Let the Strip District strip

Being a Pennsylvania stripper is very hard work. Exotic dancers in the Keystone state have to… Being a Pennsylvania stripper is very hard work. Exotic dancers in the Keystone state have to be patient because they can’t even start to shed the clothes until they’ve wiggled and shaken their way out of piles of red tape.

There is a wide network of laws and statutes that place restrictions on adult entertainment, and one area businessman is navigating them right now.

John Wargo wants to open an adult cabaret in the Strip District, and it seems reasonable that he should be able to. Wargo runs the Voodoo Lounge, a bar located in the central section of the Strip. The Voodoo has a loyal clientele and is largely frequented by bikers.

Becky Rodgers, director of Neighbors in the Strip, is somewhat sympathetic to the Voodoo. She points out in an article for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the motorcycles lined up in front of the bar every weekend are rather expensive, and probably belong to middle class bikers – “Instead of Hell’s Angels, you have Hell’s Attorneys or Hell’s Accountants,” she said.

Wargo wants to open the cabaret in the rear of the bar, but he has many obstacles to overcome first, including permits, public hearings, a review of the zoning ordinance, a waiver from the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and attention from City Council.

City officials cringe when a request like this is made, but the Voodoo has spent close to a decade establishing a reputation that should make authorities comfortable. The bar has not been host to any significant violence or crime, and Rodgers tells the Post-Gazette that the Voodoo has only reported one 911 call in the past eight years.

Area residents must certainly be polled before any action is taken, but if a third strip club is to be added to the District – in addition to Bare Elegance and the 31st Street Pub – the Voodoo is a safe and respectable location. It could also provide a means for more tax money that can be reinvested in the Strip District housing area.

Wargo runs a safe and reputable bar. He has proven himself capable of maintaining order and his customers are clearly willing to behaving themselves, so the city should be willing to consider his request. This renovation at the Voodoo is tolerable if not desired, and the city can benefit from it.

The Strip is not the most family friendly place to begin with, so another cabaret may not have much effect – as long as it’s somewhat classy, safe and taxable.