Show Palace, a gentleman’s club in Long Island City that was recently busted for promoting prostitution, was padlocked by the NYPD Vice Squad on Jan. 19.
According to the Daily News, cops shut down the club located at 42-50 21st St. at about midnight. Owner Gus Drakopoulos must go to court if he wants to re-open Show Palace, the Daily News reported.
On Dec. 8, five women from the ages of 20 to 35 years old were arrested at the club for prostitution. Shortly after, local officials and community leaders held a press conference outside of the site to urge the NYPD to shut it down.
Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor, the executive director of Urban Upbound, a nonprofit that serves Queensbridge Houses residents, argued that the 3,000 children living in the public housing development should not have to walk past the establishment.
“There have been numerous reports of fights, shootings, drug distribution,” he said at the press conference. “This has become the hot bed of criminal activity and I don’t think that we can just stand on the sidelines and allow businesses like this to be active in our community.”
The all-nude nightclub had its application for a liquor license denied by the State Liquor Authority (SLA) three times, most recently in January 2016. The nightclub has also made headlines for violating liquor laws, selling drugs, weapons charges and several shootings.
On Dec. 13, Gianaris wrote a letter to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown asking that he invoke the Nuisance Abatement Law, a law used by the NYPD to shut down violent clubs and bars and crime-prone businesses. It was first enacted in the ’70s to curb the sex and drug industry in Times Square.
“The closure of Show Palace is an important and hard-fought success for our community,” Gianaris said in a Jan. 21 statement. “Thanks to the NYPD and the Queens District Attorney for continuing to protect our neighborhoods. I will remain vigilant in case this establishment attempts to reopen.”
