N.Y. High Court Ruling Bans Adult Stores From Most Residential, Commercial Areas

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York's highest court has reinstated a city law that bans most adult businesses from almost all commercial and residential areas.

WCBS 880's Alex Silverman broke the news to Ajith Kumara, who has been helping run a video store on Eighth Avenue for almost 20 years.

"We have to fight back," Kumara said. "We have to appeal the case."

That is exactly what attorney Erica Dubno is considering. The only remaining place to go is the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We have 90 days in which to file a petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court," Dubno said.

There is another side of the coin. Ed Anakar, who manages three Rick's Cabaret strip clubs around the city, says this will clear out some of the competition.

"We only look to locations that had 100 percent adult use grandfathered license, because we knew that there's a chance that this could happen one day," Anakar said.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani started the war on porn shops during the 1990s, booting them off 42nd Street in Times Square. A handful remain in the area.

Under the ruling, no adult businesses may operate within 500 feet of a church, school or park or in most residential areas, according to a Crain's New York report.

During the Giuliani administration, Dubno and her late law partner, Herald Price Fahringer, fought legislation against adult businesses and won a decision allowing adult stores to keep operating provided that less than 40 percent of their floor space focused on adult materials, Crain's reported.

The city imposed another law that would ban adult establishments with explicit live performances or video booths – a ruling that was overturned by a ruling in state Supreme Court bur reinstated in the Tuesday ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals, according to Crain's.