God Saved The Queens
By Joshua Head

Miami Beach, FL, November 29, 2008 --- On November 20, 2008, The Miami SunPost’s cover story painted a possible bleak picture regarding one of The Palace’s long-standing 20-year traditions… drag shows.  According to the Miami SunPost, “After learning of Fernan D Cute and Geraldine’s street-side antics, local activist and self-anointed ‘noise consultant’ Morris Sunshine e-mailed a complaint to the city.”  As the meeting started, one of the attorneys for The Palace handed each board member a nearly three-inch thick manual of their proposal.

What was actually quite unclear was the reason and point of Mr. Sunshine’s true complaint.  At the Planning Board hearing that took place on Tuesday, November 25, Mr. Sunshine was the only attendee in opposition to The Palace seeking a conditional use permit for the shows.  However, as he stood up in opposition, he stated that he wasn’t “in opposition to the drag shows” but in opposition to the reference to specific decibels in the wording of the code and permits.  He explained that the city only had one decibel meter that hasn’t been used, and argued with one of the board members that for one to use a decibel meter, one must be certified and licensed by the state. 

His rambling point eventually did make sense. If the city didn’t have a way of measuring decibel levels, how then could they put specific wording in city code for maximum levels of sound measured in decibels?  The Palace had agreed to actually purchase a decibel meter in their proposal to the city so that they could self-monitor their sound levels.  After Mr. Sunshine’s rambling, the city decided to strike that offer from the proposal and not require them to purchase the sound meter.

With crowd of nearly fifty supporters in the audience (including Babak Movahedi, chair of the Gay Business Committee, the Wire’s Thomas Barker, Omar Gonzalez and Dustin Reffca from Click, Mario from da Leo Trattoria, as well as local performers Queen Cabaret, Pussila, and Tiffany), one of the board members stood up and began taking pictures garnering laughter from the crowd. 

When asked how many in the audience wanted to speak on behalf of The Palace, nearly every hand was raised.  However before anyone spoke, a motion was made to accept The Palace’s proposal and grant the permit that would allow performances on the porch area.  It is being worked out in another committee to allow performances on the sidewalk.  The motion carried and with an explosion of applause and cheers from the audience, the queens were saved.

What remains baffling to many is why Mr. Sunshine actually brought this issue up.  The Palace obtaining their permits should not have been such a major undertaking.  Our city has more important issues to focus on than a weekly drag show that’s been going on for twenty years.