Club 77’s Sunday event forced to close due to licensing compliance

A popular Sydney nightclub which received government subsidies and was praised by night-time economy minister John Graham says it was forced to close its doors on Sundays in response to serial harassment from the police about its licensing conditions.

Police, however, said they were also investigating a serious violent incident at Club 77, a nightlife destination on William Street in Darlinghurst over the past 25 years.

On August 25, it launched a new weekly party, from 6 a.m. Sunday to 4 a.m. Monday, billed as an “after-hours experience for the industry, hospitality workers and community » which would fill a gap in the market and help elevate Sydney’s nightlife. in line with other global cities.

But six weeks later the venue canceled the event after what it described as a campaign of “constant harassment and intimidation” from Kings Cross police. “It’s been non-stop,” said licensee Dane Gorrel, who said police had been “extremely negative and dismissive” of the event when Club 77 told them of its plans. before the events began.

Since then, he said, the venue has been under “constant pressure”, including on a recent evening when 13 police officers and a dog were patrolling the club simultaneously. “There was literally one police officer for every 12 square meters of floor space,” Gorrel said.

On Monday, Gorrel received an email – seen by the Herald – from Senior Constable Robert Flook of Kings Cross Police’s licensing unit, informing him that police were investigating possible breaches.

The email stated that Flook was looking into whether there were more than 20 people in line for the venue after 2 a.m., whether people in line were standing more than two apart head-on, whether the club’s distribution system was functioning as required and whether it was open longer than expected.

Police also asked Gorrel to turn over records, including cash register logs and point-of-sale summaries of all sales over the past six weeks, including drinks and tickets, as well as incident logs and hours of CCTV footage from the last three weekends.

While Gorrel said there had been no incident at the scene, on Friday evening NSW Police said they were investigating “a report of a serious violent incident” that occurred end of August. “The investigation also addresses related licensing issues.”