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By: DYANA BAGBY
COMMENTS |
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Alleged incidents of public oral sex and prostitution put the liquor license and the future of the long-standing gay bar Phoenix in jeopardy.
On Oct. 6, the Atlanta Police Department sent Phoenix bar owner Evelyn Downing a due cause letter saying it is seeking to revoke the bar’s liquor license. A hearing before the License & Review Board to hear arguments in the case is scheduled for Nov. 29, according to Sgt. E. Davis. A Nov. 15 hearing was postponed.
Police allege that on April 12, Phoenix management allowed two men to engage in oral sex at the bar while other patrons watched. Other charges include operating and serving alcohol after hours on March 27 and a customer offering an undercover officer money for sex in the parking lot on April 21.
Downing could not be reached this week for comment. A bar employee declined comment. The venue is located at 567 Ponce De Leon Avenue Northeast, a few steps from the headquarters of the Atlanta Police Department and City Hall East.
Hoping to see the bar closed are members of the Midtown Neighbors Association and residents of the nearby Glen Iris Lofts, who are plan to bus people to the hearing this month, according to a notice on the MNA web site.
“Residents from that area have assisted the police in documenting a case against the license being renewed. MNA is hiring a bus to take Midtown residents to the meeting in a show of support for the residents and police who did all the work on this case,” the notice states.
An MNA representative could not be reached for comment this week.
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