Club Now Claims To Have Intervened In Gay Attack
Nightclub 1 Oak, which has been accused of reacting with total indifference to a gay-bashing incident and of allowing an alleged assailant to escape untouched, is now saying it tried to stop the attacker. Reports the Post: "Club sources say the night was not promoted as a 'gay night' and that the attacker was restrained by security but broke away." The club's flacks are also now saying that "this incident was handled by security and staff immediately," which was not mentioned in their statement to us yesterday. That differs sharply from what one eyewitness told us yesterday:
Victim number 1's friend wanted to call 911, however the two owners of the nightclub, Sartiano and Akiva, told the friend NOT TO. 911 was called regardless. The club owners then wanted to rush the victim into a car when they knew the ambulance was coming. A minute goes by and the attacker was able to walk right out of the club, without security questioning or anyone's interference, even after the victim's friend screamed out "that's the guy!"
Interesting that a popular, exclusive club with extensive experience handling lots of excess and otherwise unwanted guests`— and run by four club veterans — had so much trouble holding on to this one troublemaker. On the other hand, no witness or victim has yet stepped forward to put their name behind their version of the story, and few club patrons are equipped, at 2:30 am, to be definitive eyewitnesses to anything.
