BLVD Closed

Last night, Eater had the first details of BLVD being closed by the Department of Health. We received an email from the promoter that night giving details of what exactly went down. It's lengthy, but who are we to edit? According to the promoter of the event:

To all that attended 2080s, or were planning on attending...

I will begin this by apologizing for the inconvenience that occurred this past Friday night, February 29th. The turn of events left me feeling completely helpless and disappointed that so many were leaving let down.

At 11:00pm as DJ Mel has just began his set, a member of BLVD's staff told him to reduce the volume as NYPD had entered the venue. At least 10 of them had shown up and at that point we had no clue why they were there. For the next hour or so, with the volume low, many guests had filled the club and were continuing to hangout, drink, and settle in. At this point, I still had no proper explanation at what was going on. Rumors ranged from Caberet licensing to NYPD's dislike for the club's management. Then at 12:20am, the BLVD's sound man announced that the club would be closing and the party would be ending, before it ever began. Mel never really played a record, Scene hadn't even put his records down, and Talib was still in a cab on the way over.

By the time the club was shutdown, over 350 people had entered BLVD, and at no point was I told by club staff or NYPD that the party would be shut down. Everyone was under the impression that the cops were there for a routine check-up. I was told a number of times that they would be there for only 15 minutes, 5 minutes, not much longer, etc. And at this time, I'm still not 100% sure why the venue was shut down. All I know is that the sticker that you see above was on the club door as I left.

I have yet to meet with club management but will do so this week. After that meeting, I will send out a conclusive message detailing the various issues. I will ensure you that those who of you who had RSVPed for the event, via email or Facebook, will receive free admission when we make up this event. I promise you that we will. I've already spoken to Talib Kweli, Mel and Scene, and all are looking forward to recreating this event. I'm sorry to those who have asked for refunds. We cannot give refunds because we have no proper way of accounting who paid what, who actually paid, and who actually attended; in addition to the fact that all artists still had to be paid. There is no way to express my grief at how incredible of an event last friday would've been under normal circumstances. Even the sleet, snow, and rain didn't keep people away!

I will address the scenario regarding the "make-up" date as soon as all party and venue details are confirmed. Thank you for your understanding and support. We've worked over a month between promoters, friends, and family in the creation of 2080s. We will not let everyone's effort go to waste.

For those of you who had made table reservations and purchased bottles, please contact BLVD to request a refund.

Please pass this message on to everyone you know who attended 2080s this past Friday, February 29th at BLVD.

With much appreciation,

Kunal Merchant

There you have it. Nice of them to offer refunds to everyone, and you can be sure we will have details of the next event.