Incoming Providence City Councilor Says Well-Known Strip Club's Closure Is Costing Jobs

December 23, 2018

The Associated Press

Former workers gather outside the Foxy Lady strip club, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, in Providence, R.I. The city ordered the club to close on Wednesday. A city board voted to revoke its licenses after police charged three dancers with prostitution the previous week. (Michelle R. Smith/AP)

An incoming member of the Providence City Council said she wants to help the 200 people left jobless after a city board revoked the license of the Foxy Lady — New England's oldest and most well-known strip club.

Katherine Kerwin, who will represent the district that includes the club, told The Providence Journal on Saturday that she does not disagree with the city's decision to shutter the club, but hopes the venue will reopen — pointing to those who lost their jobs.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has declined to intervene after the city revoked all of the club's licenses after three dancers were arrested and charged with prostitution.

Kerwin also told the paper that state lawmakers should consider decriminalizing prostitution in Rhode Island.

Kerwin will be sworn in next month.