Better Late Than Never For Fun Fair Closing?

Here's a followup to a blog of a few weeks ago...residents in the Mount Vernon square area are finally getting the relief their sought against Fun Fair Video which apparently was offering up a lot more than adult movies. Here;s the release from the DC Attorney General's office.


JUDGE CLOSES DOWN FUN FAIR VIDEO


Judge Susan Winfield today granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requested by the Office of District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer which orders Fun Fair Video to immediately discontinue all business.



The Court ordered that Fun Fair Video may not use the premises for any purpose until further order of the Court. A status hearing is set for Friday, October 19, at 10:30 a.m. before Judge Gerald Fisher in Courtroom 519.



Singer's office on Monday requested D.C. Superior Court to order the adult entertainment shop to immediately stop operating because it was 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's doors have been open far too long and it's time that they finally close. I don't care whether you're running a hardware store, a corner grocery or an adult entertainment shop - if you don't have a certificate of occupancy, you are not going to do business in the District."

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.