The owner of a Hell's Kitchen gay bar has fired his security team after a video surfaced of him beating up an apparent customer outside the Hush nightclub on W. 52nd Street. Two men were arrested and charged with assault in connection with the incident.
The video, originally published on Reddit, shows at least four men dressed in black, including one wearing a T-shirt that says “Security”, kicking a man multiple times. They drag the man to the ground while punching him. The victim of the assault was then seen lying in the middle of W 52nd Street between 8th and 9th Streets. One man wearing a long leather coat audibly complained that he had been beaten and bitten on his finger by the victim.
Police said they were called to the club at 348 W52nd Street at 1:15 a.m. Sunday after Chantice Parks, 39, complained of being hit multiple times. Officers at the scene observed that his right eye was swollen and he had minor abrasions on both knees. He was taken to Mount Sinai West for medical evaluation.
Police subsequently arrested Varun Menzies, 48, of the Bronx, and charged him with assault. Cross-complaints were filed, and Parks, of W. 52nd Street, Hell's Kitchen, was also arrested and charged with assault.
The bar's owner, Bob Fruett, said in a statement: “We are investigating exactly what happened and what caused it. It is clearly not what we would expect. We have removed the vehicle from the venue until the review is complete.”
Frouette said: “Initial reports were that this person came to the venue solely to confront security and bit him in the face, sparking the incident. However, this does not justify what happened. Instead, we insist that all security personnel receive de-escalation training, which is clearly not on display here.”
Like Hush, Fluet also runs the Boxers. He emphasized that: “We have multiple venues that are open seven days a week and do a great job of creating a safe space for our customers. , most of the time you have to deal with it professionally and without incident.”
“This type of violence is completely unacceptable and goes against the values of our community. It's important that we take incidents like this seriously and address them quickly,” City Councilor Eric Bottcher said in a statement. The owner of the company has a longstanding and positive relationship with our community and has taken immediate action to suspend those responsible and begin a thorough review process that will require full accountability. I will continue to monitor this situation closely, hold those responsible accountable, and advocate for measures to prevent this from happening again.”
Sen. Brad Hoylman said, “I am disgusted by the acts of violence in this disturbing video. I do not know the facts of the incident, but this video shows a private security guard far exceeding his legal authority. He added, “Hush Inc. has taken swift action to address this very disturbing incident.'' I would like to thank the management team of
Councilor Tony Simone said: “The acts of violence recorded in this video are outrageous. Regardless of what the customer did, security services should not commit such appalling brutality. These security guards… I'm glad the company that hired the security guard took swift action to investigate this incident, and I think the perpetrators should be held criminally responsible for their actions. That is clearly not the actions of these security guards and they should be held accountable.”
