Club Sleep to be put to sleep by March
Town ABC council settles with owners of controversial club
BY COLLEEN LUTOLF
Staff Writer

After racking up numerous Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) violations in July, the owners of Club Sleep agreed with the local ABC board to sell their Woodbridge nightclub by March.

The Township Council, acting in the capacity of the local ABC board, agreed to a settlement recently with Siegel & Lansky, Woodbridge, operating as Club Sleep.

The settlement, a “nonvult determination,” deals with a myriad of charges filed against the club, beginning with what police described as a “riot” outside the club in the early morning hours of July 25.

“Nonvult means there’s no plea,” said council Vice President James V. Carroll after the hearing.

“They’re not guilty, but they’re not innocent either.”

The settlement stipulates the business must be sold or be contracted to be sold to a unrelated third party by March 10, 2005. Siegel & Lansky also agreed to a 10-day suspension of their liquor license between now and March 10, 2005, as part of the settlement.

“We think we have a fair and equitable settlement,” Carroll said. “The object of the council is to be fair to the people of Woodbridge and just the fact that [Club Sleep] will not be in the liquor business in six months is a good thing for the town.”

If Club Sleep is not contracted to be sold, or the club receives any “substantial violation” between now and March 10, disciplinary proceedings would begin immediately, Township Clerk John Mitch said after the hearing.

“We’re very satisfied,” Club Sleep attorney Robert G. Stahl said after the settlement was read for public record. “The owners of the club are responsible business people. This was an unforeseen, unpredictable event and we feel we’ve taken care of the situation.”

Club Sleep had just closed after another Saturday night hip-hop party on July 25 around 3 a.m., when according to police reports, over 300 people were fighting, vandalizing and setting off firecrackers in the Club Sleep parking lot, the Woodbridge Bowling Center parking lot across the street and in the Lowe’s parking lot located a few hundred yards away from the club on Main Street.

The incident resulted in several ABC violations against the club, including allowing or permitting a brawl, and allowing a licensed place of business to become a nuisance.

That night also yielded two administrative charges, including failure to post a current liquor license and an employee list displaying all employees and their contact information.

The evening before the melee, a 21-year-old Carteret man reported to police that he was assaulted by Club Sleep bouncers, whom he said broke his ankle after throwing him out of the club.

The parents of two 14-year-old girls attending a “Teen Night” party at the club filed a complaint on July 28 to Woodbridge police, after the girls said they were groped by club patrons on the club’s dance floor.

Police filed a report against the club on July 30 because two people inside the club after closing were not listed on the employee roster and the club’s liquor license was not displayed in a public area.

“The deal was a benefit to both of us,” said Andrew Adelman, one of Club Sleep’s owners.

When asked if he had plans to sell his business before the hearing, Adelman replied, “In this business, it’s always for sale.”

A state ABC investigation is ongoing, Mitch said.