No more Euphoria. The Birmingham City Council revokes license of infamous club
The Birmingham City Council has revoked the business license of Club Euphoria, an Ensley nightclub deemed a “nuisance” by the surrounding neighborhood.
The council originally considered shutting the club down in June after repeated instances of gun violence inside and outside the club, including the June 13 killing of 21-year-old Euphoria patron Lykeria Briana Taylor. The council was split on revocation then, settling on a 13-week delay to give owners time to tighten up their safety plan.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Monica Hatcher, an attorney representing club owner Morris Bradley, told councilors that the club had “beefed up security” since June, including patrols around the surrounding neighborhoods to prevent club visitors from parking off-site.
But numerous residents argued that Bradley hadn’t done enough to address problems of parking and loud noise.
“I have multiple documented occasions where the loud noise and the nuisance was such that neighbors were calling me at all hours of the night,” said Costella Adams Terrell, president of the Rising-West Princeton neighborhood association. “Even I have called and let the 9-1-1 operator hear the noise from standing in my living room … As far as the neighborhood is concerned, we are fed up … They are so disrespectful to everybody in this neighborhood. They will park in your driveway, they will park in your yard. I’ve had to go out and ask them to get out of my driveway and my yard because they just park on my grass.”
Two associate ministers from Grace and Mercy House Ministries, a church near the club, said they had found vomit and excrement from Club Euphoria patrons “on the side if not the front of the church.”
“We just want to say it’s repugnant, what’s going on, the disgracefulness,” Veronica Mitchell, one of the church’s associate ministers, told the council. “These people have events while our church service is going on, and when we dismiss, there are parents that literally have to put hands over their children’s eyes so that they will not see these naked women getting out of their vehicles going to the club … As far as the church is concerned, we want them gone.”
Representatives from the city’s zoning department also claimed that the club had erected an “accessory structure” in its parking lot and had illegally connected it to power.
District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt, whose district includes the club, said it was “unfortunate” that the neighborhood, largely populated by senior citizens, was having to deal with the club’s nuisance.
“What I don’t want to happen is for one of these residents to get killed by some of these patrons who are just going to take over their yard,” he said.
The council voted 7-2 in favor of revocation, with only District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods and District 9 Councilor John Hilliard in opposition.
The Trump administration reverses its promise to publish key climate reports online
Earlier this month, the government websites that hosted the authoritative, peer-reviewed national climate assessments went dark. Officials say they're only obligated to give the reports to Congress.
Stacey Abrams warns of autocracy and voter suppression, doesn’t rule out another run
Abrams isn't running for office — but she's not ruling it out, either. "Politics is a tool ... for getting good done, but it's not the only one." Her new thriller is Coded Justice.
Floods are getting more dangerous around the country
New York, North Carolina, New Mexico and Texas have all suffered serious flooding this month. Climate change is causing even more rain to fall during the heaviest storms.
In Britain, hopes are mounting to finally clean up sewage-polluted waterways
After years of polluting by the water industry, a report planned for release in the coming days could lead to tightened regulation while also prompting an expensive modernization drive.
The 2025 Emmy nominations are being announced this morning
Nominations for the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards are being announced on Tuesday. They'll be presented by actors Harvey Guillén and Brenda Song.
Inflation heats up in June as President Trump’s tariffs start to bite
Consumer prices were up 2.7% from a year ago — a larger annual increase than the month before.