New York adult business owners have just shy of three weeks before the hammer comes down, unless all nine members of the Second Circuit Federal Court of Appeals decides to review the decision already reached by three of its judges in the long-running New York zoning litigation.\n "We were disappointed, of course, in the decision," said Herald Price Fahringer, attorney for the vast majority of the dozens of plaintiffs/appellants, on June 4, "but we've got a stay for 21 days to file an application to ask the entire court to hear the matter en banc, and because of the prominence of the case and because it involves the First Amendment, we're really quite hopeful that they will give it serious consideration."\n The main problem facing Fahringer and his associate counsel is that the Second Circuit refused to even deal with the substantive issues that have been raised in several previous proceedings, but based their affirmation of the zoning regulations on the argument that the court had already decided the First Amendment issues on March 20, 1998, in the case of Buzzetti v. City of New York, and that in any case, whatever new First Amendment considerations may have surfaced since then had already been dealt with in state court.\n Fahringer, however, notes that all free speech claims presented in state court had been brought under New York State's Constitution, and did not implicate the federal Constitution at all.\n One important issue that still has not been dealt with in any meaningful way is where the businesses ousted by the new zoning regulations are supposed to relocate. While a videotape purportedly exists showing the unavailability and/or unsuitability of most of the locations which New York City's attorneys claim to be available, to avoid any Renton-type problems, no court has yet viewed that footage. Worse, the final report of Bruce McLaughlin, a site evaluator employed by Fahringer to evaluate the city's claimed "available" sites, has not yet been given consideration by any court.\n Finally, one local distributor claims that the standard lease approved by the New York Real Estate Board contains a clause prohibiting certain property owners from renting to adult enterprises.\n As this case drags on, New York officials continue posturing about impending "crackdowns" on adult bookstores, video stores and dance clubs, so far thwarted by several "stays pending appeal." But appeals eventually end, and in the absence of a genuine victory on the unquestionable merits of the adult businesses' case, retailers and club owners are now preparing for the worst.
All models were at least 18 years old at the time of their performance. 18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement.
