Bay Windows - Local News, October 14, 1999
Scott A. Giordano, Bay Windows staff

The inspection was conducted after the BISD received two written complaints alleging that sexual activity and drug use were taking place on the clubÆs premises. Boston police and BISD agents executed a two-hour administrative inspection warrant and searched the site for sanitary conditions on Oct. 6 and ended up suspending its occupancy and bath permits after citing the club with violations that included alleged evidence of sexual activity, drug and alcohol use.

A police report states various items were taken from the clubÆs premises at 90 Wareham St. for evidence, including used and unused condoms; posters; two brown-colored glass vials with what is believed to be poppers (which, in Massachusetts, is classified as heroine, a Class B substance); and a vodka bottle containing clean liquid for testing that is believed to be vodka.

The Safari Club also was cited for failing to produce a lodging house license, although rooms are rented on a six-hour basis, and for failing to produce entertainment and massage licenses even though, allegedly, music was playing throughout the building, a big screen TV was in operation and massage service signs were posted within the club. An Oct. 7 BISD press release also cited the club with life safety code violations, such as inadequate emergency exits ù but that was not cited in the police report.

ôIt was clear from what we saw [Oct. 6], and from what the managers of the club told me and my inspectors, that 90 Wareham Street is operating beyond the terms of their permits and is not in compliance with state regulations that are enacted to protect public health and safety. My department received complaints containing serious allegations and we responded accordingly,ö BISD Commissioner Kevin Joyce said in a press release.

ôSuspending an establishmentÆs permit to operate is a serious measure and something we only do when we find conditions that present an imminent threat to the public healthÆs health and safety. We would take the same action at any establishment that operated in this condition,ö Joyce added. ôThe Safari Club will remain closed until the violations have been corrected and until the owners demonstrate that they are capable of operating their business without endangering the health of the public.ö

In an interview with Bay Windows, Safari Club owner D.C. Allen said his club is being targeted because it is a gay business, and he called the majority of the allegations brought against the club as ôinsaneö and unwarranted ù with the exception of its failure to have a massage license while advertising Wednesday night massage services.

Allen said the complaints were submitted by Safari Club patrons seeking revenge after being barred from the club for disruptive behavior.

ôI think the city has been taken for a ride by someone who wants to either make themself a name or make themself some kind of career,ö Allen said, while adding that he believes the city does ôhave it downö when it comes to harming his business.

ôIf nothing else, the city really has it down how to get a gay business down. They closed me down and there was no way in hell I could get reopened before Columbus Day weekend, and they have two weeks to keep me closed and try to suck me dry of money ... while I do a very expensive battle with lawyers,ö he said.

The Safari Club was expected to receive the formal complaint and list of alleged violations from the BISD as Bay Windows was going to press, and Allen said he would then have 30 days to respond to the allegations. Meanwhile, his attorneys ù David Duncan and Scott Donahue ù submitted an Oct. 8 written request for a hearing to resolve the matter, which had not been responded to at Bay Windows press time.

Regarding the alleged evidence of sexual activity, Allen ù who was not at the bar during the actual inspection ù said he was told by Safari Club management that the police and inspectors ôdidnÆt see anyone doing anything,ö but they considered the condoms and lubricant to be evidence of sexual activity. When asked how he feels about people referring to his club as a ôsex club,ö he replied, ôI would say we are a very healthy club and that you can get laid more at the Y.M.C.A. than you can here.ö

Allen then said the police and inspectors were simply uncomfortable with any type of same-sex affection at the club. When asked to define ôaffection,ö he replied, ôYou are going to have to judge that yourself.

ôThe behavior that you would not normally find everyday in heterosexual society is not frowned upon here. ... Gay men live their entire lives conforming to a heterosexual society; this is not that place,ö he said. ôWith a 30 percent higher rate of teenage suicide and a lot of men who are not comfortable with being gay and being out, this is a safe place to go. ... This is very unique, extremely unique to gay life.ö

The alleged drugs and alcohol were found in trashbags inside the menÆs locker room, said Allen, who believes patrons were able to sneak them in despite first being checked by Safari Club staff at the door. He believes closeted gay men were afraid of being searched by police and then dropped what is believed to be drugs and alcohol in the trash, but he said substance use is not encouraged nor tolerated in his business. ôWe check all bags when they come in. WeÆve had some problems in the past with people bringing in liquor, and we throw them out and suspend their membership. And in six months, if they are good boys, then they come back in. But this is not a place for booze. ... A drunk on freeweights is not my idea of a good time,ö he said.

Although Allen did say he rents ôdresser roomsö on a six-hour basis, he doesnÆt believe he needs a lodging license to do so because he is not renting bedrooms.

ôWe rent out lockers for eight hours and you can rent a dressing room for six hours, but it can not be construed as a [bed]room. ... ItÆs a room with a bench and a mirror and hooks for your clothes,ö he said, with a laugh. When asked why people would rent the room out for six hours, he replied, ôThis is a hang-out club. This isnÆt something that you come in for a half hour and you leave; they hang out here.ö

Allen also said social and health clubs are not required to have an entertainment license for playing loud music and showing adult films or operating a wide screen TV, so he didnÆt believe an entertainment license was needed. He further said the club has obtained a 24-hour entertainment license when it has needed to do so in the past due to special live performances at the club.

But Nancy Lo, director of the mayorÆs office of consumer affairs and licensing, told Bay Windows that any establishment with a large-screen TV or background music that is open to the public is required to obtain an entertainment license.

Allen did say it was an ôoversightö of the Safari Club management to continue advertising massage services even though it is not licensed to give massages.

A range of gay community activists reacted with strong disappointment that the Safari Club was closed. AIDS advocates and hate-crimes advocates both agree the club offered gay men a safe place to meet where they also had access to condoms, lubricant and safe-sex information.

Robert Greenwald, director of public policy and legal affairs for the AIDS Action Committee (the stateÆs largest AIDS service organization), said AIDS Action has provided HIV prevention education at the Safari Club, and that it is beneficial to do so in an indoor environment that also allows patrons to readily see safe-sex posters and have access to on-hand brochures.

ôFrom an AIDS Action perspective, the Safari Club has provided a venue for us where people congregate in a sexually charged environment. Because it is an indoor club, it has given us opportunity to provide that information. Our concern is that the closing of the Safari Club will force people into dangerous environments in terms of unsafe sexual activity and even gay bashing, such as in the Fens,ö he said.

Don Gorton, chair of Governor Paul CellucciÆs Task Force on Hate Crimes, said itÆs imperative for gay people to have a ôsafe alternativeö to the Back Bay Fens, where a wave of violence erupted this summer.

ôIf anything, I think having an alternative is sharper now because the chronic safety problem of the Fens is so clear to us. ... Year after year, we see bashers seeking out victims in the Fens. There clearly has to be another place for gay men to go to fraternize, and the Safari Club is a safer environment,ö Gorton said.

ôCertainly gay bars are an important part of our social atmosphere, but a lot of other people like to meet in a less structured surrounding without alcohol. Bars arenÆt for everyone, as the popularity with the Fens has demonstrated,ö he added. ôI think itÆs important that the Safari Club management and the city work together to make sure that the environment is as safe as possible. If there are problems, they need to be cleared up. IÆm confidant they can be resolved.ö

Allen said most Safari Club patrons do not frequent gay bars, and the clubÆs management has already stopped by the Fens since his business was shut down, and they have seen many of its former patrons there. He also thanked members of the gay community who continue to support his establishment.

ôWe are up to one thousand phone calls of support, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported us, and I want everyone to know none of our members are open to any danger and we will re-open as soon as possible. We are also leaving our entire staff of 20 on salary and health insurance until this is resolved,ö he said. ôI think someone has made a very grave mistake, but I think we can work this out. I think [the city] has been taken for a ride by a nutcase.ö
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