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Gay Porn Shop The Unicorn Closing After 21 Years in Chelsea

By Rosa Goldensohn | February 13, 2015 4:41pm | Updated on February 16, 2015 7:49am
 The shop will close Feb. 15, 2015, workers said.
The shop will close Feb. 15, 2015, workers said.
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DNAinfo/Rosa Goldensohn

CHELSEA — The Unicorn, one of the few remaining gay porn shops on Eighth Avenue, closed its doors for good on Sunday because of a city crackdown and a rent increase.

The 21-year-old video store at 277 W. 22nd St. had operated quietly for years, selling DVDs and toys and providing a gathering place for people to watch movies as a group, store manager John Michael Cox said.

But in January, the Department of Buildings issued a violation to the store, saying it was not allowed in the neighborhood because more than 40 percent of the merchandise was sexual in nature.

At the same time, the store was facing a rent increase from Big Apple Management, which bought the building in August, and business was falling because of the proliferation of internet porn, Cox said.

"It's a couple of things that came together at a moment," Cox told DNAinfo New York. "You're getting banged on the head and banged on the head... And the owner just said enough is enough."

Erica Dubno, a lawyer who represents the store, said The Unicorn brought in architects to ensure the store was adhering to the city's rules, but the shop was still issued a DOB violation for operating in a way that was not allowed under the building's certificate of occupancy, records show.

"It seemed almost like harassment," Dubno said. "They took considerable effort to make sure they were in full compliance."

Cox said he believed the DOB visits were prompted by complaints from an angry neighbor.

"All I can imagine is that somebody keeps calling until they get what they want," he said. "And they got what they wanted."

At a recent Community Board 4 meeting, local resident Allison Tupper made a speech railing against what she saw as an increase in sex shops in the neighborhood. In December, the West Side Spirit that some community members were upset about Chelsea's gay-oriented stores that carry sexual materials.

But Kevin Hill, a clerk at The Unicorn, said the shop was a longtime neighborhood staple under attack by newcomers.

“It’s part of the community that’s being pushed out like a lot of gay establishments, because of increased rent,” Hill said.

“It sucks because I’m losing my job,” he added.

All merchandise at the store is 50 percent off through the Sunday closing, which was first reported by Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York.

Neither Big Apple Management nor the Department of Buildings responded to a request for comment.