DETROIT —Tuesday, a court ordered the closure of the Penthouse strip club on 8 Mile Road in Detroit following a lengthy investigation by the Detroit Law Department and vice-officers of the Detroit Police Department for alleged prostitution. In response, state Rep. Leslie Love (D-Detroit), who represents the 10th House District where the strip club is located, issued the following statement
“The proliferation of strip clubs on 8 Mile Road in my district has been an issue since I first ran for the Michigan House when neighbors complained about everything from billboards to lewd behavior at all hours. In response, I held meetings with stakeholders, including neighbors, patrons, club owners, managers, dancers, vice officers and the Detroit Law Department. What I discovered was there was little regulation or even a unified code of standards in the operation of these types of establishments. From those months of meetings and conversations came a bipartisan package of eight bills in the fall of 2018 created licensing requirements, conditions and standards for operating and improved working conditions for the men and women who perform in the clubs.
“This session, I am introducing a bill that will require a study on how to best enact and enforce uniform standards and regulations statewide. Adult entertainment clubs should be operated in a fashion that keeps patrons, employee and the public safe. No one should go to work feeling they need to prostitute themselves to advance in their profession. Adult entertainment can sometimes be a sketchy business, and it’s the state’s responsibility to protect workers and patrons. We need to bring this industry out of the darkness and into the light, so it does not again take us years to discover the types of unlawful activities that took place at the Penthouse club.”
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