NYC Nightclubs Under Fire

New York’s Crobar and Sol nightclubs, shuttered January 5th by police, reopened a week later after promising to keep a closer eye on patrons. The closures are the latest in a string of crackdowns stemming from complaints.

The clubs are well-known hotspots two blocks apart in Manhattan’s trendy Chelsea area, where nightclubs in converted industrial buildings mix with tony apartments and condos.

Police said Crobar had been cited for nine instances of violence last year, including two cases where women were shot in the legs, several arrests for drugs and three State Liquor Authority violations, according to the New York Post.

Crobar reached an out-of-court settlement that included the club’s promise to continue using ID scanners and "do everything we can to work with law enforcement to keep a secure, safe environment," the club’s marketing director stated.

Police claim they cited Sol for eight drug arrests, two liquor violations and numerous assaults, including two stabbings last June. The club denied there were stabbings inside the club, calling the police’s allegation "patently untrue" in a statement. The statement also said "the legal document requesting the closure of Sol makes no mention of any of the claims of Sgt. Stephen’s stabbings and 2 SLA violations. (The latter of which have all been dismissed or cured.)"

Sol reopened after a January 10th hearing in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. Sol’s managers said in another statement that the club had not admitted any wrongdoing but would keep working with police to curb underage drinking and combat drug-related activity.

The release also stressed that the club had already been working with police to improve security, saying, "Sol is committed to being a good neighbor and a nightclub where people can come have a safe, orderly and legal time enjoying the benefits of New York’s nightlife industry."

While the club agrees that there is a need for a police presence due to some of the problems in the New York club scene, some police tactics are bad for everyone in the long run, Sol spokesman Thomas Onorato told Pollstar. Yet in all fairness to the police, he said he understood that the NYPD is under a lot of pressure from community groups to keep the area safe and clean.