environments differently. Sexually-
oriented businesses appear to be related relatively strongly to
several different measures of neighborhood quality, including commer-
cial vacancies. These establishments apparently are not generally
located in tracts that are heavily commercial as defined by the Polk
index, beer bars are similar in this respect, since they appear to be
located in less commercial areas. Beer licenses also have a relatively
strong association with residential burglary. Liquor bars, on the
other hand, are located in heavily commercial areas, and exhibit lower
correlations with housing value or residential burglary than beer
bars. Finally, sexually-oriented businesses appear more likely to be
located in tracts with high commercial criiae rates, even though these
tracts are not the ones with the highest concentrations of commercial
uses.
b-4
B. Statistical Controls.. a-
(1) Partial correlations: in this portion of the report, partial
correlation is used to elaborate the patterns found among the simple
correlations, and to demonstrate how the mutual effects of several
variables operating simultaneously can alter a simple relationship.
Statistically, partial correlations are correlations between the resi-
dual variances of two variables after the variance in each of them
accounted for by one or more third variables has been removed. Thus,
over-interpretation of partials may result .if true causal connections
are violated: the statistical operation removes the effects of
control variables before it assesses the residual relationship between
the two variables of interest. This is analogous to a causal assump-
tion that the control variable precedes the other variables in causal
ordering. In the section on causal Inference we make use of this
property to evaluate some assumptions about the causal ordering among
the variables. In the present section, however, the partials are only
used to examine the relationship between adult business and neigh-
borhood quality when presumably relevant variables are controlled.
(2) Multiple regression: multiple regression permits us to move
a step beyond the Pearson and partial correlations because it not only
helps establish that an association exists between two (or several)
variables, it also provides an estimate of how much change in one
variable is associated with a change in a second variable. Thus it
gives an estimate of the relative importance of the several indepen-
dent variables in accounting for the variance of the dependent
variable.
B-5
The Independent variables used in Che multiple regressions reported
here and in the main text were selected in part by initial step-wise
regression! which help identify those variables that account for the
largest proportions of the variance in the dependent variables. This
exploratory technique helped to identify the variables which were then
used in the further simple multiple regressions reported.
Because this approach doesn't necessarily yield the most meaning-
ful equations, mostly because of the implicit causal assumptions in
the step-wise technique, additional criteria were used to select the
independent variables* These included evidence from the partial
correlation analysis, substantive considerations, and statistical
requirements. The variables utilized in the partial correlation
analysis are good candidates because we have reason to believe they
are relevant to policy decision made about adult entertainment, and
>they obviously change the relationship between adult entertainment and
neighborhood quality. In addition to these substantive
considerations, the variables selected have been used in other studies
for similar purposes. For example, income la frequently associated
with housing choice, both for sociological (e.g., class preferences)
and institutional (e.g., mortgage requirements) reasons.1
Finally, variables were selected to meet certain statistical
requirements. The primary interest here was to avoid multicollinearity.
Technically, this is a problem that occurs in multiple regression when
a set of independent variables contain some relationships with high
lj. Anthony, "The hffect of Income and Socio-Economic Groups on
housing Choice," citeu in Michael Ball, "Recent Empirical Work on the
Determinants of Relative housing Prices," Urban Studies 10, 1972,
p. 232. Also see p. 231 in Call's article.
B-6
correlations between them. Iho ettect of this is to make the coef-
ficients derived to estimate the association of an independent
variable and the dependent variable unreliable, i.e., containing a
high degree of error that results in different estimates from one
sample to the next. If the objective of the research is to estimate
the total relationship (k or K>), multicollinearity is usually thought
to pose no problea. however, we are interested here in comparing the
effects of different variables on the dependent variables, so we want
to avoid multicollinearity. The regressions reported in the main text
use two variables that are correlated fairly high: mean houshold
income and percentage of units in an area that are commercial. The
simple Pearson correlation is -.6368, which may be high enough to
cause trouble. In our judgment, the value of continuity in the pre-
• sentation and analysis, and the intuitive value of both variables,\^•^t«a^ ^ ^out-weigh the danger of the multicollinearity.1
Some further multiple regressions using variables with little or
no correlation among the independent variables were also run. The
contribution of the adult entertainment variables is not improved.
Other regressions were run which permitted the computer to select the
variables according to the total amount of variance explained. In
several of these, the adult variables achieved significance with
respect to crime, but always with lower crime. These were rejected
since they permit high mulcicollinearity among the variables, and thus
the particular coefficients are uninterpretable.
1-kefer to the variables 'list and correlation catrix in Appendix ti.2.
By convention, correlations greater than .6 are considered possibly
important sources of multicollinearity, to be avoided if possible.
B-7
Multiple regression produces several different coefficients and
test values that must be understood in order to interpret the
regression. The brief definitions to follow can serve as an introduc-
tion to these terms and as a Justification for their use in this
report. Only those terms useful in understanding the report are
defined:
(1) b - the ordinary partial regression coefficient: The
coefficient b Is the estimate of the amount of change that occurs in
the dependent variable for each unit change in the Independent
variable it modifies.
(2) Error of b - This is the standard error of b, th* regression
coefficient. It is the standard deviation of the dependent values
predicted from that b and its independent variable, taking the
number of cases into account. The standard error tells us how much
uncertainty there is in predictions based on the regression coefficient.
It is the basis for the significance test.
(3) Beta weights: This is the standardized regression
coefficient. It is obtained by multiplying the ordinary regression
coefficient by the ratio of the standard deviation of the independent
variable to the standard deviation of Che dependent variable. The
point of doing this is to transform the dependent and Independent
variables into units of measurement that are directly comparable — in
this operation the unit of measurement for all variables becomes the
standard deviation. Therefore any change of so many standard
deviation units In one Independent variable is associated with Just so
much change in similar units of the independent variable. The inde-
pendent variables can thus be directly compared for the magnitude of
E-8
their impact, which is a major point of interest in this report. When
the beta weight approaches zero, there is little or no relationship
between two variables*
(4) Significance: Thia Is a test of the confidence we may have
that a regression coefficient (standardized beta weights or ordinary
b's) is actually different from zero. The closer to zero the signifi-
cance test, the more confidence can be had that the regression coef-
ficient is a good estimate of the relationship. The conventional
minimum level of significance for accepting a relationship is .05,
which is used in this report.
(5) R is the multiple correlation coefficient that measures the
overall strength between the dependent variable and the combined Inde-
pendent (including control) variables. It is analogous to the simple
t Pearson correlation coefficient, and can be interpreted similarly.
•M=%fS#''
(6) R2 is the squared multiple correlation coefficient, and it
measures the proportion of the variance of the dependent variable
accounted for by the independent variables.
(7) Significance of R: describes the confidence we can have that
the multiple correlation coefficient is sufficiently different from
zero.
C. Tests for Linearity
Two tests for linearity were made on the results of the analyses
described above: standard analysis of variance tests on the bivariate
relationships between measures of neighborhood quality and adult
entertainment establishments, and an examination of residuals for
selected multiple regressions.
,.*«,, Some researchers suggested that concentrations of adult businesses
**"*?!Ly may have disproportionate effects on measures of neighborhood quality.
''***•£_/
Figure A presents this "non linear" hypothesis. If the data do match
this hypothesis, there are two consequences. First, it means that
concentrations oE adult business are increasingly bad for neighborhoods
as concentration Increases, and second, chat the common statistical
techniques, such-as linear regression, must be modified.
Figure A; Graphic Representation of the Hon-linear hypothesis
of the Relationship Between Adult Businesses and
Neighborhood Deterioration
high
Deterioration
Low
Low High
Concentration of Adult Businesses
Fortunately, the analysis of variance tests for linearity made on
the bivariate relationships, and inspection of regression residuals,
confirm that the relationships are linear. Presumably, Figure b is
closer to the form of the true relationship. Figure B indicates that
adult businesses* effects on neighborhoods, if any, would Increase in
direct proportion to the number of establishments.
Figure B; Graphic Representation of the Hon-linear Hypothesis
of the Relationship Between Adult Businesses and
Neighborhood Deterioration
high
Deterioration
Low
Low high
Concentration of Adult Businesses
fc-10
The analysis of variance test is an F-test that is based on a com-
parison of Che correlation ratio, Lta^, with the squared correlation
coefficient, r^.' The formula for the test is:
Kk-2 N-k + q2 - r2) (N-K)K ' (1-t2) (K-2),
where b is the number of cases and k is the number of categories
(greater than 2) into which the independent variable has been divided.
If the relationship is not linear, the F-test should yield a signifi-
cant result.1
Inspection of residuals in this study simply involved visual
Inspection of scatterplots of residuals for each case (tract) against
the estimated value of the dependent variable for that case. More
sophisticated tests were not deemed necessary given the lack of non-
linearity in the bivariate tests and no apparent deviations in the
residuals scatterplots*
D. Analysis of Causality
The path analysis technique used here is a way of comparing either
regression coefficients or correlation and partial correlation coef-
ficients to determine if the pattern of relationships in a data set
are consistent with theoretical assumptions. The theoretical assump-
tions or hypotheses are a critical element in this technique: it is
only by making these assumptions that causal inferences can be made*
The results of the tests provide either falsification of the model
being tested or circumstantial evidence to support it. Using this
technique it is possible to compare several different models
1For example, see any edition of li. it. blalock's Social Statistics.
b-ll
(assumptions about causal relations in the data) to see which one is
most consistent with the data.1 The approach has the advantage that
it is possible to make causal Inferences with cross-sectional (one
tlm« only) measurements- Since the data available cannot provide
enough observations over time to do reliable time-series analyses,
this advantage is decisive in this report.
It is important to have some passing acquaintance with the path
analysis technique used here. Figure C presents a simple model of
the relationships between three (unknown) variables. The arrows
represent causal connections ve expect on the basis of some theory:
logically, there are many different possible sets of relationships
among thtfse variables, but we have eliminated all but the one shown in
Figure C. Next, the model has to be tested against empirical measure-
merits to se« if the hypotheses it represents are consistent with data.
Figure C: Simple 3-Variable Path Diagram, With Predictions
Predictions
ryz • rxy rxz
ryz.x « 0
standard introductory reference for the technique is I:. M.
Blalock, Causal Inferences in Nonexperimental Research (Chapel hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 1964).
B-12
Specifically, the model in Figure C asserts that variable X is the
cause of both Y aad Z, but that there is no direct connection between
Y and Z. Mathematicians have shown that these hypotheses translate
into predictions' about the behavior of simple and partial correlation
coefficients, and regression coefficients. These predictions are
shown beneath Figure C. The first prediction is that the simple
correlation coefficient between Y and Z (ryz) should equal the product
of the correlations between X and Y and X and Z.* The second predic-
tion is that the partial correlation between Y and Z controlling for X
(ryz.x) should be zero. In other words, the model says that any
observed correlation between Y and Z is spurious; that is, it is due
to the fact that X is related to both of them. The predictions
reflect this hypothesis.
If the predictions do not match the evidence, then the hypothetical
model can be rejected, or modifications can be made to fit the data
better. When the model does fit the data, we can say that it is
provisionally correct, until further evidence comes alon^ that
dlsconfirms it.
Figure D shows the pattern of simple Pearson correlations among
the variables used in the path analysis in the text. Figure D inclu-
de* the variables for overall neighborhood quality and adult
establishments for 1970. These correlations form the basis for the
path analysis.
1 As sum ing (1) the model is correct, and (2) the effects of
measurement error are random and negllgable.
B-13
Figure D: Pearson Correlation Coefficients
Among Path Analysis Variables
.9726
Neighborhood^
Quality, 1979
.3235
Neighborhood
Duality, 1970
-.3524 _Adult Establishments,
197(J
\
-.3818 -.3409
-.3962
.8574
Adult Establishments,
"1979
-.1320'
\
-.6238
*>^xiious ing
\
.1962
.2660
-.5231
Value, 1979
Criue Index,
~1979
The decision was made to use only the data for 1979 as (1) the
measurements for 1970 were not identical to those for 1979,
(2) there were too few observations to do a genuine time series
analysis, and (3) the 1970 neighborhood quality ueausre and the 1970
adult business measure were very highly correlated with their 1979
counter parts. This last point means that, in this context, we cannot
assume that the treasures' error terms are uncorrelated across time,
making inference based on the relationships between them
iraperroissable.
B-14
The correlations in Figure D are compatible with many sets of
assumptions besides the ones used in the text, however, the assump-
tions used were* chosen because they are reasonable and they do reflect
the substantive issues at stake.
Amont the alternative assumptions that could be nade here, see
Figure E. For instance, if adult businesses cause general neigh-
borhood quality, which in turn causes housing value, as in the Figure
shown here, then the correlation between the quality index and housing
value should drop to zero, however, this test on the data only
changes the observed relationship between the quality measure and
housing value from .3235 to .2980. The hypothesis is clearly
disconfiraed. This matches the expectations of common sense in this
case >
Figure £: Some Alternative Causal Assumptions
Neighborhood Quality Index ^^
/ __ ^3- Adult Businesses~
Lousing Value «*sr-
B-15
Appendix B.2
List of Variables for Neighborhood Deterioration Study
Variables 45 through 70 refer to 1979 data. Variables that be^in
with "PM" are taken from the Property Management System. Variables
that begin with "Pb"
REL
POS
1
2
3
A
5
6
7
a
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
IB
19
20
VARIABLE
NAME
SEQNUM
SUBFILE
CASUGT
TRACT
V12
V17
V20
Vlll
V112
V113
IiEMOl
POLK2
POLK6
POLKS
POLK9
POLK 11
POLK12
POLK 16
X TRACT
YTRACT
are from the 1978 Polk City Directory.
VARIABLE LABEL
TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS
TOTAL OUINER OCCUPIED
TOTAL RENTER OCCUPIED
PCT RESIDENTS STABLE 1965-1970
PCT HOUSING UNITS OCCUPIED
PCT OWNER OCCUPIED
TOTAL POPULATION
TOTAL COML STRUCTURES PER CENT OF
TOTAL COML. UNITS CURRENT COUNT
ALL
NET CHANGE COML. UNITS DURING PERIOD
NO. COML. UNITS WITH CHG. OF OCCUPANTS
VACANT COML UNITS CURRENT COUNT
PER CENT OF TOTAL COML UNITS VACANT
TOTAL NOH-HFG. FIRMS CURRENT COUNT
X-COORDINATE OF TRACT CENTER
Y-COORPINATE OF TRACT CENTER
b-16
FOS NAME
21 DISTCBD DISTANCE OF TRACT CENTER TO IDS TOWER
22 RATEFI FREQUENCY OF CRIME - SEX RELATE!. CRIMES
23 RATEF2 - FREQUENCY OF CRIME - STREET ASSAULT
24 RATEF3 FREQUENCY OF CRIME - STREET ROBBERY
25 RATEF4 FREQUENCY OF CRIME - RES BURGLARY
26 RATEF5 ' FREQUENCY OF CRIME - COMM BURGLARY
27 RATEF6 FREQUENCY OF CRIME - COKM ROBBERY
28 RATEF7 FREQUENCY OF CRIME - VANDALISM
29 RATEF8 FREQUENCY OF CRIME - AUTO THEFT
30 AREA AREA IN SQUARE MILES OF TRACT
31 OUNVM MEAN VALUE OWNER OCC RES UNIT
32 MEANI MEAN FAM AND UNREL INCOME
33 HAGEPCT1 PCT RES STR BUILT 1969-70
34 HAGEPCT2 PCT RES STR BUILT 1965-68
35 HAGEPCT3 PCT RES STR BUILT 1960-64
36 HAGEPCT4 PCT RES STR BUILT 1950-59
37 HAGEPCT5 PCT RES STR BUILT 1940-49
38 HAGEPCT6 PCT RES STR BUILT BEFOR 1940
39 FACT01 CRIME RATES BY OPP - 1 2 3 7 8 r
40 FACT02 CRIME RATE BY OPP -456
41 ZV17 Z SCORE % OUNER OCCUPPIED
42 ZDEM03 ZSCORE % POPULATION WHITE
43 ZMEANI ZSCORE MEAN INCOME
44 NEIGH 3 TYPES OF NEIGHBORHOODS DERIVED FROM 7
45 FM8SF TOTAL SINGLE FAMILY UNITS
46 FM8DT TOTAL DUPLEX-TRIPLEX UNITS
47 PMSMF TOTAL MULTI-FAMILY UNITS
48 PM8HSF TOTAL HOMESTEAD SINGLE FAMILY UNITS
49 PMBHDT TOTAL DU-TRIPLEX HOMESTEAD UNITS
50 PM8HMF TOTAL HOMESTEAD MULTIFAMILY UNITS
51 PM8A1 '/. TOTAL SF BUILT BEFORE 1940
52 FM8A2 % TOTAL SF BUILT 1940-1959
53 PH8A3 % TOTAL SF BUILT AFTER 1960
54 PM8C1 XTOTAL SF WITH CONDITION 4,5.
55 PM8X1 SUM AREA CODES BY TOTAL SF UNITS
56 PM8X2 SUM SF BLD AREA BY TOTAL SF UNITS
57 PM8X3 GBA OF COMMERCIAL BY TOTAL COMMERCIAL
F-OS
58 PM8X4
59 FM8X5
60 FM8X6
61 FM8X7
62 FM8X8
63 PM8X9
64 FM8X10
65 V8111
66 V8112
67 P3LK2
68 P8LK6
69 P8LK8
70 P8LK9
71 P8LK11
72 P8LK12
73 P8LK16
74 P8LKH
75 P8LKAH
76 P8LKIN
77 BAR7A
78 BAR7B
79 BAR7C
80 BAR7D
81 BAR7E
82 BAR7F
83 BAR7G
84 BAR7H
85 BAR7I
86 GMOV7
87 SUANA7
88 AMOV7
89 DBK7
90 POOL7
91 BARSA
92 BAR8B
93 BAR8C
94 BAR8D
v,-,.-.i.-,i.LE
SUM LOT AREA OF SF PUP TRIPLEX
SUM LOT AREA FOR UNITS WITH ALPHA NOT =C
SUM LOT AREA FOR UNITS WITH ALPHA = C
SUM LOT AREA FOR ALL UNITS
SUM MARKET VALUE SF BY TOTAL SF UNITS
SUM EMV COMMERCIAL BY TOTAL COMMERCIAL U
SUM BLD CODES BY TOTAL SF
NSP PCT STABLE
NSP PCT UNITS OCCUPPIEO
X COMMERCIAL UNITS
SUM COMMERCIAL UNITS
CHANGE COMMERCIAL UNITS
Z COMMERCIAL UNITS CHANG OF OCCUPANTS
VACANT COMMERCIAL UNITS
% VACANT COMMERCIAL UNITS
TOTAL NOiN-MANUFACTURING FIRMS
TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS
AVE SIZE HOUSEHOLDS
AVE HOUSEHOLD INCOME
BEER BAR 1970 CLASS C
BEER BAR 1970 CLASS B
BEER BAR 1970 CLASS A
UIME BAR 1970 CLASS C
WINE BAR 1970 CLASS B
UIME BAR 1970 CLASS A
LIQUOR BAR 1970 CLASS C
LIQUOR BAR 1970 CLASS B
LIQUOR BAR 1970 CLASS A
GENERAL MOVIE 1970
SUANA 197O
ADULT MOVIE 1970
ADULT BOOKSTORE 1970
POOLHALL 1970
BEER BAR 1980 CLASS C
BEER BAR 1930 CLASS B
BEER BAR 1980 CLASS A
UIINE BAR 1980 CLASS C
KEL
f'OS NAME
LABEL
95 BARSE UINE BAR 1980 CLASS B
96 BAR8F UINE BAR 1780 CLASS A
97 BARQG LIQUOR BAR 1980 CLASS C
98 BAR8H LIQUOR BAR 1980 CLASS B
99 BAR8I LIQUOR BAR 1980 CLASS A
100 GHOV8 GENERAL MOVIE 1980
101 SUANA8 SUANA 1980
102 AttOVB ADULT MOVIE 1980
103 DBK8 ADULT BOOKSTORE 1980
104 FOOL 8
105 PRBAR8 PROBLEM BAR 1980
106 FOODS OVER 50% FOODS 1980
107 SEX8 SEUAL ENTERTAINMENT BAR 1980
108 OASLT8 OTHER ASSAULTS 1980 CRIMES
109 NASLT8 NONSTRANGER 1980 ASSAULTS
110 SASLT8 STRANGER TO STRANGER 1980 ASSAULTS
111 TASLTS TOTAL ASSAULTS 1980
112 RAPE8 RAPFS 1980
113 OCSC8 OTHER CRIMMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT 1980
114 TCSC8 TOTAL CSC 1980
115 SROB8 STREET ROBBERRY 1980
116 FROB8 PERSONAL ROBBERY 1980
117 TPROB8 TOTAL PERSONAL ROBBERY
118 BROBS BUSINESS ROBBERY 1980
119 RBURG8 BURGLARY OF RESIDENCE 1980
120 BBURG8 BUSINESS BURGLARY
121 PM800 * OWNER OCCUPPIED
122 FM8TRU TOTAL RESIDENTIAL UNITS
123 FM8POO * OWNER OCCUPPIED
124 EPOP8 EST 1980 POP FROM POLK
125 ASLTSR 1980 ASSAULTS PER 1000 POP.
126 RAPE8R 1980 RAPES PER 1000 POP.
127 PROB8R. TOTAL PERSONAL ROBBERIES PER 1000 POP.
128 BROE.3R BUSINESS ROBBERIES PER 1000 POP.
129 RBURG9R RESIDENT BURGLARIES PER 1000 POP.
130 BBURG8R BUSINESS BURGLARIES PER 1000 POP.
131 CRDEX8 1980 TOTAL CRIMES ASLT THRU BBURG
1—19
FFL
FOS W.KIAfrLE
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
NAME
RESPCT8
COMPCT8
RAPE?
ASLT7
RAPE7R
ASLT7R
EPOP
CRDEX8R
'FACTS?
BEER
UINE
LIOUOR
BEER?
UINE7
LIQUOR?
SEXBIZ
BARS
BARS?
HUPCTMF
AREAMMF
CBAR
DENSE8
ADULT
TYPEA
TYPES
TYPEC
TYPEA7
TYPEB7
TYPEC?
RBURG7R
BBURG7R
BROB7R
DV8111
DV8112
DPHSPOO
DEPOP8
168 DP8LK2
7. AREA RESIDENTIAL 1930
% AREA COMMERCIAL 1980
FREQ 1974 RAPES
FREG ALL ASSAULTS 1974
RAPES PER 1000 POP.
ASSAULTS PER 1000 POP.
1974 ESTIMATED POP FROM POLK
SUM OF RESIDENTIAL CRIMES 1979 DATA
SUM OF 1930 BARS WITH BEER LIC.
SUM OF 1980 BARS WITH WINE LIC,.
SUM OF 1980 BARS WITH LIOUOR LIC.
SUM OF 1970 BARS WITH BEER LIC,
1970 UINE LIC.
SUM OF 1970 LIQUOR? LIC.
SUM OF 1980 SUANASf ADULT MOVIESi ADULTS
SUM OF ALL 1930 BARS
SUM OF ALL 1970 BARS
PM8MF BY FM8SF+PM3DT+PM3MF
FM8X5-FM8X4
CONDENSED BARS VARIABLE Oil = 1, GT 2 BAR
EPOP8 DIVIDED BY AREA
BARS+SEXBIZ
1980 BARS WITH CLASS A LIQUOR LIC.
1980 BARS WITH CLASS B LIQ. LIC.
1980 BARS WITH CLASS C Lid. LIC.
1970 BARS WITH CLASS A LIQ. LIC.
1970 BARS WITH CLASS B LIQ. LIC.
1970 BARS WITH CLASS C LIQ. LIC.
RATEF4*1000 BY DEM01
RATEF5*1000 Iff DEM01
RATEF6*1000 BY DEM01
VS111-V111
V8112-V112
PM8POO-V113
EPOPS-riEMOl
P8LK2-POLK2
KLL
FOS
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
VARIABLE
NAME
DP8LK12
DP8LKIN
DPMSX8
DRBURG
DBBURO
DBROB
DRAPE
OASLT
DBARS
DBEER
DUINE
DLIQUOR
DTYPEA
[iTYPEB
DTYPEC
FOODPCT
FACTOR7
FACTORS
VARIABLE LABEL
P8LK12-POLK12
P8LKIN-MEANI
PM8X8-OUNVM
RBURG8R-RBURG7R
f
BROB3R-BROB7R
RAPE8R-RAPE7R
ASLT8R-ASLT7R
BARS-BARS7
BEER-BEER7
UINE-UINE7
LIQUOR-LIQUOR?
TYPEA-TYPEA7
TYPEB-TYPE7B
TYPEC-TYPE7C
FOODS BY BARS
FACTOR SCORES FROM NEIGHBORHOOD VARIABLE
1980 FACTOR SCORES FROM NEIGH. VAR.S
M-.M
12
Department of City Planning / City of New York
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning
City of New York
Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mayor
Department of City Planning
Joseph B. Rose, Director
Second Printing
November, 1994
DCP# 94-08
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Municipalities throughout the country regulate the locations of adult entertainment establish-
ments to limit their impacts on neighborhoods and the quality of life. Despite the recent
proliferation of such uses in New York City — an increase of 35 percent in 10 years —
current zoning regulations do not distinguish adult entertainment establishments from similar
commercial uses without an "adult character." For example, triple-X (XXX) video stores and
video stores that do not purvey pornography are regulated identically in the Zoning Resolu-
tion. The Department of City Planning (DCP) undertook the "Adult Entertainment Study" to
determine the nature and extent of the secondary impacts of adult entertainment uses on
communities in the city. The Study includes: (1) a survey of existing studies concerning the
impacts of adult entertainment establishments and regulations of such establishments in other
localities; (2) a description of the adult entertainment business in New York City; (3) a
review of studies and reports on adult entertainment establishments in New York City; (4)
a DCP survey of the impacts such establishments have on communities in the City; and, (5)
overall study findings and conclusion.
Background
In 1977, after concluding that adult entertainment uses had negative impacts on communities,
the City Planning Commission (CPC) proposed new zoning regulations distinguishing adult
entertainment uses and restricting their potential locations. The proposal was withdrawn at
the Board of Estimate due to a lack of consensus regarding the appropriate extent of such
regulations and concern that the regulations being proposed might result in the movement of
adult uses to new locations.
The recent proliferation of adult entertainment establishments, often identified by graphic
signage, has led to widespread concern about potential deterioration in the quality of life in
many of the city's neighborhoods. Some residents, concerned about the negative impacts of
adult uses in their neighborhoods and fearful of the potential results of proliferation, have
organized ad hoc groups and appealed to local officials to have them closed down. Such local
opposition ultimately resulted in the voluntary closing of adult video stores and bars in
Astoria, Jackson Heights, Chelsea, Murray Hill, Forest Hills, and Bay Ridge. Two bills have
been introduced in the City Council to regulate the location of adult entertainment uses. A
resolution has also been introduced at the Council calling for zoning amendments to restrict
adult entertainment uses.
Table of Contents
Page
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY /
I. Introduction
Study objectives 1
Definition of adult entertainment establishments 1
n. Studies and Regulations in Other Localities
Impacts found in other localities 3
Regulations in other localities 9
m. The Adult Entertainment Industry
Industry trends , 15
Inventory and trends, by location and type 18
Industry views 25
IV. Adult Entertainment Zoning in New York City
Current zoning 29
Prior zoning proposals in NYC 32
V. Adult Entertainment Impacts hi New York City
Impacts identified by the City Planning Commission, 1977 35
Impacts identified by the Office of Midtown Enforcement 36
Impacts identified in the Chelsea Business Survey 38
Impacts identified at the public hearing of the Task Force on the
Regulation of Sex-Related Businesses 39
Impacts identified hi the Times Square Business Improvement District Study . 40
Impacts identified hi newspaper reports and correspondence 42
VI. Survey of Adult Entertainment Uses
Summary survey results 49
Analysis of criminal complaint data 55
Analysis of property assessed values 57
Vn. Overall Study Findings and Conclusion 59
APPENDICES
A. Study Areas
B. DCP Survey of Adult Entertainment Establishments, Fall 1993
The consensus among those expressing opposition to the operation of adult uses is that adult
entertainment establishments have a negative impact on the communities in which they are
located. These impacts include: inappropriate exposure of children and teenagers to graphic
sexual images, increased crime, diminishing property values, adverse effects upon the climate
for other types of commercial activities, and overall negative influences upon community
character.
Recent Trends in the Location of Adult Entertainment Uses
After burgeoning growth in the early 1970's, the number of adult entertainment establish-
ments in the city declined by 13 percent from 151 in 1976 to 131 in 1984.' By 1993,
however, DCP identified 177 such establishments with assistance from the 59 Community
Boards. This represents an increase of 35 percent over the last decade. Should this growth
continue at the same rate, an additional 60 adult entertainment establishments will be
operating in the city by the year 2002. The DCP survey focused on three types of uses:
triple-X video and bookstores, adult live or movie theaters, and topless or nude bars. These
adult uses were further limited to those which identified themselves as "adult," through
signage or other advertising. The survey may understate the total number of adult
entertainment uses. The locations of these establishments are shown on a map following page
19. More than 75 percent of the adult establishments were located in zoning districts that
permit residences. Since the survey was completed, several new adult entertainment
establishment have opened.
The production and distribution of sexually explicit materials has changed dramatically in
recent years. Adult material is more readily accessible than it used to be, and a greater variety
of products are available to segments of the adult entertainment audience - both inexpensive
material and fancier entertainment are more readily available than ten years ago. In particular,
triple-X videos are now produced cheaply and sold for prices below $5, whereas only a few
years ago adult films commanded prices of approximately $100. In addition there are more
topless bars than previously, due to a proliferation of topless bars affecting an "upscale"
image. Partially as a result of these changes in the adult use industry, adult entertainment
establishments are now found more widely throughout the city.
Historical data was obtained from various sources. Caution should be exercised in interpreting trend data
because the defining characteristics of adult use may vary among sources.
In terms of their location, adult entertainment uses have continued an historical tendency to
concentrate in specific areas. Over the last ten years most adult entertainment establishments
have continued to concentrate within a few community districts in Manhattan. However, within
that period the number of community districts citywide with seven or more adult entertainment
establishments nearly tripled, from three to eight. Between 1984 and 1993, the number of adult
bookstores/peep shows/video stores increased citywide from 29 to 86 establishments. Within
this category, 74 percent consisted of adult video stores, none of which were noted in the 1984
survey. Adult movie and live theaters continued to decline from 48 in 1984 to 23 in 1993.
Topless and nude bars increased by 26 percent in the same time period, from 54 to 68.
Impacts Found and Regulations in Other Localities
Other jurisdictions that have studied the effects of adult entertainment uses have consistently
found that these uses have negative secondary impacts. This has been the case for large cities
(such as Chicago and Los Angeles), medium-sized cities (such as Austin, Texas) and small
villages (such as Islip, New York). Similar negative secondary impacts (e.g., a relationship
between the concentration of adult entertainment uses and increased incidence of crime) have
been found despite widespread variation in land use patterns and other local conditions. While
New York may differ from these other jurisdictions in certain respects, their experience with
adult entertainment uses is highly relevant to consideration of the need for some form of
regulation. Both the United States Supreme Court and the New York Court of Appeals have
recognized that, in adopting regulations, a municipality may rely on the experiences of other
jurisdictions that have determined that adult uses have secondary impacts. Relevant studies
from other jurisdictions include the following:
The Town of Islip, in Suffolk County on Long Island, prohibited adult uses from locating
in downtown commercial areas because they would produce a "dead zone" that shoppers
would avoid. Other government efforts to revitalize or stabilize these areas and attract
private investment would be impacted negatively.
The City of Indianapolis, Indiana, conducted national and local surveys of real estate
appraisers regarding the impact of adult uses on property values in middle-income
residential neighborhoods. A majority of the appraisers, seventy five percent, responded
that such a use located within one block of such a residential neighborhood would have
a negative effect on the value of both residential and commercial properties.
iii
The City of Whittier, California, in a study of the impacts of adult establishments found
higher turnover rates in commercial and residential areas adjacent to adult uses. The study
also compared 38 types of criminal activity over two time periods, showing a total
increase of 102 percent for the study area containing adult businesses, while the city as
a whole had only an eight percent increase.
A study by the City of Austin, Texas, compared areas with adult businesses to other areas
containing similar land uses but no adult businesses, and found a sex crimes rate between
two and five times greater in the areas with adult businesses. The study also showed that
the sex-related crime rate was 66 percent higher hi areas having two or more adult
businesses than in those areas having only one such business.
Phoenix, Arizona, studied the relationship between arrests for sex crimes and the locations
of adult businesses, and found an overall increase of six times the sex crime rate in the
study areas with adult uses over the control areas without such uses.
The State of Minnesota reported that a study conducted in that state examining the effects
of sexually-oriented businesses upon property values and crime rates indicated that such
businesses had a strong negative impact on the crime rate. The addition of one sexually-
oriented business to a census tract area caused an increase in the overall crime rate index
in that area by more than nine percent. In another state study, it was determined that there
was a statistically significant correlation between the location of adult businesses and
neighborhood deterioration. Housing values were significantly lower in an area with three
adult businesses than in an area with only one adult business. Also, there was a
significantly higher crime rate associated with two adult businesses in an area than was
associated with only one adult business in an area.
Many other cities currently regulate adult uses differently from other commercial uses
and several of these are discussed later in this study. Most often, these regulations
disperse such uses rather than concentrating them in any particular area of the munici-
pality and may also exclude them from certain areas. For example, Los Angeles,
California, generally prohibits new adult uses from locating within a certain distance
of another such use. Los Angeles enacted its dispersal zoning after a study concluded
that the concentration of adult uses had negative impacts on criminal activity, property
values, and public perceptions of the quality of life.
IV
Impacts Identified in Studies in New York City
Several studies have identified the impacts associated with adult entertainment establishments
in New York City. In 1977, the City Planning Commission proposed a zoning plan to limit
the concentration of adult uses after relating the proliferation of such establishments to
economic decline, and finding a linkage between increased numbers of felonies and the
concentrations of adult uses.
In 1993, the Chelsea Business Survey concluded, after surveying 100 businesses located in
that community, that dispersal zoning should be enacted to prevent the transformation of
Chelsea into a red light district. A majority of the businesses surveyed felt that a recent
proliferation of adult entertainment establishments in Chelsea had hurt them economically.
This year, the Times Square Business Improvement District (TSBID), after conducting a
study of the secondary effects of the concentration of adult use establishments hi the Times
Square area, called for the dispersal of adult uses in commercial and manufacturing areas.
The TSBID study shows that the rate of increase in assessed values for blocks with an adult
use did not increase as much as the rate of increase on nearby control blocks without adult
uses. The study also notes that there were almost twice as many complaints about crime for
the study blocks with adult establishments as nearby control blocks without adult uses.
Property and business owners expressed the view that adult uses located in the area,
particularly in concentration, have had a negative impact on their businesses, deterring
potential customers.
DCP, as part of this Study, selected six study areas where adult uses were located. Because
Times Square was already being studied by TSBID, DCP selected study areas which had
lesser concentrations of adult uses. Most of the areas are in the other boroughs and in some
cases contained only a single isolated adult entertainment use. DCP surveyed representatives
from community boards, local organizations and local businesses, as well as real estate
brokers, police and sanitation officers, and representatives of the adult entertainment industry
to gather information on land use, street conditions, signage, and impacts. An analysis of
assessed values and crime data was also made. The six study areas are shown on the map
following page 49.
Many residents and community organizations cited adult entertainment establishments as
having significant or potentially significant negative impacts in their communities. Real estate
brokers indicated that such establishments have negative impacts on property values. These
findings are consistent with the data found in the TSBID study and the Chelsea Business
Survey, along with other data described in more detail in this report
In some cases, particularly in study areas with only one adult entertainment establishment,
the DCP survey did not yield conclusive evidence of a direct relationship between the adult
use and the urban ills affecting the community. This reflects the fact that, in a city as dense
and diverse as New York, it is difficult to isolate specific impacts attributable to any
particular land use. Other cities that have conducted similar studies have acknowledged this
same difficulty. For instance, the Los Angeles City Planning Department concluded that while
assessed valuation of properties in areas characterized by adult uses "generally" tended to
increase to a lesser degree than similar control areas, "there was insufficient evidence to
support the contention that concentrations of sex-related businesses have been the primary
cause of these patterns". Adult entertainment businesses were nevertheless perceived by the
majority of the Los Angeles respondents as exerting a negative impact on surrounding
business and residential properties. Whether or not such negative impacts had actually
occurred, or were only perceived to have occurred, could not always be determined by the
survey, but the study concluded that "in terms of the attitudes of the respondents towards
such businesses, the conclusion must be drawn that the overall effect on surrounding
properties is considered to be negative."
DCP's survey identified strong concerns about the negative impacts of adult uses similar to
those found in the Los Angeles study. Even in those study areas where it could not be readily
determined that negative impacts were already being felt, there was a strong body of opinion,
especially among residents, that adult entertainment uses were having negative impacts and
that a further proliferation of these uses in the community would lead to a neighborhood
deterioration. The experience of urban planners and real estate appraisers indicates that
negative perceptions associated with an area can lead to disinvestment in residential neigh-
borhoods and a tendency to shun shopping streets where unsavory activities are occurring,
leading to economic decline. The forces that influence real estate value are described as
follows: "The market value of real property reflects and is affected by the interplay of basic
forces that motivate the activities of human beings. These forces, which produce the variables
in real estate market values, may be considered in four major categories: social ideals and
standards (emphasis added), economic changes and adjustments, governmental controls and
regulation, and physical or environmental changes."2 The attitudinal data in the survey is thus
significant even in those instances where the current negative impacts of adult entertainment
establishments are difficult to measure.
Fear of the potential proliferation of adult uses is a well founded concern. Taken alone it may
not seem significant if someone smokes in a subway car, scribbles graffiti, jumps a subway
1 "The Appraisal of Real Property," seventh edition, by the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers.
vi
turnstile, aggressively panhandles or squeegees a car windshield, particularly in a city where
there are other pressing problems such as homelessness, violent crime and unemployment. But
when these small incidents, and establishments, proliferate and accumulate, they can tear at the
urban fabric. Similarly, as the city's experience in the Times Square area indicates, the
proliferation of adult uses in an area does have significant and potentially devastating impacts
on the character of a community. The City has adopted an aggressive and comprehensive policy
of addressing various quality-of-life issues that has begun to yield beneficial results. The
problems posed by adult entertainment establishments are among the important quality-of-life
issues that affect our neighborhoods and communities.
Overall Findings and Conclusion
• Numerous studies in other localities found that adult entertainment uses
have negative secondary impacts such as increased crime rates, deprecia-
tion of property values, deterioration of community character and the
quality of urban life.
• There has been a rapid growth in the number of adult entertainment uses
in New York City. Between 1984 and 1993, the number of such uses
increased from 131 to 177. The number of video/book stores/peep shows
almost tripled and there was a 26 percent increase in topless/nude bars.
Adult theaters declined by 52 percent.
• Adult entertainment is more readily accessible in NYC than it was ten years
ago. There are more such establishments in a greater number of communi-
ties. Adult videos are produced in greater numbers and at lower costs. They
are often available in general interest video stores as well as those devoted
exclusively to adult entertainment. Cable television has significantly
increased the availability of adult viewing material Adult material is also
available at newsstands and book stores.
• Adult entertainment uses tend to concentrate. The number of community
districts with seven or more adult uses increased from three to eight over the
last ten years. Seventy five percent of the adult uses are located in ten of the
city's 59 Community Districts. In Manhattan, adult uses cluster in central
locations, such as the Times Square area. In the other boroughs, adult uses
appear to cluster along major vehicular routes, such as Queens Boulevard
and Third Avenue in Brooklyn, that connect outer reaches of the city and
suburbs to the central business district .
• Studies of adult entertainment uses in areas where they are highly concentrat-
ed, such as Times Square and Chelsea, identified a number of significant
negative secondary impacts. In the Times Square area property owners, theater
operators and other business people overwhelmingly believe that their
businesses are adversely affected. An analysis of criminal complaints indicated
vi
a substantially higher incidence of criminal activity in the Junes Square area
where adult uses are most concentrated. In addition, the study found that the
rate of increase in assessed property values for study blocks with adult uses
grew at a slower rate than control blocks without adult uses.
• DCP's survey of areas with less dense concentrations of adult uses found
fewer impacts than the study of the Times Square area. However, community
leaders expressed concerns that adult uses impact negatively on the
community and they strongly fear the potential results of proliferation.
• The strongest negative reactions to adult entertainment uses come from
residents living near them.
• Where respondents indicated that their businesses or neighborhoods had not
yet been adversely affected by adult uses, this typically occurred in study
areas with isolated adult uses. Moreover, these same respondents typically
stated that an increase in such uses would negatively impact them.
Community residents fear the consequences of potential proliferation and
concentration of adult uses in traditionally neighborhood-oriented shopping
areas and view the appearance of one or more of these uses as a deteriora-
tion in the quality of urban life.
• Most real estate brokers report that adult entertainment establishments are
perceived to negatively affect nearby property values and decrease market
values. Eighty percent of the brokers responding to the DCP survey indicated
that an adult use •would have a negative impact on nearby property values.
This is consistent with the responses from a similar national survey of real
estate appraisers.
• Adult use accessory business signs are generally larger, more often
illuminated, and graphic (sexually-oriented) compared with the signs of
other nearby commercial uses. Community residents view this signage as out
of keeping with neighborhood character and are concerned about the
exposure of minors to sexual images.
Based on these findings, DCP believes it is appropriate to regulate adult entertainment estab-
lishments differently from other commercial establishments. The experience of other
jurisdictions, the city's historic experience hi Times Square, studies performed by the TSBDD
and the Chelsea Business Survey, and DCP's own survey, establish the negative effects of
adult entertainment uses. Consideration of the specific nature and extent of regulations that
would be appropriate for adult entertainment establishments in New York City was not within
the scope of this Study. However, in light of the negative impacts of adult uses in
concentration, the following regulatory techniques, which have been used in other
jurisdictions, merit consideration in developing adult use regulations: restrictions on the
**"** location of adult uses in proximity to residential areas, to houses of worship, to schools and
*****"} to each other.
viii
L INTRODUCTION
Study Objectives
The Department of City Planning undertook a study to evaluate the nature and extent of adverse
impacts associated with adult entertainment uses in other localities and in New York City. The
study responds to concerns of city residents, businesses, and elected officials about the
proliferation of adult entertainment establishments in various parts of the city. The issues posed
by adult uses are complex, and often involve speech or conduct protected by the federal and
New York State constitutions. Any regulation must be based on a careful analysis of past,
present and potential adverse impacts of adult uses upon the quality of life in the city's
neighborhoods, as well as the effects of possible regulatory solutions upon protected speech.
This study includes (1) a survey of existing studies concerning the impacts of adult entertain-
ment establishments and of regulation .of such establishments in other localities; (2) a
description of the adult entertainment business in New York City; (3) a review of studies and
reports on adult entertainment establishments hi New York City; (4) a DCP survey of the
impacts such establishments have on communities in the City; and (5) a set of overall findings
and recommendations.
Definition of Adult Entertainment Establishments
There is a vast array of businesses that may be considered "adult." These include video and
bookstores, motels, massage parlors, sex clubs, topless and bottomless or nude bars (not all
of which serve alcohol), and peep shows. Materials may include sexually explicit videos or
magazines. Services may include body rubs, or entertainment such as nude dancing.
For purposes of the DCP survey, an adult entertainment establishment is a commercial use
that defines itself as such through exterior signs or other advertisements. Thus, a "triple-X
or XXX" video store is an adult entertainment establishment, but a neighborhood video store
that devotes a small area to triple-X videos is not. This self-defining characteristic allowed
the survey to focus on those establishments for which there is some consensus that the use
is adult. It also means that it is possible to obtain adult entertainment materials, such as
videos and magazines, at establishments that sell primarily non-adult materials and that some
businesses that are devoted to adult entertainment but do not publicly proclaim the fact were
not included in the DCP survey. The survey was further restricted to three types of such uses:
adult video and bookstores, adult live or movie theaters, and topless or nude bars. Other uses
directly associated with the commercialization of sex, such as massage parlors or brothels
(which are not permitted in New York City), and sex clubs, as well as some of those uses
indirectly associated with the commercialization of sex such as discos, motels, newsstands,
and candy stores that sell some adult magazines, were excluded from the study.
The term "adult use" is technically defined differently from municipality to municipality, but
generally refers to a commercial establishment that purveys materials or services of a sexual
nature. For example, both the City of Boston, Massachusetts, and the Town of Islip, New York,
classify adult book stores to mean those that exclude minors by reason of age.3 Other cities
such as Detroit and Los Angeles classify adult uses on the basis of the content of the materials
shown or the types of activities that may be found in adult establishments; the uses emphasize
"specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas.4 A movie theater generally showing
adult films is an example of such a use.
3 The adults-only definition recommended to be applied in the Islip Town ordinance avoids emphasis on the
content of material, thereby avoiding Constitutional questions based on the First Amendment, and allowing
pornographic uses to define themselves." Study and Recommendations for Adult Entertainment Businesses
in the Town of Islip, Town of Islip Department of Planning and Development, 1978.
4 "Specified Anatomical Areas" shall mean and include any of the following: (a) Less than completely and
opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts below a point immediately
above the top of the areolae; or (b) Human male genitals in a discemibly turgid state, even if completely and
opaquely covered. "Specified Sexual Activities" shall mean and include any of the following: (a) The fondling
or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts; (b) Sex acts, normal
or perverted, actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation or sodomy; (c) masturbation, actual
or simulated; or (d) Excretory functions as part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in (a)
through (c) above. Planning and Zoning Code, Los Angeles, Section 12.70.B.13-B.14.
H. STUDIES AND REGULATIONS IN OTHER LOCALITIES
Impacts Found in Other Localities
DCP reviewed impact studies from the following municipalities: Islip (NY), Los Angeles (CA),
Indianapolis (IA), Whittier (CA), Austin (TX), Phoenix (AZ), Manatee County (FL), New
Hanover County (NC), and the State of Minnesota.
Islip, New York
The Town of Islip completed a study of adult uses in September, 1980.5 The study formed
the basis of new zoning provisions that allowed adult uses only in Industrial I Districts, by
special exception of the Board of Appeals. Adult uses would not be allowed to locate within
500 feet of residential uses and public facilities, nor would they be permitted to locate within
one half-mile of another adult use. Islip proposed the one-half mile requirement to prevent
a concentration of sex businesses visible to the driving public, thereby hindering the creation
of a "combat zone."
By limiting adult uses to certain industrial zones, Islip proposed to prevent "skid row effects"
in declining downtown commercial areas. The proposal was expected to further other anti-
skid row efforts such as new public investment, the prohibition of certain residential
conversions, and restrictions on new bars. It was also formulated to prevent "dead zones"
from developing in commercial areas. According to the study, these areas are avoided because
shoppers do not want to be associated in any way with adult uses, or have their children walk
by adult uses.
Citing its case study, Islip indicated that the main complaint about a given adult book store
is its proximity to an adjoining residential area. Other impacts included parking hi residential
areas (store patrons may wish to "hide" their automobile from view by parking away from
the adult establishment). The study, relying on newspaper articles, indicated that another
impact is the reputed association of the adult book store operators with organized crime.
5 "Study and Recommendations for Adult Entertainment Businesses in the Town of Islip," Department of
Planning and Development, 1980.
Islip's study stated that persons who protested the establishment of the book store feared
retaliation: "... the potential for violence or other illegal behavior is clearly possible."6
The individual site analyses identified similar impacts found in the case study. Some
establishments were located close to residential areas, causing uncharacteristic parking
impacts, night-time activity, noise and dust. Other establishments located in declining
downtown areas created dead zones or discouraged shoppers from walking in pedestrian-
oriented commercial areas.
Los Angeles, California
In 1977, the Los Angeles City Planning Department completed a study of adult uses for the
Planning Committee of the City Council.7 The study was intended to determine whether a
concentration of adult establishments has a blighting or degrading effect on nearby properties
and/or neighborhoods. The study provided a basis for zoning regulations adopted the
following year that prohibited adult entertainment businesses within 1,000 feet of another
such business or within 500 feet of any religious institution, school or public park. More
restrictive provisions were added subsequently.
Police Department statistics indicated a greater proportion of certain crimes in Hollywood
(where the largest concentration of adult establishments is found hi the city) compared with
the city as a whole.
Other impacts could be traced to public perceptions. The study examined public testimony
and found that many people, particularly the elderly, were afraid to walk the streets in
Hollywood. Others had expressed concern that children were being exposed to sexually
explicit materials and unsavory persons. Some businesses were no longer remaining open in
the evenings and others had left the area allegedly directly or indirectly because of the
establishment of adult businesses. Some churches in Hollywood were driving the elderly to
services and others were providing private guards in their parking lots.
A survey of real estate professionals indicated that the concentration of adult establishments
had an adverse economic effect on the value of commercial and residential property. Business
* Ibid, p.12
7 "Study of the Effects of the Concentration of Adult Entertainment Establishments in the City of Los Angeles,"
Los Angeles City Planning Department, June, 1977.
persons believed that the quality of life and business was adversely affected by litter, graffiti,
difficulty in recruiting employees and retaining and attracting customers. Also noted was
difficulty in renting office space and keeping desirable tenants.
Indianapolis, Indiana
The Indianapolis Division of Planning undertook a study, published in 1984, to determine if
zoning controls were warranted for adult entertainment businesses.8 The study recommended
that adult uses should be allowed only by special exception in commercial districts oriented
beyond a neighborhood, and not within 500 feet of a residential, school, church or park
property line, or historic area.
The Indianapolis study analyzed crime data, including sex crimes, and real estate data,
including a national survey of real estate appraisers. The study cautions that the analyses
should not be construed as conclusively proving a causal relationship between adult uses and
increased crime or decreased property values. However, the study found that major crimes
occurred in study areas that contained at least one adult entertainment establishment at a rate
that was 23 percent higher than six control areas (similar areas but without adult establish-
ments), and 46 percent higher than the Indianapolis Police District. The average sex-related
crime rate per 10,000 population in the control areas over a five-year period was 26.2, while
that rate for the study areas was 46.4.
A survey of real estate professionals was undertaken in conjunction with the Indiana
University School of Business' Division of Research. It consisted of a 20 percent random
sample of nationwide members of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and a 100
percent sample of Member Appraisers Institute members who practiced in 22 Metropolitan
Statistical Areas (MSA) of a size similar to Indianapolis.
The appraisers were asked to give their "best professional opinion" about property values in
a hypothetical situation where an adult bookstore was about to locate in a middle-income,
residential neighborhood. A majority of appraisers (75%) responding to the national survey
thought that an adult bookstore located within one block would have a negative effect on the
value of both residential (80%) and commercial (72%) properties. At a distance of three
blocks, 71 percent thought that the impact of an adult bookstore fell off sharply so that the
impact was negligible on both residential (64%) and commercial (77%) properties.
8 "Adult Entertainment Businesses in Indianapolis, An Analysis," Division of Planning, 1984.
Whittier, California
In 1978, the City of Whittier, citing "operational characteristics which may have a deleterious
effect on immediately adjacent residential and commercial areas," defined and regulated adult
uses through a conditional use permit.9 The urgency measure was based on the Detroit
dispersal model, pending a planning study of adult businesses and subsequent legislation, if
necessary. The purpose of the study and eventual legislation was to protect adjacent commer-
cial and residential districts within the City from the "possible blighting or downgrading
effect of adult businesses" although the study cautioned, however, that adult businesses were
only one of a variety of factors influencing the study areas.
The study found higher turnover rates in commercial and residential areas adjacent to adult
uses. A compilation of police statistics indicated that all of the nude model studios and three
massage parlors were actively involved in prostitution and that a number of assaults and
thefts had occurred on the premises. There were also numerous reports of excessive noise,
drunkenness and pornographic litter connected to adult businesses. A comparison of 38 types
of criminal activity between two time periods, 1970-73 and 1974-77, showed a total increase
of 102 percent for the study area containing adult businesses while the city, as a whole, only
had an eight percent increase. Citizens testified at several public hearings about their fears
of walking on nearby streets, of their children being confronted by offensive individuals or
exposed to sexually explicit material, and some reported mat businesses had left the area. The
report discussed the difficulty of assessing the moral and emotional impact of adult businesses
on a neighborhood but suggested that it could be gauged by community outrage.
The study concluded that the prolonged concentration of adult businesses adversely impacts
neighborhoods, based on experiences in other municipalities, and recommended the regulation
of a variety of defined sexually-oriented businesses by locational restrictions within portions
of industrial areas and shopping centers subject to a conditional use permit.
Austin, Texas
In 1986, the City of Austin conducted a study to provide a factual basis for the development
of a new ordinance regulating adult-oriented businesses.10
' "Staff Report, Whitticr City Planning Commission, Amendment to Zoning Regulations, Adult Businesses
in C-2 Zone with Conditional Use Permit (Case No. 353.015), January 9, 1978.
10 "Report On Adult Oriented Businesses in Austin," Office of Land Development Services, City of Austin,
May 19, 1986.
The study analyzed crime rates, comparing areas with adult businesses to other areas
containing similar land uses but no adult businesses. The results were that the sex-related
crime rate was between two and five times greater in the areas with adult businesses. The
study also showed that the sex-related crime rate was 66 percent higher in areas having two
or more adult businesses than in those areas having only one such business. The study
included a survey of 120 real estate brokers and appraisal firms. The results showed that 88
percent of the respondents believed the presence of an adult business would decrease property
values of residential property within a one-block radius and 69 percent felt an adult use
would reduce the value of commercial property within the same radius.
Phoenix, Arizona
In 1979, the Planning Department of Phoenix designed a study to determined if there was a
relationship between arrests for sex crimes and the locations of adult businesses." The
number of property crimes, violent crimes and sex-related crimes in 1978 were compared for
three study areas containing adult businesses and three otherwise similar control areas that
did not contain adult businesses.
There was a significantly greater difference between the study and control areas for sex-
related crimes than for property or violent crimes: an overall increase of six times the sex
crime rate in the study areas over the control areas. Although more dian half of the arrests
for sex crimes were for indecent exposure, the remainder of sex crimes remained significantly
high. In one study area with a concentration of adult businesses and the highest number of
reported sex crimes for the areas studied, 89 percent of the reported indecent exposure cases
were committed at the addresses of the adult businesses. When compared to its control area,
the sex crime rate (per 1,000 residences) for that study area, was over 11 times greater; in
the remaining two study areas, which each contained one adult business, the sex crimes rate
was four times and almost three times as great as die comparable control areas.
Minnesota
In 1988, the Attorney General of Minnesota formed a Working Group on the Regulation of
Sexually-Oriented Businesses to review data presented by various jurisdictions within the
state.12
11 "Adult Business Study," Planning Department, City of Phoenix, May 25, 1979.
11 Report of the (Minnesota) Attorney General's Working Group on the Regulation of Sexually-Oriented
Businesses, June 6, 1989.
In 1980, the Minneapolis Crime Prevention Center examined the effects of sexually-oriented
businesses upon property values and crime rates. The study concluded that such businesses
concentrate in areas which are relatively deteriorated but, at most, they may slightly
contribute to the continued depression of property values. However, it was clear that sexually-
oriented businesses had a strong negative impact on the crime rate. The addition of one
sexually-oriented business to a census tract area caused an increase hi the overall crime rate
index in that area by slightly more than nine percent per 1,000 people/year.
In 1978, the St. Paul Division of Planning and the Minnesota Crime Control Planning Board
conducted a joint study of the relationship between adult uses and neighborhood blight. They
found a statistically significant correlation between the location of adult businesses and
neighborhood deterioration, although adult businesses tend to locate in somewhat deteriorated
Housing values were significantly lower in an area with three adult businesses than in an area
with only one adult business. There was a significantly higher crime rate associated with two
adult businesses in an area than was associated with only one adult business in an area.
Manatee County, Florida
The Planning and Development Department of Manatee County undertook a study to
investigate the impact of a proposed adult entertainment ordinance." The study recom-
mended that adult uses be limited to commercial locations at least 500 feet from a residential
district and 2,000 feet from churches, schools, child care facilities and public recreation areas.
Also, no adult establishment should be located within 1,000 feet of another such use.
Manatee County relied on studies of other cities to identify the likely impacts of adult
entertainment establishments. In addition to those of Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles and
Indianapolis, studies from the following cities were reviewed: Austin, Texas; Phoenix,
Arizona; Saint Paul, Minnesota; Amarillo, Texas; and, Beaumont, Texas. Impacts found in
these studies included a relatively high incidence of crime including sex-related crimes,
declining neighborhood conditions, a statistically significant decrease in residential property
value when more than two adult bars were found in an area, increased glare, noise, and
traffic, and a decline of neighborhood-oriented businesses.
13 "Adult Entertainment Business Study for Manatee County," Manatee County Planning and Development
Department, June 1987.
8
Among the study recommendations, Manatee County notes:
The sign is often the most notable physical element of an adult entertainment
business. Adult entertainment signs should be controlled to protect the general
public from the negative aesthetics of "poor-taste. " Sign controls should be consid-
ered which still protect a business 's freedom to advertise, but also minimize public's
exposure to such uses.
New Hanover County, North Carolina
In July, 1989, the New Hanover County Planning Department published a study in support
of proposed zoning text amendments designed to control the location of adult entertainment
businesses.14 The one or two adult businesses located in the County had not generally been
a problem; the proposed zoning regulations were considered preventative.
New Hanover, like Manatee County, relied on studies of other cities to predicate its proposed
zoning text amendments.15 Potential adverse impacts from adult uses and adult uses in
concentration could be anticipated, according to the report, based on studies completed in
Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Beaumont, Phoenix, Amarillo, and others. Those
impacts have been identified in the discussion, above.
Regulations in Other Localities
In communities throughout the United States, adult entertainment uses have appeared recently
within or close to stable residential areas, leading many communities to adopt rules placing
locational and other restrictions on these uses. In the New York metropolitan area, many
Long Island communities (Islip, Brookhaven, Smithtown, Babylon, and Huntington, among
others) have enacted zoning regulations that restrict the location and operation of adult
businesses. In general, these restrictions attempt to protect residential and commercial areas
by allowing adult uses only in low-visibility industrial districts.16
"Regulation of Adult Entertainment Establishments in New Hanover County," New Hanover County
Planning Department, July, 1989.
New Hanover County cites the following studies in its analyses of impacts in other cities:
• McClendon, Bruce W., "Zoning for Adults Only," Zoning News. August 1985. pp. 1-3.
• Yow, Robert B., "Adult Entertainment Zoning: A Case Study," Carolina Planning. Vol. 7, No. 1,
Spring 1981, pp. 33-41.
Jim Puzzanghcra, "Town OKs 3-Month Limit On Porn," New York Newsdav. North Shore Edition, June
23, 1993, p31.
In St. Petersburg, Florida, the city's 1993 adult entertainment ordinance restricts adult uses
to a handful of locations in the city and forces existing adult businesses to move widiin a
year's time.17 In communities around Atlanta, Georgia, new nude dancing operations now
require a rezoning and are prohibited within 1,000 feet of residences and community
facilities.18 Orange County, California, requires a special permit for topless dancing clubs.19
In Jackson, Mississippi, a 1992 ordinance restricts topless bars and other adult businesses to
areas zoned for light industrial uses and requires distances ranging from 250 to 1,000 feet
from residential uses and community facilities.20 In San Diego, California, adult entertain-
ment is not permitted within 500 feet of a school or home or within 1,000 feet of another
adult entertainment use.21 Los Angeles enacted a similar ordinance in 1988.22 Seattle,
Washington, recently enacted an ordinance restricting adult stores to manufacturing zones
1,000 feet away from churches, residential areas, schools and play grounds.23
DCP relied on a variety of sources, including the Planners Advisory Service of the American
Planning Association, to obtain information about how other cities regulate adult entertain-
ment establishments. The Manhattan Borough President's office supplied information obtained
from the National League of Cities, and information that they culled for the Borough
President's Task Force on Sex-Related Businesses. Although some of the referenced material
used herein may be dated, and the cities may have adopted more recent regulations, the
purpose is to illustrate differences in regulatory strategies.
Essentially, two types of zoning regulations have been developed to control adult entertain-
ment establishments. The control techniques include the concentration of adult uses in a
specified location, and the dispersal of adult uses apart from one another. Dispersal models
17 Nichole M. Christian, "Vixen Vexes Neighbors," St. Petersburg Times. City Edition, February 6,1993, p. 1.
11 Matt Kempner, "Sugar Hill Sets Tight Restrictions on Nude Clubs," The Atlanta Journal and Constitution,
September 14, 1993, p. J-l.
19 Bob Elston, "Orange County Focus: Newport Beach; County Tells Club to Halt Topless Dancing," Los
Angeles Times. February 5, 1993, p. B-3.
20 Greg Henderson, "Supreme Court Allows Adult Entertainment Restrictions," Washington News. April 19,
1993.
21 Pauline Repard, "Topless Bar Has Its Eyes on Auto Lot in Chula Vista," The San Dieeo Union-Tribune.
May 12, 1993, p. B-l.
22 Josh Meyer, "City Arms for New Legal War on Porn; Law Enforcement: A Zoning Ordinance Will be the
City's Major Weapon as it Seeks to Shut Down Pornography Shops in Hollywood," Los Angeles Times.
January 27, 1990. p. B-l.
23 Geordie Wilson, "Tukwiia Appeals Anti-Porn Case — Zoning of 'Adult' Outlets At Issue, "The Seattle
Times. February 21, 1992. p. B-l.
10
often exclude adult uses from areas in proximity to residential districts while also limiting
their concentration where they are permitted. Concentration models are guided by regulations
developed for Boston, Massachusetts; dispersion models follow the Detroit, Michigan
ordinance. The Detroit dispersal model has been used more often than the Boston concentra-
tion model to control the location of adult entertainment establishments.
CONCENTRATION MODELS
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston established a two-block "adult entertainment district" in a downtown area known
as the "combat zone," where approximately ninety percent of adult uses in the city were
concentrated. The purpose of the district was to prevent the spread of adult uses to other
areas of the city. Under the Boston zoning code, an adult entertainment district may be
established as an overlay district superimposed upon existing zoning districts.
The overlay district allows adult entertainments and bookstores that are characterized
as such because they "exclude minors by reason of age." According to information
provided by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, adult use operators will prohibit
attendance by minors in order to avoid violating the Massachusetts obscenity law. The
overlay district allows the use of moving or flashing lights prohibited elsewhere in the
city, and generally has fewer restrictive sign regulations compared with other Boston
districts. Outside the overlay district, preexisting adult establishments may continue
unless they have been abandoned for at least two years.
Seattle, Washington, and Camden, New Jersey
Seattle and Camden have developed zoning regulations generally following the Boston
model of concentrating adult uses in one or more specified areas of the city. Seattle
allows adult motion picture theaters in only three business and commercial districts.
Non-conforming adult theaters must be discontinued. Camden has set aside a single
area of the city where adult uses are permitted. Camden believes such a strategy will
facilitate the city's ability to police adult establishments.
11
DISPERSAL MODELS
Detroit, Michigan
In 1972, Detroit amended its "anti-skid row" zoning ordinance, which prohibited
concentrations of certain uses, to include adult theaters, mini-theaters, bookstores and
cabarets, characterized by "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas."
Detroit enacted the skid row regulations after a study indicated that the concentration
of these businesses "tends to attract an undesirable quantity and quality of transients,
adversely affects property values, causes an increase in crime, especially prostitution,
and encourages residents and businesses to move elsewhere."24
Not more than two adult businesses may be located within 1,000 feet of each other
or within 500 feet of a residential area. The Detroit ordinance allowed a waiver of the
1,000 foot regulation upon certain findings by the Zoning Commission; the 500 foot
requirement is not subject to the waiver provisions. The Detroit ordinance applied
only to prospective uses.
Atlanta, Georgia, and Kansas City, Missouri
Atlanta prohibits adult bookstores, theaters and entertainment establishments from
locating within 1,000 feet from any other such use. Adult uses may not be located
within 500 feet of residential uses or houses of worship. An original amortization
provision was amended subsequently to apply solely to bath houses and to comply
with a judicial decision.23
In Kansas City, adult bookstores, motion picture theaters, bath houses, massage shops,
modeling and body painting studios may be located only in certain commercial
districts, over which an overlay is placed. The adult uses may not locate within 1,000
feet of a residence district or a house of worship or school. No more than two uses
may be located within 1,000 feet of each other. A petition of consent by a majority
of residents or property owners within 1,000 feet of the proposed use may be made
to the City Plan Commission to waive the restrictions on location.
24 Jules B. Gerard, Local Regulation of Adult Businesses. Clark Boardman Cailaghan, 1988.
25 Rohan, Patrick J., Zoning and Land Use Controls. New York: Matthew Bender & Co., 1988, p. 11-32, Note
32: "The purpose of ihis amendment is to make the zoning ordinance conform to the decision of the United
States Supreme Court in Young v. American Mini Theatres. Inc., el. aL (Decided June 24, 1976). . ."
12
Los Angeles, California
The Los Angeles ordinance regulates adult arcades, bookstores, cabarets, motels,
motion picture theaters, adult theaters, massage parlors, and sexual encounter
establishments. These establishments are characterized by their emphasis on specified
sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
The ordinance prohibits the establishment of an adult entertainment business within
1,000 feet of another such business or within 500 feet of any religious institution,
school or public park. Los Angeles determined that adult uses, in concentration, result
in blighting conditions.
A 1984 amendment to the ordinance added that an adult entertainment business may
not be located within 500 feet of any lot in an agricultural or residential zone, or
within "limited commercial" zones, unless approved by exception.26 No more than
one adult use may be located within any building containing another adult entertain-
ment business.
Town of Islip, New York
Islip's ordinance is noteworthy in that it has been the subject of litigation reviewed
by the New York Court of Appeals.27 Islip defines adult uses to include adult
bookstores, drive-in theaters, cabarets, motels, theaters, massage establishments, and
peep shows. As in Boston, adult uses are characterized by their exclusion of minors
by reason of age.
The zoning ordinance restricts the location of adult uses to light industrial districts by
special exception of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Adult uses are allowed as-of-right
in Industrial Districts, and prohibited from locating within 500 feet of any area zoned
16 Various amendments have been made to the ordinance, including a provision prohibiting, after March 6,
1988, the continued operation of adult businesses located within 500 feet of a residential zone unless a
conforming site is not "reasonably available" elsewhere. This provision has been successfully challenged
on appeal; the businesses argued that the city has not provided them with a sufficient number of possible
relocation sites, abridging their First Amendment rights. [Topanga Press v. City of Los Angeles, U.S. Court
of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 989 F.2d 1524, as reported in Land Use Law and Zoning Digest. Vol. 45, No.
9, September 1993].
27 Town of Islip v. Caviglia. 542 NYS. 2d 139.
13
for residential use, or any school, park or house of worship.28 In addition, an adult use
may not be located within a one-half mile radius of another such use. These restrictions
may be waived based on findings that the proposed use will have no negative impacts.
No more than one adult use may be located on any lot. The Islip ordinance also
contained amortization provisions for uses which became non-conforming.
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago also follows the Detroit dispersal model for regulating the location of adult
entertainment establishments. However, in 1977, Chicago established a licensing
requirement for all adult use businesses.29
One of the primary purposes of this regulation was to prevent or limit the involvement
of organized crime or other syndicates in the operation of adult-use establishments.
The license application requires the prospective adult use operator to provide a great
deal of personal and financial information. If the establishment is to have a manager,
a separate manager's statement must also be filed.
The prospective operator of a sex-related business is also required to sign an affidavit
attesting to those activities that will occur at his or her establishment. If, for example,
the applicant signs an affidavit saying his or her business will be an adult-use book
store and it is later determined that a "mini motion picture theater" is also operating
at the site, the license can be revoked.
21 The Appellate Division, Second Department, invalidated and severed the provision of the ordinance that
required adult uses to obtain a special permit.
29 Information on Chicago's regulations is based on a memorandum prepared by the Manhattan Borough
President's Office for the Borough President's Task Force on Sex-Related Businesses, June 17, 1993.
14
HI. THE ADULT ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Industry Trends
Adult entertainment is a multi-billion dollar, international industry mat includes an ever
changing and expanding range of activities.30 The latest additions to the industry include
phone-sex lines, international computer networks that offer sexually explicit messages,
lingerie modeling shops, and "upscale" topless bars or strip clubs catering to businessmen.
It is difficult to obtain data on adult use organizations — they often consist of a maze of
smaller companies that operate retail or service businesses, or distributorships. Linkages have
been reported between sexually-oriented businesses and organized crime.31 Although it has
experienced some significant changes in recent years, by most accounts the industry is
booming in the United States. The tremendous growth in adult video sales and rentals and
the resulting decline La the number of adult movie theaters is one significant change in the
industry over the last ten years. Another is the entry of lower-end triple-X video entrepreneurs
whose operations have recently emerged in many New York City neighborhoods.
Adult Video Sales and Rentals
As documented in recent newspaper and magazine articles, adult video sales and rentals are
a segment of the industry that has experienced significant growth since 1980. Industry
insiders contend that despite a 1986 Reagan Administration "all-out campaign" against
pornography, "the number of adult-video makers and their videotapes has risen, cheap
amateur videos have proliferated and the industry has expanded beyond magazines and videos
to computer networks."32 One trade monthly, Adult Video News, reported adult video sales
and rentals in general interest video stores have soared 75% since 1991 to $2.1 billion last
year, and by hundreds of millions more if adult-only outlets are included.33 Thus, adult
publications and videos are readily available at newsstands, general video stores and other
outlets that are not characterized as adult entertainment establishments for purposes of
DCP's study.
30 Information contained in this section is based on an extensive review of recent newspaper articles on the
adult entertainment industry. Given the recent proliferation of adult video stores and topless entertainment
in New York City's neighborhoods, the literature review focused primarily on these uses.
31 State of Minnesota, "Report of the Attorney General's Working Group on the Regulation of Sexually
Oriented Businesses," June 6, 1989.
32 "Despite U.S. Campaign, A Boom in Pornography," The New York Times. July 4, 1993, p. A-20.
33 The Wall Street Journal. July 11, 1994, p. 1.
15
Concurrent with the growth in adult video is a decline in the number of adult movie theaters.
The Adult Film Association of America recently estimated that the number of adult movie
theaters across the United States had declined from 800 in 1979 to about 50 in 1990.34 The
estimate appears low considering the number of adult movie theaters located in New York
City alone.
The growth in the adult video sales and rentals segment of the adult industry is directly
related to the increasing availability of inexpensively produced triple-X videocassettes that
have flooded the market in recent years. Adult video producers have cut costs dramatically
by shooting on videotape rather than film, shooting for fewer days, cutting the length of
scripts, using cheaper sets, and slashing production budgets. Performers' salaries, even for top
stars, have dropped steadily from more than $l,000/day five years ago to as low as $100/day.
Adult Video News estimates that in 1983, eight percent of the releases were shot on
videotape, with the balance shot on film. Last year, 97 percent of the releases were shot on
videotape. The Adult Video Association contends that cost cutting by producers of adult
home videos has caused the price of a triple-X videocassette to plunge from $100 a few years
ago to as low as $5 today.35
****" Despite criticism that the latest entrepreneurs in the sex industry are delivering an inferior
product, demand for their products appears to remain strong. One Los Angeles-based
company, Evil Angel Productions, is typical of the latest producers of cheap adult videos. The
company grossed $34,000 in 1990 when it produced and released eight tapes. In 1993, the
company grossed $1 million by shooting, manufacturing and distributing a new hard-core
videotape every three weeks.36 Sales for another Hollywood-based price-cutter, Video
Exclusives, rose from $3 million in 1981 to $30 million in 1991. Other hard-core video
producers in Hollywood, where about 50 of the nation's 60 or so manufacturers of hard-core
videotapes are located, report similar growth.37
Despite these successes, some in the industry believe that the market for these products has
peaked and that the novelty of pornography will simply wear off over time. Triple-X videos are
still a billion-dollar business, says Gene Ross, an editor at Adult Video News, but the business
M John Needham, "Gone With the Sin: Closure of Adult Theater in Santa Ana Reflects Trend Credited To -
Or Blamed On - The Videocassette Revolution," Los Angeles Times. August 14, 1990, p. E-l.
35 John Johnson, "Demand Is Strong, But Police Crackdowns and A Saturated Market Spell Trouble for One
of L^V.'s Biggest Businesses," Los Anpeles Times. February 17, 1991, p. 8.
M "Despite U.S. Campaign, A Boom in Pornography," The New York Times, July 4, 1993. p. A-20.
37 Johnson, p. 8.
16
"peaked a couple of years ago and is on a downward trend."38 However, as one Los Angeles
police expert on the industry explains, "No one should rush to write the obituary for porn.
Although ... the business climate has become tougher, the industry is not likely to disappear.
The entrepreneurs of sex have proven that... many people still really want the stuff."39
Topless Entertainment
In recent years, upscale topless clubs have become a booming segment of the adult entertain-
ment industry. An article in The New York Tunes describes the proliferation of topless bars
as a national phenomenon in large cities.40 According to a recent report in New York
Newsdav. topless clubs that cater to a young, affluent clientele have become one of the fastest
growing and most lucrative segments of the adult entertainment industry hi New York City.
By conservative estimates, the topless club industry in New York City is a $50 million a year
business, employing about 1,500 dancers.41 In two years, the number of these clubs has
grown from about five hi 1990 to more than 30 in 1992, not including clubs throughout the
city that operate without liquor licenses.42
Several factors appear to have influenced the recent proliferation of upscale topless clubs
in New York. First, responding to the devastating effects of the recession on eating and
drinking businesses, some entrepreneurs have retooled their establishments and used topless
performances as a successful marketing device to win back their affluent male clientele.
Second, the clubs have shed their "sleazy" reputations and become more mainstream by
providing topless entertainment in safe, "elegant" surroundings furnished with other
attractions such as giant closed circuit television screens, pool tables, and air hockey. Third,
the instant financial success of the newest upscale topless clubs in Manhattan has attracted
a number of imitators.
In a recent interview with New York Newsdav. Jay Bildstein, the owner of Scores, a topless
"sports bar" on the upper East Side of Manhattan, explained that while the new clubs may
vary greatly in style, the corporate organization is often similar. Club owners typically
contract with national organizations which, in exchange for a percentage of gross income,
31 Ibid.
39 Ibid.
40 "Strip Clubs Putting On a Suit and Tie," The New York Times, p. B-5, March 26, 1994.
41 Walter Fee, "Bare Market: For New Upscale Clubs, It's Boom and Bust," New York Newsdav. City Edition,
December 20, 1992, p. 7.
42 Ibid.
17
recruit and market the dancers. In the New York area, Goldfingers and Pure Platinum are two
of the most successful national marketing organizations associated with local topless clubs.
Typically, the dancers are treated as independent contractors, thereby releasing management
from the responsibility for withholding taxes or social security, and protecting the club
owners from potential legal liability for the dancers' behavior. The typical customer is an
affluent male repeat customer between the ages of 25 and 30.43
Certain factors appear to be influencing the recent proliferation of triple-X video stores and
nude bars in or near residential neighborhoods in New York City, such as Murray Hill,
Chelsea, Sunset Park, Sunnyside and Forest Hills. First, the availability of low-budget
videotapes has enabled increasing numbers of low-end porn entrepreneurs to enter into a
market that was previously closed to them. Second, topless bars have been successfully recast
as upscale adult uses, catering to young businessmen with money to spend.
Inventory and Trends, by Location and Type
The locations of adult entertainment establishments in New York City that were identified
by the DCP survey in 1993 are shown on the maps following page 19. Data hi this section
was obtained from different sources, and may reflect differences in definitions as to what
constitutes adult entertainment. Pre-1993 data is presented because it is the most thorough
available and, outside of Midtown Manhattan, provides an understanding of the location of
adult uses at that time.
41 Molly Gordy, "What's Under the Paint? How to Keep the Law Happy When Topless is a Business." New
York Newsday, Manhattan Edition, September 17, 1992, p. 29.
18
Citywide Trends: 1965 to 1993
In 1965, there were nine adult establishments located in New York City. By 1976, the
number of such establishments increased to 151. Between 1976 and 1984, the number of adult
establishments declined to 131 citywide. Between 1984 and 1993, the number of adult
establishments increased citywide, to 177. Citywide trends in adult entertainment establish-
ments are indicated in Table 1.
TABLE!CITYWIDE TRENDS IN THE NUMBER OF ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTS
Year
Total Number
1965
9
1976
151
1984
131
1993
177
Sources: 1965 and 1976 data. Office of Midtown Enforcement files; 1984 data. Police Department; 1993
data. Department of City Planning.
In 1965, the number of adult establishments was small because the sale and distribution of
pornography was largely restricted. By 1976, most restrictions were removed and the number
of adult establishments burgeoned.
Between 1976 and 1984, the number of adult establishments dropped 13 percent, reflecting
a decrease of 48 adult uses hi Midtown Manhattan alone, from 97 to 49. This may be
attributable to enforcement efforts by the city, the start of major construction projects in west
Midtown that increased investor confidence in the area, and changing technology.44
However, the decline was offset by an increase of 28 adult uses, from 30 to 58, in the other
boroughs. The decline in adult uses in the Midtown area is probably unrelated to the increase
in such uses to other areas of the city during that period.45
Between 1984 and 1993, adult entertainment establishments increased 35 percent citywide.
The trend — analyzed below — can be attributed to the advent of the adult video store, and
greater numbers of topless or nude bars stemming from their changing, upscale image.
44 1983 Annual Report, Mayor's Office of Midtown Enforcement, p. 36.
43 More detailed analysis indicates that the decline in adult uses in Manhattan was in bookstores/peep shows
and theaters; the increase in adult uses in boroughs other than Manhattan was largely in topless bars.
19
INSET MAP:
Distribution of Adult Uses
in Manhattan Community Districts 1-8
I
Citywide Distribution of
Adult Uses by
Community District
ia
adult use
community district boundary
community district designation
area not pan of any community district
Source: Oept of City Planning. 1993
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning / City of New York
I
<3
Trends by Borough
Between 1984 and 1993, the greatest increases in adult entertainment establishments were
found in Manhattan and Queens. Both boroughs had a 47 percent increase in adult uses, from
73 to 107 in Manhattan, and from 30 to 44 hi Queens. Adult uses in the Bronx declined by
two, from 10 to eight. In Brooklyn, adult establishments decreased by one, from 16 to 15.
Staten Island had an increase of a single establishment.
Among the five boroughs, most adult entertainment establishments continue to be located
within Manhattan. In 1976, 80 percent of all such uses were located in Manhattan, decreasing
to 56 percent in 1984 and increasing to 61 percent in 1993. Queens has had the second
greatest concentration of adult uses in New York City. In 1976, Queens contained 11 percent
of the city's adult uses, rising to 23 percent in 1984, and increasing marginally to 25 percent
hi 1993. The Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island each have less than 10 percent of all adult
establishments located in die city.
Trends within Categories of Adult Uses
Between 1984 and 1993, the number of adult bookstores/peep shows/video stores increased
citywide 197 percent, from 29 to 86 establishments. Adult topless/nude bars also increased
during the period, by 26 percent, from 54 to 68. Adult movie and live theaters declined over
the period by 52 percent, from 48 to 23 establishments. Adult theaters declined from 41 percent
of all adult uses in New York City in 1976, to 37 percent in 1984, and 13 percent in 1993.
Bookstores/peep shows comprised 44 percent of all adult uses in 1976, declining to 22 percent
of the total hi 1984. However, hi 1993, the category consisted of 49 percent of the citywide
total number of adult entertainment establishments, reflecting the rise in adult video establish-
ments from none reported in 1984, to 64 hi 1993. hi 1993, adult video stores made up 74 per-
cent of all establishments hi the book/peep/video category. Their recent proliferation represents
the largest percentage gain among all adult uses since the mid-1970s.
Topless and nude bars increased their share of all adult uses between 1976 and 1984, from 15
percent to 41 percent, respectively. By 1993, adult bars — although continuing to increase in
absolute numbers — declined as a percentage of all adult uses to 38 percent of the total,
reflecting the proliferation of adult video establishments.
If growth in the various segments of the business continue over the next decade at the same rate
as they did between 1984 and 1993, by the year 2002, there would be a 197 percent increase
in the number of bookstore/peep shows/videos from 86 to approximately 250; a 26 percent in-
crease in topless/nude bars from 68 to 86; and a 52 percent decline hi the number of adult
movie and live theaters from 23 to 11.
22
Trends in Concentrations of Adult Entertainment Establishments, by Community District
Between 1984 and 1993, adult entertainment establishments have continued to concentrate
in a few community districts in Manhattan. Citywide, the number of community districts with
one or more adult uses has remained relatively stable over the period. However, adult uses
have recently located in neighborhoods within community districts where they had not
previously been.
Significantly, the number of community districts with seven or more adult entertainment
establishments nearly tripled between 1984 and 1993, from three to eight. Community district
designations for adult establishments identified in the 1976 survey are not readily discernible.
Table 2 indicates in rank order community districts by the number of adult uses within each
district in 1993. Districts without adult uses are not listed. In 1993, the majority (53 percent)
of adult uses in the city were located in Community Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5, Manhattan.
In 1984 and 1993, the greatest concentration of adult uses was found in Community District
5, Manhattan, which includes part of the Times Square area. In 1984, 34 percent of the
citywide adult uses were located in the community district; in 1993, 30 percent of such uses
were found there. Between 1984 and 1993, the number of adult establishments in the district
increased by 18 percent, from 45 to 53, nearly half the rate of growth citywide.
TABLE 2
1993 RANK ORDER OF COMMUNITY DISTRICTS WITH ADULT USES
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Community District*
M5
M4
M2
Ml
M6 Q3
Q2
K7
Ql Q7
04
B12 K15 Q6 Q9 Q12
B5 K2 M3 M7 Q13 S2
B8 BIO Bll K6 K12 K14 MS Q5 Q8 S3
No. Establishments
in Each District
53
19
11
10
9
8
7
5
4
3
2
1
•"Borough designations: B = the Bronx; K - Brooklyn; M = Manhattan; Q = Queens; S = Staten Island.
Source: Department of City Planning survey.
23
Community District 4, Manhattan, had the second greatest concentration of adult uses in the
city in 1984 and 1993. The district, located west of Community District 5, encompasses
Chelsea, Clinton and part of the Times Square area. In 1984, seven percent of the city's adult
entertainment establishments were located in the community district. By 1993, 11 percent of
such establishments were located there. Between 1984 and 1993, the number of adult uses
within the district increased by ten establishments from nine to 19, or by more than 110
percent. The growth rate in adult uses in the community district over the nine-year period was
more than triple that of the city as a whole.
This data suggests that over the past decade, while adult uses have spread to more
community districts, there is a persistent tendency toward concentration of significant
numbers of adult uses.
Location of Adult Uses by Zoning District
For purposes of this analysis, zoning districts were grouped according to certain characteris-
tics. Cl (Local Retail) and C2 (Local Service) Districts were grouped together because they
are both mapped widely in residential neighborhoods throughout the city. C4 (General
Commercial) Districts are regional commercial districts, mapped in each borough. They
comprise the city's major and secondary shopping centers. C5 (Restricted Central Commer-
cial) Districts and C6 (General Central Commercial) Districts were grouped into a single
category because they are mapped principally in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan and
Downtown Brooklyn. These districts allow a broad array of commercial uses, and are
characterized by high commercial densities. C8 (General Service) Districts that permit
automotive uses were grouped with Ml, M2 and M3 Districts that permit industrial uses.
Residential use is not permitted in C8 Districts and generally not permitted in manufacturing
districts except in certain circumstances.
The analysis indicates that of the 177 adult entertainment establishments, approximately 18
percent (31) are located in Cl and C2 Districts. Ten uses, or approximately six percent, are
located in C4 Districts. Approximately forty percent (70) of adult uses in New York City are
located in C5 and C6 (central commercial) Districts. Forty-five adult uses, or approximately
25 percent of the total number, are located in C8 and manufacturing districts. Combined,
approximately 88 percent of adult entertainment establishments are located in commercial or
manufacturing districts.46
46 Forty-two adult uses, or 24 percent of the city wide total, are located in Ml-6, C5-3, C6-4, C6-5, C6-6, and
C6-7 Districts within the Midtown Special District
24
The remaining adult uses, 21, or approximately 12 percent of the total number, are located
in residence districts which do not permit commercial uses. These uses may be legal non-
conforming commercial uses in residential districts, or the locations may be classified as
within residence districts, because of the primary characteristic of the tax lot.47
All commercial districts except C8 permit residential use.48 Many light manufacturing/
mixed use zones permit residential uses in certain circumstances. More than 75 percent of the
adult entertainment establishments are located in those commercial or manufacturing zoning
districts that also permit residential uses.
Industry Views
Members of the adult entertainment industry met with city planners to discuss industry issues
and needs. Those responding to the DCP invitation represented topless and nude clubs, triple-
X video/bookstores/peep shows, live theaters, and suppliers. Some represented the Adult
Industry Trade Association (ATTA) as well as their own individual establishments. The
_..„ meeting was designed to familiarize the representatives with the study and obtain specific
is_ information about location decisions, employment and revenues, tourism and industry changes
and trends.
Industry representatives argued that there are a number of positive impacts directly
attributable to adult businesses. For example, it was stated that "safer sex," due to the change
in sexual mores caused by AIDS, has been promoted by the increase in triple-X video stores
and the corresponding decrease in live sex clubs. Others noted that adult businesses provided
safe places on otherwise dark streets because these businesses traditionally stay open very
late. Also, late night uses on a street have encouraged other businesses to stay open later to
cater to the customers drawn to adult businesses in the evening. Adult businesses often
provide important rental revenues to landlords because they are willing to occupy vacant
storefronts on a short-term basis. The manager of a triple-X video store in the East 50's in
Manhattan observed 11 new businesses had since opened after bis store opened in December
1992, observing that the presence of an adult business on the block is not a deterrent to new
businesses. Industry representatives maintained that adult entertainment businesses earn
47 Due to limitations in technology, different computer systems were used to cross-reference street address and
zoning district. The predominant zoning classification of a tax lot was used to classify zoning districts.
** Residential uses are also not permitted in C7 districts. C7 districts, which accommodate large, open
amusement uses, are not widely mapped.
25
revenue for the city, provide jobs and stimulate tourism. This would be true to the extent they
do not discourage the growth of other businesses that would generate more employment, tax
revenue and tourism.
Segmented Industry
The industry appears to regard itself as segmented — tourist oriented v. neighborhood-
oriented, upscale v. tawdry, community fixture v. transitional presence, eye-catching v.
discreet signage, triple-X products v. entertainment. A number of establishments that were
invited to the meeting declined to attend because they did not identify with perceived
industry-wide concerns. One adult bookstore owner, located for many years on Eighth Avenue
in the mid-30's, said he was not part of the problem; the owner of a sexually-oriented
boutique on the Upper West Side said he was a neighborhood service and disassociated
himself from "heavy-duty" adult businesses. People attending the meeting questioned whether
the DCP study had examined segments of the adult entertainment industry separately to
isolate possible impacts or if the study had grouped all adult businesses together.
Location
The basic locational criterion for adult entertainment businesses is to be "where the customers
are." In Manhattan, this is often determined by where the tourists are; "Broadway is better
than Twelfth Avenue," said one club owner. In the other boroughs, a good location is one
with easy access to publip transit, main arterials and plenty of parking for local residents and
commuters passing by on the way home. Mass transit and available parking are always
important, wherever you are, commented one participant.
Adult entertainment businesses tend to be transitional and locate in areas that are "moving
upwards"; they are rarely found in poorer neighborhoods. One statement submitted at the
meeting maintained that some major real estate developments owe their existence to the
ability of landlords to warehouse property by renting space to adult businesses that are willing
to accept high rents and short leases during the period when a major assemblage is underway.
Economics
One corporation that operates two upscale, topless bars provided a number of statistics about
their operation. Combined figures for both clubs during the last fiscal year show that they em-
ployed a total of 218 employees, had an annual payroll of $1,302,627 and grossed more than
$600,000/month on credit card business alone. Credit cards rather than cash are the preferred
method of payment. The legitimate, licensed nature of the business was stressed as well as
the desire to be fully integrated into the New York City business community.
J
26
Marketing
According to a representative of the two topless clubs, it is essential to be near tourist areas
where people are drawn to adult uses by publicity and signage. About 40 percent of the
approximately 5,000 weekly patrons at their club on Broadway in Midtown Manhattan are
tourists; approximately 15 percent of the clientele at their Downtown Manhattan club are
tourists. However, the manager of a triple-X video store in the East 50's in Manhattan, and
the owner of a triple-X video store in the West 30's in Manhattan, said they have a non-
tourist clientele; most customers are local residents or office workers. One of the video store
owners said that eighty percent of his customers are men between 30-50 years old and 20
percent are couples or women; customers want cleanliness and safety in a convenient location
that is not "sleazy." Signage for his store, he said, was originally obtrusive (to "announce"
the store's presence) but is now muted in an effort to blend into the neighborhood blockfront
State Liquor Authority (SLA)
Participants representing topless bars stated that their establishments are particularly orderly
and well-run because they must conform to stringent State Liquor Authority (SLA)
requirements. If the SLA finds a "pattern of disorder" during an inspection, the bar owner will
face disciplinary action — ranging from a warning letter to revocation of a liquor License. The
SLA regulates liquor sales and the degree of performance nudity. Since SLA regulations do
not allow total nudity, nude clubs do not serve liquor and are not governed by the SLA.
Trends
In response to a question about industry trends, the group responded that there was
oversaturation of adult businesses in New York City, particularly in Manhattan, and that these
establishments were closing. It should be noted that of 177 invitations mailed to the adult
entertainment establishments identified in DCP's survey, 27 were returned primarily because
the adult business was no longer located at that address. Concentrations of uses were said to
be due to the "copycat factor" and the tendency of bar patrons to want to "barhop." These
statements, indicating a tendency of adult uses to concentrate in a community, confirmed the
conclusion of DCP's analysis of the location of adult uses by community districts. It was said
that the emergence of Blockbuster Video (which does not carry any triple-X videos) had
driven out some 'mom-and-pop' video stores that had a small section of triple-X videos,
leaving the field clear for triple-X video stores in a few neighborhoods.
27
Summary
In a letter to the City Council dated March 9, 1994, ATTA acknowledged concerns by some
community groups regarding signage and windows and said ATTA had been formed mainly
to "address these problems by working as a liaison between community groups and adult use
places." Most participants agreed that some adult businesses are regarded negatively by the
community, but claimed this reaction is based on a visceral response and not on any
secondary effects.
28
IV. ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ZONING IN NEW YORK CITY
Current Zoning
The Zoning Resolution of the City of New York currently regulates several general classes
of commercial establishments which may or may not be characterized as adult uses.49 For
example, the Resolution regulates:
• theaters (including movie houses)
• bookstores (including video stores)
• eating or drinking establishments (including bars).
The zoning regulations are no different for a neighborhood video store or a triple-X video
store, or for a bar or a topless or nude bar. However, the Resolution does distinguish physical
culture or health establishments from adult physical culture or health establishments.50
Theaters, bookstores, and bars are commercial uses, generally allowed as-of-right in most
commercial and manufacturing districts. Commercial uses are generally prohibited from
locating in residence districts. However, some commercial uses that are non-conforming in
residence districts are essentially "grandfathered" and may continue at these locations until
they have been abandoned for a period of time.
Theaters
Theaters (which include movie houses or motion picture theaters) are listed in the Zoning
Resolution in Use Groups 8 and 13. Theaters are allowed as-of-right in C2 (Local Service),
C4 (General Commercial), C6 (General Central Commercial), C7 (Commercial Amusement)
and C8 (General Service) Districts. Theaters limited to a maximum capacity of 500 persons
are allowed in Cl (Local Retail) Districts only by special permit of the Board of Standards
and Appeals (BSA). In C1-5 through Cl-9 Districts (mapped in high density areas), motion
picture theaters must provide an indoor waiting area based on seating capacity.
Theaters are also allowed as-of-right in most manufacturing districts, except that in Ml-5A
and Ml-56 Districts (mapped in Soho and Noho in Manhattan) theaters with 100 or more
seats are allowed only by special permit of the Board of Standards and Appeals.
49 The Zoning Resolution of The City of New York, adopted December 15, 1960, and as amended.
50 The latter establishments, massage parlors, are considered to purvey prostitution and are not permitted in
New York City.
29
Bookstores
Bookstores are listed in Use Groups 6C and 12B. They are allowed as-of-right in most
commercial districts and in Ml (Light Manufacturing) Districts. Bookstores are not allowed
in C3 Districts, and in M2 (Medium Manufacturing) and M3 (Heavy Manufacturing)
Districts. Video stores have been treated as bookstores for zoning purposes.
Eating or drinking establishments
Eating or drinking establishments are listed in the Zoning Resolution in Use Groups 6A and
6C, and 10 and 12. Eating or drinking establishments include any use that serves food or
drink, including alcohol, not otherwise more specifically listed in the Resolution.
Most eating or drinking establishments, including those with music for which there is no
cover charge and specified showtime such as restaurants and bars listed in Use Group 6A,
are allowed as-of-right in most commercial and manufacturing districts. They are allowed as-
of-right in Cl, C2, C4, C5 (Restricted Central Commercial), C6, C7 and C8 Districts, and in
C3 (Waterfront Recreation) Districts by special permit of the Board of Standards and
Appeals. They are also allowed as-of-right in manufacturing districts.
Eating or drinking establishments with entertainment, but not dancing, with a capacity of 200
persons or less are treated similarly to eating or drinking establishments listed in Use Group
6A, with certain exceptions.51 In Cl-1 through Cl-4, C2-1 through C2-4, and C5 Districts
these establishments must obtain a special permit from the Board of Standards and Appeals.
A special permit is also required in M1-5A and M1-5B Districts. Some special purpose
districts may have additional restrictions on certain entertainment establishments but none
distinguish between adult and other forms of entertainment
Large eating or drinking establishments with entertainment, or those of any capacity with
dancing, are listed in Use Groups 10 and 12. These establishments are permitted as-of-right
in C6, C7, C8, most manufacturing districts, and in C4 Districts 100 feet or more from a
residence district. They are allowed only by special permit of the Board of Standards and
Appeals in C2, C3, M1-5A, M1-5B, LMM, M1-5M, M1-6M, and in C4 Districts within 100
feet of a residence district.
Eating or drinking establishments with musical entertainment, but not dancing, with a capacity of 200
persons or less, are allowed similar]}' as eating or drinking establishments in Use Group 6A.
30
Signs
Signs are regulated under the provisions of use regulations in the Zoning Resolution.
Regulations include definitions, size or surface area, illumination, height, projection and
location. Basic regulations for accessory business signs are summarized in Table 3.
1XBLE3
BASIC ACCESSORY BUSINESS SIGN REGULATIONS
Zoning
Districts
Cl
C2
C4
C5
C6
C6-5 or C6-7
C8
M
Size*
3; 150
3; 150
5; 500
3:200
5:500
No restriction
6:750
each sign
No restriction
niumination
3 times frontage; up to
50sq.fi.
3 times frontage: up to
50 sq.ft.
Illuminated or flashing
Not permitted***
Illuminated or flashing
Dluminatcd or flashing
Illuminated or flashing;
5 times frontage, up to
500 sq. it each sign
Illuminated or flashing
Projection**
1 ft.
I ft
1 ft.
1 ft.
1 ft.
8ft.
I ft
No restriction
Height above
Curb Level
25ft.
25ft.
40ft.
25ftf
40ft
No restriction
40ftft
No restrictionff t
Location
Certain
accessory
business
signs facing
and in
proximity to
a residence
district or
public park
shall
conform to
the sign
regulations
inCl
districts
* To determine the maximum permitted surface area, multiply the first number by the street frontage; the second number
indicated is a "cap" on the maximum number of square feet allowed.
** In districts where 1 foot is identified, double- or multi-faced signs may project up to 18 inches beyond the street line.
*** Except in CS-4 Districts.
f In C5-4 Districts, may extend up to 40 feet high.
ft Non-illuminated or indirectly illuminated signs may extend to 58 feet high.
ttt Except that within 500 feet of a residence or Cl or C2 District, restrictions apply to certain illuminated signs; indirectly
illuminated signs may extend to 58 feet high.
31
Prior Zoning Proposals in New York City
In New York City, a modem-day attempt at regulating adult establishments through zoning was
made in 1975, after they proliferated beyond the Times Square area. DCP proposed to restrict
the location of "adult physical culture establishments," a zoning term for massage parlors which
were then permitted uses in New York City, in the Times Square area. The zoning proposal,
which included a provision that non-conforming facilities were to be amortized within one year,
was adopted in 1976 by the Board of Estimate. Outside the Times Square area, a one-year
moratorium was placed on new massage parlors.
In 1976, the United States Supreme Court upheld a Detroit "anti-skid row" zoning ordinance
that placed locational restrictions and concentration limits on a variety of uses, including adult
entertainment establishments. Shortly after the court decision in early 1977, the Mayor's
Midtown Manhattan Action Office and the DCP prepared zoning recommendations modeled
after Detroit.
The City Planning Commission proposed establishing five categories of adult uses: adult
bookstores, adult motion picture theaters, adult coin-operated entertainment facilities (peep
shows), adult "topless" entertainment establishments (topless bars), and adult physical culture
establishments (massage parlors). According to the Commission, "By creating separate
definitions for these adult uses it is now possible to distinguish hi the Zoning Resolution adult
uses and other uses. Without such definitions adult uses were for all purposes treated the
same as their non-adult counterparts and were thus allowed to locate in any zoning district
where the general use was permitted."52
Under the proposal, adult entertainment uses would be allowed only in C4 and C6-4 through
C6-9 Districts, which are General Commercial and General Central Commercial Districts,
respectively. Existing adult entertainment uses outside of these districts, or within 500 feet
of a residence district (Rl through RIO Districts), would not be allowed to continue as non-
conforming uses. Adult physical culture establishments not subject to the 1976 amortization
provisions would not be allowed after one year in any district in New York City, and the
moratorium would be lifted.
52 Report of the City Planning Commission, N 760137 ZRY, January 26, 1977, Calendar #23.
32
In addition, adult uses would be subject to distance, concentration, sign and amortization
restrictions, as follows:
• No adult use could be located within 500 feet of a residence district.
• In C4 Districts, no new adult use could be established where, within a 1,000 foot
radius, two or more adult uses existed. In C6-4 through C6-9 Districts, no new
adult use could be established where, within a 1,000 foot radius, three or more
adult uses existed. Each adult use within a single establishment would be
considered a separate primary use.
• No sign for any adult use could display or describe a specified sexual activity or
a specified sexual area. No adult use could have more than one accessory business
sign, except that an adult motion picture theater could, in addition, have a
marquee. No advertising signs would be permitted for an adult use. No adult use
sign could be illuminated or extend beyond the street line, except for adult motion
picture theater marquees.
• Amortization provisions dictated that adult uses that failed to meet the proposed
location and distance requirements would be required to terminate within one year.
Where existing establishments within districts in which adult uses would be
permitted exceeded the proposed concentration provisions, the adult uses closest
to a residential district would generally be amortized first.
The proposal would have allowed the Board of Standards and Appeals to exempt existing
adult uses, located in districts in which such uses would continue to be permitted, from the
concentration and amortization provisions of the new regulations. Similarly, the City Planning
Commission would have been authorized to allow a new adult use notwithstanding the
proposed concentration provisions. In each case, the BSA or CPC, as applicable, would be
required to make findings to ensure that any adverse impacts from the adult establishment
were minimized. According to Norman Marcus, who at the time was counsel to the City
Planning Commission, "This safety valve procedure was felt essential to withstand a
challenge to the reasonableness of the regulation."53
Numerous speakers appeared at the public hearing, both in favor of and in opposition to the
proposed zoning regulations. In general, business and civic groups from Manhattan were
supportive of the plan. Those in opposition included representatives of boroughs outside
Manhattan, religious institutions, and civil libertarians.
K "Zoning Obscenity: Or. The Moral Politics of Porn." Norman Marcus. Buffalo Law Review. Vol. 27. 1978.
33
Subsequent to the Commission public hearing, several modifications were made to the
proposal. For example, C4-1 Districts, characterized by large suburban-style shopping centers,
were eliminated from the proposal as districts where adult entertainment establishments would
be permitted. Also, adult entertainment establishments would not be permitted within 200 feet
of a school or church.
The modified proposal was then reconsidered. According to Marcus:
By virtue of the recent Commission amendments, the heretofore dispersed and
scattered eligible adult use regional commercial zones had been reduced to a
handful of readily identifiable concentration targets in these boroughs — and as
such, drew sharp denunciations. The Commission was accused [by citizens of the
four boroughs other than Manhattan] of fostering "red light districts" in the outer
boroughs and the cry was raised ever more loudly to restrict adult uses to
Manhattan. The legislation foundered.54
Marcus observed that the public's failure to understand the crucial distinction between
pornography and obscenity, i.e., what is and what is not legally protected speech, resulted in
a lack of sufficient political support needed to adopt a regulatory plan to limit the location
and concentration of adult establishments.
In continuing to wrestle with the issue of adult establishments, the City Planning Commission
in 1978 proposed, and the Board of Estimate adopted, new zoning text that distinguished
adult physical culture establishments from physical culture establishments.55 Adult physical
culture establishments were eliminated as a permitted use in all districts in the city. They
were to be amortized within one year. All other physical culture or health establishments
would be permitted only by special permit of the Board of Standards and Appeals. The
citywide moratorium on physical culture or health establishments that became effective in
1976 was deleted. Thus, only part of the effort to control the location of adult uses was
adopted legislatively.
54 Ibid.
55 Resolution of the Board of Estimate, November 16, 1978, Cal. No. 145, approving a report (N 780387
ZRY) of the City Planning Commission, November 8, 1978, Cal. No. 16.
34
^ V. ADULT ENTERTAINMENT IMPACTS IN NEW YORK CITY
Impacts Identified by the City Planning Commission, 1977
On January 26, 1977, the City Planning Commission reported to the Board of Estimate its
recommendation for zoning text changes relating to adult uses. The recommended zoning
changes would have reduced existing concentrations of adult uses and prevented future
concentrations, "... thereby substantially reducing the adverse economic and social effects
that these concentrations produce. At the same time, adult uses will be prevented from
disrupting residential neighborhoods by regulations requiring all adult uses to be located at
least 500 feet from the nearest residence district boundary."56 In its report, the Commission
cited several negative impacts of adult uses including economic factors, increased criminal
activity, the damaging influences on minors and the disruptive effects that adult uses have
on neighboring residential communities and the youth of such communities.
At the public hearing on the proposed text amendments, many of the speakers appeared in
favor of the proposal, expressing concerns about the blighting effect that the concentration
of adult uses has had on the West Side of Manhattan. Some identified other reasons to
support the proposal. For example, a psychiatrist who was a former Deputy Commissioner
of the City's Addiction Services Agency and founder of Phoenix House — the city's major
residential addiction rehabilitation program, said that the growth of adult uses has "... a
direct bearing upon the number of young people who become addicted to heroin or dependent
upon other drugs." He described the adult entertainment business as parasitic, attracting and
victimizing adolescents and breeding prostitution and addiction. The doctor stated that
limiting or dispersing adult uses can destroy the "pathological matrix." Most who spoke in
opposition to the proposal did so because it would continue to permit adult uses near their
communities.
The Commission noted that it analyzed the efforts of several municipalities, including Boston,
Detroit, Minneapolis, Dallas and Atlantic City, to combine the best efforts of all these cities
in a regulatory plan for New York. The Commission rejected the Boston concentration model,
stating in the report that "Statistics indicate that the implementation of this zoning method
in Boston has resulted in an increase in both the crime rate of the Boston Business and
Entertainment district and an increase in the vacancy rate of the surrounding buildings." The
Commission felt that a dispersion strategy, modelled after Detroit's regulatory plan, would
* Report of the City Planning Commission, N 760137 ZRY, January 26, 1977, Calendar No. 23.
35
provide room for constitutionally protected speech as well as protection for the health, safety
and general welfare of the people.
The Commission noted that a proliferation of adult entertainment uses in the Times Square
and Theater Districts could be related to the decade-old absence of major investment or
development decisions, and to a substantial decline in economic viability. For a three-year
period, tax arrears on West 42nd Street were 26 percent higher than the overall rate for
Midtown. During a two-year period in the early 1970s, sales tax revenues in the area declined
by 43 percent compared to an 11 percent increase citywide. In addition, jobs in retail sales
declined in the area at a rate greater than that of the city as a whole. The Commission
identified several businesses in the area that had closed, for example the Chase Manhattan
Bank branch in Times Square, and noted that the "... decline of economic activity . .. can
be directly related to the escalation of adult uses."
Crime data for 1975 were also analyzed, leading the Commission to state: "Increases in
felonious criminal activity in areas where concentrations of adult uses are located are
overwhelming." The Commission observed that in Midtown, police posts (subareas of a
precinct) in which one or more adult uses were located had 69.5 percent more verified
complaints than those in other subareas. Posts with one or more adult uses constituted 34.5
percent of the total posts in Midtown, but accounted for 47.1 percent of all complaints.
Comparing posts with one or more, adult uses to posts without an adult use, complaints for
felonious assault were 142.3 percent higher, grand larceny complaints were 88.9 percent
higher, rape was 185.2 percent higher and robbery was 130.2 percent higher.
Impacts Identified by the Office of Midtown Enforcement
The 1983 Annual Report of The Mayor's Office of Midtown Enforcement (OME) supported
the City Planning Commission's earlier findings. The OME's report stated that in the early
and mid-1970*s, "Times Square was clogged with pimps, Johns, and hookers as well as the
addicts and muggers who along with them preyed on the public." The report noted that 1,200
prostitutes worked out of the dozen or so prostitution hotels and the 23 massage parlors
concentrated along Eighth Avenue between 34th and 55th Streets, and another twelve sex
businesses were wedged in between these businesses.
OME strategies (including investigation, enforcement, seeking and obtaining legislative
changes in the Nuisance Abatement Law, closing hotels and obtaining substantial financial
36
penalties from hotel operators) worked to clean-up Times Square. According to the annual
report, "At the end of 1983 Eighth Avenue is no longer "The Minnesota Strip,* infested with
the crowds of pimps, prostitutes and Johns which once thrived on the atmosphere created by
the multiplicity of sex uses. The crowds are no longer there because most of the sex uses
which supported or attracted them have been closed."57
Between 1978 and 1983, OME reported that it closed 106 illegal establishments, of which
82 were sex-related businesses. Additionally, they "virtually eliminated" the practice of
sexually explicit handbilling on city streets, and after obtaining a zoning amendment
establishing a permanent ban on heterosexual massage parlors, closed 37 illegally operated
sex-related businesses in Midtown.
After reducing the number of sex-related businesses in midtown by 46 percent from 121 in
1978 to 65 at the end of 1983, OME reported that its "accomplishments have resulted in
increased investor and consumer confidence in the midtown area as manifested by: the
renovation and expansion of the Port Authority Bus Terminal; the opening of die new Milford
Plaza Hotel on Eighth Avenue; the construction of the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Broadway;
and the proposed 42nd Street Development Project."
jne OME Annual Report for 1983 also reported the criminal activity occurring in sex-related
businesses. Convictions for prostitution occurring inside the premises are used by OME as
a basis for civil litigation. Between 1978 and 1983, the numbers of arrests for prostitution and
obscenity inside sex-related businesses located in Midtown decreased from 419 to 300. The
change in die number of such arrests for any given year is a function of many factors, (e.g.,
deployment of police personnel, unrelated litigation defining obscenity) and reflects only in
part the drop in the number of massage parlors and other commercially-operated houses of
prostitution. It is significant, however, that the concentration of sex-related businesses has
been closely associated with substantial numbers of arrests within those establishments for
prostitution and obscenity.
57 It was found - in another study - that sex uses in the Times Square area supported hustling and hanging out
on the street because of their configuration. The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 42nd Street
Development Project stated "most of these establishments present opaque facades to the street. This is
presumably important to draw potential customers inside (rather than allowing them to look in) and also to
provide some sense of privacy. The correlative, however, is that these operations do not look outwards or
take a special interest in the sidewalks outside. As a result, and also because the sex-establishment patrons
hurry in and out the sidewalks are left unclaimed and thus available to those hustling and hanging out."
New York State Urban Development Corporation, Vol. 1, August 1984.
37
Impacts Identified in the Chelsea Business Survey
In August, 1993, the Chelsea Action Coalition and Community Board 4, Manhattan, prepared
a study describing the effects that sex-related establishments have on other businesses in the
Chelsea section of New York City.58 The Coalition called upon the city to "develop zoning
proposals that will disperse, but not eliminate, these (adult) businesses ..." The Chelsea
Action Coalition called for zoning proposals because it felt that the neighborhood "... was
being transformed before our eyes into a red light district."
The study identified the locations of sex-related adult establishments in a 76 block area of
Manhattan between 13th and 32nd Streets, and Fifth and Ninth Avenues. Nine legal triple-X
video stores, eleven locations closed in fiscal year 1993 for illegal sex-related activities, and
seven locations of "multiple indoor prostitution arrests" in fiscal year 1993 were mapped
within the study area. The Coalition stated that the concentration of triple-X video stores and
peep shows "is intolerable," and "harmful to our community," noting that "... under the
Constitution the City is permitted to prohibit this type of concentration."
Representatives of the Coalition and Community Board surveyed 100 businesses located near
the triple-X video stores "to determine whether these 'adult use' businesses had negatively
impacted upon the economic vitality of the Chelsea business community." Responses to eight
questions were tabulated, and illustrative comments made by respondents were included in
the study report.
Negative impacts stemming from the adult video establishments reported by area business-
persons included: a decline in the overall reputation of the community, a reduction in the
economic vitality of individual business; a declining potential for business in the
community; and observations that businesses may leave or have left Chelsea because of the
adult video stores.
Sixty-one percent of respondents felt that the triple-X video stores had a negative impact on
their business. Ninety-five percent believe that the reputation of Chelsea has been hurt by
these stores. Nearly two-thirds think the economic vitality of their business has been hurt, and
88 percent think the potential for doing business in Chelsea has been negatively affected by
the adult stores.
38 "The Chelsea Business Survey, An Assessment of the Economic Impact of XXX-Rated Video Stores in
Chelsea," The Chelsea Action Coali don and Community Board 4, 1993.
38
Specific comments made by businesspersons included the following:
My clients don't like to come to my office and have to go by these stores. The
storefronts also lower my image as a business which is very detrimental to me.
- publishing consultant
There is a XXX store on the next block. We work until 8:00 P.M. Mon. -
Thurs. and it is scary to walk past the seedy element that hangs out there.
- retail furniture store
Impacts Identified at the Public Hearing of The Task Force on the
Regulation of Sex-Related Businesses
The Task Force on the Regulation of Sex-Related Businesses was established in 1993 by the
Borough President of Manhattan, Ruth W. Messinger, in response to community concerns
about increasing concentrations of sex-related businesses.
The Task Force conducted a public hearing on October 6, 1993, at which more than 20
****' people testified. Approximately twice as many individuals testified in favor of regulating adult
entertainment establishments as those opposed to government regulation of adult uses. Those
speaking in favor of regulation discussed adult establishments in various neighborhoods in
Manhattan: Tribeca and Downtown Manhattan, Chelsea, East Harlem, Times Square, and the
East Side; the majority spoke of Times Square and Chelsea.
The Task Force structured the hearing as a fact-finding hearing to obtain testimony about how
adult uses impact residents, businesses and Manhattan neighborhoods. The impacts identified
by the testimony are summarized below, and a copy of the transcript of the public hearing
is available for review at DCP.
Crime, including drugs and prostitution, was the most frequently cited impact from adult
establishments. For example, the President of the 42nd Street Development Project, referring
to a concentration of sex-related uses on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, cited a
60 percent drop in crime after the Project took tide to two-thirds of the project area in April
1990 and a majority of the site was cleared.59
• ** The transcript of the testimony, at pages 110 through 116, is instructive of the effects of the concentration
'**gy of adult uses.
39
Several speakers noted that certain crimes were associated with adult entertainment establish-
ments. One speaker, for example, stated that there had been no houses of prostitution in a
particular neighborhood for ten years but, subsequent to the opening of a triple-X video store,
two houses of prostitution had opened. These illegal establishments have since been closed
by the city.
Quality-of-life impacts, such as littering, noise, late night operations, offensive signage, and
general negative perceptions about neighborhoods or certain streets, were often mentioned as
impacts. For example, the not-for-profit operator of an SRO stated that persons loitering near
two adult establishments located across the street from the residence have made the street
"intimidating," giving it a "different feeling" from that which had existed before the second
adult use moved to the street. In other cases, certain impacts such as offensive signage
depicting eroticism or sexually-explicit words were noted as especially problematic for
children. It was observed that these signs are sometimes located near school bus stops.
Most of those testifying identified the impacts of adult entertainment establishments as
especially troublesome in residential neighborhoods. Many noted the problem of adult uses
in concentration, and expressed concern about the proliferation of these establishments absent
the enactment of controls.
In general, those testifying against government regulation of adult entertainment establish-
ments disputed the testimony about impacts. For example, testimony was offered that an adult
burlesque theater provides 50 percent of the business of the commercial parking lot located
across the street from it. Rather than having a negative impact on nearby businesses, it was
claimed, the adult establishment brings in business and benefits other businesses. Others
stated that the testimony of those proffering impacts from adult establishments was anecdotal.
An adult video distributor, alluding to the Chelsea Business Survey, complained of bias in
surveys and stated: "The way you phrase a question can determine the reply."
Impacts Identified in the Times Square Business Improvement
District Study
In June 1993, a Times Square Business Improvement District study found that pending city-
wide legislation, placing locational restrictions on adult entertainment uses, would remove
adult uses from most of the Times Square area; the approximately 40 adult uses presently
within the area would only be allowed in small clusters in manufacturing districts to the south
40
and west of the TSBID.60 Aware of the legislative history of similar legislation around the
country, the TSBID contracted for a further study on the secondary effects of adult
entertainment uses and their concentration, which was issued in April 1994.*'
The TSBID requests that the city restrict adult establishments in residential neighborhoods,
and develop "legal and effective ways to mandate dispersal of these uses in commercial and
manufacturing districts in such a way that no designated area becomes saturated, producing
the negative impacts that Times Square and, Eighth Avenue in particular, suffer."
The study focused on the impacts of the dense concentrations of adult entertainment uses
along 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues and along Eighth Avenue between
42nd and 50th Streets. It briefly summarized the history and demographics of the area, crime
statistics, and the results of 53 in-person and telephone interviews with large and small-scale
business and property owners including retail, restaurant, hotel and theater enterprises as well
as community boards, civic organizations, churches, schools and social service agencies. It
also analyzed trends in property values.
Data for assessed property values for the 1985/86 and 1993/94 years were analyzed individu-
ally and in aggregation for study and control blockfronts to derive the specific and overall
changes in valuation over that period of time. According to the study, aggregate data showed
that the rate of increase of total assessed values for the study blocks with adult uses did not
increase as much as the rate of increase for the control blocks without adult uses. For specific
blocks, the rates of increase for other uses tended to be less than those for adult uses. The
report stated that the proximity of an adult use may be "subjectively viewed" by assessors,
and cited further corroboration by an appraiser with the Department of Finance. The study
of property values concluded that "while it may be that the concentration of adult use
establishments has a generally depressive effect on the adjoining properties ... we do not
have sufficient data to prove or disprove this thesis."
There were almost twice as many complaints about crime for the 42nd Street study block as
the control block, and more than twice as many complaints for the Eighth Avenue study blocks
as the control blocks. The number of criminal complaints are highest near 42nd Street where
adult uses are most concentrated and decline further along Eighth Avenue. Prostitution arrests
*° "Report on Adult Use Establishments in the Times Square Business Improvement District and the Effect
of the New York City Council's Proposed Neighborhood Protection Act," Insight Associates (in association
with Raven Design Works), June 14, 1993.
" "Secondary Effects of the Concentration of Adult Use Establishments in the Times Square Area," Times
Square Business Improvement District, April. 1994 (prepared by Insight Associates).
41
were higher on Eighth Avenue than Ninth Avenue but even higher for the area west of Ninth
Avenue. Police statistics indicate that there has been a 54 percent decrease in crime during the
past five years in the Times Square area, where the number of adult uses has also declined.
A survey of property and business owners in the Times Square area revealed several impacts
from adult entertainment establishments located in the area, particularly in concentration. All
(12) expressed the view that adult use businesses have a negative effect on the property
values of businesses located in their vicinity, emphasizing the negative effects of a concentra-
tion of adult businesses. Theater organization executives (3) stated that adult uses are
detrimental to their business. One cited complaints from theater patrons about an adjacent
adult use. Representatives of restaurants (7) attributed declining business during evening
hours, inability to book corporate parties, and "flamboyant" adult use advertising as having
a negative impact on their businesses. Three hotel operators and one hotel owner "agreed that
the dense concentration of adult entertainment venues was a deterrent to their trade". One
hotelier stated bookings are down; customers have sent photographs of the adjacent pom store
to complain to the hotel's national booking office. Of five retailers interviewed, two stated
that "unsavory" people loiter in front of adult uses, and are involved in petty crime.
Impacts Identified in Newspaper Reports and Correspondence
Newspaper articles since 1993 have chronicled neighborhood concerns and opposition to the
proliferation of adult entertainment establishments throughout New York City. Previously
located in a few specific areas, e.g., the Times Square area, or isolated locations, triple-X
video stores and topless/nude bars can now be found in or near areas of a more residential
character. Some residents, outraged by the nature of adult uses in their neighborhoods, and
afraid of potential negative impacts, have organized ad hoc groups and appealed to local
officials to have them closed down. Using a combination of picketing, petitions, publicity and
pressure tactics on landlords, these neighborhood groups have often been able to directly
influence the location of adult entertainment uses.
The following is an abstract gathered from New York City newspapers, both daily and
weekly, of the opinions and actions of local residents who oppose the operation of adult uses
in their neighborhoods. Although anecdotal and subjective, these comments demonstrate the
concern, outrage and sense of intrusion that many people feel.
42
Fear over the potential consequences of proliferation is a major factor in neighborhood
opposition to adult entertainment uses. A businessman on Sixth Avenue in Chelsea who has
just had a triple-X video store move into the ground floor space in his office building states:
"Then I see every couple of blocks has that kind of store and just worry that the neighbor-
hood would change to be like Times Square." A member of Manhattan Community Board
4 is more explicit: "You get three to five of these stores in an area and you create a strip.
Have a strip, and you get prostitution and other related problems."
In the Chelsea area, concern is so great about the proliferation of adult entertainment uses that
residents and businesspeople joined in a coalition that has been successful in routing four of
the nine adult uses in the neighborhood. The Chelsea Action Coalition has held protest
marches and rallies to denounce such uses and has picketed adult entertainment uses to
intimidate both the store owner and the potential patron. A woman who participated in a
protest march with her eight year old daughter said she did so because, when she and her
daughter walk down Sixth Avenue, her daughter says: "Don't look, Mommy. It's a very dirty
store." The Coalition has publicized the names of landlords who rent space to adult entertain-
ment uses, pressuring landlords to evict them. After being picketed, one owner of a triple-X
video store, at Seventh Avenue and 23rd Street, converted two-thirds of his store to conven-
tional videos, put up a sign stating, "Ladies and Kids are Welcome," and distributed flyers
apologizing for opening the store in a residential neighborhood. The Coalition has also
reached out to the community board and the City Council, asking for legislative action.
Fear of proliferation of adult uses can mobilize community action even when local civic
leaders and police officials agree that the sole adult use has provoked no illegal activity or
even complaints about quality-of-life issues. When a local bar, located on upper Fourth
Avenue in Bay Ridge, introduced topless dancers and started leafletting the neighborhood,
over 1,000 people signed a petition opposing it. "This is a community issue for those of us
who live in Bay Ridge," said one resident. Citing the belief that the topless club sets a
precedent that other such establishments might follow, the leader of an ad hoc group formed
to fight the topless club also reflected ah apprehension that an adult entertainment use attracts
people from outside the neighborhood: "This place is bringing hi people from all over the
place, who are not of, by or for this community. We've got people from Brooklyn Heights,
Bensonhurst, members of the Hell's Angels, all kinds of people hi there." The club owner,
a long-time resident of Bay Ridge, met with local elected officials, civic leaders and police
officials, and offered a number of concessions by curtailing dancing on Sundays and restrict-
ing dancing to after 9:00 pm on other nights. The community organization threatened daily
protests if the bar continued to feature topless dancing. The club owner changed the topless
43
format, saying he "did not want to insult the community or church." "Communities have a
lot of power in situations like this (because) if nothing else works, they could make it
economically impossible for the club to operate by continuously picketing the place," said a
local official.
Concerted community action has also been effective in Astoria, Queens. When an awning
advertising "Adult Video" was installed for a store undergoing renovation on Ditmars
Boulevard, irate civic leaders, politicians, clergy and residents hastily assembled a group
called the Coalition for the Protection of Children. "I've never seen the community united
like this on any issue," said a local politician suggesting that this was because the store was
in the middle of a residential area and within walking distance of four schools. After
negotiations with the landlord and store owner failed, the Coalition scheduled twice-daily
protests opposite the store. Local newspapers provided publicity, listing protest times and
telephone numbers for further information as well as the name of the store owner. The owner
soon assured the Coalition that the store would become family-oriented with an adults-only
section but it was finally shut down in the face of continued opposition. The Coalition vowed
to demonstrate against other adult entertainment uses because "this is a significant problem
in the city," according to one local legislator.
Residents on the Upper West Side joined with local politicians to picket and rally in front of
a triple-X video store on Amsterdam Avenue. The store is still doing business but the signage
was altered to a format less objectionable to the community. A year later, some neighbors
picketed a newly-opened sex "boutique" eight blocks away between Amsterdam Avenue and
Broadway, calling it a "smut shop." A couple living in the small building said they were
afraid the store would attract transients and expose children to X-rated material. "We don't
have any control or say about what's moving onto our block," said a woman who complained
to the community board. "I believe in freedom of speech," added a neighbor who organized
the demonstrations. "I understand that people have the right to sell and buy these things. I just
don't want it across the street."
Concern over a triple-X video store on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village located 200 feet
from a church and parochial school prompted an informal protest by residents that led to the
cancellation of the lease. "To have a store with pictures of a donkey having sex with a
woman located 40 yards from an elementary school is simply unacceptable," said a member
of a nearby block association. Another resident, concerned that an influx of triple-X video
stores could harm the tourist business in the Village, stated: "No one wants to do away with
the First Amendment but this is degrading to the quality of life in the neighborhood." A
44
number of merchants complained about the high visibility of a triple-X video store that has
semi-naked women painted on the windows and flashing lights over the door. "This is bad
for the atmosphere of the entire neighborhood. A lot of tourists come through here, and the
[triple-X video] store can hurt everybody's business."
In November, at a community board meeting in the Clinton area of Manhattan, residents of
West 30th Street in Manhattan testified for six hours about a 15 foot illuminated sign,
"NUDE," that advertises a new topless club on Eighth Avenue near Madison Square Garden.
Although worried about the proliferation of adult entertainment uses eroding their quality of
life, it was reported that residents were most outraged by the blatant signage. "A lot of them
just want to go into [the club] and smash the joint," said a member of the community board.
About 400 residents marched and picketed a 24-hour triple-X video store on Flatbush Avenue
in Brooklyn because "it's a block and a half from an elementary school, and near a
McDonald's and Burger King where high school kids hang out," according to one civic
leader. "We feel it doesn't belong here."
In Community Board 12 in the Bronx, a neighborhood bordering Westchester County,
residents have organized several protests against a topless club that opened in January on East
Gun Hill Road near Laconia Avenue. The opposition is concerned about the location of the
club. "The guy is surrounded by churches and schools," said the community board chairman
noting that the three other adult entertainment uses in the district are in primarily commercial
areas. Last fall, the Board was successful in deterring the owner of a bar on East 233rd Street
from converting to a strip club. "We basically just told him that he was hurting the
neighborhood's image and himself by doing it and that we'd fight him," said the chairman
of the community board. "He agreed to stop."
In Jackson Heights, Queens, members of the Jackson Heights Neighborhood Association
objected to a nude juice bar located on a commercial strip, Northern Boulevard, two blocks
from a school. When informal protests were ineffective, they initiated protests every Friday
and Saturday night. "We're not questioning at all the First Amendment or the right to be
nude," said a local merchant and civic leader. "It's just their location, period."
On East 53rd Street in Manhattan, between Second and Third Avenues, some residents have
formed a block association to protest the appearance of two triple-X video stores. The stores
epitomize a relapse for the previously notorious block known as the Loop for its male,
prostitution and profusion of adult entertainment uses. "This was just beginning to get cleaned
up," said one nearby resident. "Now, this." A landlord across the street from the video stores
45
*~ complained; "Every one of our potential renters refer to those stores. They are unhappy to
'**** see this type of clientele in a residential neighborhood." The owner of an adjacent 55-unit
apartment house, however, claimed to have a waiting list. At one of several protest rallies in
front of the stores, one man who had brought his two young sons, said: "Bringing up kids in
this environment is hard. My oldest started to ask, What's that. Daddy, as we walk by their
big signs."
The explicit signage and gaudy lighting that draw attention to adult entertainment uses are
a focus of much of the local condemnation. "These gross caricatures of sexual objects are an
insult," said a member of Manhattan Community Board 4. "It's all psychological," said a
store owner in Murray Hill directly across the street from a triple-X video store. "The store
looks terrible but they're not doing anything wrong." A Chelsea resident agreed: "The
problem is not that its a porn store but that it looks like hell."
Some residents perceive other impacts emanating from the presence of an adult
entertainment use.
Residents reported seeing prostitutes for the first time on Third Avenue and 37th Street, in
Manhattan, a result, allegedly, of the presence of a 24-hour triple-X video store. A local civic
group held frequent demonstrations and set up a table on the sidewalk where volunteers sat
**"<*" and harangued customers of the triple-X video store. Although the signage has been described
as muted, passersby had a clear view through the windows of the store interior. "It's an
assault to the eye," said a member of the Murray Hill Committee Zoning Alliance who led
twice-weekly protests and claimed to have gathered 7,000 signatures opposing the adult use.
The owner masked the windows but eventually closed citing lack of business.
Neighbors joined in nightly demonstrations outside an upscale, nude cabaret, Runway 69, on
Austin Street in Forest Hills, Queens. The landlord was subjected to a barrage of telephone
calls protesting the presence of the nude dancers. "I don't want to sound like I'm all for it
[the nude club]," said one local merchant, "but Forest Hills is changing." The club replaced
a disco that attracted police attention because of die young, rowdy crowd. Afraid that the
adult entertainment use would increase congestion, attract disreputable outsiders and attract
crime, the demonstrators continued until the landlord negotiated to buy out the club's lease.
Referring to the First Amendment right of free speech that covers adult entertainment uses,
a member of a neighborhood association in the East 60s in Manhattan claimed: "Everybody
has a right to go to these places but when it becomes a nuisance, when it becomes a major
problem, we can exercise our First Amendment rights to protest noise, sanitation problems,
traffic and crimes."
>^)
46
There have been numerous letters and petitions from community groups and local organiza-
tions protesting the intrusion of adult uses into their community and asking the City to find
solutions for the problem. "(We) just wish to live quietly and raise (our) families in quiet
residential communities," wrote the president of one borough-wide civic group. A taxpayers'
group in Glendale said that having to pass adult uses was offensive for children and adults
who participated in activities at the many schools and churches prevalent in the area. Another
neighborhood group in Queens asked for a moratorium on any new sexually-oriented bars.
The executive director of The New York Foundling Hospital was concerned that their young
charges were exposed to the "blatant and offensive" signs advertising triple-X video stores
in Chelsea. A neighborhood association in Manhattan, wrote that it "sees the proliferation of
pornographic businesses as a dangerous trend that violates the integrity of our East Side
neighborhood." A resident of the East Side wrote: "We, who live in the city's residential
areas, are not opposed to free speech, we just feel porn establishments should exercise their
free speech in more appropriate commercially zoned areas. The tenants of a residential hotel
in the Times Square area submitted a number of signed petitions and wrote: "Although the
people who live in this building and in this neighborhood can prove no hard numbers about
how their businesses have been harmed or prove that crime has increased, they do know that
the quality of their lives and their neighborhood is being deleteriously impacted." Another
civic group summed it up when it wrote: "many law-abiding citizens view these establish-
ments as a threat to the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Such concerns are quite valid
and should not be easily dismissed."
47
VI. SURVEY OF ADULT ENTERTAINMENT USES
In 1993-94, 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 establishments. A map indicating the location of the study areas
follows. The Times Square area was not chosen as a study area because the TSBID study was
already underway. DCP's study areas were mostly in the other boroughs in areas with lesser
concentrations of adult uses. Three of the six study areas contained a single isolated use. Within
each study area, DCP selected "survey" blockfront(s), containing one or more adult entertain-
ment establishments, and "control" blockfront(s), which have similar land uses, except for an
adult use. A map of each study area is included in Appendix A.
Summary Survey Results
Planners' Assessment
Sidewalk and street frontages on the survey and control blockfronts in each of the six study
areas were studied for noise, traffic, sanitation, and loitering. Caution should be exercised in
generalizing from this survey. Observations were made during the cold weather months, and
over a brief amount of time. Cold weather will discourage loitering because few people want
to remain outdoors for extensive periods under such conditions. Surveyors did not spend
significant amounts of time observing each street element, although observations were made
more than once, on various days of the week, at different times of the day or night, and on
numerous blockfronts.
On survey blockfronts in half of the study areas, impacts were noted. They were generally
associated with non-adult uses, e.g., noise from voices and pedestrian congestion were noted
on a blockfront in Study Area 2, but the impacts are associated with a playground. In Study
Area 3, pedestrians were observed waiting on the sidewalk, but for meals served in a church.
However, some noise from music emanating through the walls onto the street was noted for
the topless bar in Study Area 6.
49
Study Areas:
1 - within Manhattan Community Districts 4 & 5
3 • within Manhattan Community District 7
3 - within Bronx Community District 5
4 - within Brooklyn Community District 7
5 - within Queens Community District 2
6 - within Staten Island Community District 2
Study Areas
study area
study area designation
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning / City of New York
Signage Review
Accessory business signs were examined for all ground floor commercial uses located on the
survey and control blockfronts in all six study areas. Little difference was noted for most
signs on the survey blockfronts compared with the control blockfronts, except with respect
to adult entertainment establishments.
In general, signage is characterized by the name of the establishment located above the
storefront. Sometimes the accessory business signs are illuminated; less frequently they are
flashing. Where there are display windows, additional signs are generally found; these are
often neon or illuminated. Signs are generally flush with the buildings, but are sometimes
located on projecting canopies.
Significantly, however, the signage for the adult entertainment establishments is characteristi-
cally at odds with that of other establishments. In half of the study areas, signage for the
adult uses occupies a greater percentage of storefront surface area than other commercial uses
located within the same blockfronts. For example, on blockfronts in Study Area 2, 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. On blockfronts in Study Area 6,
accessory business signs cover about 20 percent of frontage; the adult use has signage
covering approximately twice that amount.
On blockfronts in four of the six study areas, adult use signage tends to be illuminated when
that of non-adult commercial uses is not. For example, on blockfronts in Study Area 1,
approximately 80 percent (32 of 37) of the ground floor commercial accessory business signs
are non-illuminated. In stark contrast, 75 percent (3 of 4) of the adult entertainment establish-
ments have illuminated signs. On blockfronts in Study Area 4, signs on most of the adult
entertainment establishments are illuminated, but non-adult uses located on these blockfronts
generally have non-illuminated signage.
In half of the study areas, graphic material for adult use signage was noted. For example,
in Study Area 5, the outline of the female figure was a component of the adult use business
sign. Flashing signs were generally not noted for the adult uses located in the six study
areas. The structure of the signage for the adult use located in Study Area 3 is typical of
that of movie theaters. Significantly, the movie marquee and movie poster board display
windows are devoid of graphic material; only "XXX" and "adult" indicate that pornography
is shown inside.
51
Community Responses
Twenty-eight local organizations, including the community district offices, within the six
study areas were contacted and 23 responded to DCP's survey; not all responded to each
question asked.
A majority (14 of 22) informed the surveyor that over the last year they had received
comments about adult entertainment establishments located in their communities. Five said
that these comments represented about half of all comments made about commercial uses;
four informed DCP that they made up an even greater (a high) proportion of such comments.
The comments, primarily from residents, mentioned graphic signage, potential proliferation
of uses, proximity to residential neighborhoods, negative influence on children and teenagers
and the nature of the adult use itself.
More than 80 percent of those surveyed (19 of 23) responded that adult entertainment
establishments negatively impact the community in some way. Two-thirds (12 of 18) stated
that the impacts from adult uses are different from those of similar establishments not
characterized as adult; however, bars and discos were often said to create problems whether
they have an adult use character or not Approximately 20 percent of those responding (4 of
19) indicated that the impacts are the same for all types of adult uses studied.
Nearly 40 percent (9 of 23) of those responding stated that they have dealt with the owner
or manager of an adult business about a community concern. Only two reported that the issue
was resolved.
Business Responses
Ninety-seven businesses located within the survey and control blockfronts were contacted and
asked to respond to DCP's business survey, and 70 agreed; not all responded to each question
asked.
Approximately 20 percent (13 of 60) of those responding stated that they have received
comments about adult uses in their area. For example, some said they were aware that
residents, clients, etc., perceived that the adult use was inappropriate for the neighborhood,
or that a proliferation would be bad for the community.
Thirty-three percent (17 of 52) responded "not known" to a question about how nearby adult
uses impact their business. However, seventeen percent (9 of 52) responding to the question
think that nearby adult uses do impact their business. Nine (of 40 responding) believe the
impacts are the same for all types of adult uses, i.e., adult bars, triple-X video stores, and
52
adult theaters. Twenty percent of the businesses responding (11 of 53) think that the impacts
from nearby adult entertainment establishments are different from the impacts of similar
establishments not characterized as adult.
Nearly half of the businesses responding (27 of 57) believe that their business would be
negatively affected if more adult establishments were to locate near them. However, a nearly
equal number (24 of 55) believe that their business would be positively affected if more bars,
movies or theaters, or video/bookstores of any kind were to locate nearby.
About 10 percent of the businesses responding (4 of 44) stated that they have dealt directly
with the owner or manager of an adult business about a business concern. Half advised the
surveyor that the concern was resolved.
Police Responses
The community liaison or beat officer was interviewed for each of the six study areas.
When the survey and control blockfronts were compared for criminal complaints and allega-
tions, the officers generally did not link higher incidents with adult uses. Three officers
believe that criminal allegations are higher on the survey blockfronts compared to the control
blockfronts but, in two of these cases, the higher incidence of allegations was attributed by
them to uses unrelated to the adult use. In a single instance, an officer replied that the adult
entertainment establishment located in the study area has some effect on crime, and then
"only rarely." Four of the six officers thought the adult uses have no effect on crime.
One officer stated that if more adult entertainment establishments were to locate in the study
area, crime probably would increase. However, that officer and another responded that more
bars, movies or theaters, or video/bookstores of any kind would effectively increase crime in
the study area.
Real Estate Brokers Responses
Nineteen real estate brokers from all of the six study areas were interviewed; not all responded
to each question asked.
It is significant that more than 80 percent of the brokers responding (11 of 13) reported that an
adult entertainment establishment tends to decrease the market value of property that lies within
500 feet of it. When the distance is increased from between 500 to 1,000 feet of an adult use,
a majority of brokers (7 of 13) indicated that the same phenomenon would occur. At 1,000 or
more feet, less than 25 percent of the brokers (3 of 13) responded in this manner. The pattern
53
of response was basically unchanged when the question referred to two adult uses (a concentra-
tion) instead of one. In addition, approximately two-thirds (8 of 13) of the brokers expressing
an opinion said that the presence of an adult entertainment establishment lengthens the time it
takes to sell or lease nearby property, or the turnover rate of nearby properties.
Several brokers added comments to explain their responses about the impact of adult enter-
tainment establishments on nearby property values. Some said that property value decreases
would be minimal, or that values may be affected differently depending on the age make-up
of the area. One broker suggested the area of impact as one avenue or two short blocks; most
brokers said that it was not the physical distance but the perceived impact that mattered most
One broker said that impact depends on whether the (real estate) market is up or down. In
general, commercial brokers said that impacts on commercial properties would tend to be
limited because the value of storefronts on such strips is determined more by locational factors,
business volume, etc., man by a nearby adult use. Not all comments were negative: for
example, one broker asserted that a particular adult bar offers customers a check cashing service
that would not otherwise be available in the manufacturing district to which he was referring.
Three brokers related incidents in which an adult use negatively impacted other properties.
One incident involved a children's gym that moved after a topless bar located within the
same shopping center. Another broker reported that a prospective residential loft purchase
was terminated after it was reported that the Flower District planned to move. The pur-
chaser feared that the vacant space would be occupied by adult uses. A third incident
concerned the broker — he stated that when he learned that his wife's company was
planning to move to a building containing a storefront adult use, he intervened and found
new offices for the company. Subsequently, he heard that the space in the building
containing the adult use took a long time to rent.
Sanitation Interview
The Sanitation Department official representing each study area was interviewed. Sanitation
problems were attributed to one adult use, located in the Study Area 6. The problem
consisted of two violations issued over the past year for litter and broken glass in the
accessory parking lot.
54
Analysis of Criminal Complaint Data
The Police Department provided DCP with information about criminal complaints for the
three-month period beginning June 1, 1993, for the survey and control blockfronts within the
six study areas. The complaints were drawn from precinct files. Criminal complaints are
allegations of unlawful acts, generally reported by a victim. The study analyzed this data to
see if there was any association between complaints and adult uses.
Within each study area, there were generally more complaints noted in the survey blockfronts
compared with the control blockfronts, as shown in Table 4, below. Only in Study Area 3
were more complaints recorded for the control blockfronts compared to the survey block-
fronts. In Study Area 4, an equal number of complaints were noted for the survey and control
blockfronts. Study Area 6 has too few complaints for meaningful analysis.
TABLE 4
CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS ON SURVEY AND CONTROL BLOCKFRONTS
Study Area
Study Area 1
Study Area 2
Study Area 3
Study Area 4
Study Area 5
Study Area 6
Complaints on Survey
Blockfronts
80
16
47
8
117
3
Complaints on Control
Blockfronts
24
10
99
8
29
0
Within each study area, the number of survey and control blockfronts often differ. In Study
Areas 1, 4, 5 and 6, the number of survey blockfronts is greater than the number of control
blockfronts. To account for these differences, a control blockfront was "paired" with the sur-
vey blockfront that has the most similar land uses (and an adult entertainment establishment).
55
Criminal complaints for the paired blockfronts are shown in Table 5, below.62
TABLE 5
CRIMINAL COMPLAINTS ON "PAIRED" BLOCKFRONTS
Study Area
Study Area 1
Study Area 2
Study Area 3
Study Area 4
Study Area 5*
Study Area 6
Complaints on Control
Blockfront
10
10
99
8
23
6
0
Complaints on Paired Survey
Blockfront
7
16
47
2
49
10
0
*Two control blocks were chosen for the study area; the area spans approximately one mile, and the character
of it changes.
In Study Areas 1, 3 and 4, there were more complaints noted on the control blockfronts
compared with the survey blockfronts. However, in Study Areas 2 and 5, more complaints
were noted on the survey blockfronts compared with the control blockfronts. In Study Area
6, there were no complaints on either the control or survey blockfront.
Other land use related criteria could affect the analysis. For example, the location of the
paired control and survey blockfronts was analyzed for proximity to transportation facilities
such as subway stations and limited-access highways. These facilities bring concentrations
of people into an area, and by doing so may affect the incidence of criminal complaints. In
general, the blockfronts located closest to subway stations and a limited-access highway ramp
had more criminal complaints than blockfronts located farther away. Excluding from this
analysis one of the paired blockfronts in Study Area 5 that is distant from subway access, and
Study Area 6, because there were too few complaints to consider, the analysis found that in
each of the other study areas the number of criminal complaints was greater near transpor-
tation facilities, notwithstanding the location of an adult use.
Due to limitations in reported data, in Study Area 1 — where the complaints were generally listed by street
intersection rather than by blockfront — 25th Street was chosen for the two survey blockfronts and 21st
Street was chosen for the two control blockfronts.
56
In addition, caution should be exercised in making inferences using criminal complaints. Data
was collected for the limited purpose of identifying differences in criminal complaints
between survey and control blockfronts within each study area, not between or among study
areas. Differences in the number of criminal complaints between or among study areas may
be a function of variations in population densities, or other factors for which no study
controls were established. Additionally, data was gathered for a single, limited period of time;
not for trend analysis.
In summary, it was not possible to draw definitive conclusions from the analysis of criminal
complaints. Land uses other than adult entertainment establishments, e.g., subway station
access, appear to have a far stronger relationship to criminal complaints. It was not possible
to isolate the impact of adult uses relative to criminal complaints.
Analysis of Property Assessed Values
For each study area, property assessed valuations were identified for 1986, 1989 and 1992,
and the percentage changes between 1986 to 1992 were noted for the study area, survey
blockfronts, control blockfronts, community district, and borough. The survey and control
blockfronts were compared using the data indicating the percentage changes. The survey
blockfronts were also compared in the same way with the community district and borough.
The analysis of trends in assessed valuation relative to adult entertainment uses was inconclu-
sive. It would appear that if adult entertainment uses have negative impacts, they are
overwhelmed by other forces that increased property values overall, at least as measured by
assessed values. Even at the small scale of the survey blockfront, there is a wide diversity in
the assessed value trends ranging from an increase of more than 18 percent to an increase of
more than 200 percent over the period of analysis, strongly suggesting the importance of
other factors. The influences on assessed value that the city's assessors take into account are
numerous and include the sale prices of similar comparable properties adjusted for differences
in size, age, and location. While the total assessed values on the survey blockfronts may be
influenced to some extent by the presence of adult entertainment uses, demonstrating such
effects is very difficult.
In the two Manhattan study areas (Study Areas 1 and 2), the change on the control block-
fronts substantially exceeded the change in the assessed valuation on the survey blockfronts.
Between 1986 and 1992, the total assessed valuation on the control blockfronts in Study Area
57
1 increased 165 percent; the survey blockfronts increased 68 percent. In Study Area 2 during
that period, the control biockfronts increased 134 percent; the survey blockfronts increased
18 percent.
However, in the other four study areas, total assessed valuations increased by a greater
percentage on the survey blockfronts compared to the control blockfronts. In Study Area 3
(the Bronx), the total assessed valuation on the survey blockfront increased by 164 percent
over the six-year period; the control blockfront increased 155 percent. In Study Area 4
(Brooklyn), the total assessed valuation on the survey blockfronts increased 78 percent; the
control blockfront by 19 percent. Study Areas 5 (Queens) and 6 (Staten Island) had increases
of 153 percent and 202 percent on the survey blockfronts, and 149 percent and 88 percent
on the control blockfronts, respectively.
There are several additional reasons why the assessed value findings are necessarily ambigu-
ous. First, the survey blockfronts tend to be commercial strips or shopping streets. Commer-
cial property in a stable area is likely to have assessed values updated with greater frequency
by assessors, who take into account income and expense data that tends to have a net overall
positive effect with inflation. Under the Direct Income Capitalization method used by
assessors, this tends to yield a higher assessed valuation.
Second, the adjoining community district tends to contain a greater proportion of residential
property, which is subject to legal limitations on the increase in assessed valuation. Since 1983,
residential property in Class 1 (primarily one- to three-family houses) have had their potential
annual assessment increase limited to six percent and their potential maximum five-year
increase capped at 20 percent (unless the increase is due to a "physical change" such as
construction). In addition, in the absence of a sale, residential property tends not to be
reassessed, particularly compared to non-residential property in an active area.
Third, the total assessed value of the survey blockfronts is very small as would be expected
compared to the community districts; in some cases less than one percent While trends in the
community district would tend to be reflective of local area trends, the magnitude of the survey
blockfront component of total assessed value in the district is so small that its contribution to
the community district trend would tend to be imperceptible, whether its specific impact was
negative or positive.
58
VH. OVERALL STUDY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
DCP found that the number of adult entertainment establishments increased substantially
throughout New York City between 1984 and 1993, increasing 35 percent — from 131 to
177. More than 75 percent of adult entertainment establishments are located in zoning
districts that permit residential uses. Often these uses are found in concentration, such as in
the Times Square area and Chelsea in Manhattan. Adult uses are now located in more of the
city's neighborhoods than before, and have clustered within them. For example, between 1984
and 1993, the number of community districts with seven or more adult entertainment
establishments nearly tripled, from three to eight. Seventy-five percent of the adult uses are
located in ten of the city's 59 community districts. Outside of central locations, adult
businesses have clustered along major thoroughfares, such as Queens Boulevard and Third
Avenue in Brooklyn. Adult entertainment is more readily accessible now than it was ten years
ago. Cable television, newsstands, bookstores and many general interest video stores also
provide adult viewing material.
The proliferation of adult entertainment establishments within New York City is attributable
in part to the increase in adult video stores, which recently have begun to cany inexpensive
videos, and growing numbers of high-priced topless and nude bars. Changing sexual mores
since the scourge of AIDS may be another factor. One segment of that industry, adult triple-X
videos, reported $2.1 billion in sales and rentals La 1993. Within New York City, the topless
club segment of the industry is estimated conservatively as a $50 million a year business,
employing about 1,500 dancers.
DCP found secondary impacts, similar to those found in studies done by other localities. For
example, the Town of Islip, New York, found that adult uses create "dead zones" in commer-
cial areas that shoppers avoid. Los Angeles, California, found a greater proportion of certain
crimes in areas of concentration of adult uses compared to the city as a whole, and other
impacts traced to negative public perceptions about adult uses, such as the need to provide
private security guards in parking lots and closing area businesses early. Los Angeles also
found that adult businesses were perceived by the majority of survey respondents as exerting
a negative impact on surrounding business and residential properties, stating "in terms of the
attitudes of the respondents towards such businesses, the conclusion must be drawn that the
overall effect on surrounding properties is considered to be negative."
Indianapolis, Indiana, in cooperation with the Indiana University School Of Business' Division
of Research, surveyed national real estate appraisers and found that 75 percent of the appraisers
59
felt that an adult bookstore located within a block of a residential neighborhood would have
a negative effect on real property. Major crimes occurred in study areas that contained at least
one adult entertainment establishment at a rate that was 23 percent higher than six control
areas (similar areas without adult entertainments), and 46 percent higher than the Indianapolis
Police District.
The City of Whittier, California, found higher turnover rates in commercial and residential
areas adjacent to adult uses. The study compared 38 types of criminal activity over two time
periods, showing a total increase of 102 percent for the study area containing adult businesses
while the city, as a whole, only had an eight percent increase.
A study by the City of Austin, Texas, compared areas with adult businesses to other areas
containing similar land uses but no adult businesses, revealing a sex crimes rate between two
and five times greater in the areas with adult businesses. The study also showed that the sex-
related crime rate was 66 percent higher in areas having two or more adult businesses than
in those areas having only one such business.
Phoenix, Arizona, studied the relationship between arrests for sex crimes and the locations
of adult businesses, finding an overall increase of six times the sex crime rate in the study
areas with adult uses over the control areas without such uses.
The State of Minnesota reported that a study conducted in that state examining the effects of
sexually-oriented businesses upon property values and crime rates indicated clearly that such
businesses had a strong negative impact on the crime rate. The addition of one sexually-
oriented business to a census tract area caused an increase in the overall crime rate index in
that area by more than nine percent. In another state study, it was determined that there was
a statistically significant correlation between the location of adult businesses and neighbor-
hood deterioration. Housing values were significantly lower in an area with three adult
businesses than in an area with only one adult business. Also, there was a significantly higher
crime rate associated with two adult businesses in an area than was associated with only one
adult business in an area.
Many other localities such as Manatee County, Florida, and New Hanover County, North
Carolina, relied on the studies of other localities to predicate zoning text amendments, a
method sanctioned by the United States Supreme Court.63 As a result of these impact
studies, numerous communities enacted zoning laws to restrict the location of sex businesses
° City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres. Inc.. 475 U.S. 41 (1986).
60
and to require their dispersal. Some of the communities include Islip, Huntington, Brookhav-
en, Smithtown and Babylon on Long Island; St. Petersburg, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Orange
County, California; Los Angeles, California; Seattle, Washington; Camden, New Jersey;
Kansas City, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; San Diego, California; and, Chicago, Illinois.
Studies and reports have documented the impacts or secondary effects of adult entertainment
establishments located within New York City. A 1977 City Planning Commission report
noted that the concentration of adult establishments in the Times Square area created adverse
economic and social impacts. The Commission related the proliferation of adult entertainment
uses to a decade-old absence of major investment in that area, citing tax arrearage, sales
declines, the loss of jobs, and closed businesses. Increases in felonious criminal activity was
characterized as "overwhelming" in areas where there were concentrations of adult uses.
Complaints for felonious assault were 142.3 percent higher in police posts with one or more
adult uses compared to posts without an adult use.
In 1994, the Times Square Business Improvement District published a study, "Secondary
Effects of the Concentration of Adult Use Establishments in the Tunes Square Area." While
conditions in the Tunes Square area have improved dramatically since 1977, the study found
that the rate of increase of total assessed property values for the study blocks with adult usesr r J J
did not increase as much as the rate of increase for the control blocks without adult uses. In
addition, there were almost twice as many complaints about crime for the study blocks with
adult entertainment establishments as nearby control blocks without adult uses. Property and
business owners expressed the view that adult uses located in the area, particularly in
concentration, have a negative impact on then* businesses, deterring potential customers. The
study expresses the concern that the recent proliferation of adult uses (from 36 in June, 1993
to 43 in April, 1994) constitutes a threat to more recent commercial prosperity and residential
stability in the area.
Many residents of the communities in which adult entertainment establishments are located
have complained about the impacts from these establishments. These impacts include:
exposure of children and teenagers to graphic sexual images, increased crime, diminishing
property values, adverse effects upon the climate for other types of commercial activities and
overall negative influences upon community character. Sexually explicit business signs or
displays visible from die public street are particularly offensive.
The public's concern about the impact on residential neighborhoods of even a single adult
entertainment use, the threat of a proliferation of adult entertainment establishments in the
city's neighborhoods, and especially a concentration of adult uses, is evidenced by a review
61
of recent newspaper articles. DCP's survey of newspaper articles about the proliferation of
adult entertainment establishments shows widespread public concern about their impacts, such
as increased crime, attracting disreputable outsiders to a residential area, changing neighbor-
hood character, and outrage and fear.
For example, a businessman on Sixth Avenue in Chelsea who has just had a triple-X video
store move into the ground floor space in his office building stated "Then I see every couple
of blocks has that kind of store and just worry that the neighborhood would change to be like
Times Square."64 Concern over a tripie-X video store on Bleecker Street in Greenwich
Village located 200 feet from a church and parochial school prompted an informal protest by
residents that led to the cancellation of the lease. "To have a store with pictures of a donkey
having sex with a woman located 40 yards from an elementary school is simply unaccept-
able," said a member of a nearby block association. In another example, a report stated that
about 400 residents marched and picketed a 24-hour triple-X video store on Flatbush Avenue
in Brooklyn because, according to one civic leader, "it's a block and a half from an
elementary school... we feel it doesn't belong here." In Community Board 12 in the Bronx,
residents organized several protests against a recently opened topless club because of its
location. "The guy is surrounded by churches and schools," said the community board
chairman, noting that the three other adult uses are in primarily commercial areas.
In 1993, the Chelsea Action Coalition, in cooperation with Community Board No. 4,
Manhattan, published the Chelsea Business Survey, which identified negative impacts
associated with a concentration of sex-related businesses in that community. Of 100
businesses surveyed, 61 percent felt that the triple-X video stores had a negative impact on
their businesses and 88 percent thought the potential for doing business in Chelsea has been
negatively affected by the adult stores.
Several impacts from adult entertainment establishments were noted in a public hearing held
October, 1993, by the Manhattan Borough President's Task Force on the Regulation of Sex-
Related Businesses. More than 20 testified; approximately twice as many in favor of
regulating adult businesses as those opposed to government regulation.
64 References to "Times Square" are often made by New Yorkers concerned about the proliferation and
concentration of adult establishments. It is not hard to understand why. According to the 1983 Annual
Report of the Mayor's Office of Midtown Enforcement, in the mid-1970*s Times Square was clogged with
pimps, Johns, and hookers as well as the addicts and muggers who along with them preyed on the public."
The report states that 1.200 prostitutes worked out of the dozen or so prostitution hotels and the 23 massage
Stan*, parlors concentrated along Eighth Avenue between 34th and 55th Streets, and another twelve sex businesses
x\ were wedged in between these businesses.
62
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.
'}>*w /
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 hi 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 signage 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
establishments have illuminated signs. Also, in half of the study areas graphic material was
noted for adult use signage.
It is also significant that more than 80 percent of the real estate brokers responding to DCP's
survey reported that an adult entertainment establishment tends to decrease the market value
of property within 500 feet. When the distance is increased from between 500 to 1,000 feet
of an adult use, a majority of brokers indicated that the same phenomenon would occur. The
pattern of response was basically unchanged when the question referred to two adult uses
instead of one. In addition, approximately two-thirds of the brokers expressing an opinion
stated that the presence of an adult entertainment establishment lengthens the time it takes
to sell or lease nearby property, or the turnover rate of nearby properties. This is consistent
with general principles of determining market value of real property; value reflects and is
affected by forces that motivate the activities of people, including social ideals and standards.
In surveys of community organizations, more than 80 percent responded that adult
entertainment establishments negatively impact the community in some way. Nearly half of
the businesses believe that their business would be negatively affected if more adult establish-
ments were to locate near them. Where respondents indicated that their businesses or
neighborhoods were not adversely affected by adult uses, the uses were not typically found
in concentration; however, the respondents expressed a fear of the consequences of the
potential proliferation and concentration of adult establishments in traditionally neighborhood-
oriented shopping areas, along with a deterioration in the quality of urban life.
These perceptions are bolstered by the findings in the TSBID Study and the Chelsea Business
Survey, along with other studies described in more detail in this report. Years of urban
planning experience confirm that these perceptions of negative impacts are important because
people act on their perceptions. As Deputy Commander Peter J. Buccino of the New York
Police Department stated in a recent unrelated newspaper article on privately funded
community patrols: "Residents ... tell me they feel safer... To tell you the truth, perception
often becomes reality."65 As cited in a legal case on adult uses, "urban sociologist Mel
Ravitz stated a sociological axiom: If people believe something to be true, even if it not
originally, they will tend to act as if it were true and, in so doing, help produce the condition
originally believed."66
45 "Hiring Private Security Guards to Cut Neighborhood Crime." The New York Times. August 18.1994, p. C6.
" Gibbs vs. American Mini-Theatres, as cited in "Adult Entertainment, A 40 Acre Study," Planning Division,
'-, Department of Planning & Economic Development, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1983.
*+*£/
64
The analysis of criminal complaint data and property assessed valuation data was less
conclusive than the surveys. Regarding criminal complaints, it appears that land uses other
than adult entertainment establishments, e.g., subway station access, have a far stronger
relationship to criminal complaints. It was not possible to isolate the impact of adult uses
relative to criminal complaints. One reason is that data was collected for the limited purpose
of identifying differences between survey and control blockfronts within each study area, not
between or among study areas. Differences in the number of complaints between or among
study areas may be a function of variations in population densities, or other factors for which
no study controls were established. Additionally, data was gathered for a single period of
time, not for trend analysis.
Comparisons of percentage changes in assessed valuations between 1986 to 1992 for the
study areas, survey and control blockfronts, community district, and borough, did not reveal
any significant relationship. It would appear that the negative impacts of adult entertainment
uses on property values that were found in other studies were overwhelmed by forces that
increased property values overall, at least as measured by assessed values. DCP found that
demonstrating the effects of adult uses on property values on survey blockfronts is very
difficult for several reasons, including the lack of sales and lease data, assessment practices,
and the small total assessed value of the survey blockfront relative to the community district.
In some cases, particularly in study areas with only one adult entertainment establishment,
the DCP survey did not yield conclusive evidence of a direct relationship between the adult
use and the urban ills affecting the community. This reflects the fact that, in a city as dense
and diverse as New York, it is difficult to isolate specific impacts attributable to any
particular land use. Other cities that have conducted similar studies have acknowledged this
same difficulty. For instance, the Los Angeles City Planning Department concluded that while
assessed valuation of properties in areas characterized by adult uses "generally" tended to
increase to a lesser degree than similar control areas, "there was insufficient evidence to
support the contention that concentrations of sex-related businesses have been the primary
cause of these patterns". Adult entertainment businesses were nevertheless perceived by the
majority of the Los Angeles respondents as exerting a negative impact on surrounding
business and residential properties. Whether or not such negative impacts had actually
occurred, or were only perceived to have occurred, could not always be determined by the
survey, but the study concluded that "in terms of the attitudes of the respondents towards
such businesses, the conclusion must be drawn that the overall effect on surrounding
properties is considered to be negative."
65
DCP's survey identified strong concerns about the negative impacts of adult uses similar to
those found in the Los Angeles study. Even in those study areas where it could not be readily
determined that negative impacts were already being felt, there was a strong body of opinion,
especially among residents, that adult entertainment uses were having negative impacts and
that a further proliferation of these uses in the community would lead to neighborhood
deterioration. The experience of urban planners and real estate appraisers indicates that
negative perceptions associated with an area can lead to disinvestment in residential neigh-
borhoods and a tendency to shun shopping streets where unsavory activities are occurring,
leading to economic decline. The forces that influence real estate value are described as
follows: "The market value of real property reflects and is affected by the interplay of basic
forces that motivate the activities of human beings. These forces, which produce the variables
in real estate market values, may be considered in four major categories: social ideals and
standards (emphasis added), economic changes and adjustments, governmental controls and
regulation, and physical or environmental changes."67 The attitudinal data in the survey is
thus significant even in those instances where the current negative impacts of adult
entertainment establishments are difficult to measure.
Fear of the potential proliferation of adult uses is a well founded concern. Taken alone, it
may not seem significant if someone smokes in a subway car, scribbles graffiti, jumps a
subway turnstile, aggressively panhandles or squeegees a car windshield, particularly in a city
where there are other pressing problems such as homelessness, violent crime and unemploy-
ment. But when these small incidents, and establishments, proliferate and accumulate, they
can tear at the urban fabric. Similarly, as the city's experience in the Times Square area
indicates, the proliferation of adult uses in an area does have significant and potentially
devastating impacts on the character of a community. The City has adopted an aggressive and
comprehensive policy of addressing various quality-of-life issues that has begun to yield
beneficial results. The problems posed by adult entertainment establishments are among the
important quality-of-life issues that affect our neighborhoods and communities.
61 The Appraisal of Real Property. seventh edition, American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers.
66
Overall Findings and Conclusion
• Numerous studies in other localities found that adult entertainment uses
have negative secondary impacts such as increased crane rates, depreciation
of property values, deterioration of community character and the quality of
urban life.
• There has been a rapid growth in the number of adult entertainment uses
in New York City. Between 1984 and 1993, the number of such uses
increased from 131 to 177. The number of video/book stores/peep shows
almost tripled and there was a 26 percent increase in topless/nude bars.
Adult theaters declined by 52 percent.
• Adult entertainment is more readily accessible in NYC than it was ten years
ago. There are more such establishments in a greater number of communi-
ties. Adult videos are produced in greater numbers and at lower costs. They
are often available in general interest video stores as well as those devoted
exclusively to adult entertainment. Cable television has significantly
increased the availability of adult viewing material. Adult material is also
available at newsstands and book stores.
• Adult entertainment uses tend to concentrate. The number of community
districts with seven or more adult uses increased from three to eight over the
last ten years. Seventy five percent of the adult uses are located in ten of the
city's 59 Community Districts. In Manhattan, adult uses cluster in central
locations, such as the Tunes Square area. In the other boroughs, adult uses
appear to cluster along major vehicular routes, such as Queens Boulevard
and Third Avenue in Brooklyn, that connect outer reaches of the city and
suburbs to the central business district.
• Studies of adult entertainment uses in areas where they are highly
concentrated, such as Times Square and Chelsea, identified a number of
significant negative secondary impacts. In the Times Square area property
owners, theater operators and other business people overwhelmingly believe
that their businesses are adversely affected. An analysis of criminal
complaints indicated a substantially higher incidence of criminal activity in
the Times Square area where adult uses are most concentrated. In addition,
the study found that the rate of increase in assessed property values for
study blocks with adult uses grew at a slower rate than control blocks
without adult uses.
• DCP's survey of areas with less dense concentrations of adult uses found
fewer impacts than the study of the Times Square area. However, community
leaders expressed concerns that adult uses impact negatively on the
community and they strongly fear the potential results of proliferation.
• The strongest negative reactions to adult entertainment uses come from
residents living near them.
67
• Where respondents indicated that their businesses or neighborhoods had not
yet been adversely affected by adult uses, this typically occurred in study
areas with isolated adult uses. Moreover, these same respondents typically
stated that an increase in such uses would negatively impact them.
Community residents fear the consequences of potential proliferation and
concentration of adult uses in traditionally neighborhood-oriented shopping
areas and view the appearance of one or more of these uses as a deteriora-
tion in the quality of urban life.
• Most real estate brokers report that adult entertainment establishments are
perceived to negatively affect nearby property values and decrease market
values. Eighty percent of the brokers responding to the DCP survey indicated
that an adult use would have a negative impact on nearby property values.
This is consistent with the responses from a similar national survey of real
estate appraisers.
• Adult use accessory business signs are generally larger, more often
illuminated, and graphic (sexually-oriented) compared with the signs of
other nearby commercial uses. Community residents view this signage as out
of keeping with neighborhood character and are concerned about the
exposure of minors to sexual images.
Based on these findings, DCP believes it is appropriate to regulate adult entertainment estab-
lishments differently from other commercial establishments. The experience of other jurisdic-
"A tions, the city's historic experience in Times Square, studies performed by the TSBID and" J
the Chelsea Business Survey, and DCP's own survey establish the negative effects of adult
entertainment uses. Consideration of the specific nature and extent of regulations that would
be appropriate for adult entertainment establishments in New York City was not within the
scope of this Study. However, in light of the negative impacts of adult uses in concentration,
the following regulatory techniques, which have been used in other jurisdictions, merit
consideration in developing adult use regulations: restrictions on the location of adult uses
in proximity to residential areas, to houses of worship, to schools and to each other.
68
Appendix A
Study Areas
Study Areas 1 through 6 are identified in the following listing. A map of each area
follows.
Study Area 1
Study Area 1 is located within the Chelsea section of Manhattan, Community Districts
4 and 5. It is bounded by 14th and 31st Streets, and Fifth and Seventh Avenues.
Study Area 2
Study Area 2 is located within the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Community District
7. It is bounded by West 71st and 78th Streets, and West End and Columbus Avenues.
Study Area 3
Study Area 3 is located within the Fordham section of the Bronx, Community District 5.
It is bounded by East 184th Street, Valentine Avenue, East 181st Street, and Walton
Avenue.
Study Area 4
Study Area 4 is located within the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, Community
District 7. It is bounded by 32nd and 44th Streets, and Fourth and First Avenues,
including an area 200 feet to the west of First Avenue between 39th and 41st Streets.
Study Area 5
Study Area 5 is located in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens, Community
District 2. It is bounded by 38th Street, 43rd Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, 58th Street,
Queens Boulevard, 51st Street and 47 Avenue.
Study Area 6
Study Area 6 is located within the South Beach neighborhood of Staten Island,
Community District 2. It is bounded by Oceanside Avenue, Wenrworth and Hickory
Avenues, Foch Avenue, Humbert Street and Cedar Avenue, and Austin Avenue.
Study Area 1
within Manhattan CD 4 and CD 5
Adult Use
Survey Blockfront<s)
Control Blockfront(s)
Study Area
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning/City of New York
Study Area 2
within Manhattan CD 7
Adult Use
Survey Blockfront(s)
Control Blockfront(s)
Study Area
,**»*•.
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning / City of New York
Study Area 3
within Bronx CD 5
• Adult Use
Survey Blockfront(s)
Control Blockfront(s)
^•Mi Study Area
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning /City of New York
Study Area 4
within Brooklyn CD 7
Adult Use
Survey Blockfront(s)
Control Blockfront(s)
Study Area
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning / City of New York
Study Area 5
within Queens CD 2
• Adult Use
Survey Blockfront(s)
Control Blockfront(s)
Study Area
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning ] City of New York
Study Area 6
within Staten Island CD 2
*.J
Adult Use
Survey BlocMront(s)
Control Blockfront(s)
mmmmm Study Area
Adult Entertainment Study
Department of City Planning / City of New York
Appendix B
BRONX
DCP Survey of Adult Entertainment Establishments, Fall 1993
Community
District
05
05
08
10
11
12
12
12
Name
Altagracia Restaurant
Ascot Movie Theatre
Just Us Bar
Ruffles Bar
Globe Theater
Fools Paradise
Mickey & Anthonys Cabaret
Pretty Woman
Address
1548 University Av
2313 Grand Concourse
156 W 231st St
4026 E Tremont Av
640 Pelham Parkway S
4074 Boston Rd
1769 E Gun Hill Rd
4141 Boston Rd
Use
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
BROOKLYN
Community
District
02
02
06
07
07
07
07
07
07
07
12
14
15
15
15
Name
Pandora Books
Video XXX
Playpen Adult Video
Corkscrew Cafe
Corrados Club
Foxy Den
Moms Bar
Video XXX
Video XXX Warehouse
Wild Wild West
Video XXX
Club Cheetah
The Cabaret
The Ruby Club
XXX Video
Address
88 Court St
851 Atlantic Av
463 3rd Av
6120 3rd Av
3915 1st Av
920 3rd Av
4201 2nd Av
952 3rd Av
761 3rd Av
3901 2nd Av
1368 60th St
1496 Flatbush Av
2937 86th St
1 105 Quentin Rd
1 103 Quentin Rd
Use
Book Store
Video Store
Video Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
Video Store
Topless Bar
Video Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
MANHATTAN
Community
District
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
03
03
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
04
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
Name
Adult Video
Baby Doll Lounge
Desire Video
Harmony Theatre
Kinols
Lovestyle Video
Pussycat Lounge
The Doll House
Thunder XXX Video
XXX Video
Badlands Adult Video
Christopher St Books
Crazy Fantasy XXX Video
Harmony Video
Prince Theater
XXX Video
XXX Video
XXX Video
XXX Video Sale
XXX Video Sale
XXX Video Sale
All Male Jewel Theatre
Chippendales
Adonis Theater
Adult Video
Adult Video
Adult Video XXX
All-Star Harmony Club
Back Date Magazines
Billys Topless
Club 44
Hollywood Twin
Hollywood Twin Adult Video
New King Male Cinema
Pure Gold
Serendib XXX Video & Peep
Show World
The XXX Video
XXX Video
XXX-Tasy Video
Zideo XX Video
300 Book Store
A Carnivalc
Adult Entertainment Center
Adult Video
Adult Video Express
Banana Video
Capri Theater
Circus Cinema
Address
21 Ann St
34 White St
68 Reade St
279 Church St
118 Nassau St
376 Canal St
96 Greenwich St
59 Murray St
100 Greenwich St
1 1 Maiden Lane
388 West St
500 Hudson St
331 6th Av
139 Christopher St
329 West St
1 19 Christopher St
220 Varick St
391 West St
377 Canal St
323 Canal St
520 6th Av
100 3rd Av
1 10 1st Av
693 8th Av
763 8th Av
228 8th Av
725 6th Av
161 W 22nd St
304 W 40th St
729 6th Av
689 8th Av
777 8th Av
777 8th Av
356 W 44th St
262 llthAv
755 6th Av
669 8th Av
644 12th Av
603 6th Av
691 8th Av
539 8th Av
300 W 40th St
39 E 30th St
488 8th Av
795 6th Av
216 W 50th St
55 W 38th St
738 8th Av
1606 Broadway
Use
Video Store
Topless Bar
Video Store
Other Theater
Topless Bar
Video Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Movie Theater
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Topless Bar
Book Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Video Store
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Video Store
Book Store
Video Store
Video Store
Peep Show
Book Store
Video Store
Book Store
Peep Show
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Movie Theater
Movie Theater
MANHATTAN (continued)
Commoaity
District
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
05
06
O6
06
Name
Club 90
Eros Theater
Erotica
Famous Legz Diamond
Flash Dancers
Forsyth Books
Fun City
G & A Books
Harem
Jocks
L & J Books & Videos
Laps
LesGals
Manhattan Video
marquis video
Medalios
Metropole Gogo (Runway 69)
Neptune Video
New David
Nimble Video
Peepworld
Perm Video
Pinks
Playpen
Roxy Movie
Salax in New York
Show Center
Show Follies Center
Show Palace
Sir Merchandising
Stringfcllow
Super Video
Texas Gold
The Male Box
Time Come Video
Times Sq Adult Shopping Center
Venus Cinema
Video Blow Out
Video World Center
Vogue Video
World Famous Paradise
XXX Nectar
XXX Video
1 13 Video Center
241 Book Inc
250 Bookstore
Ail Male Adult Video
Flash Dancers Dangerous Curves
Address
208 W 29th St
738 8th Av
256 W 42nd St
231 W 54th St
1672 Broadway
598 7th Av
113 W 42nd St
251 W 42nd St
249 W 42nd St
711 7th Av
584 7th Av
204 W 47th St
136 W 42nd St
60 W 39th St
265 W 45th St
552 8th Av
725 7th Av
252 W 42nd St
236 W 54th St
254 W 42nd St
155 W 33rd St
252 W 31st St
204 W 49th St
266 W 43rd St
244 W 42nd St
16 E 16th St
259 W 42nd St
711 7th Av
670 8th Av
672 8th Av
35 E 21st St
264 W 43rd St
20 W 20th St
268 W 43rd St
263 W 42nd St
267 W 42nd St
728 8th Av
247 W 42nd St
210 W 42nd St
296 5th Av
42 W 33rd St
632 8th Av
776 8th Av
113W42ndSt
241 W 42nd St
250 W 42nd St
301 E 14th st
125 3id Av
127 E 47th St
Use
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Video Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Book Store
Video Store
Book Store
Movie Theater
Other Theater
Peep Show
Movie Theater
Peep Show
Book Store
Video Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
Other Theater
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Other Theater
Book Store
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Peep Show
Book Store
Book Store
Book Store
Topless Bar
Video Store
Topless Bar
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Movie Theater
Video Store
Peep Show
Video Store
Topless Bar
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Book Store
Book Store
Video Store
Video Store
Topless Bar
MANHATTAN (continued)
Community
District
06
06
06
06
06
06
07
07
08
Name
House of Dreams
Lions Den
Love to Love
The Doll House
XXX Video
24-hour XXX Video
Amsterdam Ave Video
Les Homines
Scores
Address
220 E 53rd St
230 E 53id St
220 E 53rd St
307 E 54th St
127 3rd Av
557 3rd Av
287 Amsterdam Av
217 W 80th St
333 E 60th St
Use
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Topless Bar
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Video Store
Topless Bar
QUEENS
Community
District
01
01
01
01
01
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
02
03
03
03
03
03
03
03
03
03
04
04
04
04
05
06
06
06
Name
Candy
City scape
Mermaid
Penny Whistle
XXX Video
Gallaghers
Honeys
Merry-go-round
Naked City
Nickels
Riverhead Inn
Scandals
XXX Video
Cozy Cabin
Earle Theater
Fair Theatre
Fiddle & Bow
Johnny Jays Catch Me If You Can
Loveshack Adult Video
Polk Theater
Topless Bar
Wileys
Adult Love Boutique
Canhe
Dee Two Video
Pides Place U
Treasure Chest
Goldfingers
Virginias
XXX Video Store
Address
29-32 Northern Blvd
35-03 38th St
31-08 3Ist St
31-07 23rd Av
36-19 Ditmars Blvd
39-33 Queens Blvd
49-14 Queens Bivd
45-15 Queens Blvd
56-07 Queens Blvd
69-20 Queens Blvd
45-08 Vernon Blvd
32-37 Greenpoint Av
31-17 Queens Blvd
92-03 Astoria Blvd
73-07 37th Rd
90-18 Astoria Blvd
92-07 Roosevelt Av
112-08 Astoria Blvd
92-20 Astoria Blvd
93-09 37th Av
39-02 104th St
95-07 31st Av
89-18 Queens Blvd
92-02 Corona Av
86-10 Roosevelt Av
81-26 Baxter Av
60-07 Metropolitan Av
92-77 Queens Blvd
95-36 Queens Blvd
98-32 Queens Blvd
Use
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Peep Show
Topless Bar
Video Store
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
QUEENS (continued)
Community
District
07
07
07
07
07
08
09
09
09
12
12
12
13
13
Name
Candlewood Inn
Corsctorium Inc
Gallaghers U
Goodtime Video
Sports Bar
Mayfair Theatre
Andys Bar
Austin Theater
Port O Call
Dreams Topless Bar
Gordons Topless Bar
Krystalls
Happy Tips Lounge
XXX Video
Address
41 -57 College Point Blvd
36-35 Main St
26-35 123rd St
150-36 Northern Blvd
135-41 E Northern Blvd
68-25 Fresh Meadow Lane
85-01 Rockaway Blvd
81-07 Lefferts Blvd
93-10 Woodhaven Blvd
90-67 Sutphin Blvd
146-16 Hillside Av
89-25 Merrick Blvd
215-50 Jamaica Av
245-02 S Conduit Av
Use
Topless Bar
Other
Topless Bar
Video Store
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Movie Theater
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Video Store
STATEN ISLAND
Community
District Name
02
02
03
Lipsticks
Scarletts
Hipps
Address Use
3575 Victory Blvd
283 Sand Lane
2945 Arthur Kiil Rd
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Topless Bar
Department of City Planning
Joseph B. Rose, Director
Andrew S. Lynn, Executive Director
William Bernstein, First Deputy Executive Director
Strategic Planning
Sandy Hornick, Deputy Executive Director
Richard Earth, Deputy Director
Zoning &. Urban Design
Marilyn Mammano, Director
Tony Levy, Deputy Director
Kenneth J. Bergin. Project Director
Louisa Craddock
Executive Office
Melissa Salten Rothman, former Special Counsel
to the Chairman
Carol Levine
Manhattan Office
Robert FUhive, Director
Jacquelyn Hams-Strobert Deputy Director
Meenakshi Srinivasan
Nanette Smith
Walter McRae
Andrew Smith
Albert Depas
Queens Office
Dennis Ferris, Director
Victor L'Eplattenier, Deputy Director
Syed S. Ahmed
Robert Mazzucco
Fred Lee
Elizabeth Errico
Brooklyn Office
Douglas Brooks, Director
Alberto Villar, former Deputy Director
Purnima Kapur
Rosalind Silver
Susan Silverman
Winston Von Engcl
Rosalie Hoffman
Bronx Office
John Phillips, Director
Balaram Rao, Associate Director
Kate Browcr
Staten Island Office
Pablo Vcngoechea, Director
Mitchell Korbey. Deputy Director
Howard Geyer
Counsel's Office
William Valletta, former Counsel
Patricia Prothro
Operations & Procurement
Antonio Mendez, Director
Gerald Anderson
Planning Coordination
Anne Pizzicara, Director. Community Based Planning
James McConnell, Computer Graphics
Graphics
Eustace Pilgrim, Acting Director
Carol Lubowski
Walter Boll
Michael Greene
Computer Information Services
Linda Goldsmith, Director
Anne Kelly, Deputy Director
Barbara Bardett
Richard Steinberg, Director of Geographic Systems
Derrick Devore
Robert Taszymowicz
Wendy Smyth, Director of Planning Support
Heidi Berman, Deputy Director of Planning Support
Dorothy Bruce
Roger Baldwin
Ella Liskovich
Housing, Economic &
Infrastructure Planning
Eric Kober, Director
Connie Irishman, Deputy Director
Richard Satkin
Frank Cartolano
Woriang Committee