The operators of the Hudson Club, the events venue on West Thames Street that was raided by the NYPD and shut down in July, after allegations of serving liquor without a license, have been issued a court order barring removal of property from the premises, and also banning further sales of alcohol.
In the first week of November, a decal stating the terms of this court order was affixed by police to the front door of the establishment, which is located in the West Thames cul-de-sac, near the Esplanade. Also emblazoned on the sticker is a prohibition against “mutilation or removal of this notice, or the court order upon which it is based,” noting that either of these infractions is punishable by, “a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment of up to 90 days, or both.”
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This court order was affixed to the front door of the Hudson Club in early November.
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In spite of these admonitions, a few days later, the decal was concealed by two pieces of paper taped to the outside of the door of the premises, bearing the “Supercharge” logo of the event series (branded as networking seminars for investors in Bitcoin and other digital currencies) that were originally staged at the Hudson Club earlier this year.
The following week, the papers concealing the court order were torn away, but the decal itself had also been partially scraped from the glass door. Calls to a number posted online for the management of the Hudson Club were not returned.
Neighborhood concerns about the Hudson Club first arose in May, shortly after the new establishment opened and began hosting events. At the May 22 meeting of Community Board 1 (CB1), multiple residents of 21 South End Avenue (a condominium building also known as the Regatta) rose to speak and share their concerns.
Apartment owners Marie Alvarez, Peter Curry, Heather Daly, Richard Shinder, and Michael Masterson, argued that the Hudson Club’s operator was hosting evening events that resulted in numerous noise complaints and blocked streets. They also observed through the windows that the facility was storing furniture in a space that blocked a fire exit. Finally, the Regatta residents said that a search of State Liquor Authority records had turned up no trace of a license to serve alcohol.
Afterward, Mr. Shinder, the vice president of the Regatta’s board of managers, said, “this appears to have been a ‘stealth’ project. Since opening in early May, this space has hosted multiple events which have gone into the wee hours with attendant noise, smoke — smoking was prohibited in the Regatta in 2016 — and various other quality-of-life issues, including illegal and unsafe parking in the West Thames cul-de-sac, creating a significant fire hazard.”
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Several days later, the decal (which is still faintly visible beneath) had been concealed by papers heralding the brand name of the series of events staged in the Hudson Club earlier this year, which led to a raid by police, and the club being shut down.
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He added, “as far as we have been able to determine, the tenant has been operating without a liquor license, may not have received a required change in use variance from the Department of Buildings, and has yet to receive a permanent certificate of occupancy for the space.”
“A large nightclub and event space is entirely out of character with our quiet residential building at the southern end of South End Avenue,” Mr. Shinder continued. “Residents have been up in arms since it opened. During the first weekend, they had an event with loud club music and Uber cars idling outside until 1:30 am.”
In the weeks that followed, residents of the Regatta began monitoring the club’s schedule through social media and event-planning websites. In early July, they alerted the First Precinct and the State Liquor Authority of plans for an event slated for July 10. At that party, police officers (both from the First Precinct, as well as detectives from the Vice unit, which investigates club-related issues) issued 22 summonses, and made one arrest. Since then, the First Precinct has also intervened to halt subsequent scheduled events, pending a resolution of the licensing issues.
A woman spotted leaving the facility last week denied that she was an employee of the Hudson Club, but said she was “affiliated” with the operation. While declining to give her name, she said that the operators of the erstwhile events space are now working to transform the facility into a co-working venue.
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