Washington
Chief
of
Police
Cathy
Lanier
informed
community
activists
on
Monday
that
the
department
would
not
oppose
the
reopening
of
a
gay
nightclub
displaced
by
the
Washington
Nationals
baseball
stadium,
despite
concerns
raised
about
the
reopening
by
one
of
her
district
commanders.
First
District
Commander
David
Kamperin
initially
told
Advisory
Neighborhood
Commission
6D
that
he
had
“reservations”
about
Ziegfeld’s-Secrets
relocating
to
a
warehouse
district
in
Southwest
Washington
known
as
Buzzard’s
Point.
The
gay
club
was
forced
to
close
two
years
ago
at
a
site
on
O
Street,
S.E.,
where
it
operated
for
more
than
30
years
as
a
popular
nightspot
offering
drag
shows
and
nude
male
dancers.
Owner
Allan
Carroll
said
he
hopes
to
reopen
the
club
at
1824
Half
St.,
S.W.
in
time
for
D.C.’s
Gay
Pride
week
festivities
in
June.
“The
type
of
club
he
is
proposing
has
its
own
inherent
problems
and
I
would
question
if
it
is
appropriate
for
an
area
in
transition,”
Kamperin
said
in
an
e-mail
he
sent
last
week
to
members
of
the
ANC’s
committee
that
monitors
liquor
license
applications.
“I
can
see
a
potential
for
a
high
demand
for
calls
for
service
and
a
drain
on
police
services
in
that
area,”
he
said.
Lanier
responded
by
sending
her
own
e-mail
to
subordinate
police
officials
and
community
activists,
including
members
of
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Activists
Alliance,
after
GLAA
raised
strong
objections
to
what
it
said
appeared
to
be
police
opposition
to
the
Ziegfeld’s-Secrets
reopening.
The
group
sent
an
e-mail
alert
addressing
the
issue
to
a
list
of
local
gay
activists
as
well
as
city
officials,
including
the
mayor
and
all
members
of
City
Council.
“All,
let
me
start
by
saying
the
MPD
will
not
protest
the
relocation
of
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets,”
Lanier
said
in
her
e-mail.
“This
was
obviously
a
misunderstanding
on
the
part
of
the
[Patrol
Service
Area]
lieutenant
who
attended
the
[ANC
committee]
meeting
and
the
District
Commander.
If
the
relocation
is
approved,
I
look
forward
to
working
with
the
club
owners
to
ensure
a
security
plan
is
drafted
to
ensure
the
safety
of
all
parties.”
Kamperin
told
the
Blade
on
Tuesday
that
his
main
concern
was
to
ensure
the
safety
of
the
patrons
of
any
new
club
that
opened
in
the
Buzzard’s
Point
area
and
that
he
never
said
the
police
would
oppose
the
liquor
license
transfer
of
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets.
He
noted
that
he
informed
the
ANC
committee
about
serious
problems
requiring
frequent
police
presence
at
a
straight
nightclub
called
Lime
that
had
operated
out
of
1824
Half
Street
for
the
past
several
years.
Lime,
which
rented
space
in
the
building,
closed
about
six
months
ago.
Kamperin,
who
only
recently
began
his
job
as
First
District
Commander,
said
he
was
not
familiar
with
the
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
clientele
and
assumed
it
was
a
straight
club
that
planned
to
offer
nude
female
dancers.
It
was
only
this
week,
when
gay
activists
reacted
to
concerns
about
the
club
by
First
District
officials,
that
he
learned
the
club
catered
to
the
gay
community,
Kamperin
said.
Chief
Cathy
Lanier,
head
of
D.C.
Metro
Police
Department,
is
widely
seen
as
a
friend
to
the
Washington
gay
community.
Her
promise
not
to
disband
the
GLLU
and
now
a
pledge
not
to
oppose
the
relocation
of
a
gay
male
strip
club
have
led
many
local
gays
to
view
her
as
an
ally.
(Blade
file
photo) |
|
“As
you
will
note,
I
stated
that
I
had
no
information
of
any
problems
with
the
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
in
S.E.
but
[had]
problems
with
the
Lime
location,”
he
said.
“[It]
was
not
intended
to
indicate
that
we
could
take
a
paint
brush
and
apply
it
to
Ziegfelds/Secrets,”
he
said
in
an
e-mail
to
the
Blade.
News
about
possible
police
opposition
to
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets’
relocation
to
Buzzard’s
Point
surfaced
at
a
March
26
meeting
of
ANC
6D’s
Alcohol
Beverage
Control
Committee.
Three
people
who
attended
the
meeting
said
First
District
Lt.
Nicholas
Gallucci
said
at
the
meeting
that
First
District
officials
were
concerned
that
some
of
the
same
problems
associated
with
Lime
would
also
occur
if
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
opened
in
that
location.
In
a
phone
interview
with
the
Blade,
Gallucci
said
he
listened
to
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
owner
Allan
Carroll
tell
the
committee
that
his
club
was
largely
problem
free
in
the
more
than
30
years
it
operated
at
Half
and
O
Streets,
S.E.
Yet
Gallucci
said
that
experience
with
other
nightclubs
in
the
city’s
warehouse
districts
shows
that
similar
problems
often
arise
with
most
of
them,
including
car
break-ins
and
muggings
committed
against
patrons
and
fights,
parking
problems
and
noise
generated
by
patrons.
“The
owner
kept
saying,
‘We’re
different,
we’re
different,’”
Gallucci
said.
“To
us,
a
club
is
a
club
is
a
club.”
David
Sobelsohn,
a
member
of
ANC
6D
who
attended
the
March
26
alcohol
committee
meeting,
said
the
committee
voted
to
approve
a
resolution
recommending
that
the
full
ANC
file
a
protest
against
the
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
license
transfer
application.
But
Sobelsohn
said
the
resolution
specified
that
the
protest
was
aimed
at
providing
the
ANC
with
the
legal
standing
needed
to
negotiate
a
voluntary
agreement
with
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
to
address
various
issues,
such
as
security,
...
