BEVERLY — A Beverly neighbor has come under fire for hosting unlicensed concerts and events at her home, though she denied she is operating an entertainment business from the home and said officials have thwarted efforts to bring the events in accordance with the law.
Since late May, a home in the 10500 block of South Maplewood Avenue — which has billed itself online as Hidden Treasure Rooftop & Patio — has been the subject of visits from police and city business officials over a series of ticketed events that were advertised as featuring live entertainment, food and drink.
The latest outdoor event, held on Saturday and featuring a live band and armed security, saw police respond to the home and officials with Business Affairs and Consumer Protection issue nine citations.
That followed an event at the home that prompted business affairs officials to visit on May 21 and issue cease and desist orders for operating without a food license, a liquor license and a public place of amusement license, a business affairs spokesperson confirmed.
City officials then visited the home in West Beverly again in June following another event and issued two citations for operating without the appropriate licenses.
A flier shared on social media advertised a rooftop brunch party at the home on July 10 that featured four DJs and an open bar. Tickets to the event were available via the online platform Eventbrite, according to the flier.
Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) said his office has received over 50 complaints regarding the property and its events. O’Shea, who lives on the block, said the homeowner is not just throwing house parties — but using the property as an event space for rent.
O’Shea said the homeowner continues to violate multiple city ordinances by illegally renting the property. He said the gatherings, which often include live music, have caused disturbances not just to residents on Maplewood Avenue but in the surrounding area.
“The property owner is on various social media platforms renting the property, renting the backyard, renting the rooftop,” O’Shea said. “It’s amplified sound. It’s not like it’s three people playing in a band. It’s a sound system there.”
Chanay Walton, who lives at the property in question, said she started hosting gatherings at her home last year.
“I love music. I thought it would be a good idea, a fun idea to hire a band to play and have people come listen to the music. I sing sometimes, so I’ll sing with the band as well and just kind of put on a show,” Walton said.
Walton said she had previously listed her residence on PeerSpace, an online marketplace for hourly venue rentals for meetings, productions and events.
A previous listing for Walton’s home, obtained by Block Club, described the location as a “rare South Side rooftop deck and patio backyard venue for parties and live music.” The listing included an hourly rate of $250-350 per hour and a capacity of 100 people with daily operating hours of 6 a.m.-midnight.
After being issued the cease and desist letters in May, Walton reached out to city housing and business officials to say she had amended some of her practices in renting and hosting events, and she also inquired about how to get properly licensed.
Those efforts were not fruitful, she said.
In response to the cease and desists, Walton told city officials in late May she removed a video advertisement of an upcoming event from Youtube as well as changed privacy settings on an event page so it was not listed to the general public, according to emails made available to Block Club.
After another rental in June resulted in two citations, Walton said she then stopped renting out her space. Walton and a spokesperson from Business Affairs and Consumer Protection said the June citations have been settled.
Walton said Saturday’s gathering was her own private party, not a rental, and without an admission fee or the selling of food or alcohol. The party — billed in promotional materials as Chanay’s Juke Joint: Love Hangover — had a listing on Ticket Tailor, an online event ticketing platform. But Walton said tickets, initially listed with an admission fee, were updated in May to be free and were used to track RSVPs.
“No matter what I do, anytime that I entertain in my backyard, they are going to assume that I am operating a business, which I think is really ridiculous,” Walton said.
Private parties become illegal when an admission fee is collected, when liquor is sold or when they are advertised as open to the public without the proper licenses, according to documentation from Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Public place of amusement licenses are required for any venue hosting an amusement, which includes live music.
Walton’s home does not have such a license, as the licenses are not permitted in places zoned as residential. In email exchanges she shared with Block Club, city business officials said they would not license the home for such amusement uses.
Last year, Walton hosted two parties. She said Saturday was her first personal party of the year and was just for family and friends. On average, she said her gatherings have brought out about 70 people, with amplified music cut off by 10 p.m.
A neighbor on the block who spoke to Block Club said Walton’s gathering on Saturday included two armed security guards that neighbors observed checking guests in at the door.
The neighbor, who asked not to be named, said many residents on the block have young children. In general, they said residents are concerned about the noise, parking and whether Walton is running a rental and entertainment venue out of the home in a residential area near Munroe Park, 2617 W. 105th St.
Walton said two off-duty suburban police officers provided security at the party — one at the front entrance and another in the back by the alley. She said comments on social media garnering widespread attention about her home and her parties, including comments leaking her personal information, led her to hiring private security.
“There were comments about people coming to crash the party, comments about people coming to vandalize my home. There were just a lot of disturbing comments and I know that my information had been leaked for quite a while now,” Walton said.
Rhonda Thompson, a friend of Walton’s who attended Saturday’s party, said there was no food or drink being sold. She said police and city officials showed up at the party around 7 p.m., and she felt they were looking for any reason to stop the party.
“It was almost like we were back in the day, and they were hating that this Black lady was having this event in her house,” Thompson said
A Chicago Police spokesperson said officers conducted a business license investigation on the block on Saturday. Business inspectors also visited and issued the nine citations for operating without the required licenses and for failing to abide by the cease and desists, the business affairs office confirmed. The party was not dispersed.
Thompson said officers left after about 45 minutes. In all, she said about 60 to 70 people were in attendance at the party and that listening to Walton and the other performers was enjoyable.
“It was a good feeling to be outside under the stars and listening to her sing. She had a way of dealing with her guests where she brought them back to the moment, as opposed to all of the police riffraff,” Thompson said.
Walton said she has heard from a few neighbors who have enjoyed the music at her parties. She said she has not heard from any neighbors directly with complaints, but she has seen some comments on social media with racial undertones.
“They were talking about how they didn’t appreciate the type of crowd that I was attracting for my parties. I feel like it is racially motivated,” she said.
O’Shea said behavior on social media has not helped the situation. He said he will continue to work with city agencies to address the residence but is asking neighbors to not fan the flames on social media.
“Be no mistake about it. This is illegal, and this is a real problem. Having said that, you have people on social media platforms embellishing or completely fabricating things attached to this home that are not true, which is not helping,” he said.
Walton, however, said she will continue to entertain at her home.
“I have a nice backyard,” she said. “That was one of the reasons why I chose to live here, because of my rooftop deck. I do intend to have family and friends over.”
