“Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”
That’s a startlingly relevant quote from H.L Mencken, who would be such a great addition to the local media landscape here in Cleveland. Yes, even as a rotting bag of carbon six feet deep in Baltimore these days, Mencken’s input is a needed dose of reality against the brutes running things around here.
On May 2, state liquor agents raided Loren Naji’s Studio Gallery on West 25th Street. It was a Friday night, and Naji was hosting a show featuring three local artists and a local band. There was a fine spread of beer and wine and food, as there tends to be at these sorts of things, to be given out freely to guests. The same scene plays out every weekend across galleries all around town but this shindig was singled out.
Cleveland police officers visited the gallery at the start of the reception and requested that Naji not accept tips for the alcohol. He said that he would only be accepting tips for the band, Yosemight, playing throughout the show. The officers then left. (The Cleveland Division of Police declined comment to the local press.)
In short order, plainclothes state liquor agents arrived and shut the whole event down. According to those at the party, the agents (all wearing matching black sweatshirts as to appear most mighty and dad-like) were insisting that it is illegal for galleries to give away alcohol. They herded everyone out of the gallery, some 150 people in total, refusing to answer questions and attempting to stop all attempts at recording their activities. More than $600 in alcohol was confiscated, along with the tin can of tips totalling some $53.
Naji, meeting with Scene in his gallery earlier this week, was still grasping for an explanation. He’s owned his building for 11 years and helped anchor both development along West 25 Street and the city’s burgeoning arts community as a whole. He remained cooperative during the raid, agents say, but he’s still wondering: What the hell?
All lines of conversation lead to a “retired contractor” named Henry Senyak. He lives in Tremont and by all accounts despises fun and loves the governmental permitting process. He’s a civic building code junkie, which is just about the worst kind. His Facebook page is pure theater.
Back in March, Senyak personally initiated a city inspection of Naji’s studio. Records show only that Naji’s property was being investigated for “illegal use.” The two inspectors listed on the code enforcement record were unavailable for comment earlier this week. But furthermore, Senyak admitted to The Plain Dealer’s Micheal Heaton that he initiated the Friday night raid, as well, saying only that it’s his love of Cleveland that drives him to get all crazy about building code violations.
One attendee of the party backed up the widely reported claims of frenzy during the raid and told Scene: “After talking to a few different people, it was evident that a man named Henry Senyak was somehow involved in this whole bust. Everyone was just ripping him apart. The party drastically died down because of the alcohol being taken and the police putting a huge negative vibe on the night.” Which makes sense: partygoers love booze and hate negative vibes.
No official has really been able to articulate what Naji did wrong. The Cleveland Enforcement Office of the Ohio Investigative Unit just let the phone ring and ring when Scene called in. An F-2 permit must be secured for a nonprofit to sell alcohol on the premises for up to four days (that’ll run about $160), but Naji was not selling alcohol nor is he running a nonprofit. In those cases, the state claims that event organizers must seek some sort of nonprofit sponsor.
It’s easier to follow the line that Cleveland police seem to have struck out on: For-profit gallery owners host shows and offer complimentary drinks. That’s fine. Those sorts of events have catalyzed neighborhood growth from Tremont and Ohio City to forthcoming boons in Collinwood and Slavic Village. After Friday’s raid and the ensuing silence from local leaders, it’s unclear if Cleveland understands that.
At best, what the raid signifies to Cleveland is more of the god-forsaken same. Cleveland is a city that thinks it enjoys a cultured lifestyle, a creative tip of the hat toward the weirdness of America. And some in this city really do bleed artistic hope for the betterment of all. Naji is one of them, and there are many, many others. But Cleveland is a city helmed by puritanical elbow-rubbing poo-pooers.
This article appears in May 7-13, 2014.
Someone is buying the police off. Follow the money.
Get with it Cleveland. You’re making it very hard for me to win you over with people.
This is exactly why people leave Cleveland.
Your narrative is a fantasy of conjecture, totally void of facts.
Wow, you said it all! Great article. THANK YOU !!!
Maybe I’ve been watching to much Leverage onNetflix, but it sounds like he pissed someone off with connections.
Leaveland.
Henry Senyak is the exemplar of the provincial mindset that has stymied Cleveland’s rebirth. As with too many “citizen-activists”, his behavior makes the cause about himself rather than the issue at hand.
And I was really thinking of moving back to Cleveland. I left because of this kind of crap.along with smallmindedness and petty hypocracy.
this is trash journalism, rambling, speculative nonsense, no research, no understanding of how Ohio liquor laws work…. college newspaper material…
Actually Citizen, Cleveland gained population from 2012 to 2013. Nice try though.
So sorry to hear that a few small minded and heavy handed people can work so hard to complicate something so needed. I for one support the work of the gallery; and, in all my time of attending events in Cleveland, I have known your work to be stellar. My advice, is to enlist your council representative in taking action against the police and the task force, as they are clearly not correct in their actions. My hopes are for your continued contributions to the W.25th street area, and Cleveland as a whole. There are far more concerns than tips for a band, or art lovers coming together for an exhibition. One would think the city leadership would appreciate what you are doing, not detract from it. Best Regards, Moon
All the problems in the City of Cleveland and this is what they are focusing on??!! No wonder Cleveland has been named “The Mistake on the Lake!”!!!
I looked up Henry Senyak’s Facebook page (it seems to be set to “public,” so have a look for yourselves) and if I’m understanding his posts correctly, he sees calling the cops on this gallery to be some sort of civic duty like bugging someone to fill in the potholes. Here’s a bit of today’s post:
“BTW, all the pothole are fixed in this part of Tremont, do you want to see who sent the emails leading that charge? Note to Artists, I have been speaking with people prior to this whole ordeal that we need a new class liquor permit. “Gallery Permit”, I sat with a gallery owner a month ago in Tremont discussing this. It would exempt wine and cheese events, and allow a small proportion of beer products based on how big the gallery is. This would be a yearly permit, and allow everyday usage by the Gallery. What Naji had has stock was more than the stock of 50% of the corner bars in Cleveland had. He is not a typical gallery. The closest thing in the zoning code is a Party Center. To quote Bob Peck ‘It’s like a party with some sweet ass art on the walls.'”
First of all, not sure why he sees a gallery opening with booze in it some sort of public problem the way potholes are. Second, how would he know how much booze was at this party? I’ve a funny feeling he wasn’t invited. Third, even if this event had more alcohol at it than local bars do (sad commentary on the local bars’ stock), unless the people in that gallery have a habit of getting shitfaced and disturbing the peace, I have *NO* idea why he thinks their drinking practices are his or the cops’ business, much less need some sort of “Gallery Permit.” He must be on some sort of power trip – he CAN disrupt someone else’s event so he WILL.
i have been to and been a server at many gallery shows. there are always alcoholic beverages available. where were the police then? why are they singling out this particular gallery and this particular event? i love cleveland and i hope this is not representative of public response. loren haji and his gallery are a cleveland treasure to be celebrated – not berated.
Chandeliers on Playhouse Square accompanied by fascists raids on local art galleries trying to survive. Is this a great city or what?
Cleveland is done, this city is a cesspool of political corruption … I can’t wait to get back out of this trash dump …
They did the same thing to Blue Arrow Records a few years ago while they were hosting a free event with a band. The crappy ex-cop dive bar a few buildings down did the complaining then.
Great article, very sad story. I brag about Cleveland’s culture scene to all my out-of-town friends, I don’t know what to say about this, come on Cleveland the art scene lives and we can’t let some curmudgeon squash the art.
Yes, because God forbid that everyone doesn’t have a different permit for everything.
Did you remember to renew your “butt scratching in public” permit this week? Yes? Good, that one and the “okay to yawn” permit are the ones they arrest you on the most.
This was selective enforcement, pure and simple. Jerks like Senyak don’t deserve to have their prejudices validated.
Sounds like a job for diversitycenterneo.org, neighbors!
Great Article. Thanks for the info. Does anyone know where I can find a blank “F 2 Form” to fill out?