‘UP IN ARMS’
People upset by beachside sex shop, but city says nothing can be done
FORT LAUDERDALE — A not-so-subtle sex shop, shut down by the city weeks ago for being too close to a family-friendly beachfront park, is now back with the city’s blessing.
But nearby residents aren’t exactly putting out the welcome sign for the Ocean View Boutique, which sits on a prominent corner, just a block from the beach and right across from the Las Olas Oceanside Park.
The place has been open less than a week and has already sparked a flurry of complaints.
Vice Mayor Steve Glassman, who represents that section of the beach, has heard it all: The lingerie on the garter-belted mannequins in the window is too sleazy. The store’s night lighting is too harsh, too garish. A store that sells such scandalous merchandise simply does not belong on a landmark corner at a world-famous beach.
“I think they need to class it up a little bit, if that’s even possible,” Glassman said. “So it’s not offensive. Tone it down and class it up. Perhaps it needs to be a little more tasteful.”
But it looks like the shop may be here to stay, just as it is.
Glassman says he can sympathize with the neighbors, but there’s not much anyone can do so long as the store complies with city code.
To meet city code, all it took was a partition wall for the 18-and-older set to peruse the sex toys and a vow to limit the number of toys sold as part of the overall merchandise.
“Most of the store is now lingerie with an 18-and-older section behind a wall for the sexually oriented material,” said Anthony Greg Fajardo, director of Fort Lauderdale’s Department of Sustainable Development.
Owner Percy Siriwardana could not be reached for comment despite five calls to the store.
Residents of the Venetian condo across the street were particularly alarmed to see the shop come back to life, said Bill Brown, president of the Central Beach Alliance neighborhood group.
“The neighbors at the Venetian are up in arms,” he said. “Residents are sending me photos of the mannequins in the windows.”
The mannequins are dolled up in “sensuous attire,” said John Burns, president of the Venetian Condo Association.
“I have received more than a handful of calls from people asking what’s going on with the store,” he said. “We thought it was closed.”
Burns sent a letter of protest to the city this week but was told the store, at 2941 East Las Olas Blvd., is now in compliance.
“We continue to believe that this store does not represent the luxury or family-oriented vision of Fort Lauderdale beach,” Burns wrote. “The inside of the store may be ‘lingerie,’ but the outside screams ‘adult XXX’ and we do not think it belongs across the street from a premier park or on a world-class beach.”
Condo resident Bob Casullo doesn’t mind the mannequins with their red lace and black garter belts. But he wonders if there’s a better spot for that kind of shop.
“You got all these families at the [park] and you got this ... across the street,” he said. “The people in our building don’t like the way the store is lit up at night. It’s kind of turning into a Broadway place. It just doesn’t fit. It’s in the wrong place.”