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Read the latest news about Fun FairNeighborhood Action: Shut Down Fun Fair
Fun Fair Video is not fun and is not fair for the neighborhood. The establishment, located at 919 5th Street, N.W. (between Massachusetts Avenue and K Street NW), has illegally operated as a sexually-oriented business for over a decade. Neighborhood action is needed to push the District government to finally shut Fun Fair Video Down.
The Problem
Fun Fair Video has a Certificate of Occupancy ("C of O") to operate an ordinary, non-sexually-oriented video store. Its operation, however, consists of an xxx-video "arcade" in which patrons pay a $3 fee for entrance to the back of the store where there are about ten small booths each equipped with a narrow bench and a video screen. The $3 fee includes 15 minutes of xxx video viewing. Each additional 5 minutes costs $1 that can be inserted next to the screen. A Fun Fair Video employee continuously mops the booths. Neighborhood residents have observed a parade of drug dealers and purchasers, and Johns and prostitutes entering and exiting the establishment. Patrons can be seen smoking crack and dealing drugs in plain view in front of the store. No one has seen patrons leave the store with a rented video, leading to suspicion that the business profits from other illicit activities. The business is a primary contributor to safety concerns on the block, where passersby are routinely accosted and residents are afraid to walk outside their homes.
In 1996, the former owner was hit with substantial fines and sold the business to the current owners, who continued the same operation. In 1997, the BZA found the business was operating in violation of their C of O and denied a request for a variance to allow the business to continue to operate in this manner. In 2000-2002, after the business was again cited for violating its C of O, an Administrative Law Judge ruled they should be shut down. The order was appealed to the D.C. Superior Court and was never enforced. In February 2007, the BZA held a hearing and found that Fun Fair was continuing to operate in violation of its license. The following month, it denied an appeal from Fun Fair and agreed to uphold the decision of the BZA and the Zoning Administrator to revoke Fun Fair's C of O and order it to cease and desist from operating a sexually-oriented business. Since that time, the Office of the DC Attorney General has been drafting the final order, which has not been issued or enforced, allowing the business to continue to operate.
The Solution
The D.C. government needs to shut down Fun Fair Video now. Over the past 10 years, Fun Fair Video has received more than fair "due process" and has forsaken opportunity after opportunity to transform itself into a legitimate video store, as provided for on its C of O. Enough is enough. Tell city officials to promptly take whatever action is necessary to shut down Fun Fair Video and improve the safety of our neighborhood.
Thanks to everyone who sent an email