Yonkers, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Separation distance
- 500 feet from sensitive uses
- Permit
- Special use permit required
- Adult-use clustering
- 500 feet from another such use
- Live performances
- Also need Chapter 23 cabaret license
- Citation
- Yonkers City Code § 43-74G
Summary
In Yonkers, a sexually-oriented business needs a special use permit and must sit at least 500 feet from any residence zone, school, place of worship, place of public assembly, or another adult use, measured lot line to lot line.
G. Sexually oriented businesses. (1) No sexually-oriented business shall be located within 500 feet of another such use, nor within 500 feet of a residence zone, school, place of worship or place of public assembly. Such measurement shall be made from the lot lines of the respective establishments. ... (3) Those sexually oriented businesses which include live performances shall be subject to the same licensing requirements for cabarets and nightclubs as provided for in Chapter 23 of the City Code.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4745274; v31 updated 2025-10-28; through 10-28-2025).
Full Breakdown
Yonkers folds adult businesses into its Zoning Code as "sexually oriented businesses," which require a special use permit under § 43-74G. No such use may locate within 500 feet of another sexually-oriented business, a residence zone, a school, a place of worship, or a place of public assembly, measured from lot line to lot line. The cabaret and nightclub supplemental standards of § 43-36D apply as special-use requirements, and any adult business with live performances must also hold a cabaret or nightclub license under Chapter 23 of the City Code. The Department of Housing and Buildings enforces the Zoning Code; the permit runs through the Article VII approval process.
Violations & Fines
Running a sexually-oriented business without a special use permit, or opening one within 500 feet of a residence zone, school, house of worship, public assembly, or another adult use, violates the Zoning Code and draws penalties and injunction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can an adult business open in Yonkers?
Do adult businesses with live performances need more than zoning approval?
How is the 500-foot distance measured?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yonkers
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