Whoever is responsible for shutting down nightclubs at the New York State Liqour Authority (SLA) is taking their job way too seriously. Right on the heels of closing down another trendy nightclub --
Club Duvet in December 2009, the SLA has shut down yet another Manhattan nightspot --
Touch, which we featured on the Orb recently.
In all, the club was cited for 21 violations by the SLA, with a laundry list of allegations that seem like inescapable setbacks that cannot be avoided in operating any popular venue in the city. Some of them are:
- Sale of alcohol to minors
- Assault
- Employment of an unlicensed bouncer
- Noise infractions
- Overcrowding
- Failing to supervise
One of the assault charges brought against Touch involve a patron who attacked the DJ with a glass bottle, sending him to the hospital. Bouncers at Touch retaliated by dragging the patron to the roof of the building and beating him for approximately 25 minutes resulting in the patron suffering a fractured shoulder, a broken nose and losing his wallet in the process.
Touch Nightclub, has hosted Fashion Week parties, a premiere
gala for the show, "The Real Housewives of New York City", events for Albanian flood victims, Haitian relief efforts and has even had Mayor Bloomberg host one of it's events.
The owner of Touch, Muhamet Nikezi spoke out against the charges, vowing to fight the accusations, saying "We are being persecuted simply for being a nightclub".
Maybe rampant closings of nightclubs in the city by the SLA is a way of enforcing some standards in the city's nightlife, however, short of prohibition no amount of regulations can control the types of incidents for which venues like Touch are being chastized.