NYPD

Wild Brawl Outside NYC Bar Sparks Backlash From Police, Neighbors

What to Know

  • A wild brawl that broke out in front of a Lower East Side bar over the weekend has sparked scrutiny from police and neighbors
  • Neighbors have complained that The DL bar has attracted chaos and violence in the past
  • The State Liquor Authority is also looking into the possibility of revoking the bar's liquor license

Authorities are investigating a wild brawl involving a huge crowd that started outside a Lower East Side bar over the weekend, one that got so out of control it migrated down the street, video shows. 

The NYPD and the State Liquor Authority are looking into the massive fight outside The DL bar at 95 Delancey St. late Sunday night. 

Surveillance video shows a group throwing punches and a woman getting knocked down during the fight. People start shoving and chasing each other, and the fight continues to move down the street.

The commander of the 7th Precinct says it got two 911 calls about the fight, but by the time officers showed up, the scene was clear. No one ever filed a formal complaint.

Police launched an investigation Monday after seeing the video. No one involved in the fight has been identified.

It's the second time a violent fight has broken out by the bar in about a year, according to neighborhood blog Bowery Boogie, which has characterized the business as problematic for the community.

"It is impossible for us to quantify how much this happens. Unless it's reported to us, there is no way to know," said Deputy Inspector Steven Hellman.

Hellman told DNAInfo of The DL, "They don't have the best interest of the community in mind," noting that the party the bar had thrown Saturday night -- where the brawl started -- had been strongly discouraged by his precinct. The bar initially agreed to cancel the event, then went ahead and threw the party without notifying the precinct.

"I'm upset to say the very least," he told DNAInfo. 

Hellman told News 4 the police precinct has actively been trying to work with bars in the area to increase security, and that a sergeant and five officers are specifically assigned to the six-block area known as Hell Square to prevent chaotic events like the Sunday brawl. 

The DL is already facing the possibility of having its liquor license revoked or canceled by the State Liquor Authority for yet another fight outside the club on Feb. 26. They face a hearing next month. 

A message has been left with the bar. 

Resident Robert Kemps said he's worried about what he sees. 

"This neighorhood has changed a lot over the last few years, and now that I'm a little older, I don't come out at night," he said. 

But Carl Dittebernt said despite the bar brawls, "when I first moved here, there were gun battles in the daytime, so this is an improvement." 

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