Stringfellow's of New York, Ltd. v. City of New York
Citation | 241 A.D.2d 360,663 N.Y.S.2d 812 |
Parties | STRINGFELLOW'S OF NEW YORK, LTD., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants-Respondents, Times Square Business Improvement District, Intervenor-Defendant-Respondent, Center for the Community Interest, et al., Intervenors-Defendants-Respondents. AMSTERDAM VIDEO, INC., et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants-Respondents, Times Square Business Improvement District, Intervenor-Defendant-Respondent, Center for the Community Interest, et al., Intervenors-Defendants-Respondents. Rachel HICKERSON, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants-Respondents, Times Square Business Improvement District, Intervenor-Defendant-Respondent, Center for the Community Interest, et al., Intervenors-Defendants-Respondents. |
Decision Date | 10 July 1997 |
Court | New York Supreme Court Appellate Division |
Mark Jo Alonso, New York City, for plaintiff-appellant Stringfellow's of New York, Ltd.
Elizabeth S. Natrella, New York City, for defendants-respondents City of New York, et al.
Frederick A.O. Schwartz, Jr., New York City, for intervenor-defendant-respondent Times Square Business Improvement District.
Wayne A. Cross, New York City, for intervenors-defendants-respondents Center for the Community Interest.
Herald Price Fahringer, New York City, for plaintiffs-appellants Amsterdam Video, Inc.
Beth Haroules, New York City, for plaintiffs-appellants Rachel Hickerson, et al.
Prior report: 171 Misc.2d 376, 653 N.Y.S.2d 801.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Marylin Diamond, J.), entered October 23, 1996, inter alia, declaring that Text Amendment N 950384 ZRY to the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York does not violate plaintiffs' right to freedom of expression under the State Constitution, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The primary purpose of the challenged zoning amendment is to protect residential neighborhoods, as well as the facilities and commercial areas that serve them, from the purportedly negative effect attributable to the presence of an "adult establishment", i.e., a business that "regularly features" or devotes a "substantial portion" of its trade to entertainment or material that is "characterized by an emphasis on" "specified anatomical areas" or "specified sexual activities". While a place of adult entertainment is, as a form of free expression, entitled to special protection, it "cannot claim an exemption from statutes of general operation aimed at preventing nuisances or hazards to the public health and safety", and "not every government regulation of general application, having some impact on free expression, implicates constitutional guarantees" (People ex rel. Arcara v. Cloud Books, 68 N.Y.2d 553, 558-559, 510 N.Y.S.2d 844, 503 N.E.2d 492). "A municipality may in the reasonable exercise of its police powers change its zoning to control land use and...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
725 Eatery Corp. v. City of N.Y., 02cv4431
...Both the New York Appellate Division and the New York Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed. Stringfellow's of N.Y., Ltd. v. City of New York, 241 A.D.2d 360, 663 N.Y.S.2d 812 (1997) (memorandum), aff'd 91 N.Y.2d 382, 671 N.Y.S.2d 406, 694 N.E.2d 407 (1998).Following the New York Court of A......
-
Hickerson v. City of New York
...Stringfellow's of New York, Ltd. v. City of New York, 171 Misc.2d 376, 653 N.Y.S.2d 801 (N.Y.Sup.Ct.1996), aff'd, 241 A.D.2d 360, 663 N.Y.S.2d 812 (1st Dep't 1997), aff'd, 91 N.Y.2d 382, 671 N.Y.S.2d 406, 694 N.E.2d 407 (1998). The instant appeal is from an order of the United States Distri......
-
For the People Theaters of N.Y. Inc. v. City of N.Y.
...the motion court's rejection of the plaintiffs' constitutional challenge to the 1995 Resolution (Stringfellow's of N.Y. v. City of New York, 241 A.D.2d 360, 663 N.Y.S.2d 812 [1st Dept.1997], affd. 91 N.Y.2d 382, 671 N.Y.S.2d 406, 694 N.E.2d 407 [1998] ). In affirming our order, the Court of......
-
Connell v. Signoracci
...effects such as increased crime, decreased property values, and reduced shopping and commercial activities"), aff'd, 241 A.D.2d 360, 663 N.Y.S.2d 812 (1st Dep't 1997), aff'd, 91 N.Y.2d 382, 671 N.Y.S.2d 406, 694 N.E.2d 407 (1998). As these cases illustrate, municipalities may need to gather......