Call it party politics.
The waterfront warehouses hosting rowdy raves in Sunset Park must beef up security or risk a crack down on their massive dance parties, say locals, but the party people want to parlay with police and residents in the hope of keeping the parties going.
Companies near First Avenue rent out their spacious buildings for weekend dance parties on the side, but a spike in raves is clogging the area with thousands of raucous partygoers and creating a headache for the neighborhood, said one resident.
“Lately, people are just flooding the area, and it’s a public safety issue,” said Sunset Parker Carmen Torres. “They do drugs, get violent, and it just creates a hazard, especially when people go up to catch the train home.”
Properties owned by the production company East of Hollywood and Clem Snacks rent out their buildings near First Avenue in the 50s for weekend dance parties that host high-profile, big-draw artists such as electronic dance music sensation Tiesto, who has nearly five million followers on Twitter.
But the parties are clogging the area with thousands of revelers and the local precinct is having a hard time keeping up with the antics, said police.
“We can handle a couple of them, but when you have more than 30 a year, it’s draining our resources from other parts of the command,” said Lieutenant William Meyers, with the 72nd Precinct’s special operations. “It’s all extra resources being utilized because of these parties that could be going to other parts of the command to help with burglaries or robberies, when those issues arise.”
In 2015 there were five raves, but that number ballooned to a whopping 33 in 2016, according to officials. Now the gatherings are a magnet for pickpockets, a hot spot for drug activity, and can attract up to 10,000 people at a time when multiple parties converge, causing safety issues, according to police.
And since the soirees are near the shore, police fear that tipsy partygoers could make their way to the water and tumble in. It’s a burden that could be eased if the landlords of party promoters provided added security, but for now police fill the void, said Meyers.
“The area is right at the water and people can jump in,” said Meyers. “The raves themselves do supply security, the only issue is they do security inside the raves. We not only supply security by the water, we then have to handle traffic.”
But police and locals are just blowing the situation out of proportion, said a rep for one of the property owners.
“Our events are nothing like how the police department or the community are describing them,” said Angela Correa, property manager for East of Hollywood’s pair of warehouses on 52nd and 53rd streets near First Avenue. “We do everything professionally. We’ve always been willing to work with the community. And we plan to keep doing so.”
East of Hollywood has hosted shindigs at its buildings since 2001 without any hullabaloo, but now that others have caught on, the area has simply become a hub for hopping parties, according to Correa.
Others feel they are already doing their fair share to protect parties, such as mandating their employees receive fire safety training from the city in case of emergency.
“We strive to produce safe events,” said Robert Coma, a co-owner of TCE Presents, who hosts gatherings in a building operated by Clem Snacks. “We work with the community board, police, and there’s a six-foot fence that barricades people from the water. I’m all about longevity.”
Reps for warehouse owners and companies renting out space met with police and concerned locals at an April 13 public safety committee meeting at Community Board 7. Locals’ fears did not fall on deaf ears and those responsible for the raves said they will meet with locals again later this month, according to district manager Jeremy Laufer.
It’s a good first step, said Torres.
“Honestly, I’m hoping that we can all work together so that everyone is safe,” said Torres. “We want people to come and enjoy themselves in Sunset Park, but we want people to be respectful of our community. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
