HUB Hoboken Nightclub Facing Potential Closure After Lewd Video Emerges

HUB Hoboken will face a disciplinary hearing over a lewd acts conducted on their premises, which could result in the revocation of their liquor license. The bar will remain open—at least until the September 20th hearing. Meanwhile, Hoboken Police indicate that a criminal investigation into those acts remains ongoing.

“After reviewing videos and additional records obtained on Monday, September 10th, it was determined that there were ABC violations,” said the Hoboken Police Department (HPD) in a statement released this morning. “On Tuesday evening, the Hoboken Police ABC Investigators served the HUB ownership group with many charges due to multiple acts of lewd behavior. The ABC hearing will be held September 20th, 2018, at 4pm, at 94 Washington St, City Hall, at which time, the City of Hoboken is seeking revocation of The HUB’s Liquor License.”

Yesterday we ran a story detailing a disturbing incident at a Hoboken Nightclub, in which a number of lewd acts were committed on the bar, in full view of staff, at an event promoted by the club.

An individual by the name of, “Kirill,” a.k.a. “@Slutwhisperer,” had a sponsored appearance at HUB on the night of the incident.

The incident allegedly involved an emcee, who stood on the bar at Hoboken nightclub and sprayed champagne on a unnamed female who was in a state of undress. At that point, an unknown male party engaged in acts with the female on the bar, and the resulting video has subsequently gone viral.

*Searches Hoboken video on Twitter* pic.twitter.com/gRyTtfAvTu

— Conor the Mick (@TheNJMick) September 13, 2018

After compiling our own information from independent sources, hMAG spoke with Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante directly, who informed us that this is an ongoing investigation and that the Hoboken Police are working in conjunction with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

“As of now, The HUB remains open until the ABC hearing,” says HPD. “The Hoboken Police Department will continue to have a strong presence in the vicinity along with the ABC Unit, who will be monitoring the area to ensure dangerous and illegal conduct is not continuing in that immediate area.”

Chief Ferrante said, “I saw videos of activity that I never could imagine would occur anywhere, especially in a business open to the public with a liquor license approved by the City of Hoboken and State of New Jersey. To state that this conduct will not be tolerated by the Hoboken Police Department is a major understatement. Any other bar owner that thinks they can allow or promote this type of activity, in the City of Hoboken, will also face charges which could lead to a revocation of their license, and severe penalties. For any individual who saw the disgraceful acts, and are thinking of coming to a bar in Hoboken to repeat this activity towards women, be assured that you will be arrested if you violate the law.”

While no assault charges have been formally filed, the incident remains under investigation.

***EDITOR’S NOTE:***

Even the folks at Barstool Sports have labelled the event “pretty douchey,” which is the bro equivalent of Cronkite declaring the war unwinnable.

Since sharing the story yesterday, we’ve gotten a lot of feedback on the incident, our coverage, and the Hoboken bar scene in general, so we’ll address a few things…

• We’re not posting the video. Stop asking.
• Anyone who is commenting without seeing the video, we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. However, believe us when we say that the incident was extremely graphic—beyond what most, including law enforcement, would consider within the realm of decency.
• hMAG was approached by a number of individuals in our community who were upset by what they saw. Upon doing our own initial research, we were then informed by local authorities that a criminal investigation was already underway. The video had been circulating on various social media platforms throughout the weekend. We didn’t invent this story. Other outlets ran stories prior to ours, prompting us to run our own, slightly more detailed story.
• This isn’t a story we like to run. We have a sincere and intimate* appreciation for the hard work of Hoboken’s hospitality industry on the whole. Our bars and restaurants are what make Hoboken attractive, vibrant, or at times even bearable. That said, when an establishment uses questionable judgment and allows a situation like this to occur in our town, they drag not only the bar business but the entire city through the sewer. Individuals who make those bad decisions are accountable to all of us who call this place home.
• Places like this are a geographic anomaly in Hoboken these days. No one could do an event like this anywhere in town except right smack dab next to the train station, where people come in from out of town. Hoboken has always been a victim of its own success in this regard—the influx of mass transit puts us at a unique crossroads for regional scumbaggery. However, as the demographic in town has continued to change, these places are literally pushed to the edge. There are also a number of decent, well-run establishments in that corner of town. But regional media typically isn’t here to cover the places that are doing the right thing. Media, politicians and residents need to stop painting Hoboken nightlife with a broad brush. It’s lazy, and completely inaccurate.

PLEASE—continue to support those venues that are worth supporting.

(*hMAG’s publisher worked in the Hoboken hospitality industry for over a decade.)