No Swinging From Fishtown Trapeze
If a business is underneath I-95, can you really expect it to not be shady? Just like any business operating below the El, the same applies for Port Fishington’s own Shadow World. Which is why any protest we hear regarding Trapeze, a swingers club with a name that’s not so secret, is an exercise in futility. For it can be no other way without stabbing our beloved hood in its heart. That L&I has temporarily halted the swing from swaying proudly in the devil’s playground is unfortunate. For a handful of unhappy couples, it was undoubtedly an oasis during desolate times. Back to sitting on the step crafting fantasies starring passersby for these folks. As for the offended, that’s what you get when you move behind the Thriftway.
NBC10: The Sultans Of Swing
September 26th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Ms. Beattie is not attempting to shut down Trapeze because of a moral disagreement with the practice of ’swinging’, but because it is being allowed to operate in a residential neighborhood without proper permitting and/or licenses.
The owners of Trapeze reside and own clubs in Georgia and Florida, where they are operated in commercial districts with proper licenses. Clearly, they are aware of how to operate such a business and are familiar with obtaining the proper licenses and locations for this. The only motivation to operate the business in a residential district such as Port Richmond would be to increase profits by purchasing a building for less than it would cost in a commercial district and operating it illegally.
What this article fails to mention is when Ms. Beattie voiced her concerns after witnessing several patrons outside of the building wearing next to nothing, she was told by her state representative that “they paid off the right people” at City Hall, namely Dominic Verdi of the Department of Licenses & Inspections (if the business was legal, why the need for a payoff?). She’s had her windows broken, her van vandalized and received a letter from the club’s lawyers threatening to sue her for slander and take her house from her because of her attempts to get a straight answer and fair treatment from the City. The owners of Trapeze are using shear intimidation and harassment to keep their business running and are attempting to silence anyone that is trying to do what is right for their family, children and neighborhood, regardless if it’s located behind a Thriftway. Nice guys, those Trapeze owners.
Sadly, this is yet again another display of corruption in City Hall and a blatant disregard for it’s citizens. Regardless of the nature of the business, Ms. Beattie is within her legal right to see this business shutdown.
To the owners of Trapeze – move your club to a commercial district such as Columbus Blvd, pay for a proper license and swing away.