Damon Dash—fallen hip-hop mogul, co-founder of Roc-A-FellaRecords—had a club not so long ago in Tribeca called DD172. SOTC alumZach Baron referred to it as“gallery-cum-illegal-performance-space-cum-goofy-artless-takeoff-on-Warhol’s-Factory,”and the Observer called Dash a “Wannabe Warhol”: “Sometimes thefour-story warehouse is a sprawling art gallery; at other times, it’s aphoto studio, or an indie band’s rehearsal space.” To Tribecans, it was“a front” for a suspected unlicensed club, a nuisance, a disturbance.
DD172 hasn’t been operational since June, when the Tribeca Citizenobserved stuff being moved out of the space at 172 Duane Street.Yesterday, the quiet block where the club was located—located in one ofthe wealthiest neighborhoods in New York—rippled with interest as thecity brought legal action against the building’s owners.
At around 4:30 p.m. yesterday, cops served the property with a courtsummons and order to show cause. The defendants, 172 Duane StreetRealty and “Jane and John Doe” (the tenants, i.e. Dash and associates)are accused of six counts of storing and selling alcoholic beverageswithout a license, as detailed in court documents obtained by theVoice. DD172 was caught violating the liquor code for the first time inNovember 2010 and as recently as May, according to the affidavits ofpolice who investigated the club.
One document states that the violations “were conducted in an openand notorious manner and the operators of this establishment appear tohave evinced a ‘business as usual’ attitude in the subject premises.”DD172′s repeated violations are used as evidence that the club’sactions constitute a public nuisance. The plaintiffs are asking for apreliminary injunction from the judge, plus a restraining order.
The word “nuisance” came up more than once in conversations withTribeca residents yesterday standing outside of 172 Duane. Over thecourse of an hour, multiple people passed by and peered curiously atthe orange signs cops had taped onto the building.
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