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Posted on Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:58 p.m.

Dream Nite Club evicted from building in downtown Ann Arbor

By AnnArbor.com Staff

051012_dreamniteclub.jpg

Washtenaw County Sheriff's officers and other officials leave the Dream Nite Club on Wednesday morning.

Steve Pepple | AnnArbor.com

Police were on hand Wednesday morning while the Dream Nite Club was evicted from its now-former location on South Fourth Avenue.

The Ann Arbor Police Department requested that officers from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department assist in the eviction, according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Derrick Jackson.

“We were asked under mutual aid based on allegations of the AAPD harassing them,” he said.

Owners Jeff Mangray and his son, Vickash Mangray, of Ypsilanti — who operate the club under the entity VR Entertainment Inc. — had not paid the rent, according to court records.

The order of eviction states $15,000 in rent was supposed to have been paid by May 1. If nothing was received, the eviction could go forward.

The notice was signed May 4 by Judge Chris Easthope.

The club lost its liquor license on April 30 after the state followed the city's recommendation not to renew it.

Litigation involving the club also includes a $3 million federal lawsuit against the city.

John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Comments

Snarf Oscar Boondoggle

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 12:57 a.m.

uhhh, good reporting ... NOT ... iirc, ONE MONTH's rent is $15K ... and they were 9 days late? strongarm tactics seems rahter mild, imnsho. oh, correct the monthly rent figuer if i;m incorrect, pls.

eyesofjustice

Wed, May 16, 2012 : 5:56 a.m.

Good point, Mr Postema ego driven tatics have caused the City alot of letigation in this case, being the City Attorney for Ann Arbor Mr Postema must hand in billable hours to support his pay. The fact that he is the highest paid City Attorney in Michigan is rediculas... http://annarborchronicle.com/2011/12/20/postemas-performance-review-no-raise......there is a link to Postema employment agreement in the article......The City could save alot of money by getting rid of Mr. Postema.

Snarf Oscar Boondoggle

Tue, May 15, 2012 : 1:42 p.m.

i think my taxes are going to go up ...

eyesofjustice

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 6:01 a.m.

No your right the order for eviction was for 15k, with no liquor license it makes no sense for the owners to pay the rent .Facts will be proven that the City Attorneys office put pressure on the landloard to evict the tenants. Stephan Postema was on a personal mission to shut the club down, which he did, now their are multiple law firms contacting the owners of VR Entertainment to join in on the federal case, Postema better be prepared because it is known around City Hall if he loses this case..........he will loose his job :)

clownfish

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 12:57 p.m.

As far as I can tell from this limited article, the eviction was from the landlord, NOT the City. Is that correct? Why don't the backers of the club owners go after the landlord, not the City? Why didn't the renters pay their rent? Normally the people backing the club owners would be after the people that don't pay their bills, but it looks like if the City is involved they are changing their tunes to back renters that don't pay rent. Interesting.

eyesofjustice

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 6:27 a.m.

It is strange the City would be so involved in a Land Lord tenant dispute,it is my understanding that the City Attorney's office put pressure on the landloard get rid of the Dream Nite Club tenants. Im sure Dean Zahn properties will be the next to be sued,if collusion is proved between the City and Dean Zahn Properties if damges are proven Dean Zahn Properties will be paying.thru the nose.

Roadman

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 2:59 a.m.

Assistant City Attorney Mary Fales and interns at Steve Postema's office are doing the lion's share of the work in these federal court and LCC proceedings although Steve Postema and City Prosecutor Robert West have had a maintained a public persona before the federal court and the LCC. According to federal court records, Dream-Nite's owners filed a 120-page brief last Friday in support of a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order. Postema and Dream-Nite's counsel came down to Detroit and argued before Judge Paul Borman that afternoon and Judge Borman ordered a response from the City of Ann Arbor that is due today. There is also a nuisance abatement action against Dream-Nite before Melinda Morris that is pending that had been instituted by Steve Postema. One question is why is the City Attorney and his office defending this action when other cases, like the ACLU lawsuit against the AATA for failing to allow "Boycott Israel" signs as bus ads, have outside retained counsel like Maddin Hauser Wartell Roth and a second law firm defending those at a substantial cost to taxpayers.

eyesofjustice

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 9:37 p.m.

@ bedrog hmm that's your opinion .....personally I kinda like Roadman

bedrog

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 5:52 p.m.

eyes: then roadman ---who is none of those you mentioned--was simply exercising his penchant for 'baron von munchausen" self - important fantasy when he boasted about his involvement in the case at a democratic event ( and he's not even a democrat).

eyesofjustice

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 5:36 p.m.

@ bedrog I checked this morning, so far on the the Federal case Dream has filed with the attorney Roger Farinha, on the other suits filed Dream has retained to other attorneys Brent Leader and Jon Rosenthal. We will see the outcome of what happens soon....

bedrog

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 9:15 a.m.

eyes..the ACLU has , since Skokie, become a parody of itself, ala the ONION headline " ACLU Defends right of Neo Nazis to burn down ACLU headquarters". the "crushable case" i referred to was the bus ad one roadman typically raised in his typical 'black ops' way ( i.e tries on these threads to rally participation by fellow extremists in actual trials) ... although if 'roadman' is involved in the "dreams' case that'll be a foreordained outcome too and 'Dreams' will be but a passing nightmare..

eyesofjustice

Fri, May 11, 2012 : 5:52 a.m.

@bedrog prepare your peers this easy case just got difficult, from my understanding the NAACP just got involved.....they are backing Dreams claims to the 14th amendment the 18th amendment the Klu Klux Clan statute, the due process violations and their challeging the the City Council on Violations of the Open Meetings Act.......in the picture above is the landlord Matt Zahn he is in purple shirt, from my understanding their is a claim being pepared against Dean Zahn Properties. In fact the City Attorneys office was ready to cut a deal with the club to re open on the grounds the owners dropped their Federal Law Suit.......So yes fireworks will fly .......and dont forget its not over till Mary Fayles sings :)

bedrog

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 10:15 a.m.

why in -house vs outhouse council ( no pun intended)? because you , as the nightclub attorney, are a pretty easy opponant. The ACLU ( although backing a monumental loser---and associate of yours--- has deep pockets and a (sadly given some of the toxic causes they back , and this is one of the worst!!) )better track record. they will be crushed in this case.

eyesofjustice

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 4:06 a.m.

Real simple awnser Postema does not mwant any other lawyers looking at his mistakes in dealing with this case.........

G-Man

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 2:18 a.m.

Seems like a bad dream........

UlyssesWrong1

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:10 p.m.

I know most posters will rejoice in this night club being closed, but the reality is that any problems people had with the patrons will simply spread to other bars and night clubs. We're talking about teenagers and young adults in a major college town, the bad press this place got happens to many clubs across the country that are similar, closing one will not change much in the long run. But I guess it will appease the people who have been calling for the closing forever. Being behind $15,000 in rent is pretty remarkable though. Wonder why they were skipping on their rent, or did they get hit with some penalty fees that got tacked on and were forced to close? Reminds me of the last public enemy #1 night club, Studio 4, which closed for similar reasons under similar circumstances. Let's count the days until the next one opens, now that the semester is over, I'd expect it to be around the coming fall.

UlyssesWrong1

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 10:31 p.m.

Halter, If you think closing one bar will stop 'those' kind of people from coming to downtown Ann Arbor to go to bars, night clubs, and hang out, then I guess you are really out of touch with the situation. This wasn't some new thing that just happened recently due to the existence of this place, it's always been like that. Boundary disputes is a new one though, I guess that's a nice way to say gang issues, or maybe someone bumped someone with their elbow and spilled a drink on someone? Smokeblwr, what you fail to realize is that Ann Arbor is not Happy Valley or some little college town, we have people visiting our city constantly from the surrounding areas and it has always been that way. Ann Arbor is a destination for people to enjoy the night life int he surrounding areas, this stuff isn't unique to this particular bar. Josh, you're right, when I went there were a mix of Michigan and EMU students (those that I knew) but I wasn't there every single night so this is only a small sample size. Eventually there will be more incidents at other places. It seems like the outcry is more overblown than the actual incidents.

Joshua Snowden

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 2:49 a.m.

@Halter Umm, no. I went there plenty of times and most of the people there were University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University students. The issue here was not the patrons, but the owner's utter and complete inability to run the establishment in a proper and decent manner.

smokeblwr

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 1:15 a.m.

Almost every crime report I read from the area around this club involved people from OUT OF TOWN. Don't build it and they won't come.

eyesofjustice

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 12:43 a.m.

@ Halter" it wasn't a college bar problem at all....It was a problem with patrons coming from Detroit, Willow, Wayne County, etc"...Im sure those other cities consist of college students.....lol....lets just put a brick wall around Ann Arbor

Halter

Thu, May 10, 2012 : midnight

Nope, that's really not what was happening here --- it wasn't a college bar problem at all....It was a problem with patrons coming from Detroit, Willow, Wayne County, etc and then getting into fights, drug sales, and boundary disputes.... College bar problems are NOTHING compared to this stuff.

grimmk

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:02 p.m.

Justice.

eyesofjustice

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 10:59 p.m.

The City Attorneys Office, has a Federal Case in Detroit on May 30 infront Judge Paul D.Borman. I have read the complaint filed by the owners of V.R Entertainment Network dba Dream Nite Club and they have a strong case, the City Council clearly violated the Open Meeting Act , their Liquor License Comitee who determs the renewals of Liquor License in the city Ann Arbor is led by Tony Dresinski a paid City Council employee of Ann Arbor. The due process violations in this case is unreal, every american citizen is suppose to get a fair hearing these owners did not, the entire City Council and City Attorneys Office will have a fight in downtown Detroit. I am very familiar with the Federal Judge in this case and Judge Borman is a very good judge, the games Mr. Postema plays in the Ann Arbor court system, will not be tolerated by Judge Borman. The fact of the matter is yes you closed the establishment down, but at what cost? This is multi-million dollar law suit and I feel that the damages just went thru the roof, the City Attorney office did not follow proper procedure in closing this establishment down......Good Luck infront Borman Mr.Postema you are going to need it!

eyesofjustice

Thu, May 10, 2012 : 12:13 a.m.

@ Halter there is a Federal Lasw suit pending May 30th in front Federal Judge Paul D Borman.....this is far from over

Halter

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:58 p.m.

This is another shill posting that is meaningless....this is over...

UlyssesWrong1

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:18 p.m.

Thank you for sharing this. Yes it does seem like it was somewhat of a strongarm move to close the place. With the winter semester ending, it's not like Dream Nite Club was going to be getting a ton of patrons anyway since so many students are gone. I think it's great that there will be a federal judge involved who can be neutral in this case.

Halter

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:32 p.m.

Thank goodness....the parking lot will be safer and the street will be safer at night...Maude's come on back....

mun

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:27 p.m.

Buh bye, Dream Nite! Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!

Ron Granger

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:14 p.m.

This is indeed a dream. Don't let the swinging bar doors hit you on the way out.

Billy

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:08 p.m.

So how does a high class Dinner Club sound there? Familiar you say? That's what I was hoping for. Gonna do something about that tree though......

smokeblwr

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8:10 p.m.

I wish Nelson Muntz were here: "Ha-HA!"

a2miguy

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 7:29 p.m.

Can we put Maude's back in there? I loved their chicken artichoke pasta.

Ron Granger

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:16 p.m.

Maudes was fine. I patronized the place regularly. It seemed to do good business. I remember the owner saying something about wanting to do something different, just because. The Mexican place that replaced it flopped soon enough. The location has gone downhill ever since, but never so much as when the Dream "nite club" was in operation.

DNB

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8:25 p.m.

@KMHall: Do you know that Blimpy Burger makes the best deep-fried cauliflower? I'm not sure if it compares to Maude's.

Alan Goldsmith

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8 p.m.

We need the Golden Falcon back in the location!

KMHall

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8 p.m.

....fried cauliflower...sigh

Roadman

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 7:26 p.m.

There is a hearing scheduled next week in federal court before Judge Paul Borman. The bar and its owners are suing the city and a request for a preliminary injunction is pending so the liquor license of Dream Nite can be restored. 3 million in damages is also being sought. Judge Timothy Connors, who shut down the bar last June before it was re-opened now faces the unusual prospect of facing a re-election challenger, Michael Woodyard. Mike is a career prosecutor with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. His website is www.woodyard4judge.com Chief Barnett Jones who led the AAPD, recently resigned his post and now is Flint's chief of police. He is a defendant in the federal court action by Dream-Nite. Look for more upcoming fireworks in the federal court proceedings....................................

eyesofjustice

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:03 p.m.

The City Attorneys office provided 12 Ann Arbor Police officers during the Liquor Comitee Hearing on March 19, all the officers provided hearsay evidence. (in one case a officer was testifying on behalf of another officer who could not make the meeting due to a ill family member, this was DOUBLE hersay)The procedures the Ann Arbor police use to conduct their investigations are going to be questioned at the hearing in Federal Court....what if Judge Borman decides the procedures used by AAPD is not proper procedure? Every inmate in jail will be filling for a apeal. This will be a very interesting case to observe, it could really crumble the Ann Arbor Police Department.

pbehjatnia

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:59 p.m.

Roadman is just stating the obvious here. The idea that the owners of this business are just going to quietly exit the scene was put to rest months ago. While no one liked the club, that alone is not enough to do what the city has done. City leaders simply took bad advice (prolly from our highly paid city attorney) and played an old skool game of 'ride 'em outta town.' Sadly this was the worst approach here. I agree with Roadman, stay tuned for more to come.... because it is coming.

bedrog

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:53 p.m.

cinnabar...i'm a big follower ( although no fan) of the guy on various threads and his m.o is to attempt to sow discord and suspicion ( in the service of highly dubious causes and individuals) via often irrelevant to simply made up factoids that are designed to convey the image of a savvy insider.....although you'd think most successful practicing lawyers would have more actual work to do that would preclude such copious thread trolling .

Halter

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:35 p.m.

There will be mo fireworks to follow here -- this is over....

cinnabar7071

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:24 p.m.

bedrog thanks I couldn't for the life of me understand the logic behind Roads comments. Makes sense now.

bedrog

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:17 p.m.

djm: re your suggestioj to 'roadman' i think Plymouth may have zoning against such establishments.

bedrog

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 9:10 p.m.

bobby :re roadmans foot in mouth syndrome...he's representing the club, i have it on good authority , and is trying his usual 'defense by thread trolling'.

BOBBY

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8:37 p.m.

Roadman please remove foot from mouth before posting. thank you,

djm12652

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8:25 p.m.

@Roadman..If the license is restored, perhaps you could suggest a place 2 blocks from your home where you can deal with the crowds of unruly and quite often agressive clientele...

FreedomEagle

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8:02 p.m.

Sue away! It won't make a difference, the city has wanted this blight to leave town for a long time... with good reason. Remember that shooting last year in the 4th & Washington parking structure? That fight started in the Dream Night club. That's the type of crowd this place attracts -- nothing good will come from it's continuing existence.

FreedomEagle

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 7:13 p.m.

Good riddance, nothing but trouble came from this place

BOBBY

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 8:36 p.m.

Bout Time. The economy will never improve if this space isn't used for a good respectable business. or at least a Bar/club that can draw a decent crowed and control it!

Roadman

Wed, May 9, 2012 : 7:45 p.m.

City Hall politics at its worst .