Cabaret and Dancing
Cabaret which includes strip clubs and dancing for small businesses has gotten a lot of press under Mayor Adams’ City of Yes “COY” zoning text amendments. Mayor Adams is proposing to allow small businesses that serve under 200 people the ability to have Cabaret and Dancing up to 4 in the morning in all commercial districts.
Combined with all of the other Economic/Business amendments this will allow dancing, drinking and even strip clubs to exist on residential blocks, inside apartments buildings and even in private homes.
Who has ever lived near a dancing establishment, knows the noise, congestion and heighten security risks dancing facilities can cause. Now just image one on your floor or on top of you, or on your quiet tree line residential block!
MTOPP is doing a series on the Mayor Adams’s City of Yes, “COY” Business Text Amendments, that will change where, how and what types of businesses will be allowed to exist in the City.
The Business Text Amendments are currently being reviewed by all 59 Community Boards who have up until December 30th 2023, to comment on them!
After reviewing over 700 pages of these amendments we found at least 7 major changes that have a serious impact upon the community, and its residents.
- Allowing Commercial Businesses into all Residential Areas.
- Allowing “Small Businesses” to exist in people’s apartments and homes.
- Eliminating restrictive business within Residential buildings.
- Allowing manufacturing businesses to exist in commercial and residential zones.
- Allowing all businesses to exist in all commercial zones.
- Allowing businesses to exists on residential floors and on rooftops.
- Allowing cabaret/dancing to exist on all commercial zones. and New Text Amendment: Casinos!!!
- The Scariest Changes!
Casinos Coming with No Public Review
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As one should know a fully licensed casino can bring a lot of revenue to the city along with noise, congestion, drugs, prostitution, crime and the possibility of taking away green space. Currently several communities where proposed casino sites have been identified, have voiced concerns and fears about bringing all of that into their community especially since Eric Adams’ proposed zoning changes will put commercial districts right in the heart of residential areas including inside apartment buildings or along side large park venues. (See below) All of this opposition would go away, because the proposed Casino amendment will make them “as of right” with no chance of opposition to the plan from the community! Currently after the State identifies the winner of the three proposals, each will have to go through a community review process, where the residents can weight in and demand community benefits, changes to the proposal etc..That will be eliminated because once the casino obtains the license they can build “as of right” regardless of community opposition. There will also be no compensation to the community via community benefits for having such an industry in the neighborhood.
Casinos Inside Residential Buildings!The image comes directly from the proposed text changes under definitions of Commercial. In the blue side bar it says “The Proposal would add language confirming that Commerical Overlays mapped over Residential Districts are first considered a Commercial District.” (Emphasis added) The Business/Economic Text amendments have been pushed to put more commercial businesses inside of residential buildings, and yet now the Mayor is proposing that Casinos be allowed in all C4-C8 commercial districts. This includes Commercial Overlays. But at the same time the City is saying it will not only go in Residential Districts! Understanding Commercial Overlays as Commercial DistrictsWe discuss this already in a previous email, but to reiterate, a Commercial Overlay, is where a business resides under an apartment building. The new Business/Economic amendments will also allow it to reside on the same floor and above apartments. There is a proposal to classify all of these types of building structures as Commercial Districts. (See image above) The Casino amendments says that a Casino can exist in all C4 through C8 Commercal Districts. (go to 32-181, look at the graph under “Gaming Facilities”) This would also includes commercial overlays as well. Thus, a casino can reside inside an apartment building or under one. And if they tell you otherwise ask them to prove it. Where does it say that commercial overlays are exempt, despite their classification as Commercial District. NO Where! Please don’t believe this is far fetched. Currently there are developers waiting to put up Ferris wheels and Coney Island amusement activities in residential buildings. This is just one more step! Especially when there is so much money on the table! What a city we will be living in!!! Point of InformationThis text amendment is a slippery slope, as “smaller” casinos can be considered by the State for licensing since the City would have made them “as of right”, thus signaling that the City is in favor of casinos and their placements in commercial districts all over the city. Our OpinionThe irony of these amendments is that community residents, who comprise of the majority of the community have not been consulted. (No the public review process is not consultation, it is: “Here is the plan, say your piece and allow us to move on with the proposal in-tack.” And yet we are the voting base of our elected officials who are either proposing these changes, or who are putting their heads in the sand and behaving as if the communities will not be drastically altered along with the elimination of our voices, even to be heard despite our advisory role. We have already lost over a million and half people since the pandemic, due to “quality of life” issues. How many more will leave as the business and entertainment industry dominates our communities, with “as of right” laws now being proposed.
Next in Our Series
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