News

Actions

Detroiters say after-hours club patrons are a nuisance for residents

Posted at 4:28 PM, May 26, 2023
and last updated 2023-05-26 18:23:39-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Dorther Davison has lived behind the VIP Club on James Couzens in Detroit since 2018.

She tells 7 Action News, Thursday through Sunday, people coming from the club disrupt her and her neighbors.

"I’m on anxiety medicine," said Davison. "I don’t sleep every time I hear gun shots. I’ve been robbed at gunpoint before so I don’t sleep and it’s depressing."

Davison said people from the club fire guns, park in front of their driveways, speed through the neighborhood, urinate on their lawns, and start fights — sometimes with the homeowners themselves.

"I’ve called police about 1,000 times," said Davison. "Everybody got grandkids and we can’t come outside because we gotta clean up after somebody else. They leave bottles, drugs, needles, and all other stuff."

PJ, a homeowner who lives further in the neighborhood said, "You can’t get no sleep."

PJ showed a video showing all of the trash left over on the street from club goers.

"It looked like somebody just took a garbage truck and dumped it," said PJ.

While she's lived in the neighborhood for about a year, PJ said she's seen shootings, car jackings, and domestic violence. "This guy picked her up by her neck and body slammed her," PJ said.

When asked if she'd like to see happen to the club she said, "Shut down or moved because to me... (it) is infiltrating the neighborhood."

7 Action News reached out to the Detroit Police Department to ask them if they are aware of these complaints and what is being done.

In a statement DPD said the following:

“We are aware of this location and have conducted enforcement operations to improve the quality of life, proactively and in response to complaints from our residents. We will continue to provide special attentions to the area and assist the City of Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering & Environmental Division (BSEED) to shut down any business in operating in the Twelfth Precinct that is non-compliant.” – Commander Kurt Worboys, Twelfth Precinct

"My thing is, if you got an overflow, you need to tell your patrons, 'Don’t go into the neighborhood,'" said PJ.
Davison said, "I just want the mayor to do something about the situation, because it’s not fair to us."

7 Action News reached out to the VIP Club for comment on this story and did not hear back.