GUILDERLAND — The Back Door, billed as “Albany’s premier event space,” is actually in Guilderland and the town is unhappy with late-night, loud gatherings at the venue.

In a unanimous vote on Feb. 1, the Guilderland Town Board authorized its attorney to go to court to shut down the venue at 1434 Western Ave. in McKownville.

A memorandum from town attorney James Melita to Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber and the town board members says the property is being used illegally “as a commercial entertainment location” in violation of the town’s zoning code.

Residents have complained of “loud music and large gatherings,” the memo says, and hired security has been used at the events.

Further, the memo says, the structure may have been altered without a building permit, and violation of state fire and property maintenance codes may “require immediate action.”

The police and the town’s building and zoning department, the memo says, “have exhausted all reasonable efforts” to remedy the violations.

According to Albany County assessment rolls, the property at 1434 Western Ave., with a full-market value of $716,800, is owned by Kent Hansen and Judith E. Vener of Rensselaer.

Vener told The Enterprise she no longer owns the property. She had owned it previously, she said. “When it was in my name, it was used as a heating-supply business,” said Vener.

She said, until The Enterprise called her on Thursday, she had been unaware of any problems with the property.

Hansen could not be reached for comment.

Currently, a dog-grooming business occupies the first floor front of the two-story building. The building faces busy Route 20 with a row of turn-of-the-last-century homes on the other side of the four-lane highway.

Social-media posts show The Back Door as a pop-up venue, not as a nightclub with regular hours but rather a place that can be booked by groups or individuals wanting to hold a party or host a performance.

TheBackdoorAlbany website pictures a large, bare room billed as “a multipurpose event space with the ability to adapt to any event needs.”

The site lists some recent events as: “Trick or Cheeks Exotic Dancer” for Halloween, Oct. 31, 2021; “The Smoke Fest,” on Nov. 1, 2021; Karaoke; and “The Panty Drop 2021 NYE Bash” on Dec. 31, 2021.

The issues, said Barber at Tuesday’s meeting, are created by the tenant who is using the leased space for a late-night, early-morning club, causing “a great disturbance to neighbors.”

“It’s an apartment. It’s not supposed to be used as a nightclub,” he said.

“I hope we’re going to get compliance,” Barber said. “The landlord has reached out to the chief of police and the building department, hoping they would be able to address the issue the tenant has created.”

He said the landlord is “also a bit frustrated,” and that police have been called numerous times and are frustrated they can’t gain access.

Melita told the board he had met on Tuesday with Guilderland’s police chief, Daniel McNally; the town’s building and zoning inspector, Louis Vitelli; and the building’s owner who is undergoing an eviction procedure. “I gave him procedural advice,” said Melita.

“We’ve been dealing with issues down there for at least two years,” Melita said. “Police are often called. There’s security guards in the evening time, manning the door. We were able to find some web activity indicating the, I guess, the host of the events … it’s almost secretive.”

The property owner, Melita said, is seeking to rectify the situation. “He doesn’t want to be involved in legal action.”

But, Melita went on, “He tells us what we want to hear … that he’s fixing the situation.” But then, time goes by, Melita said, and there’s more police activity, more residential complaints.

“I want to move forward at this point with Supreme Court action if it’s needed,” Melita said, referring to the lowest level of the state’s three-tiered system.

Melita said he would call the fire and building inspectors as witnesses or for affidavits. “They’d be part of the testimony,” he said.

“You might bring in an outside law firm,” said Barber, suggesting Councilwoman Christine Napierski’s firm.

Napierski said that would be a conflict of interest.

As they both laughed, Barber said that was a bad example.

Before casting her “yes” vote along with the others, Councilwoman Laurel Bohl said, “I think the town gave them every reasonable chance to try to work with us. There’s no alternative.”