Foxy Lady files appeal with state Supreme Court
A popular Providence strip club has filed an appeal to with the state Supreme Court reopen its doors after its licenses were stripped by the city on Wednesday.
Foxy Lady was shut down in a 3-1 vote by the board of licenses after undercover police arrested three dancers for prostitution.
Lawyers for the club filed an appeal to have its entertainment license reestablished with the supreme court. The lawyer is also asking for a stay on the enforcement until the full appeal process is complete.
The reinstatement of the liquor license will go through the Department of Business Regulations.
After the ruling Wednesday, more than 200 employees are out of a job.
Stephanie is a ‘house mom’ at the Foxy Lady, meaning she acts as a point of contact between management and dancers. She oversees all activities of the entertainers at the club.
She said the ruling is very troubling.
“It’s a fantasy world. You come in [Foxy Lady] for the fantasy part of it. It’s not a sex thing,” she said. “It’s posted everywhere in the club. There’s no prostitution. It’s not like it’s a hush thing. It’s very open that this is not allowed.”
She said the club and her dancers sign contracts agreeing not to sell sex.
“People who don’t know what it’s about have very bad judgments on it,” she said. “It’s just ignorance.”
Steven Brown with the Rhode Island ACLU is calling the board’s ruling questionable.
“You compare it to how the Board of Licenses with a nightclub and similar establishments where violence has occurred,” Brown said, referring to instances of shootings. “All because three individuals have been arrested, merely arrested, for a misdemeanor offense, that seems extraordinary to us.”
ABC 6 spoke with one other strip club owner in Providence who called the ruling ‘concerning.’
He said he’s having a meeting with all his staff Thursday night to discuss policies and to remind workers that offering sex will result in termination on the spot.
Lawyers for the Foxy Lady will have a conference Friday at the state Supreme Court to see if it will grant its stay of enforcement.
