Swinging Richards Liquor License in Focus at NPU-E Tonight

Swinging Richards, the gay strip club on Northside Drive, is expected to make a presentation Tuesday at the meeting of monthly meeting of Neighborhood Planning Unit-E.

The bar is seeking a change of agent on its liquor license and must make a presentation before the NPU, which acts as an advisory group that advocates for its member neighborhoods. They also make recommendations to various city boards and agencies such as planning and zoning and the Atlanta City Council.

Swinging Richards, which is in the Berkley Park neighborhood, is technically in NPU-D, which meets later this month. But since it's within 300 feet of the Loring Heights community, which is in NPU-E, the strip club must make a presentation to both.

The site has been a source of quality of life complaints — a woman reported to police last year that two strippers raped her — issues that likely will be raised at both meetings.

The strip club did not return a telephone call or e-mail request seeking comment Monday.

Jim Martin, who is chairman of NPU-D, told Midtown Patch that there are several issues with the liquor license itself and whether it's legal to begin with.

"To the best of my knowledge, the license they have was never properly granted," Martin said, adding the the strip club is closer to nearby residential homes and a residential district than city codes allow.

There also is a question about its parking capacity, he said, in that Swinging Richards uses a lot across the street on Green Street in its parking count.

But that lot went with a restaurant adjacent to it.

"It's one or the other," Martin said. "It's certainly not both."

The biggest concern residents of NPU-D have about the strip club is how it has increased in size, he said.

He charged that the the building has undergone physical expansion over the years and hasn't sought the proper building permits.

As recently as two weeks ago, he said there was construction taking place on the structure, which he said has roughly doubled in the last 25 years.

"There are guys working on the building and there’s no building permits," he said.

"There are good legal reasons why the city should take a look at this if not out and out reject it."