Around New England

City Official:  Strip Club the Site of Prostitution Arrests Should Be Commended ‘For 38 Years of Doing Such a Good Job’

December 19, 2018

A strip club in Providence, Rhode Island ordered closed a week ago after three strippers were arrested on prostitution charges in the club shouldn’t still be closed, a board of licenses member said.

Police say the three dancers at The Foxy Lady offered undercover police officers sex acts for money. Police arrested the dancers Tuesday, December 11. The club has been closed since Wednesday, December 12, on the order of the Providence Board of Licenses.

During a hearing mid-afternoon Monday, December 17, a lawyer for The Foxy Lady asked the board to allow the club to re-open that night, pending a meeting Wednesday, December 19 when the board plans to issue a decision on the case that could include revoking the license or issuing less stringent penalties.

Responding to the lawyer’s request, on Monday the board voted 3-1 to keep the club closed until the board issues a formal decision on the case Wednesday. The three members who voted yes did not offer reasons during the meeting.

Before the vote, one of the commission members, Peter Mancini, who later voted against keeping the club closed, addressed the case.

A transcript of his remarks follows, taken from an audio recording of the meeting on the city of Providence’s web site.

^^^^^^^^

Peter Mancini:  My opinion, anyway:  you have an establishment that’s been in existence for 38 years. There’s been no shootings, no stabbings. No underage drinking. We don’t even have a complaint from neighbors about noise, or complaints that they park in front of their driveways. So they’ve obviously been good neighbors.

And the public safety issue, I for the life of me cannot understand how we can use that public safety issue to keep the establishment closed, any longer.

You also have, they stated, over 200 employees. Most of these employees are young women who probably support their families on the income from what they’re making. And, um, keeping them closed another day is too much, as far as I’m concerned.

I see no complaints from neighbors complaining. I don’t see any elected officials here complaining. They’ve been good neighbors for so many years. They’ve never been before the board.

We have that progressive discipline, where you do something wrong, we give you a break. This is their first time. This is their first time. I think we should commend them for 38 years of doing such a good job, and not having any problems. And it is a difficult business – I mean, selling alcohol, and yet it’s adult entertainment. But they’ve done a great job, in my opinion. And so, I certainly could support allowing them to open tonight.