Residents `shocked' strip club approved

City's hands tied as Etobicoke building's licence `grandfathered' May 02, 2008 04:30 AM Noor Javed Staff Reporter At first there were just rumours that a strip club was opening up in the heart of Etobicoke's Lakeshore Village, within walking distance of three schools, community centres and a seniors residence. But then two posters of scantily clad women and a sign – "Opening Soon Gentleman's Club" – appeared in the window of Jay Jay's Inn on Lake Shore Blvd. W., confirming what many local residents had hoped was just hearsay. The club, steps away from a number of residential neighbourhoods, will be open for business Monday evening. "I'm shocked that the city would let this happen," said Judy Gibson, who lives nearby. "We have so many families here, so many schools, so many kids in the area. This club just doesn't fit in," said Gibson, who is worried her children will have to pass by the club when they walk to school. An online petition distributed in the community protesting the club gathered 500 signatures in two days. Concerned residents held a meeting last night at a community centre to voice their concerns to Councillor Mark Grimes. But Jack Cohen, the owner of Jay Jay's Inn, "a place so nice they named it twice," believes residents are "overreacting." "I am a very family-oriented person," he said. "I have been here for years, doing my business, serving the community, everybody was very happy, no problem ... Now, suddenly, they are up in arms." Opening a Gentleman's Club wasn't Cohen's first choice. He first went to the city with a proposal to open a boutique hotel or a rooming house, and was rejected twice. "They left me no choice but this option, what do I do?" he asked. "I reactivated my entertainment licence, because I had it all along." Cohen acquired the licence when he bought Jay Jay's Inn in 1981 – the site of one of the city's first hotels built in 1920. The licence is tied to the building, essentially grandfathered, so the club is legally allowed to exist, even if it changes owners. According to the city bylaw, a new club being built from scratch must be at least 90 metres away from residences. But in this case, the city's hands are tied. "We have no legal legs to stand on," said Grimes, who has received hundreds of complaints about the club this week. "I am totally frustrated," he said. The club is a setback for the Mimico revitalization plan, which aims to change the face of a neighbourhood known for its "seedy side." Interspersed with quaint coffee shops and vegetable markets are cheque-cashing outlets and boarded up stores. But residents agree the area was improving. There are few options available to get rid of the unwelcome neighbour. "What I'd like to do is get someone to buy the building off of him," Grimes said. But at Fantasy Fashions next door, a woman who didn't want to give her name said it was easy to understand Cohen's motivations. "It has been a tough year for him. He only has one or two people in drinking beer every day. How can he survive on that?"