Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

Food

Video: 11 Minutes Of Drunks, Fights & Public Urination In LES "Hell Square"


By

Nell Casey

Published Dec 24, 2014

Modified Dec 24, 2014


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

 


By

Nell Casey

Published Dec 24, 2014

Modified Dec 24, 2014


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

If the supercut of belligerent brunchers just whet your appetite for more hot, hot drunken action, prepare your bodies for nearly 12 uninterrupted minutes of a typical Saturday night in the Lower East Side's "Hell Square." This video has everything: enraged drunks refused entry to a bar; a street fight interrupted by the NYPD; a man boldly shouting his love for smoked deli meats and HE DOESN'T CARE WHO HEARS HIM!

This continuous stream of human bile comes courtesy of LES Dwellers, a community group who've been on the front lines trying to save their neighborhood from the clutches of demonic possession over-served d-bags. The video "illustrate[s] how bad the Lower East Side's Hell Square continues as late night bars and clubs continue to foster a SantaCon-style environment of binge drinking, public urination and vomiting, brawls and arrests every weekend," the group said in a statement to EV Grieve. "What is depicted in the videos is not outside the norm but is the norm. The bars, lounges and 'restaurants in this area over serve alcohol creating a dangerous environment."

The following video was shot in one take at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 21st on Ludlow and Stanton Streets. You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of fistfights and honking horns but of blind intoxication. A journey into a wondrous land of public urination. Next stop, Hell Square!

This is like the Cary Fukunaga-directed take of everything wrong with the Lower East Side. "This weekend was an outrage—ranking as one of the worst on record: It was SantaCon without the costumes," the group's statement continued. "Assaults and crime are up in our neighborhood due solely to the proliferation of late night liquor licenses in the neighborhood."

So-called "Hell Square," which spans nine blocks from Houston to Delancey, Allen to Essex, has been a source of consternation for some time, with community organizations like LES Dwellers calling for reform from Community Board 3 and the SLA. We've reached out to the group to determine what course of action they'd deem appropriate to finally quell all this fratastic boorishness; we'll update when we hear back.

Tagged

hell square

LES

Lower East Side


Nell Casey

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE food

10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City

The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.

By

Robert Sietsema

Published Sep 12, 2026


Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.

Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.

By

Sonia Rao

Food

Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.

Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.

By

Sonia Rao


5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's

By

Hannah Frishberg

Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian

By

Robert Sietsema

Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?

By

Caroline Shin


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .