Published
Tue, Apr 5, 2022, 09:40
- Two people were taken to hospital after a man set the bar area on fire last Sunday night.
Last Sunday, April 3rd, Brooklyn club Rash suffered an arson attack.
According to reports from several staff and bystanders, a man wearing a black hoodie and a backpack doused the floor in a clear liquid at around 9:20 PM local time. When asked what he was doing, he replied, "pouring some water out."
When the club's bouncer, who reportedly didn't recall letting the man inside, approached him, the man pulled out a lighter or a match, setting off an explosion. The man then raced out of the venue, followed closely by a crowd of people.
Two people at the back of the club—a bartender and a DJ—were forced to run through the flames in order to leave. Both sustained minor injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital, where they now remain in a stable condition.
By 10:20 PM, a 60-strong crew of firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control as a crowd waited outside. According to Jake Sillen, who co-owns Rash with Claire Bendiner, the fire charred most of the bar area and left the bar's floors "unsalvageable." The basement and second floor also suffered damage.
The arsonist has been at large since. "We're working with the authorities on identifying him," Sillen explained. Despite the tragedy of the incident, they expressed relief that it took place during happy hour on a slow night. The bar, which is often packed with young people on the weekends, was virtually empty on Sunday night save for a few staff members.
"Luckily it was earlier in the night," Sillen said. "We had an event planned to start less than an hour after this happened. We're so grateful that it happened at a time when the bar was mostly empty of any customers."
Still, the incident was traumatic for many present. Gabe Liberti walked over to Rash from neighboring bar Birdy's when he noticed billowing smoke and a group of people, largely shaken and in tears, pouring out of the venue.
"They had black smoke marks on their bodies and on their faces, like all over," he explained. "And one person in particular, on their arms and especially their shoulders, had burns—burns that have basically made it so their skin was kind of peeling."
This arson attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents that have rocked New York's nightlife hubs. Last week, techno DJ TYGAPAW tweeted that someone had poured GHB, commonly known as a date rape drug, into their drink at Queens club BASEMENT. Their story led other local artists to share their own similar experiences. Last summer, a stabbing took place at another Myrtle Avenue venue, Bossa Nova Civic Club, sparking insecurities about the safety of clubbing in New York.
"I think that anybody who's running a club here in Brooklyn, for the most part, they're doing it because they want to build the culture and they love the music and they want to create a place for people to come together in a really positive way," said Liberti.
He added: "But it's clear that these places, even though their intentions may be to create a safe space, don't have enough protection. I don't know what else we can do, if there's more security that we can have, I don't know. It's a very complicated thing because you don't want to create this like chilling effect where it's a police state in the club. But on the other hand, if people aren't protected, then everyone's scared, you know?"
Last night, Rash launched a GoFundMe, requesting $200,000 to support out-of-work staff (some of whom formerly worked at Bossa Nova) and to cover the medical bills of those injured as well as the astronomical repair costs.
Since opening in October 2021, Rash has filled a vital gap in Bushwick's nightlife scene left behind by the recent shuttering of Bossa Nova, which was destroyed during an accidental building fire in mid-January.
This weekend, Myrtle Avenue will be even quieter. "We're focusing first on everybody that's been affected and the staff who are going to have lost wages," said Sillen. "We'll come to the repairs in the future."
Donate to Rash's GoFundMe.
Correction, April 5th: A previous version of this article said the arsonist was reportedly a "tall white man," but this is disputed. He may have been Asian.
Correction, April 5th: A previous version of this article described the injuries sustained by the two victims as "severe. This has been changed to "minor."
