A federal appeals court has upheld a decision rejecting a New York strip club’s application for a coronavirus relief loan.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that a bank was correct in denying a loan to the Buffalo-area strip club because federal Paycheck Protection Program rules bar such establishments from consideration.
Lawyers for Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club, in Cheektowaga, argued that the restriction violated free speech rights and unconstitutionally targeted businesses that engage in “live performances of a prurient sexual nature.”
But the appeal’s court said Congress gave the federal agency administering the loans discretion as to which types of businesses could be considered and that declining
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