Kings X Hotel To Take Down ‘Keep Sydney Open’ Banner After Residents Whinge

If the Sydney lockouts are a battle, it’s pretty clear which side has the upper hand right now. 
The latest salvo comes in the form of the Kings Cross Hotel, kind of a fortress for the anti-lockouts campaign. A local residents group, who support the lockouts, are forcing the hotel to take down a massive Keep Sydney Open banner. The City of Sydney council have threatened the hotel with a $6000 fine if the banner is not removed.
The issue of the billboard was raised repeatedly by the 2011 Residents Association on Twitter, who seemed incensed by the fact that it is a ‘political statement’ on the Cross, like Kings Cross has never been a political space before at any point in history. Look at the state of these tweets, look at ’em:

A spokesman for the City of Sydney confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald that the banner will be removed. “The banner is being removed voluntarily and City staff will work with the hotel to ensure any future signage is submitted through the formal approval process,” the spokesman said. 
The Kings Cross Hotel has apologised for putting the banner up without council approval, saying that they had “good intentions” in putting it up.
Well, that’s where we’re at, I guess – the Cross, once a hotbed of radicalism, now a place where anything regarded as remotely political is shot down instantly by a resident’s association. And ya still can’t get a drink after two in the morning.
Photo: Supplied.

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