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Artist Loren Naji was photographed in his gallery on Saturday May 3, the day after state liquor agents shut down an opening there. On Friday, the Cleveland Fire Department shut down a second opening at the gallery.

(Courtesy Loren Naji)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland's Third Ward Councilman, Joe Cimperman, vowed on Saturday to redouble his efforts to help beleaguered gallery owner Loren Naji hold openings without fear of being shut down.

At 8 p.m. Friday, an inspector from the Cleveland Fire Department closed the gallery over building violations and lack of an occupancy certificate.

It was the second official action against the gallery in three weeks. On Friday, May 2, state liquor agents closed the gallery because they said Naji was serving beer and wine without a permit.

Michael Gill, editor of CAN Journal, the quarterly publication of the Collective Arts Network, which planned to launch its summer edition at the gallery, called the shutdown on Friday a form of bureaucratic harassment.

Cimperman, sounding perplexed about Friday's shutdown, said he's been working with city and state authorities to resolve the liquor violation and to help Naji rectify building code violations and to obtain the necessary permit.

In a text message Saturday morning, Cimperman said he was under the impression that Naji could proceed with the opening Friday under a temporary occupancy permit.

The first shutdown on Naji's gallery struck many observers as a heavy-handed assault on the city's rising art scene, in which galleries scattered across several neighborhoods have become focal points of economic energy and revitalization.

Friday's opening may underscore the impression, because CAN Journal is a collective project of many of the city's non-profit and for-profit galleries. The journal focuses on listings and articles about upcoming gallery shows across the city.

No liquor was served at the event.

When asked via text message Saturday morning whether he had heard about the second shutdown, Cimperman responded: "Yes and am on it.

"I am very sorry Loren and CAN journal are going through this," Cimperman continued. "We will fix this once and for all. (We've been spending last few weeks intensely doing just that)."

In a second message, Cimperman said: "We are working on occupancy permit security for all artists/galleries as a result of this and hoping to change state law with regard to liquor licensing for galleries."

Cimperman said he was baffled as to why the Fire Department acted on Friday when Naji was making progress in good faith toward the occupancy permit.

"After two weeks of intense collaboration with Loren the city and the neighbors, we were as surprised as you that the Fire Department came to the studio last night.

"His [Naji's] application has been submitted for an occupancy permit. Loren, with the support of my office, Ohio City Incorporated, [the local community development corporation] and the neighbors, has been doing everything to become compliant.

"He has the parking he needs and has done everything to become absolutely code correct. It is also my understanding that there was a valid temporary occupancy permit for last night's event.

"We will continue to advocate with building and housing and all city departments to allow Loren to keep providing his important community building, neighborhood supported work. What happened last night should not have happened."

In an email Saturday and a post on the CAN website, Gill called the second shutdown of Naji's gallery a form of harassment.

"This second bureaucratic assault on Naji's gallery had nothing to do with alcohol: the event was alcohol-free," Gill wrote. "Neither did it have anything to do with noise: It was not yet 8 p.m. when the Fire Department called for the shutdown, and the band had not yet begun to play.

"This was bureaucracy used to harass an art gallery. Cleveland officials should be embarrassed by their complicity in this small-minded attack."

After the shutdown on Friday, Cleveland Fire Department inspector James Ruffin told Plain Dealer Reporter Michael Heaton that he was simply following the law.

"The bottom line is that Mr. Naji does not have a certificate of occupancy," Ruffin said. "I'm just doing my job."