Rap shows, cease-and-desist cakes and huge fines: City sues to shut down ‘party house’
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines imposed for excessive noise and illegal short-term rentals haven’t stopped the party at a $6.5 million home in Miami Beach. So now, the city is suing.
On Thursday, the city of Miami Beach filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court against the owner and tenant at 1776 Bay Drive, a 5,327-square-foot home in the Normandy Isles neighborhood, accusing the tenant of using the property as a “party house” and disturbing the peace in a single-family area.
Code officers have issued at least 45 violations at the property since February 2022, according to the city. More than $530,000 in fines are owed.
“No one, no matter how wealthy, is above the law,” city officials wrote in a court filing. “Neighbors are fed up, and city resources have been strained in attempting to enforce the city code, to no avail.”
Among the alleged offenses is a series of noise violations during one night in December when rapper Bobby Shmurda arrived at the home and performed just 20 minutes after the first violation was issued, according to court filings. A second violation was issued due to Shmurda’s performance at 1:25 a.m., followed by a third at 3:30 a.m. as the party raged on.
On New Year’s Eve, the lawsuit says, code officers issued another trio of noise violations between 3:30 and 7:30 a.m. The city claims the tenant at one point became verbally aggressive with a code officer and a police officer, saying: “I bet you won’t come over here. Let’s do man-to-man combat.”
Another citation was issued at the property on May 20 around 12:30 a.m. for loud music. At that party, according to the city based on Instagram posts, the tenant appeared to celebrate his birthday with a cake that used an image of a cease-and-desist letter from the city as decorative frosting.
“There is no irony in the fact that tenant served this cake at the same party that prompted further neighbor complaints and code enforcement action,” the city wrote.
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The property’s owner is Stephen Kraus, president of Kraus Hi-Tech Home Automation, a New York company that builds customized home automation systems. Kraus bought the property in October 2020, paying a record price for a home in Normandy Isles, according to The Real Deal.
“My client has been exploring options to remove the tenant creating these issues and has been promised they’ll be gone by June 15th,” Mickey Marrero, an attorney for Kraus, told the Miami Herald. “He is aligned with the city’s position on the behavior that has occurred there. He is very anxious for them to vacate the property as expected next week.”
According to the lawsuit, the tenant since last November has been Scott Weissman, the CEO of TokenSociety, a platform for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Weissman has paid roughly $84,000 per month for a seven-month lease at the home, the city says.
The city claims the home was being used for illegal short-term rentals before Weissman moved in, citing listings on various websites with rates of up to $7,650 per night. Weissman’s lease is set to expire next week.
Weissman could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
In a statement, the city of Miami Beach said it plans to amend its lawsuit in the coming months to foreclose on liens on the property due to the unpaid fines.
“The city will seek to have the nuisance home sold at auction if the fines remain unpaid,” the statement said.
A court hearing is set for Friday at 10 a.m. But there may be at least one more party at 1776 Bay Drive.
“Last house party of the season this Saturday!” TokenSociety, Weissman’s company, posted Wednesday on Instagram. “Details coming soon.”
