NEWARK — City officials are taking steps to shut down a local go-go bar that has been the site of two fatal shootings over the last several weeks.
Police Director Eugene Venable said 21 Foxes Go-Go has already been shuttered for failing to notify local authorities about a large promotion on Saturday night, hours before a 23-year-old East Orange man was gunned down outside. According to the club's Twitter page, the special event included an appearance by an adult film star.
"He had a party there that he was supposed to let the police know about," Venable said. "He failed to do that, so he's going to be closed down."
While that violation would keep the club closed for the time being, the city is also planning to charge it with creating a nuisance, a violation of a city ordinance that could allow it to be fined and potentially shut down permanently, according to the director.
Calls to the club were not answered this afternoon. The property is owned by Lido Entertainment Inc., a company registered to Hechmatollah Maghsoudlou. Attempts to reach him were not successful.
A recent report from Newark's Office of Alcohol Beverage and Control obtained by NJ Advance Media said the club "is closed and will continue to be closed", and that the owner has notified the city that he intends to sell the building.
Officials have also asked Municipal Prosecutor Natacha Peavey to draft amendments to the city's Title IV code that would require all establishments with liquor license to notify the ABC within three weeks of any promotional event, and to have written contracts for any such event that will be provided to the ABC and local police precinct.
Such regulations currently apply only to establishments with dance hall licenses, according to the ABC report.
The club, which is tucked between Route 21 and the Passaic River in Newark's East Ward, has had a run of trouble that began in December, when a Georgia man was shot and killed after a dispute in its parking lot.
A Newark woman was also shot during the melee, but managed to survive.
Venable said that incident alerted city officials that the club did not have a proper certificate of occupancy, and it was shut down for approximately two weeks until it resolved the issue.
Officials said it was allowed to reopen on the condition that it add surveillance cameras and beef up security measures, but it wasn't long before it once again found itself the site of a murder investigation.
"Business owners and people are supposed to kind of take care of their properties. They have responsibilities....It's been identified as an egregious place," Venable said.
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