CITY OF NEW YORK v LES HOMMES - Legal Case Documents


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CITY OF NEW YORK v LES HOMMES

Keywords & Phrases

CourtCode: AP, CourtName: NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS, Plaintiff: CITY OF NEW YORK, State: NEW YORK, UniqueCaseRef: NE>AP>I99_0180, Adult, Stock, Videos, Les Hommes, Establishment, City, Non-adult Videos, Guidelines, Zoning Resolution, York, Considerations, Book Store, Customers, Substantial Portion, Floor, Amount, Cellar Space, Appellants, Ny2d, Enforce, Administrative Guidelines, Reverse, Sale, Preliminary Injunction, Regard, Compliance, Commercial Establishment, Matter, Inquiry , ContentID: 120251706

Case Documents

1999-12-20

OPINION
[ see first page and extracted highlights below ] ItemID: 125615

5 pages
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Total Documents: 1 document , 5 pages

Price: $ 19.95

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1 . OPINION

EXTRACTED KEY WORDS

STOCK
VIDEOS
LES HOMMES
ESTABLISHMENT
COURT
CITY
NON-ADULT VIDEOS
GUIDELINES
ZONING RESOLUTION
YORK
CONSIDERATIONS
BOOK STORE
CUSTOMERS
SUBSTANTIAL PORTION
FLOOR
AMOUNT
CELLAR SPACE
APPELLANTS
NY2D
ENFORCE
ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDELINES
REVERSE
SALE
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
REGARD
COMPLIANCE
COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT
MATTER
INQUIRY



  THE CITY OF NEW YORK ET AL., RESPONDENTS, v. LES HOMMES, ET AL., APPELLANTS.

    94 N.Y.2d 267 (1999).
    December 20, 1999

   1 No. 194

   (99 NY Int. 0180)
   Decided December 20, 1999
     _________________________________________________________________

   This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
   in the New York Reports.
     _________________________________________________________________

   Herald Price Fahringer, for appellants.
   Grace Goodman, for respondents.

   CIPARICK, J.:

   In Stringfellow's of New York v City of New York (91 NY2d 382), we
   held that New York City's amended zoning resolution regulating adult
   establishments did not violate their constitutional rights of free
   expression. This case arises outof New York City's enforcement of that
   zoning resolution. The issue is whether the courts below employed the
   proper definition of "stock" as used in the City's administrative
   guidelines interpreting the zoning resolution. We conclude that the
   lower courts" interpretation of "stock" included considerations beyond
   what the City's guidelines provide and reverse.

   The City commenced this action against Les Hommes, a Manhattan book
   and video store catering to the gay male community, and its owner to
   abate an alleged nuisance based on a violation of its zoning
   resolution ( see, Admin. Code of the City of N.Y. §§ 7-703(k), 7-714).
   Under that resolution, in order to qualify as an "adult establishment"
   a "substantial portion" of the business must include, as relevant
   here, an "adult book store * * * adult theater, or other adult
   commercial establishment or any combination thereof" (Amended Zoning
   Resolution, City of New York § 12-10 (Definition of "Adult
   Establishment")). To qualify as an "adult book store," a business must
   have a "substantial portion" of its "stock-in-trade" in, among other
   things, printed matter or video representations depicting "specified
   sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas" as those are
   defined in the resolution ( id.).

   The City's zoning resolution further directs that in determining

SNIPPETS:

This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York

Herald Price Fahringer, for appellants.

In Stringfellow's of New York v City of New York (91 NY2d 382), we held that New York City's

The issue is whether the courts below employed the proper definition of "stock" as used in

We conclude that the lower courts" interpretation of "stock" included considerations beyond

The City commenced this action against Les Hommes, a Manhattan book and video store catering

Under that resolution, in order to qualify as an "adult establishment" a "substantial

To qualify as an "adult book store," a business must have a "substantial portion" of its

The City's zoning resolution further directs that in determining whether a book store has compared to the total floor area and cellar space accessible to customers in the establishment"

With regard to book stores particularly, "f at least 40 percent of the book store's total

After several days of hearings involving attempts by Les Hommes to comply with the zoning

The court determined that with regard to its front room, Les Hommes had increased its stock

That fact along with the "terribly stable volume of non-adult videos" that had "been

We agree with defendants that the definition of "stock" as used in the City's administrative

we must enforce the City's administrative guidelines as written.


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