Syracuse, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 1,000 feet, four protected use types
- Protected uses
- residential zones/dwellings, schools, churches, parks
- Criminal penalty
- Class A misdemeanor
- Civil penalty
- $500, each day separate violation
- Measurement method
- straight line, ignoring buildings, parcel to parcel
- Exemption
- theaters primarily devoted to theatrical shows
Summary
Syracuse Code Chapter 44 bars adult entertainment businesses, topless or nude dance venues and adult bookstores or video shops, from operating within 1,000 feet of any residential zoning district, dwelling, public or private school, church or other religious facility, or public park under Sec. 44-1.
Adult entertainment businesses are prohibited within: (1)One thousand (1,000) feet of any residential zoning district or any single-family, two-family or multiple-family dwelling, including structures devoted to both residential and commercial or business purposes.(2)One thousand (1,000) feet of any public or private school.(3)One thousand (1,000) feet of any church or other religious facility or institution.(4)One thousand (1,000) feet of any public park.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 41).
Full Breakdown
Section 44-1 sets four separate 1,000-foot buffers: from any residential zoning district or single-family, two-family or multiple-family dwelling (including mixed residential-commercial structures); from any public or private school; from any church or other religious facility or institution; and from any public park. Section 44-2 fixes how the buffer is measured: a straight line, ignoring intervening buildings, from the nearest point of the adult business's own parcel to the nearest point of the protected parcel or zoning-district boundary. Section 44-3 defines a covered "adult entertainment business" as either a public establishment featuring topless dancers, nude dancers or strippers of either sex, or an enclosed building used to present, lend or sell films, video cassettes, cable programming or written material dominated by depictions of "specified sexual activities" (genital arousal, masturbation, intercourse, sodomy, erotic fondling) or "specified anatomical areas" (uncovered genitals, pubic region, buttocks, or female breast below the areola, or a discernibly turgid male member even if covered).
Section 44-5 exempts theaters, concert halls or similar venues primarily devoted to theatrical performances, so a legitimate playhouse booking an adult-themed show is not swept in merely by subject matter. The ordinance traces to Gen. Ord. No. 22-1986 (May 27, 1986) and was amended by Gen. Ord. No. 1-1993 (Jan. 11, 1993).
Violations & Fines
Operating an adult entertainment business inside any of the four 1,000-foot buffers is a Class A misdemeanor under Sec. 44-4. The city may also pursue a separate civil penalty of $500 per violation through a civil action or special proceeding, and each day the violation continues counts as a new, separate violation, so noncompliance compounds daily. The city can further seek an injunction or other equitable relief to force compliance, and pursuing one remedy does not waive any other remedy or civil forfeiture available under state or local law.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the 1,000-foot distance measured in Syracuse?
What counts as an adult entertainment business under the code?
Is there any exception to the 1,000-foot rule?
What happens if a business violates the distance rule?
Sources & Official References
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