SAYREVILLE — The Borough Council will soon schedule a hearing in an attempt to prevent the renewing of the business licenses of Cinema 9 and Naughty but Nice, both located on Route 9 southbound.
According to Borough Attorney Judy Verrone, a hearing may soon be scheduled for the adult theater. However, Naughty but Nice, an adult toys and novelty shop, has requested that there be no hearing, as it is planning to move the shop out of town, Verrone said.
William Nemeth, the borough’s code enforcement officer, has been working with the Sayreville Police Department to investigate various issues with the businesses, Verrone said Tuesday.
According to Sayreville Police Detective Capt. Edward Szkodny, investigations of the businesses have to do with the sexual orientation of the practices taking place on the premises.
The borough hearings stem from a state statute indicating that such businesses are not permitted to operate within 1,000 feet of a residential area, Szkodny said. This statute was approved in September 1995, Szkodny said, and was recently upheld in a case before the state Supreme Court last summer.
In addition to borough officials’ questions about the businesses, the police department has filed several criminal charges against them, Szkodny said. These charges are separate from the Borough Council’s hearing, and will instead be heard in Sayreville Municipal Court, he said, regardless of what happens with the business licenses.
"They’re completely separate from any hearings before the mayor and council," Szkodny said.
Cinema 9 has five charges for maintaining a nuisance, according to Szkodny. These charges are pending a court date and are based on several arrests made there related to alleged sexual activity, he said.
The investigation of the adult theater that resulted in these charges took place from around December 2000 to July of last year, the captain said.
Naughty but Nice has three charges against it, which were scheduled to be heard in municipal court this week, Szkodny said.
The charges against the adult toys and novelty shop include operating a sexually oriented business contrary to the license application, falsifying the license application, and falsifying a background information form at the Sayreville Police Department, Szkodny said.
Currently the businesses are operating with interim business licenses until Jan. 15, he said. After that date, they will become unlicensed businesses.
Representatives of Naughty but Nice and Cinema 9 could not immediately be reached for comment.