Downtown No Longer Considered for Possible Tattoo Studio

The Peekskill City Council has discussed potentially lifting the ban on tattoo studios in the city for more than a year, but has not determined which zone would be most appropriate for such a business.

At last night's City Council work session the mayor and council decided that the following zones would not be considered for a tattoo studio:

• Residential Zones
• Downtown Business District Zone
• Commercial Zones with a significant mix of Residential use
• Planned Commercial Development Zone

The Council directed the staff to consider the following zones:

• Industrial Zones
• Manufacturing/Industrial Zones
• Commercial (Shopping Center) Zones

These three zones include the area along Central Avenue and the waterfront, Beach and other shopping centers, the Hat Factory area, among others. See attached map. The areas in blue, purple and yellow are where the city may allow a tattoo studio.

While all council members and the mayor were supportive of bringing a tattoo studio back to the city, they had mixed opinions on where it should go. Allowing a tattoo studio in the city means the Council will have to approve a zoning change.

“The challenge becomes once you prohibit something and (want to bring it back) people live in the area and they have a lot of voice,” Mayor Mary Foster said, referring to the fact that downtown is a mixed commercial and residential area and some residents have the lift on the tattoo ban.

Councilman Darren Rigger emphasized what he saw as a business owner’s perspective that the downtown would be most attractive place to open a studio. Councilwoman Kathleen Talbot, while she said she would never get a tattoo herself, emphasized that tattoo art is not seen the same way as it was when she was younger and that the downtown seemed like a good location for a studio.

“This is considered art these days not like when I was a kid and motorcycle guys would line up for tattoos. Everybody seems to have a tattoo except for me…I think it should be someplace where it can be seen,” Talbot said.

The officials ultimately directed staff to consider the industrial, manufacturing and commercial areas and possibly look into splitting up the outlying downtown area or waterfront area zoning to come up with a location with which everyone would feel comfortable.

Patrick Conlon, the Peekskill tattoo artist who hopes to open a studio, has said that and not in industrial or manufacturing parts of the city.

The council will hold a public hearing on tattoo studio zoning in coming weeks.

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