#Elsewhere brooklyn how to
#Elsewhere brooklyn serial

With the solidarity of several bands who have either pulled out of their shows or demonstrated their support in other ways, in addition to the persistence of survivors and their allies, the club finally released a statement 6/15 saying that it would meet the central demand of the boycott and sit down with survivors and their allies. Non-performer allies: The best way to help is to spread the word! Tell your friends, share this link /boycottelsewhere, message Elsewhere to demand transparency, write a review on FB or Yelp, and boycott until they meet with the survivors.

#Elsewhere brooklyn how to

Until the club’s leadership decides to engage in an accountability meeting with us, to share proof of their claims made on 4/26 and to apologize for ignoring survivors, we invite all artists, DJs, performers, party promoters, and dancers to continue to # DanceAnywhereElseĪ Coalition of Concerned If you are a band/musician/performer/booker/manager and need resources for how to form part of this action, we have created a template that can be copy-pasted in an email to pull out of Elsewhere and let the management know that you are aligning yourself with this demand for transparency. We encourage all nightclubs to develop a respectful protocol -with engagement and input from the communities they claim to serve- for how to engage with people who have been harmed by abusers invested in their spaces.Įlsewhere claims to have “respect for all people and art, and a desire to support and grow the community that makes it possible.” But this has not held true: one month after we issued the call, Elsewhere continues to ignore our messages via email and social media. Community wealth should empower and protect the assets of people who are invested in our community’s well being. These decisions affect the lives and safety of survivors and the bank accounts of investors. Collectively, we can make decisions about where to assemble, buy drinks, dance, and perform. This call to action is about more than one nightclub and one rapist. How can Elsewhere open up a dialogue with the community? How does the management of Elsewhere envision a protocol being established for this kind of accountability process? What would it do differently, were this to come up again? What work has Elsewhere done to inform its partners/collaborators/event organizers/musicians about this problem since its knowledge of it in December 2017? How can Elsewhere ensure to us/our community that this investor is not profiting off queer and poc safe spaces? How does Elsewhere reconcile its definition of a safe space with the fact that a known abuser is/was financially involved with the club? What commitment does Elsewhere have to the queer and poc communities beyond hosting events from which it profits?

What is the timeline of Elsewhere’s engagement with the investor in question? Why hasn't Elsewhere been willing to confirm the details of the alleged termination? If Elsewhere felt legally protected to make a public statement, what excuse do they have for failing to communicate this information (or any information over the past two years) to survivors directly? While this information is welcomed, we still have unanswered questions: Their statement also claims he has never profited from his investments in the space (presumably this is because the club, which opened in 2016 after a 3 million dollar renovation, is still a couple of years from turning a profit). Nine days later, only hours after our first public action, Elsewhere released a statement claiming to have “recently” cut financial ties with the abuser. On 4/17, an employee of Elsewhere (who made it clear that they did not officially represent the venue) admitted that the investor was still involved and fighting to keep his investments in the space with a “if I’m going down, you’re going down with me” mentality.

What might a call for justice look like in a world where both interpersonal and legal processes of accountability again and again fail survivors? What happens when a known abuser’s investments sit in a space used by our community? We issued the call to move our collective talent and dancing from Elsewhere to somewhere else until the club verifies with concerned community members that it has broken ties with the abuser and that he no longer has financial assets invested in the space. Over the past two years, management received several messages which detailed his actions and use of date-rape drugs, to which the club never once responded.

#Elsewhere brooklyn serial

Since 2017, Elsewhere has been aware that one of their investors is a serial rapist. On 4/26 we issued a call for allies of rape survivors to boycott Elsewhere, a popular nightclub in Bushwick, Brooklyn. A statement regarding the call to boycott Elsewhere: