Section of adult bookstore closed
Published: August 04, 2009, 12:30 am
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City inspectors and police officers closed a section of an adult bookstore in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood Monday, citing building code violations and other problems.
Two small theaters and a video-previewing “arcade” in Great American News Co., 1700 Niagara St., lack proper entrances, smoke detectors and a permit for public assembly, city officials said.
“There are building and fire code violations that we think are life and safety issues,” said Patrick Sole Jr., Buffalo’s director of permits and inspections.
The front part of the business, where magazines and books are sold, remains open.
The attorney for Great American News said his client intends to correct the problems.
“We’re going to address everything,” said Michael Deal of the Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria law firm. “We intend on working in cooperation with the permitting people.”
The major concerns involve a section of the building that includes two theaters, said Sole. One room can seat about 45 people, while the other can accommodate about 25. It also has an arcade area where people can view films by feeding tokens into machines.
“They basically turned a storage area into a place for public assembly,” said Sole. “They’ve changed the parameters of their business activity.”
Great American News also has exceeded its exterior sign limits, city officials said.
This isn’t the first time the city has cited the business for code violations. A 2006 inspection uncovered some of the same problems.
Sole said the city will not allow the rear section of the business to reopen until problems have been fixed.
“If we do an unannounced inspection and find even one person in those areas, we could close the entire business,” he said.
Common Council staffers said they’ve had no recent complaints from constituents about the operation of the adult bookstore.
bmeyer@buffnews.com
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