Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Video: Real Estate Agent Has Racist Meltdown Outside House Of Yes In Bushwick
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jun 4, 2018
Modified Jun 4, 2018
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 .
Google Maps
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Jun 4, 2018
Modified Jun 4, 2018
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
A real estate agent was caught on video repeatedly calling a bouncer the n-word outside a Bushwick bar last week, while phoning the cops to warn that if they didn't come soon he'd "end up burying this black guy."
The racist outburst happened early Friday morning outside House of Yes, a bar and performance venue by the Jefferson Street L stop. The man has since been identified by the NY Post as 29-year-old real estate agent Chris Giardina. He was fired from his job at MySpace NYC on Sunday night, according to principal broker Shawn Mullahy.
The six-minute clip shows the man drunkenly berating the bouncer, claiming that he was roughed up while leaving the club, and apparently calling the police to try to get the man arrested.
"Touch me again you fucking n-gger," he can be heard shouting. As a few people in the area jeered, Giardina turned to the man filming and said, "Yeah I said it, because he’s punching me you fucking sp-c."
"What is this, Harlem?" Giardina, who is originally from Boston, wondered aloud at one point. Later, he informed the police dispatcher, "Get somebody here or else I'm going to kill somebody."
Pointing at the cameraman and bouncer, he exclaimed, "I hate ignorant people. Sp-c—ignorant. Black—ignorant. You're the n-gger."
Both men on the receiving end of Giardina's racist tirade remained unmoved throughout the ordeal. "This is America," said the person filming. "We're better than this."
Reached for comment, Jacqui Rabkin, a marketing director at House of Yes, told Gothamist, "We are deeply appreciative of the way [the bouncer] kept his composure while the aggressive patron was hurling racial slurs at him, and we feel he acted fully within his rights throughout the interaction.
"We feel we made the right move escorting this patron out of our venue when he became aggressive and engaged in name-calling towards a different security guard indoors, and that decision was validated when we saw how his behavior escalated outdoors," she added.
The video ends shortly after police arrive on the scene, seemingly in response to Giardina's call. According to Rabkin, the cops asked the bouncer if he wanted to press charges, and "he replied that his only desire was for everyone to get home safely and he did not want to waste the emergency unit's valuable time."
On Sunday, Giardina told the Post that he is not racist. "The word that I used, that I’m embarrassed by using, was being thrown around the entire time," he explained to the tabloid. “It doesn’t make me a racist. It makes me an idiot." He also claims the video was manipulated, and the crowd was "actually on my side."
An NYPD spokesperson said there was no record of any arrests at the location at the time of the incident. We've reached out to Giardina and we'll update if we hear back.
Tagged
bushwick
chris giardina
house of yes
racist
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police responded to at the 53rd Street and 7th Avenue station in Manhattan.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 1:16 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 17, 2026 at 1:29 p.m. ET
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
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 .