Reply to "Nightclub Crackdown Watch, part II"

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November 23, 2006
Patrons Testy As NYC Nightclub Shut Down
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 7:46 a.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- Authorities closed a big Manhattan nightclub a half-hour before it was to host a party with hundreds of people celebrating hip hop titan Jay-Z's new album Wednesday night, a club manager and a witness said.

Police and fire department spokespeople had no immediate comment on the shutdown of Avalon in the city's Chelsea neighborhood, which prompted testy exchanges as angry patrons were told to leave.

The club, a converted church, hosts a variety of parties, concerts and other events. It has a dance floor that holds about 700 people and other spaces that hold several hundred more, according to a director, Carmelo Citron.

Wednesday's shutdown came as patrons were lined up outside, waiting for the 10 p.m. start of a party to celebrate the recent release of the new album, ''Kingdom Come,'' Citron said. He said the artist was not expected at the event.

Citron said the club was ordered to close because of ongoing problems with its certificate of occupancy. He said the trouble centered on a ''clerical issue,'' and managers had tried to resolve it for the past several weeks.

The scene became heated as police dispersed the patrons, many of whom had prepaid for admission, Citron said.

Bystander Carmen Lopez of New Jersey was watching from a nearby store. She said a large number of people were outside the club around 10:15 p.m., cursing and exchanging words with police. ''It's kind of crazy out there,'' she said.

Managers expected Avalon to be closed throughout the holiday weekend, costing the club an estimated $500,000, Citron said.