Letters to the Editor

D.C. ‘honor bound’ to help clubs

The editorial “No red-light district” (Tuesday) describes progress made on New York Avenue since the newspaper established its headquarters there a quarter century ago, then predicts calamity if nude dancing establishments displaced by the new baseball stadium are allowed to move to the area.

The editorial states: “Red-light districts, like casinos, are inevitable magnets for crime, drug dealers and prostitutes.” But according to information obtained by D.C. Council member Jim Graham, whose bill seeks to help displaced clubs relocate, the new locations identified by the licensees are not clustered together. Nor does their history support the lurid claims of associated crime. The Times simply treats this as a given.

The statement that “the ‘Gateway to the Nation’s Capital’ should not be an aspiring Las Vegas” suggests a row of buildings on New York Avenue with large neon signs appealing to passing drivers. Yet none of the identified locations is on New York Avenue, and experience suggests city regulators would prohibit excessive signage.

If the bill becomes law, the displaced licensees will still have to face the Alcohol Beverage Control Board and the Board of Zoning Adjustment. This bill merely gives them a chance.

The bill’s supporters seek no more for homosexual customers than is taken for granted by customers of the straight-oriented clubs. The bill is only needed because the businesses were dislocated by the city to make way for the new stadium.

The city is, therefore, honor bound to provide a remedy. Most industrially zoned real estate in the city is in Ward 5. The displaced licensees have found suitable locations they can afford and that are well separated. The D.C. Council recently earmarked up to $3.6 million in road funds for the area.

No one is trying to “railroad” council member Harry Thomas Jr. or his constituents, who had the same opportunity as everyone else to testify at last year’s public hearing on Mr. Graham’s bill. Indeed, numerous Ward 5 residents have been lighting up local blogs with defenses of the clubs.

It is rather silly for such a big furor to be raised over a few adult entertainment establishments in a cosmopolitan city like Washington. The Times, like the people stirred up by Mr. Thomas, should stop hyperventilating — or at least stop misrepresenting the facts.

RICHARD J. ROSENDALL

Vice president for political affairs

Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance

Washington

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