![]() ![]() Limited, the company that owns the building.Ĭity officials have intentionally rescheduled a decision on approving plans to renovate the club out of disdain for the nude entertainment at the core of its business model, as well as a protected speech. In April of this year, Ypsilanti Art Theatre Corp., the company that owns the complex, and M.I.C. First, COVID-19 public health measures ordered it to close last year, but the next months, it has been ripped through a portion of the shuttered building. The Ypsilanti gentleman's club has withdrawn from its existence as of late. The outcome of two parallel legal disputes between its owners and the city will be determined soon.ĭeja Vu, a multinational adult entertainment business founded by the creator of "Howard Hughes of porn," has started its operations in Durand, Mich., west of Flint. “Putting their fate on the city is misguided.YPSILANTI, MI - The Deja Vu Showgirls strip club has operated out of a two-story brick building near the heart of downtown Ypsilanti for more than three decades. “It’s unfortunate that they can’t work, but this is solidly their employer’s responsibility,” Wilcoxen said of the club’s entertainers and employees. Council Member Annie Somerville, who represents Ward 3, where the club is located, previously said she believes the city’s choice to sue the club was a “poor choice,” adding the zoning violations could have been resolved out of court.Ĭouncil Member Steve Wilcoxen, Ward 2, meanwhile, has said the club’s owners need to take responsibility for their actions, denying the business is being singled out in any way. The two elected leaders who have been willing to speak with MLive/The Ann Arbor News regarding the lawsuits have been split. “The city is only enforcing the law,” wrote Ypsilanti’s City Attorney John Barr in an email this week after the protest was announced. The demonstrators had no intention of going inside city hall, Frisinger said.įrom city officials, the message has been simple. Lydia Frisinger, general manager of Déjà Vu Showgirls, left, holds a sign with Floor Manager Edward Otis, right, in front of Ypsilanti City Hall during a demonstration on Friday, Nov. Bartenders get their start there,” said Kenzie Jeyne, a Ypsilanti native who has worked at the club for a decade. ![]() “Sex work feeds families,” one sign read, a refrain several of the entertainers repeated, comparing their work to any other profession. ![]() Some of the Déjà Vu dancers holding signs gathered on the sidewalk, most declining to share their full names, reported traveling to other cities or across state lines to continue working while the Ypsilanti club is shut down. “We’re just here to show our support for our home club and hope that the city sees that we want to contribute to, not hinder, the community,” said Lydia Frisinger, its general manager, who rattled off a list of fundraisers and donation drives the business has hosted. Kenzie Jeyne demonstrates a pole dancing hold on a tree just outside Ypsilanti City Hall during a protest held by employees and supporters of the Déjà Vu Showgirls strip club on Friday, Nov. One demonstrator scaled a tree as if it were a pole and held themselves parallel to the ground, mimicking a routine. Meanwhile, some passing cars blared their horns in apparent support as they turned onto Michigan Avenue in front of the government building’s stone façade. “It helps put money back into the community as well,” he said, showing a tattoo on his wrist with the club’s name and area codes for Detroit and Oklahoma City, where the company sent him to work during the pandemic. 1, we’re helping people get back to work,” said Déjà Vu Floor Manager Edward Otis, clad in a black “Vu” beanie and holding a sign that read “We want Ypsi to be grand too.” 19, employees and dancers, past and present, had a simple message: let us do our jobs again in Ypsilanti. Déjà Vu: A timeline of the city’s dueling legal battles with downtown strip club The club, meanwhile, is now attempting to shift the focus toward its workers, who aren’t otherwise involved in the courtroom. Ypsilanti claims that has endangered the club’s already limited ability to operate downtown under current zoning maps and is asking the court to permanently shut it down. The city fired back with a lawsuit of its own in state court in July, accusing the club’s owners of illegal construction without a building permit. Déjà Vu kicked them off with a lawsuit filed against Ypsilanti in April in federal court, claiming the city slow-walked consideration of plans to repair and rebuild after a fire damaged its interior last year, while also lobbing accusations about city officials’ motivations. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |