Entertainment venue in New Bedford shuts down without notifying clients

By: Rebecca Turco

Reporting By: Melissa Randall and Rebecca Turco

Email: news@abc6.com

NEW BEDFORD – A local couple was forced to find another place to tie the knot, just weeks before the big day, after their venue in New Bedford abruptly shut down.

Larissa Al-Amir and Brian Cornell, Jr. of Manville had been planning their wedding for months, when out of the blue their wedding DJ contacted them on Facebook, to let them know the SkyRoom had closed indefinitely.

“It was just immediate panic,” Al-Amir explained. “[We] wanted to know what was going on.”

ABC6 News found out SkyRoom surrendered its license in December. The reason, according to the New Bedford Licensing Board, was that proper management was not in place and the venue made changes without notifying the city. The owner of the building foreclosed the license, but still holds the rites until a transfer is made.

SkyRoom had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2010, but the case was dismissed and closed, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston.

Al-Amir and Cornell said SkyRoom employees never notified them about the indefinite closure. “Now I have a fiancée who’s pretty much heartbroken because she’s not going to have the wedding she wanted,” explained Cornell.

Signs for SkyRoom are still up throughout the building. ABC6 News reached out to the owner and management, only to find non-working numbers. A call was also made to their lawyer, who said he could not comment due to pending litigation.

Al-Amir and Cornell were able to find another venue in time, but they had to cut their guest list by about 100 people. Now they’re spending about $2,000 more and still haven’t gotten their $200 deposit back from SkyRoom.

They filed a complaint to the Attorney General’s Office, and now they want to get the word out to other clients and potential clients. “What they did is horrible not just to us but a lot of people,” said Al-Amir.

The Attorney General’s Office has received an additional complaint against SkyRoom as of Tuesday.

The New Bedford Local Consumer Program, a consumer protection agency funded by the Attorney General’s Office, hasn’t received any complaints at this time. Mediator Mali Lim advises anyone planning a wedding to make sure you have everything in writing, make sure all documents are signed and keep copies of the paperwork.

To file a complaint with the New Bedford Local Consumer Program, you can request a complaint form by emailing consumer@newbedford-ma.gov, contacting 508-961-3020, or stopping by the program’s office at City Hall. The program offers free consumer mediation services.

Or, you can contact the Attorney General’s Office consumer hotline at 617-727-8400.

For information from the Attorney General’s Office on store closings and bankruptcy, click here. For a guide to your retail rights, click here.

© WLNE-TV 2015