Community Corner

POLL: Time For A Renewed Nightclub Crackdown In Port Chester?

It's been more than a decade since the community rallied to close a strip club in Port Chester, but nightclubs of a different breed have filled the void, some say.

Whether it was styled as a gentleman's cabaret or a restaurant, the former Diamond Club in Port Chester was a strip joint.

If there was any ambiguity about that, the line of protesters holding signs along Boston Post Road made it clear what kind of business was operating behind Port Chester's busiest shopping plaza.

The battle over the Diamond Club was waged publicly, and its legacy is marked in cautionary tales and carefully-crafted local laws designed to prevent the same thing from happening again.

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But a different breed of nightclub exists in Port Chester, and some say those establishments offer much the same as the closed Diamond Club, with a more subtle way of drawing customers in.

Local anecdotes and internet posts indicate Port Chester is home to so-called "ficha clubs." Ficha -- or ticket -- clubs employ young women who work for commission, charging essentially for companionship and physical proximity.

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Forum posts abound from men who have traveled to Port Chester for its ficha clubs, sharing their experiences and dispensing tips to other would-be patrons. Those posts name several nightclubs in Port Chester, some defunct, some still operating. Others identify which clubs might sell more than just bar-side companionship.

It's not clear if existing law, which was fine-tuned after the Diamond Club debacle, can be applied to so-called ficha bars. But a blog post on Port Chester Patch and the resulting feedback from the community indicate the clubs aren't exactly a secret with the general public, and some are calling for a crackdown.


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