Strip club losing Privileges in W. Chelsea

A new strip club slated to land in West Chelsea in place of another former topless establishment has already weathered enough problems before opening to possibly prevent dancers from ever taking the stage.

The proposed club, at the corner of 23rd St. and 11th Avenue, has thus far encountered logistical hurdles in obtaining proper licenses, but now faces the ire of concerned local residents looking to keep it out of the community.

The previous club, Privilege, had operated for years on the same corner before closing down more than a year ago. Now, a new club called Saphire, owned by GCJ Holdings LLC, is currently under construction at the four-story building site.

But a host of complications surround the new strip club’s plans as it moves forward.

The owners of Saphire plan to expand the space and build new lounges in the basement for dancing, but their current Certificate of Occupancy doesn’t allow for lounge use there. (The ground floor can as of right remain a strip club within the zoning law, but not the basement.) Until the owners get the certificate for the basement amended by the Department of Buildings, the liquor license they obtained last year remains conditional.

“They got the liquor license pending the change in the Certificate of Occupancy,” said Robert Benfatto, district manager of Community Board 4. “If they don’t get that change, they can’t have liquor in the basement.”

A license is also required for dancing—not stripping—on the premises; so Saphire has applied for a cabaret license with the Department of Consumer Affairs, with a decision currently pending.

Adding to the list of woes, a history of alleged tenant harassment against residents of the building’s second floor—which is zoned for single-room occupancy only—required that the owners obtain a Certificate of No Harassment from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to continue building. The owners have sought a new Certificate of Occupancy to convert that second-floor space into a hotel, but reports to Board 4 of tenants being illegally kicked out of their second-floor residences have only compounded the problem.

Lisa Daglian, co-chairperson of the Board 4’s Business and Licensing Committee, said she’s heard claims of tenants being bothered by knocks on their doors in the middle of the night and one instance where an elderly resident was forced out of her home to a higher floor, despite a disability.

“This is a site that’s a real concern to us on a lot of levels,” Daglian said, adding the board has contacted local elected officials, city agencies and the State Liquor Authority regarding these issues. “It’s basically a nightmare.”

The Department of Buildings issued a stop-work order at the site early last month for not having the Certificate of No Harassment, but Daglian said a recent inspection showed that work is still ongoing despite the order.

The community board is not happy with the way Saphire’s owners have behaved thus far.

“They haven’t been cooperative, and it looked as if they weren’t going to work with us,” Benfatto said. “There were a host of things they were supposed to do, by law, and they didn’t do them.”

Lawyers for Saphire and Privilege could not be reached for comment.

Residents of the neighborhood, meanwhile, have been more outspoken than the community board. The announcement of the new club moving next door arrived at 555 W. 23rd St. in September, and several residents, including David Campbell, immediately expressed alarm.

Campbell, 34, is a computer programmer who has lived in his building for two years. He moved in when Privilege still existed, but came knowing it was about to shutter. “That was one of the reasons I decided to buy,” Campbell said. “I bought on the assumption that it would close down, and it did.”

His main issue is with the potential influx of drug users that a club could bring, the way he said Privilege did. “People were smoking up on the [Chelsea Waterside Park] dog run at night and leaving the residue there, and some of the dogs were poisoned. I’ve got a dog, and I think it’s pretty important to keep that place clean.” Campbell walks his golden retriever, Buddy, to the dog run often. “If I had a family or kids, I would be even more concerned.”

Joseph Cervini, 48, who is the resident manager at 555 W. 23rd St., shares similar concerns. “I have kids who are impressionable,” Cervini said. “I have a 19-year-old step-daughter and a 17-year-old son. I also have nieces who come to my house. I’m concerned for them.”

Cervini isn’t against strip clubs in theory, but thinks they don’t belong in a “big, growing community” like his. “I do think that it will bring in an element that we don’t want on this block, in terms of people getting drunk and wandering over to my building,” he said. “My biggest concern is people leaving the club and being disorderly. I only have one person sitting at the front door in our building after midnight.”

Richard Hamilton, 46, a resident of the same building, has issues that go beyond his immediate residence. Hamilton is a senior vice president at Halstead Property, and having a strip club won’t make it easier for him to sell apartments in the area. “Nobody ever told me they wanted to live near a strip joint,” Hamilton said. “Not even a stripper.”

Hamilton attended the 555 W. 23rd St. annual meeting in mid-December, and according to him, almost 150 people were present and “very opposed and very worried about it.” “My apartment is on that corner, and the new strip club going up over my dead body,” Hamilton added.

Soon-to-be residents of the area are also protesting. Leonard Steinberg, 43, will be moving into 200 11th Ave. at 24th St., which is under construction now. “Do you know how many people rent and live in that neighborhood? Thousands! It’s like putting a strip club in Disneyworld,” Steinberg said, citing numerous residential buildings, Chelsea Waterside Park with its dog run and playground, and the art scene.

“I think the most important thing to note is that the community has completely opposed this project. It’s not just one or two people—the whole community is opposed to it.” Steinberg believes that if the whole community is united on the issue, the city should have zoning laws that would protect the concerns of the residents.

“I think the community needs to get together here and really voice their opinions,” Steinberg insists. “We have to let the city know what we want. I’m very confident that if the neighborhood really rallies together for what they believe in, it won’t be viable.”

Some of the residents are accusing the Saphire’s owners of operating with questionable tactics, including violation of the stop-work order. While that is speculative, many residents agree with what Steinberg said: “They have violated a lot of trust.”

Another issue up for discussion is Privilege’s close date, which would affect whether Saphire does or does not have the right to open. According to the 98-123 clause in the West Chelsea Rezoning document, buildings with adult-use establishments have the right to remain in existence as adult use, as long as they were in existence by a certain date. Residents of the neighborhood are arguing that Privilege closed before this date, though the date the community board is working with falls within the zoning rules.

“Under the law, they have the right for adult use,” Benfatto said. “But the board has tried to keep it so it doesn’t go any further. We can advocate and recommend, and that’s what we’re doing.”

And while city and state agencies issue the licenses, the community board gives its recommendation before the agencies make a determination.

“At this point I don’t know what can be done,” Cervini admitted. “I think that all we can do as residents is be as active and vocal as we can. Write to representatives and say: ‘I don’t think this is appropriate, and I don’t want it in my neighborhood.’ ”

Hamilton, meanwhile, sounded a more strident note: “There’s the fight before, and there’s the fight as they open. And we’ll be ready for both.”