Diving Deeper Into the Union Pool Incident

Just when you thought the Union Pool drama was lost in the archives...today we received an email that was forwarded on to us by a reader. It was a public email from Union Pool to, apparently, their mailing list. We were not included on the email, and when we asked for a statement earlier this week - after emailing with one of the managers there - we weren't given one. Instead we were asked to apologize and were told "we are a bar that supports our community and in turn it should support us." After seeing these photos, we can't help but wonder that if this is how they serve the community, how should the community support them?

The public email that went out, which they asked we do not publish in full, said that "the security person never struck this man" and that they had been in touch with all parties involved. After reading the Union Pool email himself, the alleged victim in this case, Charlie Tu, has sent along photos of his injuries, and told us:

"I just read the release from Union Pool. It's totally untrue, what they described. I was punched in the face -- all over and now have problems with my vision. Here are the pics my friend Paul took...obviously punched and choked."

We've asked Union Pool again today if they would like to give a statement and they said: "I am continuing to investigate, learning new information and in the process of writing another e-mail. If the security person did in fact strike Charlie, then he won't be allowed to continue working with us, but I need to get a hold of him to confirm or deny this. Our intention is never to misrepresent a situation. just shed light on it."

We understand that in the midst of a late night at a crowded bar, it can be hard to get a story straight, especially when most eyewitnesses are drinking. It's good Union Pool is investigating it now, but it seems like they could have saved themselves some trouble if they investigated it from the get-go.

UPDATE: Looks like people have been commenting on some issues with Union Pool on Free Williamsburg since 2005.

More photos after the jump...

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Food, News on June 29, 2007 3:40 PM

Comments [rss]

Di Ise

I understand bouncers have to be tough, but what i dont understand why last night i was showing my I.D and when we saw im not from U.S he told me rude shit i dont even want to write. Looks like im not the only one with this kind of experience..

guest

um #70 is an idiot - the bouncer beat the kid up.

as for "no self control", "look bloated", etc -- why did you decide to move here then ?

nobody put you on a fuckin' plane and made you fly here ... or run across the border.

just sayin.

guest

This is very typical of americans, they don't know how to drink. It makes me cringe that you can all go to war and die and yet not be able to drink cause your momies will beat you silly. Frigging american society and your piss beer, you have a very fucked up relationship with alcool, sure explains why 70% of y'all look bloated, go binge in your fucking holes, no self control. You always have to destroy everything or become totally annoing after 3 bud lights... joke.

guest

hm.. obviously union pool's owners haven't sought legal council to craft that bullshit letter...

charlie should totally sue the shit out of them for lying. and spreading such a lie.

guest

Just as I figured, an asshole bar for asshole customers. And, it comes from the OWNERS. I loved the way the wording was used in the letter.

There was no reason for the bouncer to go "outside" to continue the provacation. The only reason was to beat up a patron.

Just another tough guy bouncer, time to light him up.

guest

have fund getting your asses sued off Alyssa, Sage & Zeb! This kid is going to take you to the cleaners!

guest

UNION POOL LETTER (IN FULL, NOT EDITED)

To all concerned,

Union pool has been and will always be a bar that supports our community. We have a long and proud history of welcoming all walks of life through our door and behind our bar.

We thank you for your sincere concerns regarding the incident that occurred after the Milksop party. If the incident occurred the way it was described in the blogosphere, we would be outraged as well. However, that's not how things actually went down. Not even close. These posts were extremely irresponsible. Nobody attempted to get the story from the ejected patron (who's name we won't use, as he is a regular customer), Union Pool or the Milksop people. We'd like to straighten out some of the facts.

Haven spoken directly to all of the people involved, we are all in complete agreement that this was not a "gay bashing" incident. Homophobia played no part whatsoever in this patron being asked to leave the premises or anything else that occurred. The patron was one of many people in the back bar when it was being closed down at the end of the night (the front bar and outdoor area were still open). Not wanting to leave, he began to verbally harass the security staff. He was then told he would have to leave the bar altogether. At this point alcohol got the better of him, and he physically assaulted one of the security staff in a highly personal and uncalled for manner. Unfortunately, the patron decided to go out fighting and both he and the security were the worse for it. Nobody was "beaten bloody" that night. Our security person never struck this man. He only tried to subdue him using the techniques that are professionally taught and encouraged when a person has become uncooperative and violent. He is certified and trained both physically and psychologically, and has been working in this industry for over fifteen years.

The whole incident was regrettable for all the parties involved, but was no where near as bad as the gossip and rumors. The customer was not beaten, nor a victim of his sexual preference. Our security team's job is to be there for all of us alike. They are controlled and reasonable people who put up with a lot of abuse and take our safety very seriously.

We care deeply about our community and everyone in it.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding this or anything else.

Alyssa, Sage & Zeb

Union Pool

unionpool@mac.com

guest

publish the letter from union pool in full, you don't owe them anything!

maybe because you're a regular patron at union pool, jen, gotta keep your hands and nose clean? please--i would hope you're a journalist first and a hipster second.

let the truth of their shady dealings be made transparent. i seriously hope mr. tu sues the hell out of union pool for disseminating false information, and obviously trying to make him out to be a liar (SLANDER!).

guest

Finally, the truth comes out.

Union Pool patrons are hispter assholes. also know as skinny tough guys with messed up hair.

next time light the place up. light em up.

and slap them in the face like the bitch they are.

the city is infested with new brand of transplant skinny hipster tough guy.

I have more respect for the Brooklyn bay ridge/bensonhurst tough guy. I've never had a problem with them, they know the real nyc deal.

guest

hipsters can be surprisingly close-minded. they maintain a different sort of status quo.

if i had a dollar for every time i was treated like some anomaly because i'm black + in "the scene", well, i wouldn't have student loan debt. same thing for id'ing as queer in this "community". it's a heterosexist world...and sometimes it feels like williamsburg is its epicenter.

union pool's clientele consists primarily dudes with frat boy mentalities, expensive art school educations and skinny jeans, and any record pitchfork tells them is cool to listen to. and haggard, boring, girls looking for some bony, blank-eyed tail.

gays, there are better bars in the burg. you may want to reconsider hosting milksopp elsewhere...not necessarily someplace obvious like metropolitan, but someplace where the dynamic isn't so gross.

union pool should be ashamed of themselves for their way of handling it. and charlie, PRESS SOME CHARGES!

-signed,

a friend

guest

Couldn't care less about this story. Just want to say that edEx is a douchebag.

Douchebag!

emilydickinson

Wow, you folks are pretty heartless for New Yorkers. If you happen to be uninsured in New York, any hospital here MUST treat you. If you truly can't pay New York State maintains a huge fund of money that hospitals can dip into in order to service broke and uninsured folks. Hospitals hate to tell you this, and will tell you that you must be insured to get treatment, but that just isn't so. 311 can point you in the correct direction in order to get that started.

Bouncers are like everyone else. For every juiced up thug, there's a gentle giant with a heart of gold. Either way, no one deserves to get beat up.

guest

If it really was a "public" email (your word) and you didn't reprint it b/c they asked you not to, you are total pussies, and not at all the journalists you like to pretend you are.

guest

hey i know i signed in as a guest, and that that fact somehow diminishes the legitimacy of my comment, but that's only because my preferred login handle, "goatse.cx" was already taken.

that said, why would union pool direct their bouncers to institute a policy of lowered tolerance for belligerent behavior from homosexual clientèle?

i have heard that union pool is something of a hipster "meat market" . . . the presence of gay patrons disturbs the intricate mating dance of straight hipsters looking to hook up . . . i'm sure ladies who love ladies are welcome as long as they're not "man-haters" (i.e., they're not really dykes, they just know their man loves a good threesome).

what i'm saying is if people really think union pool as a business has made a business-motivated decision to make gays feel unwelcome, then the best way to retaliate would be to flood the bar with all your gay friends, frustrating the purposes of staight hipsters, forcing them to move on to the next bar, and forcing union pool to reluctantly accept its status as a gay bar. basically, you gotta "turn out" union pool, or "punk" it, in prison terms.

guest

I'm one of those people that received Union Pool's email about this situation. It's pretty clear why they have asked it not be published in full, it is full of bullshit lies.

Even is absolutely nothing happened, as they claim in their email, I am so disgusted by the way they have handled this...I'm going to drink somewhere else.

they suck

S.D.

Since he has no insurance, IMO, he should see a lawyer and get a professional legal opinion.

guest

All the kid has to do is find an ambulance-chaser "attorney" and he'll make at least $30k off of Union Pool. I have no doubt that dozens have probably contacted him already.

All he needs is hospital bills. He doesn't even need any witnesses (which I understand he has).

Union Pool will settle the case with him rather than go to court.

guest

Word of advice...

If you get beat up, robbed, raped... what have you — contact the NYPD. Do this immediately. Demand that the crime (yes, these are crimes) are further investigated, that police collect the facts. Get witnesses to give statements. Seems easy enough in this case. Obviously the UP managers and staff know who the bouncer is and the victim has friends who are witnesses. There are always a ton of cops sitting outside of Kellogg's right around the corner.

If you feel you've been the victim of a crime, especially a hate crime, file a report. As we all know that the NYPD does not have a good reputation (I have had horrific experiences myself), be sure to get a copy of your report, the name and number of someone to follow up with. And follow up. Obviously, you will be hurt and traumatized, so enlist a friend's help.

Create a paper trail. Chances are, if someone victimized you, assaulted you, beat you up, robbed you — they are going to do it again. Get legal help. Here are some resources:

NYS Crime Victims Board

55 Hanson Place, 10th Floor

Brooklyn, NY 11217

(718) 923-4325

(800) 247-8035

NY Crime Victims' Rights - http://crime.about.com/od/victims/qt/victims_ny.htm

Free Legal Services in NYC

guest

I said, I don't care if you're a racist.

I just said, PA has the largest number of White nationalist groups/skinheads/aryan nation than any souther state.

Second was Ohio, I would of said WV but I knew there's shit going on in Ohio, the love to kill black folks.

I wouldn't be surprised if the patrons of Union Pool are racists. and, it's so easy to prove, too. and they don't even need to be drunk because we all know who much leaks out when you're drunk.