What the fungus? Landlord's leaky roof grows mushrooms in Utica gym

UTICA, Mich. (FOX 2) - Most gyms have a weight room, but the Zellador Gym has a mushroom.

"The city shut us down again because we have mushrooms growing on the floor in the gym," said Liz Allen, the gym president.

At most gyms, you can pump iron, but at this one, they're pumping water.

"You can see the roof has collapsed and pretty much caved in," Allen said.

And while patrons of most gyms across Michigan are back to exercising, the members at this gym are exercising their right to protest.  They are protesting to get their gym back and against the landlord who the gym operators say, won't fix the roof.

"It's just plain wrong and disgusting," said Mary Lee, a gym member. "He needs to do the right thing."

The Zellador Gym in Utica was opened by Liz Allen in 2014.

"I didn't feel comfortable in any gym. We wanted to open a gym where people who didn't feel comfortable nowhere else would feel comfortable," she said.

Zellador's clients will attest to that. Liz and her partner Ty created an atmosphere where anyone in any kind of shape could work out in comfort.

"It's not a typical gym where come in and swell up and everything," Ty said. "This is a place where everyone is encouraged, everyone works together and push each other to do more."

But there have been problems. For years Liz says they've been plagued by a bad roof. Leaks have ruined equipment, created mold issues, and fungus.

Fungus so bad, there are now mushrooms growing out of the floors of the gym. And this isn't the first time the city has deemed the building unsafe.

"June of (2019) the city shut us down. because we had water pouring onto electrical wires in the gym and we had about two inches of standing water," Liz said.

The landlord patched those leaks but didn't do a very good job.

"He'll put a Band-aid on a 9-inch stab wound," Ty said.

And the bleeding has continued - and they say the landlord just doesn't care.

"He doesn't talk to me," Ty said. "He ignores me."

"His name is Sonny and he owns American Property LLC," said Liz.

Sonny's real name is Shabbir Khatri. The address of his company American Properties is his home in Macomb Township.

Sonny owns the whole shopping center and while other businesses there are still open, the part of the shopping center housing Zellador doesn't have a certificate of occupancy because of the water.

And Liz isn't the only one who says Sonny is a bad landlord.

Rob Wolchek: "Did you have roof leaks?"

"Yes, I did. I had several of them in the sewing room area," said Barb.

Barb used to run a bridal shop in Sonny's plaza. She says for the five years she was in the building, Sonny was a nightmare.

"I would tell him what the problem was and he'd say, 'Oh we're going to fix that, we're going to take care of that,'" she said. "And then he'd leave and nothing ever happened."

Barb says Sonny was one of the reasons she decided to close her shop and she supports Liz in her struggle against the landlord.

"What he thinks of her or what he thinks of me, that's his building. He's ruining his building - spitefully," Barb said. "That's what I think it is. I think it is spite against her."

That's why Liz and her gym members are fighting back. Every afternoon gym members protest outside.

Why are they so passionate about this gym?

"Liz and Ty are just the sweetest people in the world," said Jen, a member. "And it just makes me really mad that someone would not maintain a property that they're renting out to somebody."

Mary Lee is another Zellador customer. She suffered a brain tumor and says Ty and Liz created special workouts just for her.

"This gym is an absolutely wonderful place," she said.

And Jacqueline, who was in a severe car accident, says Zellador Gym is the only gym she wants to belong to.

"Ty has been rehabbing me through, I've already had five surgeries, and he started rehabbing me in 2015," she said.

Last year, Liz filed a suit against Sonny and his company for neglect of the property. Sonny filed a countersuit. Both cases are currently pending.

In the meantime, Liz and Ty say they were hoping to open up as soon as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive order closing gyms for the pandemic was eased, which has now happened. And they were hoping Sonny would show up for a city inspection last week.

Wolchek was there too, hoping to talk to the landlord. But Sonny wasn't there to hear his building failed yet another inspection. 

So, Wolchek went to the headquarters of American Properties, LLC, also known as Sonny's house. The door is open when we pull up but it's sure not when Rob walks up - although he spoke into the Ring doorbell looking for answers.

Wolchek: "Hello there. Rob Wolchek from FOX 2. I'd like to talk to Sonny.

"I know you're here because I saw you inside the house close the door, right before we came up."

Sonny never comes out, but the Macomb County Sheriff's Department did. Yeah, Sonny called the cops on Wolchek.

Wolchek: "What did he say? All I did was go up to his door and ring his doorbell."

The deputy says since Wolchek was not doing anything wrong, feel free to go back to the door. So he did. Ding, ding.

Wolchek: "Hey Sonny. Come to the door. The sheriff's deputy said you called the cops. This is your business address and I'm here to talk to you. The cops aren't going to help you, I'm not doing anything illegal.

"C'mon Sonny answer the door. Come and talk to me."

Shabbir Khatri never came to the door but Wolchek did speak with him on the phone later that day.  Sonny told Rob to call his lawyer. Attorney Maneeb Ahmad said, "American Properties LLC is in litigation and has no comment."