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Greenhouse Shut Down After Stabbing, Owner Denies Racism
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 23, 2009
Modified Oct 23, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 23, 2009
Modified Oct 23, 2009
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[UPDATE BELOW] Rumors are swirling about a stabbing at the downtown nightclub Greenhouse, and according to one employee, the club was shut down last night. The closure comes as Greenhouse owners fend off allegations that the club denied entry to approximately 100 people because they are black. Two people have filed a $1 billion class action lawsuit against the ostensibly "eco-friendly" nightclub, accusing the bouncer of barring them from author Teri Woods's book party in August. When Woods arrived at the club she found her invited guests waiting outside. Here's cell phone video of her reaction:
Greenhouse's loss is Mansion's gain! But a lawyer for Greenhouse held a press conference yesterday and said he'll file a countersuit and may seek criminal charges against Woods. The lawyer claims Woods, a multimillionaire, sent Greenhouse co-owner Barry Mullineaux a text message asking for an undisclosed amount of cash to drop the matter. He also claims the club expected 50 guests, not the 175 who showed up, and only two people were denied entry "because they were not dressed appropriately."
But Woods claims Mullineaux sent her a text that night explaining, "I couldn't let in 300lb girls." On the other hand, nightclub maven Steve Lewis thinks "the lawsuit is of course without merit. Greenhouse is a very mixed crowd, and racism doesn’t seem to be the reason for the problem." Indeed, the club has a notoriously tough door policy, and quickly became infamous for keeping out all sorts of people who inexplicably want to throw their money down that obnoxious clusterfuckhole.
And yesterday a source told Guest of a Guest the "stabbing happened @ Greenhouse Sunday Morning/after Saturday night, 3 people were knifed, one was a bouncer and one person was stabbed 3 times. Police locked everyone in for a while, crime scene. Guy got it near the heart." Another source confirms the stabbing to Eater, and an employee says "management tried to cover up the stabbing by mopping up the blood but the cops watched the video & saw the busboy cleaning up." It's unclear whether they used environmentally-friendly cleaning products.
UPDATE: The publicist for Greenhouse has sent us this statement:
Greenhouse was not shut down by the authorities. Their Public Assembly permit had expired and although they filed for a new one months ago, they have still have not received it. Authorities came to the venue and cleared the space due to the permit expiration and Greenhouse opted to close for the evening because they could not have more than 70 occupants in the club. Ownership is working to expedite the situation and expects to be operating at full capacity this evening.
With respect to the incident a few weeks ago, an individual came to Greenhouse looking for his ex-girlfriend and the gentleman she was with. Upon entry to the club, he immediately attacked the gentleman (who was with his ex-girlfriend). Greenhouse took every security precaution, immediately broke-up the fight and called the police to handle the situation. The woman involved in the incident was able to provide police with information on the attacker, who had been stalking her for weeks.
Also, contrary to the “tipster” report, there was only one victim and Greenhouse management cooperated with the authorities and handled the situation appropriately. They did not try to cover up the stabbing as they were the ones to call the police to the scene.
Tagged
door policy
greenhouse
lawsuit
racism
teri woods
video
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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