Inwood Lingerie Shop Issued Court Summons

Playhouse Funk, an erotic accessories store in Inwood, has been given an appearance ticket to come before a Town of Hempstead court judge on Feb. 14 for displaying adult material where it can be seen by the public.

Loreal Watson, owner of the shop at 501-2 Burnside Ave, said she has removed any visible adult material that could be interpreted as anatomical from her shop’s window and placed an “over 18 only” in the window.   

Watson noted that before she opened her shop on Dec. 1, 2011, she researched what categorized a ‘porn shop,’ which she said is one that sells adult DVDs or had a ‘peep show’. Watson categorizes her place as a “couple’s store,” adding, “It’s very tasteful.”

Playhouse Funk carries women’s lingerie, jewelry and adult toys. 

“There is nothing here that you wouldn’t see in CVS or Rite Aid," Watson said. "They just package it differently.”

She said a Town of Hempstead employee spoke with her regarding what could be seen from the window. Afterwards, she said she removed what she was instructed to, but town code enforcement came back the next day and put a large pink sticker with “Adult Material” in bold on top of her front door.

Currently, the store displays lingerie in the window.

“You can see the same thing at Victoria’s Secret in the mall,” Watson said. She added, “You can find things 10 times worse in Spencer’s Gifts,” which she pointed out, is also in the mall.

Watson was told by the Town of Hempstead that there were many complaints, but she said she had encountered only one couple who would not speak with her but complained loudly from outside her store. The Inwood Civic Association, whose members said they received several complaints about the store, notified the town.

“I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people coming in,” she said. “Business is picking up.”

Town of Hempstead Spokesperson Susie Trenkle-Pokalsky said the town “does not want kids to be able to walk in to the store and see those materials.”

The store is not allowed to have more than five percent of its space dedicated to the sale of adult material, Trenkle-Pokalsky said. She added that she has pictures of the front of the store, and Watson did not have an ‘over 18 only’ sign in the window when she was issued the summons on Jan. 11.

“The court will decide whether or not they will be fined,” she said.