City of Houston blocks sex robot shop from opening on Richmond
HOUSTON (FOX 26) - The controversial business that rents and sells realistic-looking robots for sex is now being blocked from opening in Houston. A representative from the City of Houston tells FOX 26 News that a "stop work order" was issued for the business.
This announcement comes after a city inspector apparently went by the shop's proposed location on Richmond Avenue and realized the business had started work without a permit.
Canadian company KinkySdollS said the Houston shop would've been its first location in the U.S. Customers would have been able to pay to have sexual relations with human-looking sex robots described as a "try before you buy" process.
But now, the City of Houston is saying "no" to the controversial business' continued construction.
Earlier this week, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the sex robot shop is not something the city wants. In fact, Mayor Turner said the city's legal department was looking at ways to stop the sex robots from coming.
"I'm not trying to be the moral police, but I am charged with the health and safety of the people within our city," said Mayor Turner. "This is not the sort of business I'm seeking to attract, okay?"
In the following statement released on Thursday, the Mayor's office told FOX 26 News:
A representative from the business visited the Houston Permitting Center to apply for an occupancy inspection...Inspectors from the Building Code Enforcement team visited the site and noticed work had been done without a permit. A red tag (stop work order) was issued. The business will need to apply for a demolition permit and submit plans prior to continuing work.
Faatimah Barefield and Detre Val work at H-Town studios, a recording studio located just a few steps down the hall from the proposed location of KinkySdollS. Their reactions are split.
"If it's not bringing any drugs or foul type of energy, then I'm not going to be the type of person that's going to ward away anything like that," said Val.
"It's interesting," said Barefield. "I just hope it's not going to be bad for business, like wow. Is it legal?"
The Houston Health Department has also said it is researching to determine what the potential health risks are for the public, including the risk of spreading sexually-transmitted diseases.