A Coney Island juice bar owner has filed a civil rights lawsuit against New York City, alleging that the NYPD and members of the Eric Adams administration extorted and harassed him until his business collapsed. Shamel Kelly says the ordeal began after he refused to pay thousands of dollars to James Caban, brother of former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, and that the harassment only intensified once he declined.
According to News12 Brooklyn, Kelly has released videos showing officers allegedly harassing his bar, part of the evidence backing his claims of extortion and targeted enforcement. Kelly’s business, Juice & Moore, opened in spring 2022 at 1915 Mermaid Avenue, operating as a juice bar by day and serving alcohol on weekend nights before it was forced to close in early 2024, according to local reporting from PoliticsNY.
The alleged scheme traces back to August 2023, when Ray Martin, then an associate director in City Hall’s Office of Entertainment and Nightlife, introduced Kelly to James Caban as a “security consultant” who could resolve NYPD noise enforcement issues in exchange for a $2,500 fee, per reporting from AP News. Kelly reported that his establishment endured more than 60 unannounced police visits and near-weekly raids on weekend nights over a six-month span, despite court records showing no upheld municipal violations or criminal incidents at the venue, the wire service reported.
A Complaint Overturned, Then a Resignation
Following an April 2023 raid, Kelly filed a police misconduct complaint that the Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated. But outgoing NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban personally overturned that finding in late August 2024, clearing three officers of wrongdoing, according to the same AP News account. The reversal came just weeks before Caban’s own downfall…