Police called to strip club eviction
Police were called to a troubled New Plymouth strip club to maintain the peace as the building owner attempted to evict his tenant.
But Denys Taylor refused to leave the Devon St East premises, from where he has previously operated the adult bar Xite, yesterday morning.
The building is owned by Pacific Imports and Trading Ltd, of which Auckland man Rafad Alsaloom is the sole director and shareholder.
At least two First Security guards attempted to move Taylor from the building, which had windows on its upper floor boarded up.
A police presence was requested about 6.15am and officers attended at 8.45am.
‘‘We were there to keep the peace. It’s a civil matter,’’ acting sergeant Craig Walsh said.
The incident went without issue and both parties agreed to speak with their respective lawyers, Walsh added.
Alsaloom said he wanted to evict Taylor due to him not paying rent since February and because he was not using the building for the agreed purpose, which was for business.
‘‘I don’t know what they’re doing in there but the place looks miserable,’’ he said.
‘‘There are homeless people living upstairs.’’
As per the lease agreement, people were not allowed to reside in the premises, Alsaloom said.
He would be applying for a court order to have Taylor removed and said the lease renewal was on a month-tomonth basis.
Taylor admitted he had not paid rent for about two months while in dispute with the building owner.
He claimed to have a signed a 13-year lease on the venue and believed the attempted eviction was illegal.
‘‘I’m not going to leave. I will fight him and run my business in this building.’’
But it is not clear what business Taylor is running.
Taylor said nobody resided in the building. However, he admitted to there being a number of beds inside.
He previously told Stuff he planned to turn the building’s upper floors into a brothel, but denied that was currently happening.
‘‘What happens in a private club is private,’’ he said.
In June 2018, Taylor registered the company Crave Entertainment Ltd, after buying a defunct New Plymouth strip club, The Crave.
Two months later, he lodged an on-licence application with the New Plymouth District Council in which he described the business as a nightclub, strip club and bar.
The council approved a liquor licence for Taylor in November 2019, but he did not open the doors until mid-2020.
The bar opened for three consecutive months, he claimed, and on other random occasions.
It has been closed for the past two months due to the lease dispute, he said.
A New Plymouth District Council spokesman said Crave Entertainment’s on-licence remained valid.
A sign was seen at the entrance to the building stating that a ‘‘rave party’’ would be held there last night, but Taylor said that was a ‘‘joke’’.
Yesterday’s eviction attempt follows a January 2020 incident that saw Taylor kidnapped and assaulted by a group seeking paperwork related to the lease.
As a result, four people were charged with kidnapping and injuring with intent.