Over the weekend, artist Tony Peralta posted the following on instagram via our favorite uptown bar Apt 78:
This is a huge tumbanota to those of us who have been looking forward to the block party ever since we saw Q-Tip up on stage dancing to La Murga de Panama at last year’s event. A historic moment for the neighborhood, last year’s inaugural block party brought out a huge crowd that mixed OG doñas with young Dominican creatives with downtown party kids, all dancing to a diverse line-up that included Bodega Bamz and Jarina de Marco, among others. It was the first ever block party of that scale in the Heights. To (obnoxiously) quote the recap I wrote last year, the event struck “the perfect balance between the gritty feel of a bygone NYC and the new NYC Latin youth culture.”
Without a single incident at last year’s block party, it’s unclear why the precinct considers it “hazardous to the community” — although Apt 78 owner Jose Morales has a hunch:
Been having issues ever since block party.Politicians wanted 2 speak and I said no it's a community even not a political event.Ever since..
— APT 78 (@APT78) May 16, 2014
In fact, if you were following Apt 78’s twitter/instagram this weekend, you may have noticed that the venue was abruptly closed, forcing them to cancel scheduled events like Nicole of Nina Sky’s DJ set. Is Apt 78 being targeted by local authorities?
Sad to announce that Apt.78 is closed for the Wkend bc these fucking devils do whatever The fuck they want in this community…
— APT 78 (@APT78) May 16, 2014
We’re reaching out to Jose to get more details on their recent clashes with the local precinct/”those fucking devils,” so stay tuned for developments. In the meantime, Apt 78 has since reopened, so stop by and help them make up their lost weekend bar tabs.