‘Never seen anything like this’: Police bust illegal nightclub in Boston basement

BOSTON — Cell phone video shows Boston Police busting an illegal nightclub early Monday morning on Rexford Street in Mattapan.

“So when they open up that bulkhead back there, they come out like roaches, they come flying out,” said one neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified.

In the video, you can see dozens of people running away and hopping a fence after officers arrived.

Police say they found more than fifty people in the basement, which was converted into a club with a fully stocked bar and multiple hookahs.

Police also seized three guns and arrested two men for disorderly conduct and trespassing among several other charges.

“Every weekend is a big party and the aftermath is like trash, bottles, the loudness,” said a neighbor. “Forty years on this street and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Police say they heard smoke alarms blaring from the basement when they got there Monday morning around 4:30 a.m., and they made forced entry after fearing life-threatening conditions.

“Four in the morning, they got their systems, they’re waking the whole neighborhood, you can hear their cars coming from down the street, boom, boom, boom, every weekend,” said a neighbor.

Neighbors say the parties usually start around 3 a.m. and have been going on for months.

Now city leaders say it’s time to crack down on this illegal activity.

City Councilor Enrique Pepen represents this district.

“Residents want to have a good time, but we have to make sure it’s done correctly and there are right permits for these locations, so it’s a safety hazard,” said Pepen.

Boston Inspectional Services issued a violation to the property owners for not having a permit to run a nightclub out of the basement.

Now the owners will need to clear this up within 30 days.

“Mattapan is home to a lot of families where they own their homes, we want to make sure they’re taken care of, that the quality of life is not interrupted,” said Pepen.

The property owners tell Boston 25 they’re trying to get the tenant evicted who was hosting these parties, and they’ll correct the violation as soon as possible.

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