Now it's up to Danny Henson.
The Baltimore housing commissioner, who has had a soft spot for dancers on The Block ever since he used to take clients there during his early career as a liquor salesman, will also be the commissioner of nudity, under a new city ordinance.
He will license show bars and porno book stores and make sure they abide by a number of operating restrictions. In these tasks he will be aided by an unpaid nine-member board.
As a result of the new legislation, The Block will remain in the 400 block of East Baltimore Street. But its establishments may no longer use barkers to lure in customers or keep their doors open.
After next July, they also have to separate their business area from the entrance with a walled vestibule. They will have three years to get rid of their flashing external lights and signs that depict adult entertainment. Overall, the law bans "posters, photographs, sketches, painted or laminated signs or similar materials" on the exterior of the buildings.
These restrictions are a far cry from the demands of certain downtown businessmen, who wanted The Block wiped out altogether.
But if the measures listed in the new law are enforced -- along with strictures restricting nudity -- the days of the city's tawdry "red light" district may finally be numbered.
It's about time. The once-thriving area of show bars has become nothing but an embarrassment in recent years. With new office buildings nearby and a children's museum soon forthcoming, its seedy characters and dubious activities are no longer welcome.
We hope Mr. Henson is tough but fair in regulating The Block. The new law's impact depends on how the housing commissioner administers it.