The contract called for a private “Sweet Sixteen” party with no “promotion.” The flyers suggested otherwise.
Those two visions of a party led to a police shutdown at a teen party at Kudeta restaurant/nightclub on Temple Street Sunday evening after roving brawls erupted on the streets outside.
The episode has sparked renewed concern over the conduct of party-goers and club managers in downtown’s entertainment district.
The mother of a 16-year-old boy booked a private party at Kudeta Sunday night. She signed a contract for it back in June. The contract described it as a private birthday party. Both sides agreed no “promotion” would be involved. No alcohol served. The mom paid $621.75 for a room and food.
According to police and to Kudeta manager May Lin, the agreement also involved not allowing in the public or charging a cover at the door. The mom arranged to pay for seven security guards, plus two more from the Kudeta’s security staff.
The party started at 7 p.m. People started showing up with the flyers (pictured at the top of the story). The mom said she wanted to collect the cover. Lin said OK, and stationed family members by the door; Lin said later that she had been caught by surprise by that request. The flyer called for patrons to pay $10 at the door if they had the invitation, $15 if not.
In less than an hour and a half, the place was jammed with more than 200 young people. A large crowd had amassed out on the Temple Street sidewalk by the club’s front door. Lin went outside several times asking people to leave. Even though the club could legally handle more people, Lin decided the crowd had gotten too big. At 8:39 p.m. she ordered the doors shut; no one else would be allowed in.
By 9 p.m. fights erupted outside, some involving people wearing ski masks or riding by on bikes, according to the police. Neighboring restaurants shut their doors for fear of the violence spilling inside their establishments.
Dozens of cops arrived on the scene, along with Chief Dean Esserman and Assistant Chief Denise Blanchard.
Officers managed to break up the fights with no one getting hurt. They ordered Lin to shut down the party at Kudeta. Partygoers migrated to another club called MYNT; police had the party shut down there too.
Another club a half-block up Crown Street from Kudeta, G.O.A.T., also had a teen party going on.
Monday, the recriminations began.
Manager Lin, showing the contract and video from the club’s surveillance system to a reporter Monday, bristled at the police handling of the situation. She said a sergeant on scene had threatened to arrest her even though she hadn’t done anything wrong. “He tried to scare me,” she said. “Because I’m Chinese. If I’m not Chinese, I think there’d be totally no problem.” Lin came to the U.S. 17 years ago from Fuzhou, China.
She showed video footage of the empty bar and of the party itself, as well as well as the scene. It showed her going outside to ask people to leave the area. It showed a calm scene inside the party. It showed an empty bar.
Lin said she had met with downtown’s top cop, Sgt. Tammi Means, on Friday to discuss the upcoming party. She called Means over the weekend, too, and was told the party looked fine, she said.
Means said she had learned about the upcoming teen party “by word of mouth,” not from Lin, and had dropped in on Lin Friday night to discuss it. Means said it wasn’t her role to approve or not approve a teen party.
“They didn’t notify properly. The only reason I went there is because I found out about it,” Means said.
In a press release, the police department cited Chapter 14, Article I. Sec. 14 – 6, which calls for club owners to notify the chief’s office more than 48 hours in advance of non-alcoholic “juice” parties for minors in order to get permission in writing and learn how much extra security they should hire. The release also stated that Kudeta’s lease with the parking authority forbids music, entertainment, and dancing, which takes place regularly on weekend nights.
Police also found adults in the bar area, which should have been cordoned off, according to police spokesman Officer David Hartman.
“The New Haven Police Department has launched two investigations regarding this issue. The first is into the possibility that laws were broken and the second is into how to prevent such things from happening in the future,” Hartman reported.
Lin responded that she called the main police number on Friday to arrange for the party and was told by someone on the other end of the line that he would try to find the right person for her to speak to. She never heard back, she said. As for the restaurant’s lease, she said that as the manager (rather than the owner), she is not familiar with the document.
Meanwhile, the mom who booked the party denied breaking any agreement with Kudeta. She said the flyers were merely invitations. Her son handed them specifically to friends, she said.
“It’s not like I handed them out at Stop & Shop. We didn’t pass it out on the street,” said the mom, who asked to remain anonymous. She said Lin showed her where to collect the money at the door: “She seen everything that went on. She allowed it. She was helping put on the bracelets; she could have shut us down. Somebody trying to save their butt; I followed the rules.”
Lin said that one of the family members, an older woman, asked for permission to collect money by the inside of the door rather than out in the street, because of the cold.
“I couldn’t, for an old lady, say no,” she said.
Incredibly low class.