PLANO, Texas — Plano Police shut down a car meet Friday night before it even started.
Nearly 200 cars were in a parking lot off Alma Drive and Parker Road at around 7 p.m. The meet was called Black Label Friday Night Lights, and promoter Eric Leybovich says it is a car group that started small over the last several months. The event started to grow quickly, and more cars showed up Thursday and Friday nights each week, he says.
"[The list] was 200 people, and it filled up in two days. We do almost two [meets] weekly now," said Leybovich, owner of Legacy Puff Club and organizer of Friday's car meet event.
Leybovich told WFAA earlier in the day they were hoping to change the narrative about car meets. He says his event is not about 'takeovers,' and he's advised drivers not to 'rev' their engines so as not to cause a disruption to surrounding neighborhoods.
"We just wanna shine a different light on the community," Eric said.
Leybovich also says he cannot control the actions of a "few bad apples."
The flyer for Friday's event has gained a lot of traction on social media. It had prompted Plano Police to add more patrols in and around the area.
"We are coming out there for a reason: to make sure our community is safe and our drivers are safe," said Plano Police Officer Jennifer Chapman.
The event has drawn so much attention it even has the neighbors talking.
Ligia Limus lives in the corner lot and is closest to the car meet.
"This is not fair for this area. I'm living here. I'm not happy with this situation," said Limus.
She and some of her neighbors say they have had enough of the noise and the traffic. Limus tells WFAA her family also has to deal with the smell of marijuana.
"Every Thursday, we call the police," she said.
On Friday night, the event was shut down minutes before it was expected to start. Leybovich tells WFAA that police and the landlord were behind the decision to close the event. WFAA witnessed Plano Police officers instructing drivers to leave the parking lot.
"They shut us down. They said 'no more.' The magnitude of the meet was supposed to be huge today," said the promoter. "I don't wanna say I'm pissed because I am grateful for everybody who did come out," he said.
That did not stop vehicles from coming by in hopes of joining the shuttered event. All told, Leybovich says up to 1,200 cars were projected to show up this Friday.
By 8 p.m. the vast majority of vehicles had left for another location in McKinney. It is unclear if any tickets or citations were handed out Friday night.
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