545 Whalley. Credit: Dereen Shirnekhi photo At the scene of the now-closed “assembly hall.” Credit: Building Department photo After finding a pool table, a dice table, and a card table inside a Whalley Avenue storefront, the city’s Building Department has issued a cease-and-desist order to a “lounge” for operating as an unlicensed “assembly hall.” That cease-and-desist order is dated Aug. 25 and was posted to the city’s land records database on Monday. It is addressed to property owner Isaac Shaer of 545 Whalley LLC. Shaer told the Independent on Thursday that he hadn’t received word of the order. The letter was signed by Building Official Bob Dillon and Building Zoning Enforcement Inspector Evan Trachten. It states that Trachten inspected “Th3 Lounge” at 545 Whalley Ave. on Aug. 14 after receiving a complaint from Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills District Manager Lt. Edward Dunford that the business was operating as an “assembly hall” without the proper permit. An assembly hall, in zoning terms, is a category to describe large entertainment uses. The use is grouped generally under the same heading as bowling alleys, fairs or carnivals, billiard halls, mini-golf courses, off-track betting venues, and trampoline centers. Dunford told the Independent on Friday that he had received complaints from the community regarding people hanging outside Th3 Lounge late at night and shooting dice on the sidewalk. Th3 Lounge, he said, is owned by the same people who own the smoke shop Th3 Factory next door. The owner of Th3 Factory was arrested in 2024 after police seized 18 pounds of ecstasy and fentanyl pills at the store. Both Th3 Factory and Th3 Lounge have addresses listed as 545 Whalley Ave, but there are separate entrances. The owner of Th3 Factory could not be reached for comment by the publication time of this article. Trachten’s inspection of Th3 Lounge — conducted alongside the New Haven Police Department (NHPD), the fire marshal’s office, and the Building Department — “revealed the structure is being utilized as an assembly hall.” During the inspection, the city officials found a pool table, a craps table, a card table, and “evidence of recent use.” This, the letter states, violates the city’s zoning ordinance. “Operating a social hall requires Building permits, Fire Marshal’s Office approval, and a Special Permit from the New Haven City Plan Commission,” the letter reads. “The area containing the assembly hall was previously approved as an office.” Without a special permit, the Building Department ordered Th3 Lounge to immediately cease and desist the assembly-hall use. Dunford told the Independent that Th3 Lounge appeared to be an illegal gambling setup. There was also some illegal electric wiring, and what appeared to be a wall put up by the owner to separate Th3 Lounge and Th3 Factory that the city wasn’t aware of. The city then shut down Th3 Lounge and had the locks changed. Dunford said that a key was provided to Th3 Factory’s owner to get rid of tables and illegal extension cords. At a re-inspection on Wednesday, Dunford said, those items had been cleared out. “At this point in time, that building is shut down,” Dunford said about Th3 Lounge. “They can only use it for storage.” Building Official Bob Dillon told the Independent that Th3 Lounge’s owners have not submitted an application for a special permit to operate an assembly hall. “We Always Eventually Do The Right Thing” Shaer, 545 Whalley Ave.’s landlord, said in a phone interview that he hadn’t received the cease-and-desist letter. “I have no clue what you’re talking about,” he said. Shaer said that he lives in New York, and while he knows he owns 545 Whalley, he has a management company that tends to the property. “I don’t run day-to-day operations,” he said. “I don’t micromanage my properties.” Shaer didn’t provide the name or contact information for his management company. “I put in my lease and contracts that they’re supposed to be good and honest human beings,” he said. He did say that a tenant had been evicted recently, but said he couldn’t recall the name of the tenant or when they were evicted. “We probably got rid of them.” (State court records do not appear to show any recent evictions at 545 Whalley Ave.) “If there’s anything that shouldn’t be there, the management company flushes it out,” he said. “We always eventually do the right thing.” At 545 Whalley on Thursday, there was a blacked out sign where there was once a “Th3 Lounge” sign. No notice was posted on the door. The windows were dark. The door was locked. At Th3 Factory, meanwhile, a man behind the counter, who declined to provide his name or be photographed, said on Thursday that the former Th3 Lounge is a storage space. He said that Th3 Factory, where he doesn’t formally work but spends a few hours between dropping off his kids and going to work, is unaffiliated with Th3 Lounge and that it had been locked for the last couple weeks since it was shut down. He said he hadn’t seen people gathering there. “A chick came in here mad at somebody,” he said. “She lied, said it was a gambling den. Police will believe anything.” After the Independent left the site of the two shops, Th3 Factory pulled down its outdoor metal shutters. Th3 Lounge’s sign, back in June 2025. Credit: Google Maps A temporarily shuttered Th3 Factory. Credit: Building Department The post City Busts Unlicensed “Assembly Hall” appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less