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Coordinates: 40°44′37″N 73°59′33.5″W / 40.74361°N 73.992639°W / 40.74361; -73.992639
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{{Infobox venue
[[Image:Billys Topless.jpg|thumb|right|192px|Billy's Topless after removal of apostrophe, making it "Billy Stopless".]]
| name = Billy's Topless
| nickname =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| fullname =
| former names =
| logo_image =
| logo_caption =
| image = Billys Topless.jpg
| image_size =
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| caption = Billy's Topless after removal of apostrophe, making it "Billy Stopless".
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_mapsize =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_relief =
| address = 727 Sixth Avenue and 24th Street
| location = [[Chelsea, Manhattan]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|40|44|37|N|73|59|33.5|W|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
| elevation = <!-- {{cvt|...|ft|m}} or {{cvt|...|m|ft}} -->
| type = [[Topless bar]]
| genre =
| broke_ground =
| built =
| opened = {{Start date|1970|df=y}}
| renovated =
| expanded =
| closed = 2001
| demolished =
| owner =
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| publictransit =
}}


'''Billy's Topless''' was a [[Strip club|topless bar]] in the [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood of [[New York City]]. Operating from 1970 to 2001, it was considered for many years an informal city landmark.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
'''Billy's Topless''' was a [[Strip club|topless bar]] in the [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood of [[New York City]]. Operating from 1970 to 2001, it was considered for many years an informal city landmark.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}
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Billy's Topless, was first located at 22nd street and Sixth Ave. and moved in 1970 to 727 [[Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)|Sixth Avenue]] (Avenue of the Americas) and [[24th Street (Manhattan)|24th Street]] in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood in [[New York City]],<ref name="ishi"/> was a small [[Strip club|topless bar]], more closely resembling a neighborhood bar than a strip club in both size and atmosphere; one writer described it as "no more illicit than if we had decided to go get hamburgers".<ref>Beller, Thomas. [http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=howto.guides&conitem=153a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____ "What I Learned at the Strip Club"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193445/http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=howto.guides&conitem=153a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____ |date=September 27, 2007 }}. ''Men's Health''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> Considered an informal landmark of the area,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/02/03/realestate/upandcomers/4.htm | title = Real Estate 2002: Chelsea | work = [[New York (magazine)|New York]] | date = n.d. | accessdate= May 27, 2007}}</ref> Billy's contained only a small bar and a stage surrounded by about 24 chairs. The bar offered a modest free buffet, perhaps a single dish such as [[lasagna]] over a can of [[Sterno]].<ref name="ishi"/> Also, unusual for such an establishment, Billy's had no [[cover charge]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Gardner | first= Ralph | title = Inside Billy's Topless | work =[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]] | volume= 28 | issue = 12 | date= August 1997}}</ref>
Billy's Topless, was first located at 22nd street and Sixth Ave. and moved in 1970 to 727 [[Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)|Sixth Avenue]] (Avenue of the Americas) and [[24th Street (Manhattan)|24th Street]] in [[Manhattan]]'s [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood in [[New York City]],<ref name="ishi"/> was a small [[Strip club|topless bar]], more closely resembling a neighborhood bar than a strip club in both size and atmosphere; one writer described it as "no more illicit than if we had decided to go get hamburgers".<ref>Beller, Thomas. [http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=howto.guides&conitem=153a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____ "What I Learned at the Strip Club"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193445/http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=howto.guides&conitem=153a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____ |date=September 27, 2007 }}. ''Men's Health''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> Considered an informal landmark of the area,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/02/03/realestate/upandcomers/4.htm | title = Real Estate 2002: Chelsea | work = [[New York (magazine)|New York]] | date = n.d. | accessdate= May 27, 2007}}</ref> Billy's contained only a small bar and a stage surrounded by about 24 chairs. The bar offered a modest free buffet, perhaps a single dish such as [[lasagna]] over a can of [[Sterno]].<ref name="ishi"/> Also, unusual for such an establishment, Billy's had no [[cover charge]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Gardner | first= Ralph | title = Inside Billy's Topless | work =[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]] | volume= 28 | issue = 12 | date= August 1997}}</ref>


The original owner of Billy's Topless was Bill Pell. After Pell died in the late 1970s, Billy's was acquired by Milton Anthony, the owner of the AP Variety Talent Agency, formerly the Mambo Hyde Talent Agency,<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/29/nyregion/topless-dancing-edge-city-s-quality-life...</ref> an agency that had provided "topless go-go dancers" to numerous strip clubs in New York City since 1966.<ref name="ishi">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/29/nyregion/topless-dancing-edge-city-s-quality-life-campaign-takes-strip-club-tradition.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm | title = Topless, and Dancing on the Edge; City's 'Quality of Life' Campaign Takes On a Strip-Club Tradition | first = Dan | last= Barry | authorlink = Dan Barry (reporter) | date = April 29, 1998 | work = [[The New York Times]] | accessdate = May 21, 2007}}</ref>
The original owner of Billy's Topless was Bill Pell. After Pell died in the late 1970s, Billy's was acquired by Milton Anthony, the owner of the AP Variety Talent Agency, formerly the Mambo Hyde Talent Agency,<ref>{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Barry |author-link=Dan Barry (reporter) |date=April 29, 1998 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/29/nyregion/topless-dancing-edge-city-s-quality-life-campaign-takes-strip-club-tradition.html |title=Topless, and Dancing on the Edge; City's 'Quality of Life' Campaign Takes On a Strip-Club Tradition |work=The New York Times}}</ref> an agency that had provided "topless go-go dancers" to numerous strip clubs in New York City since 1966.<ref name="ishi">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/29/nyregion/topless-dancing-edge-city-s-quality-life-campaign-takes-strip-club-tradition.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm | title = Topless, and Dancing on the Edge; City's 'Quality of Life' Campaign Takes On a Strip-Club Tradition | first = Dan | last= Barry | author-link = Dan Barry (reporter) | date = April 29, 1998 | work = [[The New York Times]] | accessdate = May 21, 2007}}</ref>


An older anachronism in the New York adult entertainment scene, Anthony (born c. 1920) claimed he held to certain principles with his agency and in his club: no [[breast implant]]s, no [[lap dance|lap dancing]], and no touching the dancers.<ref name="ishi"/><ref>[http://www.debbieguide.com/newyorkstripjoints.html debbieguide.com - the global guide to the inside scene<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009025217/http://www.debbieguide.com/newyorkstripjoints.html |date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref> As such, Billy's stood in contrast to expensive adult clubs such as [[Scores New York – Gentlemen's club|Scores]] that tended toward dancers with a more stereotypically "[[Barbie doll]]" look and allowed direct contact with the patrons.<ref name="shuttered"/> Detractors of Billy's occasionally [[dive bar|lower-end charm]] called it "seedy".<ref>Bushnell, Candace. (2007.) [http://www.observer.com/2007/swingin-sex-i-don-t-think-so?page=0%2C1 "Swingin’ Sex? I Don’t Think So..."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015201106/http://www.observer.com/2007/swingin-sex-i-don-t-think-so?page=0%2C1 |date=October 15, 2007 }}. ''The New York Observer''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> Supporters tended to think of it as "old fashioned",<ref>Lopez, Steve. (1998). [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987982-2,00.html "Hizzoner The Hall Monitor"] ''Time Magazine''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> and the kind of establishment that catered to "real people".<ref>Garcia, Michelle. (2005.) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54570-2005Jan6.html "From Peep Shows to the Look of Luxury"]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> ''[[The Village Voice]]'' writer [[Robert Sietsema]] called it an "old fashioned topless bar ... where the old grit still remains."<ref>{{cite book | last = Sietsema | first = Robert | authorlink = Robert Sietsema | coauthors = | title = Secret New York | publisher = [[ECW Press]] | date = 1999 | location = Toronto, Ontario | pages = 172 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1-55022-374-7}}</ref>
An older anachronism in the New York adult entertainment scene, Anthony (born {{circa}} 1920) claimed he held to certain principles with his agency and in his club: no [[breast implant]]s, no [[lap dance|lap dancing]], and no touching the dancers.<ref name="ishi"/><ref>[http://www.debbieguide.com/newyorkstripjoints.html debbieguide.com - the global guide to the inside scene<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009025217/http://www.debbieguide.com/newyorkstripjoints.html |date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref> As such, Billy's stood in contrast to expensive adult clubs such as [[Scores New York – Gentlemen's club|Scores]] that tended toward dancers with a more stereotypically "[[Barbie doll]]" look and allowed direct contact with the patrons.<ref name="shuttered"/> Detractors of Billy's occasionally [[dive bar|lower-end charm]] called it "seedy".<ref>Bushnell, Candace. (2007.) [http://www.observer.com/2007/swingin-sex-i-don-t-think-so?page=0%2C1 "Swingin' Sex? I Don't Think So..."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015201106/http://www.observer.com/2007/swingin-sex-i-don-t-think-so?page=0%2C1 |date=October 15, 2007 }}. ''The New York Observer''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> Supporters tended to think of it as "old fashioned",<ref>Lopez, Steve. (1998). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930070626/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987982-2,00.html "Hizzoner The Hall Monitor"] ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> and the kind of establishment that catered to "real people".<ref>Garcia, Michelle. (2005.) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54570-2005Jan6.html "From Peep Shows to the Look of Luxury"]. ''The Washington Post''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> ''[[The Village Voice]]'' writer [[Robert Sietsema]] called it an "old fashioned topless bar&nbsp;... where the old grit still remains."<ref>{{cite book | last = Sietsema | first = Robert | author-link = Robert Sietsema | title = Secret New York | publisher = [[ECW Press]] | date = 1999 | location = Toronto, Ontario | pages = 172 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1-55022-374-7}}</ref>


==Closing==
==Closing==
[[File:727 Sixth Avenue The Corner.jpg|thumb|The building in 2013]]

Billy's Topless suffered, along with much of the city's adult entertainment industry, under the [[quality of life#North America|quality of life]] directives of then-mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], who called New York's adult establishments a threat to public "health, safety and welfare" and a "corrosive institution".<ref name="shuttered"/> In his second term he aggressively targeted New York's sex industry for "[[Rudy Giuliani#Urban reconstruction|reconstruction]]".<ref name="ishi"/> Laws were enacted forbidding adult establishments from operating within 500 feet of a residence, school or place of worship, and the [[New York Police Department|NYPD]] conducted raids on businesses that did not comply with the new ordinance.<ref>[http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2001a/pr095-01.html "Mayor Giuliani Announces Amendments to Strengthen Adult Use Zoning Law"]. Press release from New York Mayor's Press Office, March 26, 2001.</ref>
Billy's Topless suffered, along with much of the city's adult entertainment industry, under the [[quality of life#North America|quality of life]] directives of then-mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], who called New York's adult establishments a threat to public "health, safety and welfare" and a "corrosive institution".<ref name="shuttered"/> In his second term he aggressively targeted New York's sex industry for "[[Rudy Giuliani#Urban reconstruction|reconstruction]]".<ref name="ishi"/> Laws were enacted forbidding adult establishments from operating within 500 feet of a residence, school or place of worship, and the [[New York Police Department|NYPD]] conducted raids on businesses that did not comply with the new ordinance.<ref>[http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2001a/pr095-01.html "Mayor Giuliani Announces Amendments to Strengthen Adult Use Zoning Law"]. Press release from New York Mayor's Press Office, March 26, 2001.</ref>


The laws were initially drafted to target the sex businesses in the [[Times Square]] area, but small, local establishments like Billy's were affected as well. The Chelsea community board ([[Manhattan Community Board 4]]) confirmed that there had never been a citizen complaint against either Billy's Topless or its customers.<ref>Liepe-Levinson, Katherine. (2001.) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ibwokfAn_i8C&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=%22billy's+topless%22&source=web&ots=zVXI3lZsH5&sig=q9Gxp0i9KQkYF_korC9VB_HQm0I Strip Show: Performances of Gender and Desire]''. Routledge Press. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref>
The laws were initially drafted to target the sex businesses in the [[Times Square]] area, but small, local establishments like Billy's were affected as well. The Chelsea community board ([[Manhattan Community Board 4]]) confirmed that there had never been a citizen complaint against either Billy's Topless or its customers.<ref>Liepe-Levinson, Katherine. (2001.) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ibwokfAn_i8C&dq=%22billy's+topless%22&pg=PA30 Strip Show: Performances of Gender and Desire]''. Routledge Press. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref>


In 1998, to avoid being closed down by the first wave of new zoning laws, Billy's took "topless" out of the bar's name, and the place was rechristened "Billy Stopless" by removing the apostrophe from the sign (see image at right), although it was referred to in print as "Billy's Stopless"<ref>{{cite news | first = Trav, a.k.a. Donald Travis Stewart | last= S.D. | authorlink= Trav S.D. | url = http://www.reason.com/news/show/28050.html | title = Fun City Confidential: Why New York's sex industry still flourishes | work = [[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] | date = June 2001 | accessdate = May 21, 2007}}</ref><ref name=neighborhood /> and dancers had to wear bikini tops.<ref name="shuttered">{{cite news | last = Jacobs | first = Andrew | date = October 11, 1998 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/11/nyregion/shuttered-clubs-scrambled-lives.html?pagewanted=all | title = Shuttered Clubs, Scrambled Lives | work = [[The New York Times]] | accessdate = May 21, 2007}}</ref> In the mid-1990s, dancers at Billy's made $50 plus tips, which typically amounted to about $500 per night. After the change in policy to avoid the zoning laws, the bikini-clad dancers could expect to take home about $200. Patrons were quoted as saying, "You can see this on the beach for free. This is no fun."<ref name="shuttered"/> Billy's Topless closed for good in 2001, and the space was converted into a [[bagel]] shop.<ref name=neighborhood>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/27/nyregion/neighborhood-report-bending-elbows-latin-lovers-with-free-advice.html | title = Neighborhood Report: Bending Elbows; Latin Lovers With Free Advice | first= Charlie | last= LDuff | date = May 27, 2001 | accessdate= July 23, 2013 | work = [[The New York Times]]}} (Scroll down to second item; note no second subhead.)</ref>
In 1998, to avoid being closed down by the first wave of new zoning laws, Billy's took "topless" out of the bar's name, and the place was rechristened "Billy Stopless" by removing the apostrophe from the sign (see image at right), although it was referred to in print as "Billy's Stopless"<ref>{{cite web | title=David Lynch's Banned Bovine | publisher=ABC News | date=February 4, 2006 | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=95752&page=1 | access-date=March 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Trav, a.k.a. Donald Travis Stewart | last= S.D. | author-link= Trav S.D. | url = http://www.reason.com/news/show/28050.html | title = Fun City Confidential: Why New York's sex industry still flourishes | work = [[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] | date = June 2001 | accessdate = May 21, 2007}}</ref><ref name=neighborhood /> and dancers had to wear bikini tops.<ref name="shuttered">{{cite news | last = Jacobs | first = Andrew | date = October 11, 1998 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/11/nyregion/shuttered-clubs-scrambled-lives.html?pagewanted=all | title = Shuttered Clubs, Scrambled Lives | work = [[The New York Times]] | accessdate = May 21, 2007}}</ref> In the mid-1990s, dancers at Billy's made $50 plus tips, which typically amounted to about $500 per night. After the change in policy to avoid the zoning laws, the bikini-clad dancers could expect to take home about $200. Patrons were quoted as saying, "You can see this on the beach for free. This is no fun."<ref name="shuttered"/> Billy's Topless closed for good in 2001, and the space was converted into a [[bagel]] shop.<ref name=neighborhood>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/27/nyregion/neighborhood-report-bending-elbows-latin-lovers-with-free-advice.html | title = Neighborhood Report: Bending Elbows; Latin Lovers With Free Advice | first= Charlie | last= LDuff | date = May 27, 2001 | accessdate= July 23, 2013 | work = [[The New York Times]]}} (Scroll down to second item; note no second subhead.)</ref>


In 1998 Billy's appears in a major movie ''[[Rounders (film)|Rounders]]'' with Matt Damon, John Malkovich and Edward Norton. Many celebrities and rock stars stopped in as a place to visit while in Manhattan.
[[File:727 Sixth Avenue The Corner.jpg|thumb|The building in 2013]]
In 1998 Billy's appears in a major movie "Rounders" with Matt Damon, John Malkovich, Edward Norton. Many celebrities and Rock Stars stopped in as a place to visit while in Manhattan.


In 2006, an establishment bearing the name "Billy's Topless" appeared at 10th Avenue and 15th Street.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}} It is unknown if there is any connection to the original "Billy's" beyond the name.
In 2006, an establishment bearing the name "Billy's Topless" appeared at 10th Avenue and 15th Street.{{Citation needed|date=July 2013}} It is unknown if there is any connection to the original "Billy's" beyond the name.


==People==
==People==
*Swiss dancer Monica Beerle, student at the [[Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance]],<ref>Bennet, J. (1992.) [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E0CEFD6133FF93AA25751C0A964958260 "Police Move to Extradite Suspect in 1989 Slaying of Dancer"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> girlfriend and victim of cannibal-murderer [[Daniel Rakowitz]], danced at Billy's.<ref>Sullivan, Ronald. (1991.) [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D0CE0D8163EF930A15751C0A967958260 "Man Acquitted of Killing and Boiling Roommate"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref><ref>Lee, Tien-Shun. (2004.) [http://www.thevillager.com/villager_60/psychiatristrakowitz.html "Psychiatrist: Rakowitz 'Excited' Recalling Grisly Stew"]. ''The Villager''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> Rakowitz was at one time suspected of having killed as many as eight former dancers from Billy's.<ref>Peyser, Andrea and Laura Italiano. (2004.) "Cannibal Case Has Jury Woes". ''The New York Post'', May 26, 2004.</ref>
*Swiss dancer Monica Beerle, student at the [[Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance]],<ref>Bennet, J. (1992.) [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E0CEFD6133FF93AA25751C0A964958260 "Police Move to Extradite Suspect in 1989 Slaying of Dancer"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> girlfriend and victim of cannibal-murderer [[Daniel Rakowitz]], danced at Billy's.<ref>Sullivan, Ronald. (1991.) [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D0CE0D8163EF930A15751C0A967958260 "Man Acquitted of Killing and Boiling Roommate"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref><ref>Lee, Tien-Shun. (2004.) [http://www.thevillager.com/villager_60/psychiatristrakowitz.html "Psychiatrist: Rakowitz 'Excited' Recalling Grisly Stew"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210231/http://www.thevillager.com/villager_60/psychiatristrakowitz.html |date=2007-09-27 }}. ''The Villager''. Retrieved May 21, 2007.</ref> Rakowitz was at one time suspected of having killed as many as eight former dancers from Billy's.<ref>Peyser, Andrea and Laura Italiano. (2004.) "Cannibal Case Has Jury Woes". ''The New York Post'', May 26, 2004.</ref>
*American novelist [[Alan Kaufman (writer)|Alan Kaufman]] was once a regular at Billy's.<ref>Kaufman, Alan. (2004.) "Jew Boy" in ''The Outlaw Bible of American Literature'', pp.&nbsp;72–73. Thunder's Mouth Press.</ref>
*American novelist [[Alan Kaufman (writer)|Alan Kaufman]] was once a regular at Billy's.<ref>Kaufman, Alan. (2004.) "Jew Boy" in ''The Outlaw Bible of American Literature'', pp.&nbsp;72–73. Thunder's Mouth Press.</ref>
*Show business photographer and pioneer of male nude photography Ron Blakey had his studio above the bar. <ref>"70'S Male Nudes", 2002. Roy Blakey and Goliath Press.</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of strip clubs]]

== Literature ==

* New York Vampire: PUNK by K.D. McQuain, Black Marque Press, 2016, {{ISBN|0692537988}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:1970 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1970 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:2001 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:2001 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Chelsea, Manhattan]]
[[Category:Chelsea, Manhattan]]

Latest revision as of 12:55, 12 October 2023

Billy's Topless
Billy's Topless after removal of apostrophe, making it "Billy Stopless".
Map
Address727 Sixth Avenue and 24th Street
LocationChelsea, Manhattan
Coordinates40°44′37″N 73°59′33.5″W / 40.74361°N 73.992639°W / 40.74361; -73.992639
TypeTopless bar
Opened1970 (1970)
Closed2001

Billy's Topless was a topless bar in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Operating from 1970 to 2001, it was considered for many years an informal city landmark.[citation needed]

The bar

[edit]

Billy's Topless, was first located at 22nd street and Sixth Ave. and moved in 1970 to 727 Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) and 24th Street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood in New York City,[1] was a small topless bar, more closely resembling a neighborhood bar than a strip club in both size and atmosphere; one writer described it as "no more illicit than if we had decided to go get hamburgers".[2] Considered an informal landmark of the area,[3] Billy's contained only a small bar and a stage surrounded by about 24 chairs. The bar offered a modest free buffet, perhaps a single dish such as lasagna over a can of Sterno.[1] Also, unusual for such an establishment, Billy's had no cover charge.[4]

The original owner of Billy's Topless was Bill Pell. After Pell died in the late 1970s, Billy's was acquired by Milton Anthony, the owner of the AP Variety Talent Agency, formerly the Mambo Hyde Talent Agency,[5] an agency that had provided "topless go-go dancers" to numerous strip clubs in New York City since 1966.[1]

An older anachronism in the New York adult entertainment scene, Anthony (born c. 1920) claimed he held to certain principles with his agency and in his club: no breast implants, no lap dancing, and no touching the dancers.[1][6] As such, Billy's stood in contrast to expensive adult clubs such as Scores that tended toward dancers with a more stereotypically "Barbie doll" look and allowed direct contact with the patrons.[7] Detractors of Billy's occasionally lower-end charm called it "seedy".[8] Supporters tended to think of it as "old fashioned",[9] and the kind of establishment that catered to "real people".[10] The Village Voice writer Robert Sietsema called it an "old fashioned topless bar ... where the old grit still remains."[11]

Closing

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The building in 2013

Billy's Topless suffered, along with much of the city's adult entertainment industry, under the quality of life directives of then-mayor Rudy Giuliani, who called New York's adult establishments a threat to public "health, safety and welfare" and a "corrosive institution".[7] In his second term he aggressively targeted New York's sex industry for "reconstruction".[1] Laws were enacted forbidding adult establishments from operating within 500 feet of a residence, school or place of worship, and the NYPD conducted raids on businesses that did not comply with the new ordinance.[12]

The laws were initially drafted to target the sex businesses in the Times Square area, but small, local establishments like Billy's were affected as well. The Chelsea community board (Manhattan Community Board 4) confirmed that there had never been a citizen complaint against either Billy's Topless or its customers.[13]

In 1998, to avoid being closed down by the first wave of new zoning laws, Billy's took "topless" out of the bar's name, and the place was rechristened "Billy Stopless" by removing the apostrophe from the sign (see image at right), although it was referred to in print as "Billy's Stopless"[14][15][16] and dancers had to wear bikini tops.[7] In the mid-1990s, dancers at Billy's made $50 plus tips, which typically amounted to about $500 per night. After the change in policy to avoid the zoning laws, the bikini-clad dancers could expect to take home about $200. Patrons were quoted as saying, "You can see this on the beach for free. This is no fun."[7] Billy's Topless closed for good in 2001, and the space was converted into a bagel shop.[16]

In 1998 Billy's appears in a major movie Rounders with Matt Damon, John Malkovich and Edward Norton. Many celebrities and rock stars stopped in as a place to visit while in Manhattan.

In 2006, an establishment bearing the name "Billy's Topless" appeared at 10th Avenue and 15th Street.[citation needed] It is unknown if there is any connection to the original "Billy's" beyond the name.

People

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See also

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Literature

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  • New York Vampire: PUNK by K.D. McQuain, Black Marque Press, 2016, ISBN 0692537988

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Barry, Dan (April 29, 1998). "Topless, and Dancing on the Edge; City's 'Quality of Life' Campaign Takes On a Strip-Club Tradition". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  2. ^ Beller, Thomas. "What I Learned at the Strip Club" Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Men's Health. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  3. ^ "Real Estate 2002: Chelsea". New York. n.d. Retrieved May 27, 2007.
  4. ^ Gardner, Ralph (August 1997). "Inside Billy's Topless". Penthouse. Vol. 28, no. 12.
  5. ^ Barry, Dan (April 29, 1998). "Topless, and Dancing on the Edge; City's 'Quality of Life' Campaign Takes On a Strip-Club Tradition". The New York Times.
  6. ^ debbieguide.com - the global guide to the inside scene Archived October 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b c d Jacobs, Andrew (October 11, 1998). "Shuttered Clubs, Scrambled Lives". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  8. ^ Bushnell, Candace. (2007.) "Swingin' Sex? I Don't Think So..." Archived October 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Observer. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  9. ^ Lopez, Steve. (1998). "Hizzoner The Hall Monitor" Time. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  10. ^ Garcia, Michelle. (2005.) "From Peep Shows to the Look of Luxury". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  11. ^ Sietsema, Robert (1999). Secret New York. Toronto, Ontario: ECW Press. p. 172. ISBN 1-55022-374-7.
  12. ^ "Mayor Giuliani Announces Amendments to Strengthen Adult Use Zoning Law". Press release from New York Mayor's Press Office, March 26, 2001.
  13. ^ Liepe-Levinson, Katherine. (2001.) Strip Show: Performances of Gender and Desire. Routledge Press. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  14. ^ "David Lynch's Banned Bovine". ABC News. February 4, 2006. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  15. ^ S.D., Trav, a.k.a. Donald Travis Stewart (June 2001). "Fun City Confidential: Why New York's sex industry still flourishes". Reason. Retrieved May 21, 2007.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b LDuff, Charlie (May 27, 2001). "Neighborhood Report: Bending Elbows; Latin Lovers With Free Advice". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2013. (Scroll down to second item; note no second subhead.)
  17. ^ Bennet, J. (1992.) "Police Move to Extradite Suspect in 1989 Slaying of Dancer". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. (1991.) "Man Acquitted of Killing and Boiling Roommate". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  19. ^ Lee, Tien-Shun. (2004.) "Psychiatrist: Rakowitz 'Excited' Recalling Grisly Stew" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. The Villager. Retrieved May 21, 2007.
  20. ^ Peyser, Andrea and Laura Italiano. (2004.) "Cannibal Case Has Jury Woes". The New York Post, May 26, 2004.
  21. ^ Kaufman, Alan. (2004.) "Jew Boy" in The Outlaw Bible of American Literature, pp. 72–73. Thunder's Mouth Press.
  22. ^ "70'S Male Nudes", 2002. Roy Blakey and Goliath Press.