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Owner of Dance Studio Arrested After He Calls Police on His Own Party: NYPD

By Noah Hurowitz | November 6, 2015 1:59pm
 Police arrested the owner of Zack's Dance Loft after he allegedly allowed a party at the studio to get out of control, according to a police report.
Police arrested the owner of Zack's Dance Loft after he allegedly allowed a party at the studio to get out of control, according to a police report.
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Facebook/Zack's Dance Loft

FLATIRON — The owner of a dance studio who called police after a party he hosted got out of control ended up in handcuffs for failing to provide enough security, according to officials.

Zackary Engel, 56, owner of Zack’s Dance Loft at 37 E. 28th St., was renting out his space to a private party at the studio in the early hours of Oct. 31. 

All was going smoothly until about 1:30 a.m., when about 50 people tried to force their way inside, Engel told DNAinfo.

Engel and a hired security guard tried to keep the group out by blocking them with a table, but someone inside the party flipped the table over and told everyone to rush the door, the owner said.

He called 911, he said, hoping police would break up the party.

When officers arrived, they found the place packed with more than 100 people and the air thick with marijuana smoke, police said.

After clearing out the party, officers found a loaded Ruger .380-caliber handgun on the ground, according to a police report.

Officers initially arrested a woman in connection to the weapon, but later released her without charges, the report stated.

With the situation under control, Engel said he knew he was in for a talking-to, but was surprised when police handcuffed him and brought him to the 13th Precinct stationhouse.

“I did expect a reprimand from the police but not an arrest,” he said in an email.

Police booked Engel on a charge of creating public nuisance, according to Engel and court records.

Despite facing a misdemeanor for the fracas, Engel said he had no hard feelings against the responding officers, whom he described as polite and supportive.

“If I knew I would be arrested I would have called them anyway as I have never encountered with such a problem before [sic],” he said.

Engel is due back in court on Dec. 14, court records show.