From left to right: Billy Bildstein, Simar Singh, Philipp Wiederkehr. Photo: Brian Park
Photo of the first Brooklyn Mirage's 2015 closing party by Amanda McHugh.
The fact that Cityfox was able to secure the permits inadvertently opened a can of worms; it implied the city's agencies weren't regulating one-off parties properly. After the Halloween debacle, authorities latched on to the phrase "pop-up" to describe clubs and parties," and—like the term "rave" in the 90s—used it to target nightlife in the area. In November, Lentol wrote to the State Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman, asking him to "investigate the pop-up party industry in New York City.""We had this underground sensibility, and then all of a sudden we were so much bigger than even we realized."—Simar Singh, Cityfox
Photo of the Brooklyn Mirage in 2015 by Amanda McHugh.
Photo of the second Brooklyn Mirage's opening party in May 2016 by Anya White.
Photo by Oliver Correa
After demanding a last minute walk-through of the venue, the SLA convened a special hearing just for Cityfox on April 3. The authority was confident that the community board's concerns weren't about the safety of the venue, and the support Cityfox had garnered from those key political and community figures also significantly bolstered their case. At the end of the hearing, the SLA voted to approve the full liquor license.But Chairman Vincent Bradley and Commissioner Greeley Ford came down hard on Cityfox. They agreed to approve the license on the condition that the venue would close at 4.30 AM, rather than 6 AM, as the promoters had requested. Bradley reiterated that the agency would be keeping a very close watch on them. "There's not going be a lot of leeway if something goes wrong," he told Cityfox. "I will not hesitate to yank this thing."He also implied that Cityfox's ability to appoint expensive legal counsel had helped their cause, suggesting they would have been sent packing if not for the prestige of their lawyers. "I'm putting my neck on the line for guys I'm not 100% comfortable with, but I'm willing to do that because of the background that you guys have that are representing them. That's the only reason we're here," he told one of the attorneys from prominent New York firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, which has ties to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.After the hearing, Bildstein told THUMP he took the SLA's words to heart: "We'd made missteps, which we readily own. We're very grateful to be in this position."He added that while closing at 4.30 AM was not part of the original plan, Cityfox would adapt: "We're already mulling over ideas of how we'll adjust elements of summer programming and production so that an audience will be fulfilled, same as for an event that goes until 6 AM."***"I will not hesitate to yank this thing."—SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley
Photo of the second Brooklyn Mirage under construction in 2016 by Simar Singh.
Photo of the first Brooklyn Mirage in 2015 by Amanda McHugh.