The War on Porn Regular Updates about the Assault on The Adult Industry
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There’s a strange finality in watching a 30-year legal fight end not with a bang, but with a single line from the highest court in the country. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that lets New York City enforce a zoning law from 2001—one designed to quietly squeeze adult retail shops out of almost the entire city.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied the application for certiorari, closing the door on a legal battle that began back when Times Square was still transforming from peep booths and neon sex ads into a place where tourists buy oversized M&M’s.
When the law first passed in 1995, the city’s mission felt almost moralistic: push out adult businesses in most neighborhoods, especially in midtown, as part of the larger effort to “clean up” Times Square. The rule was mathematical, too—if 40% or more of your inventory or floor space involved sexual content, you were officially labeled an adult establishment.
But the city later decided that loophole was too easy to dance around. A 2001 amendment replaced the 40% rule with a broader mandate targeting any business that “primarily” markets adult entertainment, whether that meant a bookstore, strip club, or video shop.
What followed was two decades of litigation. Adult businesses argued the change trampled their constitutional rights—free speech, equal protection, the basics. The city argued the law was simply a zoning measure, not a moral crusade. Courtrooms kept the fight alive longer than most of the original storefronts survived.
In 2024, a district court judge finally sided with the city, deciding New York could enforce the amendment. Suddenly, even those who had meticulously complied with the old 60/40 rule were told to pack up and move to the tiny slivers of the city that still permit adult businesses—or to leave entirely.
The plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. That effort fell flat in July, when a three-judge panel rejected it.
They tried again, asking the full 2nd Circuit for a rehearing. In August, that request was denied as well.
By October, the 2nd Circuit wasn’t just done hearing arguments—it declined to issue a temporary stay and issued a judgment mandate, effectively giving the city permission to start enforcing the law.
So the plaintiffs went to the final stop: the Supreme Court. On Oct. 22, attorneys requested review. Nine days later, Justice Sotomayor shut the door.
With the Supreme Court denying certiorari, the legal journey is over. No more appeals. New York City now has full authority to enforce the zoning restrictions—and the businesses affected have to deal with what that means in the real world, not just on paper.
And that’s where things get messy. Even in the rare parts of the city where zoning technically allows adult shops, there are layered restrictions requiring a set distance from residential areas, schools, places of worship, and even other adult businesses. Put all those rules together and you start to wonder how many legal locations actually exist. Maybe none. Maybe a handful on the outskirts where nobody walks. It’s a bit like being told you’re “free to speak”—but only in an empty room no one’s allowed to enter.
