Hot Lap Dance Club

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The Hot Lap Dance Club, a/k/a the HLD Gentlemen's Club, was a strip club in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. The private membership gentlemen's club was located on the fifth floor of a commercial loft building and provided topless and nude dancing and live erotic shows. The club was ranked as the best of all strip clubs in the world by AskMen.com. In March 2008, the club received worldwide media attention over a lap dance injury lawsuit. In July 2008, the club was closed down by the New York City police in a controversial sting operation.

Contents 1 Top Strip Clubs in the World 2 Controversy Over Lap Dance Lawsuit 3 Controversy Over Police Raid of Club 3.1 Trial of Dancers Alexia Moore and Falynn Rodriguez 4 References

[edit] Top Strip Clubs in the World

Based on a 2008 article by the AskMen.com portal, the top 10 strip clubs in the world ^[1] are:

1. Hot Lap Dance Club, New York City
2. Night Flight (night club), Moscow, Russia
3. Larry Flynt's Hustler Club, New York, New York
4. 4 Play Gentlemen's Club, Los Angeles, California
5. Spearmint Rhino, Las Vegas, Nevada
6. Le Crazy Horse (cabaret), Paris, France
7. Seventh Heaven, Tokyo, Japan
8. Mons Venus, Tampa, Florida
9. Wanda's, Montreal Quebec
10. K5 Relax, Prague, Czech Republic

[edit] Controversy Over Lap Dance Lawsuit

Stephen Chang, a married securities trader, sued the Hot Lap Dance Club for alleged serious injuries sustained while getting a lap dance on November 2, 2007. The customer claimed that the dancer's heel of her shoe smacked him in his eye. ^{[2] [3] [4]} A manager at the club said: “We didn’t have any reported accidents. We have a first aid kit and we would have treated the guy or called an ambulance.” ^[5]

The Associated Press picked up the story, and within days, news of the lap dance lawsuit spread around the world and was reported in over 1,000 publications and blogs. ^{[6] [7]} Chang became the object of ridicule in editorials, blogs, ^[8] Fox News video, and Kelly's Court video. In About.com, Pamela's Manhattan suggested that customers wear helmets and safety goggles when they go to strip clubs. ^[9]

[edit] Controversy Over Police Raid of Club

On Thursday, July 17, 2008, at 11:30 pm when the popular Hot Lap Dance Club was packed, dozens of New York City police from the Vice Enforcement Squad "arrived in full riot gear" with drawn guns. The Monkey Business blog reports that they "have been told by a reliable witness that this club was THE CLUB as far as strip clubs go" and that a lot of Wall Street customers were there at the night of the police raid. ^[10] The NYPD arrested 4 dancers, including porn star Alexia Moore, on alleged prostitution charges and arrested 15 staff and the owner of the club. ^[11] During the following two weeks, the NYPD Vice arrested another five persons associated with the club, including Swedish model Sabina Mari [22], for a total of 26 arrests.

In an exclusive interview which appeared on the front page of the NY Daily News, Louis Posner vigorously denied the prostitution charges and claimed that "The Hot Lap Dance Club is one of the cleanest clubs around." He accused the prosecutors of "making a mountain out of a molehill." He said that "we know what goes on in the rooms. Managers were constantly checking." He also deflected accusations that his dancers arranged for off-site sex, saying staffers had to stay all night unless they were sick. Guards even escorted them to cars to make sure they went home alone, Posner said.

Posner claims that his girls just weren't that type. "We hired intelligent, well-spoken girls, some of them Ivy League girls, putting themselves through college for the most part," he said, adding that some had boyfriends and husbands. Louis Posner defended one of his dancers, the porn star Alexia Moore, who was also arrested and charged with prostitution. Moore would perform shows, Posner said, but he "highly doubted" that she would offer anything more.

Louis Posner said he set out to create a club that was "loose and not stiff" and catered to upscale "Wall Street" types. "They're not going to bring their clients to someplace where anything illegal or inappropriate is going on," he said. ^[12]

The Vice Enforcement Squad of the New York City Police Department have come under increased attack for entrapment and false arrests. ^[13] [23] One staff person arrested at the Hot Lap Dance Club successfully sued the City of New York in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan for false arrest, malicious prosecution and violation of his civil rights. ^[14] Posner is now being represented by new high profile attorneys, Robert Fogelnest and Joseph Bondy [24]. ^[15]

[edit] Trial of Dancers Alexia Moore and Falynn Rodriguez

Cassandra Malandri, a/k/a Alexia Moore and Falynn Rodriguez have turned down a plea for a violation and are on trial fighting the prostitution charges. "They're using these two girls - forcing them to go to trial just so they can get to the Posners," said Adam Moser, Rodriguez's lawyer. ^[16] During the trial, prosecutors made the absurd argument that they needed to call Alexia Moore's fiance as a witness in order to counter a possible "lesbian defense." ^{[17] [18] [19]}. Judge ShawnDya Simpson dismissed the prostitution charge against dancer Falynn Rodriguez because the prosecution failed to make a prima facie case. ^[20] On January 26, 2010, Judge ShawnDya Simpson found Cassandra Malandri, a/k/a Alexia Moore, not guilty of the prostitution charge. ^[21]

[edit] References