New Imperial showdown … and DCM told to close at midnight
The City of Sydney will have blood on its hands if it doesn’t help get Imperial Hotel patrons off Erskineville Rd and into the safety of the newly renovated venue, its owner has claimed.
Imperial owner Shadd Danesi has made another plea to the Council to allow his original request for 788 patron numbers, filing a fresh application for the hotel last Saturday.
He told Sydney Star Observer it was about keeping the surplus 346 people off the street corner that even the city’s traffic engineers acknowledge is dangerous.
This follows council’s decision last month to grant only a minor increase in patron numbers to 442 -” despite the recent closure of the area’s other major gay venue, the Newtown Hotel.
We’re expecting there to be much higher demand, because of the Newtown and because of the renovations, Danesi said. But we don’t want to see 360-odd people out on the footpath.
A railing along Erskineville Rd, originally required by city planners, was knocked by the city’s traffic engineers fearing pedestrians could get trapped on the other side. This has Danesi worried that patrons queuing outside will be a bigger problem than just noise, with safety from passing vehicles also a concern.
Eventually someone will die. Those 360 people could be safe inside, rather than exposed to the dangers outside, from cars, from abuse, from homophobic violence, he said.
There’s no logical reason for them to not be inside, other than they [council] don’t want the numbers.
A City of Sydney spokesman said council generally didn’t approve of railings because they can cause more danger to pedestrians.
The Imperial’s new application will also include a new design for the rooftop stiletto based on the Priscilla movie. Danesi said he took the advice of gay independent Cr Philip Black and made it smaller, thinner, fixed and more in keeping with the building’s art deco style.
DCM to close at midnight
The Land and Environment Court has ordered DCM to close at midnight.
The problematic venue was a key feature in Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s late night walk along the Golden Mile earlier this year, along with Police Minister David Campbell and Sydney Star Observer columnist Maxi Shield as the authorities scrambled to deal with an influx of homophobic violence.
Meanwhile, just weeks after the Gaff nightclub and restaurant appealed for council help to keep daytime trade on Oxford St alive, the venue had its expansion application refused again.
The Small Permits Appeals Panel upheld the council’s earlier decision to deny a plan that would have seen the club’s ground floor expand as a day-time restaurant and night-time smoking area.
Last month Gaff owner Steve Baldacchino told SSO the strip was dying, and the city needed to support businesses offering day-time trade and getting smokers off the street.
So no one bothered to reply to Ernie?!? Is it because he babbled on with utter crap, yes I think so. And James what exactly was your purpose on this forum? Too much time on your hands eh? You find us more interesting than your average Joe, but can’t handle “Gay acts” so where exactly does your interest lie? You can’t have one without the other mate. It doesn’t make you anti gay it just makes you look as stupid, ignorant and hypocritcal as the rest of society who has no idea. And it’s not a matter of being sensitive and having no prob with dishing out its got a lot to do with having to constantly stick up for ourselves ALL OUR LIVES and deal with uneducated, unaccepting people like you. It’s all or nothing make your choice!
I don’t find gay people revolting at all; I actually find them more interesting than your average Joe. But gay acts, yeah, I do find them revolting. Two guys going for it? Nah, that does not compute. If that makes me “anti-gay” then so be it. I hope I don’t get barred from this forum but if I do it ain’t exactly going to break my heart.
I must say though, you guys are pretty sensitive but you have no problem dishing it out to anyone else; eg. those from Bankstown, Greenacre, bogans, etc. in a derogatory manner.
This is not the first time “James” has added anti-gay comments on this website, My advice is to ignore him. Also James if you think homosexuality is revolting why do you vist this website ?
The issue with DCM/UN is not what goes on inside (about which I care very little) but what goes on in the surrounding area as a result of the way it operates asd the way it is managed. Ask anyone living in the area about the thugs, noise, obstreporous queuers in the immediate area, and then there’s the surrounding streets – where illegal parking, noisy yobs, violence, blatant drug dealing and drug use – accompanied by violence of the sort rarely associated with drugs in the gay community – and public sex in and around building foyers.
After 6 years living within 60 metres of DCM I gave up. Friends who live nearby have weekly ‘war stories’ of havoc wrought byh the DCM set each weekend.
Read the Land and Environment Court judgement – the DCM management haven’t even tried to do the right thing. They flouted floor loadings, fire regs and smoking controls, as well as blatant breaches of noise regs and security guard related laws. If this decision wrecks their business, there are plenty of responsible operators – straight or gay – who can do somethign worthwhile with the venue.
James, the 10% figure is derived from the Kinsey Report which was published in 1948, well before modern gay culture emerged.
Kinsey’s assessment was that around 10% of American men were more or less exclusively homosexual for at least three years between the ages of 16 and 55. However, his sample drew heavily upon prisoners and male prostitutes and his methodology wouldn’t be used today.
Kinsey never claimed that, “10% of men are gay.” The word “gay,” to describe out homosexual men wasn’t in common use in 1948, nor were men commonly, “out.” Kinsey’s findings related solely to what men did; not how they identified.
These days, it’s generally accepted that men who identify as gay are around about 2-3% of the Australian population.
But…you’re not interested in hearing any of this are you? Your purpose in coming here is to screech about, “normalising a lifestyle that most people find revolting.”
The moderator might think that publishing your tired, boring, bullshit is OK. I don’t.
chris – actually they do. Just as they tell me that they can’t help the way they are, I tell them that I can’t help the way I think. Just as I take them the way they are, they take me the way I am (no pun intended there!)
We’ve got enough in common to get along quite well, even if we don’t understand each other at times.
Still, a good argument is fun at times.
James do your “gay friends ” know that you think they are weird , unnatural and revolting ?? lol
WTF? Lol..
chris – I’m stating facts mate. If most people didn’t find the homosexual lifestyle even remotely weird or unnatural or revolting or whatever, gay people would not need to march in the streets, become activisits, have parades all over the world, etc.
I’m not protesting against anyone or anything. As a straight person, I’ve been told by numerous gay people – and my gay friends – that 10% of the population is gay. If that’s the case, the issues around one single pub in Erskineville wouldn’t generate the publicity that it is. Gay people would simply go to the hundreds of other gay places that would be dotted throughout the suburbs.
Sorry to disappoint you but I’m not into men, and not even remotely interested. But I do hear that you’re cute!
James you homophobe , who gives a flying F**K whether we are 10% or 1% .We are still your equal and deserve respect. Your comment” pretending to normalise a lifestyle that most people find revolting ” reveals you as a bigot and i reckon it is YOU, not most people who find us revolting. And we all know what happens to people like James don’t we lol ..the ones protesting so loudly are usually the one who in secret love a bit of man to man action thats no doubt why you find this website so interesting . There is another site you would find MORE interesting it’s called rentboyaustralia.com .
chris – I wouldn’t be fussed if straight clubs in Oxford street were shut down as I never go to them. Nor do I go to Bankstown or anywhere near Bankstown. But please answer my question; if gays make up 10% of the population – as gay people profess to be gospel – then why are there not hundreds of gay bars scattered throughout Sydney? Oh, and I post on this website as I find it interesting.
The posts by dcs , james and ernie other than being stupid and illiterate illustrate why we should support the City of Sydney and close these straight clubs down on Oxford ST . Why don’t these bogan haunts set themselves up in Bankstown or Grennacre where most of these mummma’s boys come from .And hey boys what are you doing posting on a gay website ?lol
U homosexuals are cut cos u lost what you once had as the best venue for party’n, dc’s. The club is a cancer on the city, but that dosn’t mean that any other club along the strip is better! Gay clubs are drug infested disease fests! Shut em all down I say! That will get alot of drugs off the streets and maybe clean sydneys asshole up!
If gays make up 10% of the population, which gay people will happily tell you is fact and generally refer to you some study, then who cares what happens at this hotel? Statistically, you should have at least a couple of hundred places in numerous Sydney suburbs that are for gay people. Now we all know that 10% is a lie, so you should stop peddling it and pretending to normalise a lifestyle that most people find revolting.
u jus cant go out and party hard and enjoy ur late teens and early 20s anymore because a few bad seeds ruin the whole apple. u shut the doors at 12, it will only cause more problems.. they will find other places to “hang” and go about havin a fun night… jus let them be.. if they are in the club (which when u go clubbin u tend to stay inside a club) what harm are they? [D]C[M] for LIFE!!!
Although I agree with a lot that has been said by everyone here, they’re very good points, I also know that his is just a period of change. An inevitable period of change. The cross had it’s day then went down hill and now picking up again. Albeit full of back packers and generaly a straight crowd, it’s picked up all the same. Once the dust settles on all this change…Mardi Gras becoming straight and commercial, The Newtown Hotel closing, Imperial upgrades etc etc lets just see what happens and then act. If the strip sux we’ll just go somewhere else and make it ours….you can’t keep a good gay down. Or maybe it’s a case of assimilation. We’re mixing our society and no particular place is anyone’s anymore….and isn’t that what we’ve ultimately been fighting for, equality and to be recognised as part of society?.. We’ll here it is and all we do is complain. It’s unfortunate that there are members of the straight community that are a bunch of dicks, but there are the others that are decent too. You can’t ask for acceptance and equality, then pick and choose who you want and how you want it to be. Gotta take the good with the bad and make it work to your advantage.
Exactly who does Danesi think he is kidding? Even with the old limit of 306 patrons (not including the front bar) the Imperial frequently was more a haven for hens nights than a gay venue.
There simply aren’t 788 of us GLBT members of the community out there wanting to get in, let alone willing to queue outside! That means that if Danesi gets his increased numbers he will be flooding this gay old girl (The Imperial) with straight guys and gals simply to fill the place up .. vale another gay venue!
Lets face it, with a track record of how straight ARQ is these days (does anyone think of it as a GLBT venue at all? .. or just a mixed, leaning to straight venue?) the evidence supports my conclusion not Danesi’s spin.
442 is plently. Time for the greed to stop.
But did not Clover push for the legislation to enable such restrictions on rogue nightclub operators?
To correct an above comment: Clover Moore’s Independents team are currently only 5 councillors out of the 10 on Council, not 6 of 10, and nor do they vote as a bloc.
Good on you Clover!!!Getting DCM to shut by midnight is the best news Oxford Street has had in years. Clovers council has also blocked the Gaff from doubling in size into the old Oxford Medical center and effectivley shut down the cesspit that was the Taylor Square Hotel .This is the way to go.
“Gay people didn’t support Oxford street”
and the reverse is true too, James.
Chris said it perfectly. So there will be hundreds of people queuing up outside the Imperial? I don’t think so. There won’t even be anywhere near that amount outside on the opening night. It’ll just end up being another gay place that flops in a few years time, and the gay people will blame the council, the locals, or anyone else rather then themselves – just like Oxford Street. I mean, you can’t pretend to own the place and then blame everyone else when it fails. Gay people didn’t support Oxford street, so it failed.
Finally! I was grinning from ear to ear when I first heard the news about these two -œrogue hell-holes …
Hopefully some much needed reprieve is in sight for residents and our community.
But come on – give Danesi and the old girl a break, already!
Good! Close that DCM down. Hopefully the crowd will go back to Blacktown.
Yep … the Blue Mountains would be nice! ;-)
I think it’s pretty great that two of the straight nightclubs that are ruining the atmosphere have both had their viability severely shrunked thanks to their own business decisions – first the Taylor Sq Hotel and now DCM. Hopefully Havana will put a step wrong and suffer a similar fate and then Oxford Street will be basically back to being a strip of just gay & lesbian nightclubs and bars.
It’s high time Sydney got another nightclub precinct – this time away from the eastern suburbs…
Does anyone honestly believe there will be 346 people queuing outside of the Imperial if the development application is not approved to the capacity Shadd Danesi wants? It seems a tad melodramatic to me. Implying that the GLBT community perhaps have a sheep herd mentality without the sense to move on to an alternative venue if the Imperial is filled to capacity. I for one if I went there and saw a queue of over 50 people would go elsewhere let alone 346! The inner west has been without gay bars now for nearly 12 months there are alternatives on offer. Step outside the gay bars and explore you might be pleasantly surprised. I would suggest Shadd Danesi’s motives are more about profits than saftey which is what the development is all about. Fair enough it is a business after all.
Oxford St is lost to the Straights, let them fight it out, they will get sick of the area and move to wreck another area. Council or State Liquor laws failed us by encouraging masses into the area. Make an area popular to the masses and its totally unlivable to us, the minority groups (if your reading this your in a minority group).
Coupled with so many State issues (Iemma), pathetic council decisions (Clover), Police random acts of idiocy, we must be driving 1000’s away from Sydney! Coupled with Clovers small bars law delayed 1 year prior to implementation. Hang on its been in operation for 6 weeks and nothing, only massive bars destroying small gay bars.
Why is Clover Independent Party (ie she is no longer independent), who hold 6 out of 10 votes on council, blocking LGBTI culture?
Clover why are you leading your party to destroy our culture and claiming such gay friendliness? There are no independents left registered for next council elections after Clover eliminated competition. Very democratic Clover! We voted for you for years, look at mess the place is in now! Is Clover any better than Liberals or Labor?
Hooray – the Council is finally making things tough for the crap venues that have been wrecking the strip. DCM/UNs gun-toting, drug dealing thugs can move on back to Bankstown where they came from. As for the Gaff’s backpackers – well a few have alwasy been nice for eyecandy, but surely they are happier in the Cross.
If Clover and her team know what is good for them they will fix this ridiculous situation with the Imperial before the election.
Honestly, a pub that big can cope with more people – and what Danesi says makes a lot of sense .. best to have them safe inside than lining dangerous Erskineville Rd where they can annoy neighbours and face the dangers of traffic and homophobic violence.