Gothamist: Murray Hill Bar Pays $35K for Barring Black Patrons

slz

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:45:51 -0500

It's their bar, they could let in whoever they want. There are a million bars in the city, if you're not happy with one, go somewhere else. It's none of the govt's business to interfere with an establishments door policy. The courts run by the city are Kangaroo courts with almost no need for proof in their cases. This is the crap that should be investigated, not a bar tending to their own needs.

jaja007

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:28:48 -0500

"Tonic" is French for "douchebag" . If black people want to mingle w/ white people, there are far better places to go.

west side Michael

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:10:32 -0500

I know of a restaurant- bar that only serves Koreans in the shadow of our Empire State building. No English menu's . Is that as bad as Tonic?

apikores

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:47:58 -0500

Snoopy, the National Association for the Advancement of White People was founded in 1980 by an associate of David Duke, former KKK Grand Wizard. I would suggest you look into joining--you'd fit in well there.

virgil

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:24:40 -0500

Why, what's in Liberia, Snoops, ol' bean?

Snoopy

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:41:57 -0500

Armchair, I really didn't mean to bring in the whole oriental (oops I meant Asian) thing, I'm sorry. I really feel sorry for all those delivery guys that work hard day in and day out, unlike some other ethnic groups that don't work at all, unless one considers criminal activity a job. Kojak and Virg, Get a plane ticket to Liberia. Thanks for the support Llama.

timmyy80

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:48:55 -0500

poor, oppressed Snoopy. I had no idea that white people getting called "Cracker" was OK until I read his post. Guess you learn something new every day.

Armchair_warrior

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:42:29 -0500

snoopy please leave us asians out of this. we get discriminate by everyone and by the state(affirmative action).

Rocknrope

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:28:39 -0500

Geez, and here I thought Snoopy was just your run of the mill instigating troll. Turns out he's a white power asshole?

virgil

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:56:41 -0500

Randomdilemma; if they're really keeping you out because you're white, and not because they're snobbish about your A&F prepster style, then that's racism, and if it upsets you enough, you should fight it. Seriously. What white people don't seem to understand is that no one out there is saying that racism against whites is good (except for racists, of course); it's just that you have to come up with real examples of racism, not the existence of Black History Month, or BET, for pete's sake, because that just makes you sound like a whining Klansbaby.

theloofyourlife

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:18:43 -0500

i walk with a limp from a spinal injury and they didn't let me in because the bouncers made a decision i was wasted and was lying to them. mind you it was 8pm. i threatened to report them to the better business bureau but ended up not doing anything. I'm glad they got fined although 35k is nothing. That place is just a(insert your favorite long island or new jersey town) high school reunion. fuck em.

Jerk Store

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:53:26 -0500

Tonic East may be the worst bar in the entire city. They're really doing black people a favor if they don't admit them.

kearnj

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:51:19 -0500

A week later? A day later? How about trying the same thing hours later? What the fuck.

Art Stewel

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:42:06 -0500

I don't believe that Snoopy's diatribe is racist. It rightfully espouses a disconcerting and divisive double standard. There really is no such thing as 'race'. 99% of the world's human population come from Asia Minor, so there is only one human race. The concept of race is a purely human construct which divides us people. It is a sordid business, as groups and classes of people form without any true biological basis, with the resulting groups clamoring for attention to the exclusion or detriment of others. A world of one race would liberate all of us.

JacqueMehoff

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:20:46 -0500

you're kidding right?

randomdilemma

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:10:05 -0500

Several readers have been challenged to name a bar that discriminates against white people. Try wearing Abercrombie and Fitch and getting into Escuelita (a gay club with a primarily black and latin clientelle in midtown). You will be told the club is full. Watch ten people come out, and ask if there is room then, and you will be told it is still full. Walk away, and watch other people get in. It happens (probably not as often as the other way around).

brian123

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:03:45 -0500

Murray Hill is for douchebags who think they are better than everyone. I agree, keep the place open so that they are concentrated in one place.

Dave Hogarty

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:02:48 -0500

I've walked by Tonic East many times and a number of their absolutely gigantic doormen are black. I wonder how they feel about this. Did anyone ask them whether management said, "Don't let any black people in because your kind are unwelcome. Oh, and keep up the good work"?

virgil

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:21:49 -0500

Snoopy, since you and LLama seem incapable of understanding the basics: Things like BET and Black History Month, etc were created after generations in which every month was white history month, and every channel would be the white channel. But you knew that too. Calling you a whitey or a honkey is not okay. It's racism. But you knew that. You were just hoping it would give you permission to be a racist. Which, surprise, surprise, you are.

smokedgouda

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:17:11 -0500

Why would blacks want to go into TE? Cute girls... This "sting" by the AG does smell of entrapment, especially if the groups were sent a week apart.

smokedgouda

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:15:16 -0500

Why would blacks want to go into TE? Cute girls... This "sting" by the AG does smell of entrapment, especially if the groups were sent a week apart.

babyhitler

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:09:15 -0500

you guys are fighting about racism in a shitty bar? move on.

Kojak

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:07:42 -0500

"And to Kojak, stop acting like second class citizens and they will stop treating you like that." Its common for the acts of some to reflect badly upon an entire race, an idea you seem to be reinforcing.

Muscley Armed Paper Boy

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:04:14 -0500

They could have spent far less than $35K by just installing a metal detector at the door, which would have solved their problem and avoided all this bad press.

llama

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:58:20 -0500

You are my hero Snoopy. And to Kojak, stop acting like second class citizens and they will stop treating you like that.

SP

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:56:42 -0500

"I'm pretty sure none of us were alive during the incidents you describe. Hell, my ancestors weren't even in America at the time." And yet you're still a racist.

JacqueMehoff

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:51:56 -0500

Yes.

Kojak

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:47:35 -0500

"You have BET." Unfortunately ...

Kojak

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:44:40 -0500

I don't know about you, but I remember getting stuffed into a slave ship bound for America. Getting ripped from my family and sold into bondage can be kind of a bummer.

rtd2101

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:44:34 -0500

Wow Snoopy, who knew that exposing a crappy club for blatant racist practices would provoke a diatribe right off of one of Jerry Springer's "I'm in the KKK and Proud" episodes. I guess letting black people into Tonic East was just the last straw huh?

mmlanglie

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:42:03 -0500

Ahh, this place is awful. I was roped into going there once for happy hour, never, ever again. I'm certainly not surprised about the charges that are being brought against this hellish place which belongs within a gigantic mall in middle America. Ew. Their only saving grace was semi-decent pub grub. But the horrible music and clientle, ack.

cgee

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:38:02 -0500

You enslave us for hundreds of years, rape our women, children and wipe out entire generations of our people and destroy an entire continent to help support your economy, and still treat us like 2nd class citizens. How old do you think we white people are, anyway? I'm pretty sure none of us were alive during the incidents you describe. Hell, my ancestors weren't even in America at the time.

Kojak

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:28:20 -0500

"You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us." You enslave us for hundreds of years, rape our women, children and wipe out entire generations of our people and destroy an entire continent to help support your economy, and still treat us like 2nd class citizens. I say we're about even. =)

westernqueensland

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:23:36 -0500

This is just more Affirmative Action the entitled. 35k is a very slight fine. Pray for snoopy.

Snoopy

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:11:32 -0500

There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc., and then there are just Americans. You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You Call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,''Whitey,' 'Caveman' ... and that's OK. But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ... You call me a racist. You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live? You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day. You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day. You have yom hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi. You have the NAACP. You have BET. If we had WET (White Entertainment Television) we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists. If we had White History Month , we'd be racists. If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' our lives we'd be racists. We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that? A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant. If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships you know we'd be racists. There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US. Yet if there were 'White colleges' THAT would be a racist college. In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists. You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists. You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug-dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist. I am proud. But you call me a racist. Why is it that only whites can be racists?

eyekantspel

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:07:43 -0500

This isn't such a clear cut case. Patrons were turned away based on dress code, and perceived it was based on race. A week later, a couple of white investigators got in wearing similar clothing. Could that suggest racism? Absolutely. It could also just be a failure to enforce a dress code policy. I'd be more interested in knowing if blacks wearing business casual attire, which seems to be the standard claimed by the bar, were excluded.

tnturner

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:27:17 -0500

Actually there are some places in Queens I prolly couldn't have gotten into as a Whitey without my Mexican escort.

cwbuecheler

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:19:29 -0500

I love comments like "this is why I don't go to bars in *neighborhood X*." Newsflash: the bars wherever you live are full of fuckheads. They might be abercrombie, or gangsta, or wall street, or hipster. They might be black, white, asian, indian, or some kind of space elf from under the sea. Could be a sports bar, a club, a dive, a wine bar, an underground venue, your your friend's house ... Doesn't really matter. Places where people drink, the world over, are full of fuckheads. Welcome to humanity.

Rocknrope

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:08:01 -0500

Lily-white joints like TE and the other lame haunt on the upper east side make me want to hurl my fritos.

ChampionOfTheSun

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:31:34 -0500

So, racism only costs $35K these days? Looking at the photos, I can't imagine any black people would want to go and hang out with a bunch of white college kids who are probably from Kansas.

zstone

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:30:54 -0500

Now where am I supposed to get my drink on?

JacqueMehoff

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:29:57 -0500

This bar is in Murray Hill? would be more appropriate North of 72nd. Is MH the next up and coming neighborhood? Did they send in the investigators from Seinfeld when elaine complained? Anyway, glad they did.

SP

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:28:09 -0500

Gotta love those internal server errors. Anyone over there at Gothamist HQ knows how to run a website? Anyhow, this is yet another example justifying my hatred for the entire east side above 14th street.

jaycjay

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:27:48 -0500

"There are plenty of unspoken black-only and hispanic-only clubs in NYC." Are there? Please, give a few examples of places with a door policy that turns away whites ostensibly because of dress code violations while allowing similarly-dressed people of other races. There may be plenty of places that you choose not to go to because the crowd is exclusively black or exclusively hispanic, and even where you might not feel welcome if you do enter... but that's a different thing.

SikBug

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:26:18 -0500

I really hate that bar anyway... I'm glad to see them fined.

JGNY

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:25:54 -0500

Leave it open, it least it keeps the collar-popping, abercrombie and fitch douchbags in one concentrated place.

foodinmouth

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:25:49 -0500

35k seems kind of light...

Politburo

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:22:16 -0500

Your name is idiot, apparently.

TK

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:21:30 -0500

bars and clubs discriminating based on your attire has been around forever. why is it an even an issue?

WhatsMyNameAgain

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:12:46 -0500

"I'm not racist! My friend is black! So is the bar we serve drinks on! We love black!"

Murray Hillster

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:12:09 -0500

First, fuck the blight on the neighborhood that is Tonic East. $35k? How about shut the monstrosity down? Second, comment #1 has got to be kidding. Though, with the stupidity of people on "the Internets," one can never be too sure.

petebfd

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:06:26 -0500

if they just turned everyone away from tonic the world would be a better place.

llama

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:01:11 -0500

There are plenty of unspoken black-only and hispanic-only clubs in NYC. Why can't there be a white-only?