You are here: / / New York City Was Unable to Demonstrate Amendments to the Adult Use Zoning...
,

New York City Was Unable to Demonstrate Amendments to the Adult Use Zoning Regulations Were Necessary to Reduce the Negative Effects of Such Businesses on the Surrounding Areas–Therefore the Amendments Constituted an Unjustified Restriction on Speech

In a lengthy, full-fledged opinion by Justice Kapnick, over a two-justice dissenting opinion, the First Department upheld Supreme Court’s determination that the 2001 amendments to New York City’s adult use zoning regulations, re: adult eating and drinking establishments and adult video and book stores, constituted a violation of the First Amendment precluding enforcement of the amendments. In an attempt to change the character of the adult businesses the city had enacted a “60-40” rule requiring that 60% of each business be devoted to “non-adult” products and/or activities. The City later amended the regulations, removing the “60-40” rule, and re-writing the criteria so that a business could be deemed to focus on sexually explicit entertainment irrespective of the amount of space or inventory devoted to “adult” activities and materials. It was those amendments which were challenged. The controversy boiled down to a factual one: Is the City able to demonstrate that the adult-businesses’ response to the “60-40” rule was a “sham response” such that the character of the businesses, and the consequent negative effects on the surrounding community, had not been altered? If the City could so demonstrate, the recent amendments would constitute a justified restriction of speech, if not, the amendments result in an unjustified restriction of speech. The First Department determined the City failed to demonstrate the response to the “60-40” rule was a “sham response” and that the businesses remained unaltered in character by the rule. For The People Theaters of N.Y. Inc. v City of New York, 2015 NY Slip Op 06200, 1st Dept 7-21-15

 

You might also like
LAY WITNESSES PROPERLY ALLOWED TO IDENTIFY THE PERSON DEPICTED IN A VIDEO AS THE DEFENDANT (FIRST DEPT).
THE JURY SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED DEFENDANT DID NOT HAVE A DUTY TO RETREAT FROM A SHARED BATHROOM USED ONLY BY THE DEFENDANT AND THE COMPLAINANT; ASSAULT CONVICTION REVERSED (FIRST DEPT).
ALTHOUGH PLAINTIFF FELL FROM THE SCAFFOLDING SYSTEM CONSTRUCTED BY SWING, A SUBCONTRATOR, PLAINTIFF’S LABOR LAW 240(1) AND 241(6) CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST SWING SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED; SWING WAS NOT A CONTRACTOR OR OWNER, OR A CONTRACTOR’S OR OWNER’S STATUTORY AGENT, WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE STATUTES (FIRST DEPT).
SIX-MONTH CONTRACTUAL STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS EXPIRED BEFORE THE CLAIM ACCRUED AND WILL NOT BE ENFORCED TO PRECLUDE PAYMENT ON THE CLAIM (FIRST DEPT).
REVOCATION OF PETITIONER’S DRIVER’S LICENSE, BASED UPON A 1995 DEFAULT CONVICTION OF WHICH PETITIONER WAS APPARENTLY UNAWARE, WAS ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS (FIRST DEPT).
PLAINTIFF, WHO FELL FROM AN UNSECURED LADDER, WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240(1) CLAIM, THERE WAS A QUESTION OF FACT ON THE LABOR LAW 241(6) CAUSE OF ACTION WHICH ALLEGED THE LADDER SLIPPED ON A WET FLOOR (FIRST DEPT).
CONFLICTING EVIDENCE OF EXISTENCE OF PUDDLE CREATED A CREDIBILITY ISSUE IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE WHICH COULD NOT BE RESOLVED WITHOUT TRIAL.
A STACK OF SHEETROCK BOARDS WHICH WERE LEANING AGAINST A WALL FELL ON PLAINTIFF; THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS A GRAVITY-RELATED EVENT AND WHETHER THE ELEVATION DIFFERENTIAL WAS DE MINIMUS (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

In Responding to Defendant’s Criticisms of Defense Counsel’s Actions,... Court’s Review Powers Re: a Planning Board’s Denial of a Subdivision...