New York nightlife has been taking a lot of hits lately, from the seizing of Verboten for nonpayment of taxes and arrest of co-owners Jen Schiffer and John Perez to the fatal shooting of Ronald McPhatter, a member of Troy Ave’s BSB crew, at T.I.’s show at Irving Plaza (in the venue’s green room no less). You can now add to that list the official shuttering of the Brooklyn Mirage in Williamsburg. In a story first reported by Brooklyn Paper, the trouble started Thursday, May 26 when the NYFD put the kibosh on things at the club due to multiple fire hazards including the presence of combustible material. Then the following day at 5pm the Department of Buildings ordered that the premises be vacated due to being “imminently perilous to life,” hammering the final nail in the coffin, at least for now.
The Mirage’s overseers posted on Facebook they had already successfully undergone safety and fire inspections. But this was far from the first run-in with the powers that be for Cityfox, the company behind the club. The police had already come down on them for selling liquour at the club without a license, and the Fire Department brought an untimely end to a warehouse party Cityfox hosted in Greenpoint last Halloween. It’s also been claimed that alcohol was already being sold again at the Mirage since the last bust, though others have denied it. So, is the club really a scofflaw trouble magnet or do the authorities have it in for them?
In its brief history Brooklyn Mirage has hosted an array of top-notch DJs including Dixon, Nicole Moudaber, Victor Calderone, Joel Mull and Acid Pauli. It is uncertain whether upcoming events featuring headliners Richie Hawtin (who was forced to cancel his appearance at Movement in Detroit due to visa issues) on June 18 and Thievery Corporation on June 24 will be moved to another location.