Bye Bye to Sunset Park Strip Club

The Sweet Cherry, a Sunset Park strip club that has withstood more than a decade worth of efforts at closure by both the city and neighborhood groups, is no more. The club closed its doors as part of a plea deal, the New York Times reports. The owners and managers agreed to get out of the business in Brooklyn and there were some guilty pleas to misdemeanor drug charges. Prosecutors dismissed all felony charges, including a rape charge against one manager. There were fines of $50,000, but no jail time or probation. Quothe the NYT:

Part roadhouse, part funhouse and part suspected house of ill repute, the Sweet Cherry was something of an anachronism in New York, a rough and unapologetic house of debauchery in a low-crime, noise-controlled, smoke-free city...But it was also something of a commonplace in Sunset Park, where the community board has counted nearly two dozen sex-related businesses that have opened since the city adopted zoning regulations in the 1990's to reduce the industry citywide. The regulations effectively limited the sex trade to a few barren manufacturing zones, but the clubs in Sunset Park began to draw complaints when a waterfront revival brought new jobs and immigrant families to the area.

So, for neighborhood opponents, it's one down and many to go. The Sunset Park photo above is courtesy of e-liz on flicker.