By Lora Neng
WWW.STREETGANGS.COM STAFF WRITER
June 20, 2012
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn reacted to the brawl that broke out at the New York W.i.P. nightclub last Thursday, resulting in injuries sustained from shattered bottles, by invoking an "emergency meeting" to "send a clear message to all nightclub patrons that bottles cannot be used as weapons and to determine if the guidelines surrounding bottle service need to be updated or reworked.” Quinn's vague proposal left a number of people unimpressed, especially since the melee broke out due to an ill exchange between Chris Brown and Drake allegedly over their shared romantic link to Rihanna.
Among the conflicting reports was that when Chris Brown sent over a bottle of Champagne to Drake to resolve their ongoing animosity, Drake snubbed the peace offering and his posse later confronted Brown as he attempted to leave. Bottles started to hurl across the club. More than five people were injured. But as much as Speaker Quinn expressed her "shock" at the incident motivating her to call for a reevaluation of bottle service, nightclub owners see it as an overreaction.
“It’s one incident, and I think to try and overregulate and become a nanny state is pretty absurd,” said the owner of Sway on Spring Street. Further, the tantrum-proofing of VIP night lounges doesn't address equally violent if not more pervasive fights that break out in dive bars and pubs.
