Nov. 11, 2015 By Christian Murray
Show Palace, a Long Island City gentlemen’s club known for its fully-nude strippers and its hiring of porn stars, has a hearing with the State Liquor Authority next month in its quest for a liquor license.
The strip club, located at 42-50 21st St., will go before the SLA on Dec. 15. Community Board 2 Chairman Patrick O’Brien and the commanding officer of the 108 Precinct will testify in opposition to Show Palace getting a license.
The club has a new operator, according to O’Brien, who owns the property and operates Sin City in the Bronx. Real estate documents indicate that the owner is Konstantine Drakopoulos.
O’Brien will go to the SLA hearing armed with letters in opposition from local elected officials. Many residents and the Long Island City Partnership are also against it.
The club was denied a liquor license by the State Liquor Authority when it opened three years ago, after it was deemed to be operating in an unsuitable Long Island City location—a decision upheld by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York.
CB 2 and elected officials were able to persuade the court at the time that the establishment was in an up-and-coming area and didn’t belong.
“There is no basis to suggest that there is anything different,” O’Brien said. “In fact, the only thing that has changed is that the area has become more developed and the renaissance of the area has continued.”
The club has so far been operating without a liquor license, taking advantage of a City loophole that allows it to offer fully-nude, full friction shows to 18-year-olds and above without community approval.
An attorney representing the club told the board in June that if it were to be granted a liquor license it would be in a better position to work with the community and amend some of its business practices.
At the time, O’Brien told a representative of the club that the argument was nonsense.
“Other than the fact you will have topless entertainment with alcohol served as opposed to completely nude entertainment with no alcohol… what is changing?”
However, the representative for Show Palace said the establishment is here to stay.
“This meeting and the approving of their liquor license gives the community more of an ability to have an input on certain aspects of its business,” she said.
“The applicant and I will sit with you and you can say we don’t like your hours and point out something specific. If you are going to say that it is never going to happen because it’s an adult entertainment facility it puts us in a place where we have no room to move.”
The attorney argued that since Show Palace has been in open, it has not had an adverse impact on the neighborhood.
However, O’Brien pointed out that there has been a homicide in front of the establishment and felony assault charges.
“These things don’t happen at Chuck E. Cheese,” he said.
A shooting also took place near the club last month.
Captain John Travaglia, Commanding Officer of the 108 Police Precinct, reported that a man was shot on Oct. 26 during a botched robbery when he came out of Show Palace.
While the perpetrators were not caught at the time, the victim was left in stable condition, Travaglia said. The victim was also arrested for heroin possession at the time of the incident.
The owner of the club could not be reached for this story.
