Judge: Porn theater on Market St. may not expand

The Forum, one of Philadelphia's last surviving pornographic movie theaters, was denied permission Friday to turn its building into a full-service emporium with nude dancers and rooms for private encounters, after Commonwealth Court struck down a zoning variance that had outraged the surrounding Center City neighborhoods.

"All those guys outside in trenchcoats will be sorely disappointed," said an exultant Tony Radwanski, an aide to City Council President Anna C. Verna, who had long opposed the expansion.

The ruling, by a three-judge panel, will not shut down the Forum, at 22d and Market Streets, or stop it from showing pornographic films, but it does prevent the owner from enlarging the building to accommodate other types of sexually explicit entertainment.

In a crisp, seven-page opinion explaining the court's decision, President Judge Bonnie Leadbetter said the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment was wrong to give the Forum a variance for expansion because the owner, Anthony Trombetta, never proved there was anything defective in the existing zoning. The legal term for such proof is hardship.

"We're very happy right now," said Adam Schneider, president of the Center City Residents Association, which led the fight against the expansion through two levels of state courts. "The court panel flat-out reversed the lower court and the ZBA."

The ZBA's decision in 2008, made after a 16-minute hearing, had left community leaders like Schneider dumbfounded.

To them, the shabby movie theater appeared to be an anachronism that could not survive in a world where similar pornographic material can be downloaded on any computer. Unlike so-called gentlemen's clubs, the Forum cannot serve alcohol and has few conveniences.

What's more, the stretch of Market Street where the Forum and its sister operation, Les Gals, operate has been transformed in the last decade into an extension of the upscale Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. Its immediate neighbors include the Murano condos and the gourmet Trader Joe's.

Today, neither the Forum nor Les Gals would be able to get a permit to operate, never mind expand. They were licensed in 1975 under an old version of the city zoning law. Trombetta was convicted that same year on federal charges of transporting women across state lines for prostitution, and a decade later the federal Meese Commission alleged that he had links to the Gambino crime family.

Trombetta, who once owned a chain of Philadelphia porn theaters, was down to two when he decided in 2008 to enlarge and modernize the Forum. In an effort to secure a variance to raise the roof, he sought to strike a deal with the Center City Residents Association. He offered to close Les Gals if they would not oppose his plans for the Forum.

The association rejected the deal and urged the ZBA to do the same.

Instead, the ZBA granted Trombetta a variance for expansion without demanding a written commitment to close Les Gals.

"Why should the city help this guy expand?" Schneider asked. "Let him struggle economically."

During the ZBA hearing, Schneider added, it was clear that Trombetta never proved hardship. "His only hardship was that he couldn't rent the second floor. Of course he couldn't rent it. There's a porn theater on the first floor," the association president said.

Trombetta could not be reached for comment, but his attorney, Ronald D. Patterson, of the Klehr Harrison law firm, said he was not bothered by the ruling.

"I still win because there are still two theaters operating," Patterson said. "I thought the offer to close one theater was a fair compromise."

Attorney Stanley Krakower, who represented the residents association, laughed at hearing the remark.

"Then why did they appeal twice?" he asked. "I think, in due course, one or both theaters is going to go away."

After The Inquirer reported last year on the residents association's efforts to overturn the variance, the group was inundated with support from a variety of groups, including City Council, the Center City District, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, and the owners of several nearby condos.

"This is really a wonderful victory for the residents who have been so tenacious in fighting this misguided zoning variance since 2008," Verna said.

Tim Kerner, who chairs the residents association's zoning committee, added that the decision "confirms the essential role of community organizations in serving as a check on decisions made by city agencies regarding the built environment."