CAFE GETS REVAMP

THE notorious Cafe Amsterdam has undergone costly renovations despite the
State Government's promise to have it closed down for selling marijuana.

Almost six months have passed since Police Commissioner Peter Ryan asked
the NSW Supreme Court to have the Kings Cross cafe declared a "disorderly
house". But the case has stalled as the Crown Solicitor waits on evidence
from police.

In June, the State Government vowed to take immediate action after The
Sunday Telegraph exposed the cafe, in Roslyn St, as a sales point for drugs.

Commissioner Ryan's application would allow police to search the cafe
without a warrant and arrest the occupants if they did not have a valid
reason for being on the premises.

In the meantime, Cafe Amsterdam has thumbed its nose at the law.

Last week, it was closed for several days while it was given a facelift for
New Year's Eve.

The cafe reopened on Wednesday with a fresh coat of paint and pot plants
96 of the legal kind 96 adding a decorative touch to tables.

Waiters were offering customers free coffee as well as marijuana for $20 a
bag.

"It's our way of saying welcome back," a waitress told a Sunday Telegraph
reporter.

One Cafe Amsterdam regular said business was so good that staff were
regularly forced to turn customers away, offering a "take-away grass"
service instead.

While Cafe Amsterdam's doors were closed, marijuana dealers were accosting
people in broad daylight on Roslyn St.

A Sunday Telegraph team was approached five times in less than half an hour.

A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Jeff Shaw said the application to have
Cafe Amsterdam declared a disorderly house was still pending.

"The Crown Solicitor is awaiting evidence from police," she said.