Pictured is 35 Water St. in Fredonia, the longtime home to various gentleman’s clubs. P-J file photo

For one Water Street building in Fredonia, fully clothed might as well mean fully closed.

That’s part of the argument Kurt and Lance Wojda are making in an Article 78 lawsuit the pair filed this week against the village in state Supreme Court in Chautauqua County.

Located just three blocks from Village Hall, the property at 35 Water St. had been home to a gentleman’s club for about 20 years. The Wojdas purchased the building in July 1999.

In their lawsuit, the pair say they recently began leasing the site to Happy Fun Club LLC, which “operated an adult entertainment establishment at the property.”

However, in June of this year, Kurt Wojda received a letter from the law firm representing the village stating that operating a strip club at 35 Water St. was a “nonconforming use” pursuant to the village zoning law and that the building’s current tenant had not operated the business for more than a year.

As a result, the village’s law firm asserted, the nonconforming use exception needed to operate a strip club had been abandoned.

NO SHIRT. NO SERVICE.

During a special meeting in July, the Fredonia Village Board passed a resolution stating that no “adult entertainment facility” could open at the location and, doing so, would violate village zoning law.

Further, the measure ordered any strip club operating at the site to “cease and desist.”

“We passed a resolution granting the police and code enforcement officer authority to act if the owners of the adult business on Water Street try to reopen,” Trustee Jon Espersen told the OBSERVER after the special meeting. “They went over a year without running a business there so they would have to apply for a variance to reopen.”

He then added, “That kind of business is no longer allowed in the village.”

Espersen explained that a code change banned adult entertainment businesses, though the one at 35 Water St. had been grandfathered in.

Formerly Club 35 and Lookers, the business was most recently named Rebelz Gentleman’s Club.

The Wojdas claim they were never made aware of the special meeting in July. In their lawsuit, the brothers also state that their last tenant did open for business for four days between late 2022 and early spring in 2023, refuting the village’s assertion that the club went a year without opening.

SKIN IN THE GAME

In written affidavits attached to their lawsuit, the Wojdas make it clear they wish to have another strip club located at 35 Water St.

Finding a new tenant does not appear to be an issue.

“Because the property has operated as an adult entertainment establishment for over two decades, we are able to easily find tenants who wish to operate similarly situated businesses,” the pair state. “If permitted, we could lease this property to an adult entertainment establishment immediately.

“Without the ability to lease the property to an adult entertainment business, we have suffered financial loss as it is difficult to lease this particular space to tenants in other industries.”

Kurt and Lance Wojda are asking the court to review the village’s actions, known as an Article 78 lawsuit, in New York state.

This week’s lawsuit is the third filed against the village in the last month.

Most recently, the owner of Heenan’s Pub on Main Street filed suit over an August 2022 fire started by a village Department of Public Works employee who was using a blowtorch to kill weeds. The resulting blaze caused significant damage to the pub, which has since reopened.