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| - After some time to reflect, I have mixed feelings about this venue. Let's start off with the good. I was here Saturday night and it started really well.
The décor, music, and wait staff (especially our server - Nancy) were great. We got our bottles promptly and they continued to refill the chasers/mixers as needed. DJ was good also and ramped up the night pretty well.
Now onto the bad. At the end of our night, my party and I were leaving. About half of us were already outside the door and the bouncers suddenly rushed in (I believe there was a fight brewing). I saw the individuals dragged out, but then after that, one the members of my party was dragged out in a headlock with his hands up (no resistance).
This is where I have a problem. I've been working at a bar in NYC for the past 8 years so I have much experience dealing with rowdy/overzealous people. The way things were handled by the bouncers was dangerous. If somebody is clearly not resisting or even simply mouthing off, no physical contact is required--an escorted walk out suffices. This is especially true because my friend just wanted to get his coat from coat check. None of this, should have required me to pull off the bouncer as there was no resistance. In addition, I view this as a case of collateral damage because my other friend was shoved out of the way by one of the bouncers in the club trying to get to the fight they were trying to stop behind us. While I understand the immediacy of stopping a fight, you do not shove bystanders (and at the very least if you do, you check on the bystanders quickly). If I count correctly, there were 3 bouncers and 1 manager there so there were more than enough people to smooth a bump out.
I hope that Blvd44 gets the security quality to the same quality of its front of the house staff. I'd like to recommend this place to out of towners, but until this is fixed, I say go at your own risk because you can start your night off right but end it in a sour way.
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