On the heels of recent action by the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and Board of Zoning Adjustment to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy for Fun Fair Video, the Attorney General today requested that the D.C. Superior Court order the shop closed (see press release below). When the C of O was revoked, Fun Fair's owners decided to violate the law and continue operating. The next step is a hearing on Wednesday morning that could result in a temporary restraining order to immediately close the doors.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15, 2007
For More Information Contact:
Melissa Merz (OAG)/202.724.5493
Karyn-Siobhan Robinson (DCRA)/202.442.8947

ATTORNEY GENERAL SINGER, DIRECTOR ARGO WORK TO SHUT DOWN FUN FAIR ADULT SHOP

Washington, D.C. - The office of District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer today requested the D.C. Superior Court to order the adult entertainment shop Fun Fair Video to immediately stop operating because it is doing so without a certificate of occupancy.

Singer, who has been working closely with Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) Director Linda K. Argo to shut down the shop, said, "Fun Fair Video has been operating outside of the law for too long.  We have taken action today in court to make clear that this is a new day and that Fun Fair must close its doors now."

"DCRA is committed to taking strong and aggressive action against businesses that flagrantly disregard District laws and regulations," Director Argo said. "DCRA's investigations, combined with the enforcement authority of the Attorney General, will finally allow us to remove this business from the neighborhood."

Fun Fair Video is located at 919 5th St., N.W., and specializes in the sale of erotic entertainment, including videos that show explicit sexual activity.  On November 19, 1996, its owner, JMM Corporation, obtained a certificate of occupancy to operate a video membership store at this location.  The certificate of occupancy stated that the allowed use was "not sexually-oriented".  No other uses were authorized. 

After a series of inspections, DCRA revoked Fun Fair's certificate of occupancy because a significant and substantial portion of Fun Fair Video's business was observed to be sexually oriented and because the certificate of occupancy did not authorize the mechanical amusement machines found on the premises. 

DCRA also revoked JMM's mechanical amusement machine license finding that "public decency was compromised by the activity in and around Fun Fair Video."  

JMM did not close Fun Fair Video, but instead appealed these revocations to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA).  On October 1, 2007, the BZA issued a written order denying the appeal.  Today, the Office of the Attorney General is requesting the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to order Fun Fair Video to immediately cease operating because it is doing so without a certificate of occupancy.

The hearing on the request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) will be heard Wednesday October 17, 2007, at 10 a.m. in Judge in Chambers.

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From a press release sent by our office earlier today:

Testimony at Public Hearing Supports Councilmember Wells’ Proposed Affordable Housing Clearinghouse Directory

(Washington, DC) – On Friday, October 12th, the Council’s Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs heard overwhelming testimony in support of legislation introduced by Councilmember Tommy Wells titled, the “Affordable Housing Clearinghouse Directory Act of 2007”.

“I’m very glad to see the sense of urgency that the Council, the administration and the community have shown to push this proposal forward as quickly as possible,” commented Mr. Wells. He added, “I hear developers say they have trouble finding families to fill the affordable units they create and I hear working families say they have trouble finding the affordable units in the community – this bill puts the two together.”

On July 10th, Councilmember Tommy Wells introduced the “Affordable Housing Clearinghouse Directory Act of 2007.” The legislation would create a Clearinghouse Directory that requires development projects receiving public funds and assistance – whether through tax abatement, subsidy, or other means – to file quarterly reports with key information about the affordable housing units they are creating. It also includes an opt-in provision for those developments that are not utilizing public funds, but that want to participate in the Directory.

“One of the frustrations I hear from constituents in Ward 6, and across the city, is that with all the development projects taking place in different corners of the District, residents don’t have one central place where they can find information about the affordable housing units coming online,” commented Mr. Wells. “As we are faced with the increased demand for affordable options, we are all challenged to find ways to connect families in need with the options available to them.”

The Affordable Housing Clearinghouse Directory would become a resource for District residents to learn where and when affordable units will be created, in addition to income qualifications (such as whether the unit is available for households at a certain level of Area Median Income), type of housing, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and contact information. The legislation also calls for this Directory to be maintained online, but also have print copies made available at several public and agency offices across the city to ensure that everyone has access to this critical information.

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Councilmembers Marion Barry, Chair of the Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs, and Kwame Brown, Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, joined Mr. Wells in co-introducing the measure.

Via our friends at DCist.com -- and really, Ward 6 resident, reporter, photographer Amy Doolittle -- the Department of Transportation has begun installation of their new busstop shelters. The first, at 8th and H Street, NE, was installed in recent days. DDOT entered into an agreement to have the busstop shelters built, operated and maintained by Clear Channel Outdoors in exchange for exclusive advertising rights. The goal is for the bus stop stations to also have up-to-date route and bus arrival timing information for riders waiting for that next stop. It looks like that component will not be immediately installed in this station, but will be scheduled later.

Let us know what you think about these new shelters. The DDOT contract calls for a total of 788 shelters to be built by Clear Channel, so you'll likely have one arrive in your neighborhood in the near future.

Photo Credit: Amy Doolittle via DCist.com

This morning, Tommy and staff arrived at the Channel Inn in Southwest for pretty much a capacity crowd at the Southwest Community Office Hours -- nearly 40 people stopped by. ANC Commissioners Andy Litsky and Ron McBee were also in attendance.

Staff moved from table to table to talk with folks and address concerns. We had several new faces this morning and for some folks at their first Community Office Hours, it wasn't completely clear how it worked. We design them to be casual events, in other words, no speeches. Instead, Tommy prefers to try to have as many one-on-one conversations as he can with everyone that shows up. Our staff moves around as well to engage people directly and try to address their concerns. But please, don't be afraid to just walk up to Tommy or any staff member to get the attention you deserve and need. We'll try to do a better job of making sure the format is explained as people arrive.

Here's a sample of the issues we heard about today:
- public safety on 4th Street, SW and concerns about a recent spike of muggings and assaults (the good news here is that MPD reported making several arrests on the 8th and believe the suspects may be linked to several of the crimes, but this is long-term problem we're all working on)
- a new requirement for tour buses to have a 6-day license to enter the city is causing many tourism operators to spend hours with their buses loaded with passengers at the DMV (we're looking into this one)
- concerns about uneven and broken sidewalks and how it limits individuals with mobility challenges or poor vision (we'll be following up with the Dept. of Transportation)
- the decision this summer by the Capitol Hill Police to prevent tour buses from accessing roads near the Capitol and Supreme Court -- making it difficult for seniors and disabled veterans to access these public buildings (the Dept. of Transportation is the in the process of meeting with the Capitol Police to work on more reasonable points of ingress and egress to balance security concerns and public access)
- an vacant nuisance property on South Capitol Street has significant environmental concerns and squatters at the property (we contacted DCRA this morning and they will be sending out an Inspector to issues citations and fines)

We heard several other issues and concerns that staff will be following up with. If you weren't able to join us this morning, feel free to always send us your requests for help and assistance, or your ideas and suggestions.