The owner of a popular nightclub in New Jersey has filed a federal lawsuit accusing police and borough officials of unfairly targeting his business because it attracts too many LGBTQ and African-American patrons.
John P. Saddy owns Karma nightclub in Seaside Heights, a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey perhaps best known for being the setting of MTV’s reality show Jersey Shore.
In the lawsuit, Saddy accuses several Seaside Heights officials of unfairly punishing him for disobeying the borough’s “prohibition” on hip hop music, as well as not cooperating with attempts at creating a more “family friendly” community by limiting the number of POC and LGBTQ patrons he allows into his bar.
The lawsuit states:
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Contrary to the Borough of Seaside Heights’ public claims that it is trying to promote a ‘family environment,’ the borough, through the individually named defendants, is actually trying to promote a ‘white’ and ‘straight’ environment.
It goes on to list several alleged incidents where Saddy feels borough officials acted in discriminatory manner. Here are just some of the accusations:
- A baseless fire marshall inspection on May 26, 2018 that resulted in no violations being found.
- A baseless police raid on May 27, 2018 during which officers “aggressively frisked” several of the bar’s patrons.
- Continued threats of being closed down and/or not having his liquor license renewed.
- Continued pressure not to host hip hop or rap music shows since they tend to “attract African-American patrons.”
- Police showing up unannounced to count the number of African-Americans present.
- Saddy being threatened by a borough administrator that if he hosted any more hip hop or LBGTQ events, he could expect “the police would be living” at his venue.
- Saddy being forced to pay off-duty police officers to monitor his nightclub “at a rate of pay significantly higher” than Seaside Heights usually pays its officers.
- Saddy being threatened with a police raid if he hosted an event sponsored by Hennessy cognac because it would “attract too many African-Americans.”
Perhaps the most disturbing allegation involves an exchange between Saddy and Administrator Christopher Vaz that purportedly happened earlier this year.
Saddy claims he met with Vaz in April to discuss the possibility of having hip hop and LBGTQ-friendly events at Karma and another one of his nightclubs in the area. When he suggested it might help boost tourism, Vaz allegedly replied that “‘blacks and f*gs’ did not conjure images of a family-oriented town.”
Jean Cipriani, a lawyer for the borough, says Saddy’s lawsuit is chocked full of “outrageous, false and inflammatory allegations.”
She also accuses Saddy of being “disingenuous and malicious” and trying to make a money grab, saying he’s “willing to make wild and unsupported smears about public servants in pursuit of that money.”
“The Borough of Seaside Heights does not discriminate on the basis of race or sexual preference or identity,” Cipriani says. “Period.”
Saddy is seeking an unspecified amount of money as compensation for lost income after the baseless crackdowns on Karma earlier this year, as well as payments for “emotional distress” and attorney’s fees.
Chrisk
Hmm…:-\
Mack
Sounds like a republican town.
Kangol
Ocean County, New Jersey…that’s $1000 for the win, Mack!
Wicked Dickie
There are lots of bars and clubs in San Francisco , NY, WeHo that actively discriminate and try to limit to amount of gay POC that they want to enter their establishments. I’ve lived in Dallas since the early 00s, there were a lot of mixed race gay bars in the Cedar Springs area. Now you go back and there is only 1. All the others have been shuttered and reopened catering to a very distinct white clientele. I don’t support establishments like that.
Polaro
That’s nonsense.
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Curtispsf
@Polaro Actually, that was a VERY real problem in San Francisco. Bar owners went after the twinks and white clientele by forcing POC’s and Asians to have sometimes as many as 3 forms of identification. I don’t know if this still an issue. Perhaps someone from SF can shed some light? I don’t hang out in bars anymored.
Mick406
You think maybe what went on OUTSIDE of that nightclub could be the problem? Any business that has activity going on behind closed doors that doesn’t disrupt the neighborhood would not be closely scrutinized like that. When I think of Blacks and gays in an atmosphere of alcohol and coarse and basal music, I immediately think of noise, violence, attention-seeking people engaged in lewd sexual behavior. Who wants that next door?! It’s not how many Blacks or gays they have inside that nightclub, nor what kind of music is played. It has to have something to do with behavior in the parking lot and that of the people coming and going. I’ve never understood why gays have to take everything to the limit and sort of ‘dare’ outsiders to say anything about what they are doing. I sure don’t go to places like that for this very reason.
Chrisk
That’s a good point. It isn’t blacks or gays in general that are the problem.
As an example there’s a hip hop club right next to my gym in Hollywood. At first everything was fine. Then came the violence. Now there’s an army of cops posted on any given night the club is open.
ocahan
“I’ve never understood why gays have to take everything to the limit and sort of ‘dare’ outsiders to say anything about what they are doing.” For example? “Outsiders”? From a galaxy far, far away?
jrex100
What, pray tell, is “basal music”?
joelk57
This sounds like Police Extortion to me, I have great Federal lawyers that can fix this right up for the local popo. I’m sure many heads will roll starting with the chief. Don’t F with the pink mafia.
Thad
Ocean County is only 3.15% African American. It’s rather surprising this bar would draw a large enough crowd to be considered a problem.
Or perhaps this is just something new. There hasn’t been a gay bar in Ocean County…traditionally locals go north to Asbury Park or south to Atlantic City for nightlife.
Polaro
I lived next to a straight club for 10 years. We dreaded hip/hop night because it was the worst noise, garbage and violence of all the nights. Shootings. Stabbings. Damage to cars and buildings. Reality sucks, but there it is. When you cater to the wrong element, the neighbors complain, and it had nothing to do with their race or sexuality; it had everything to do with them being asshole thugs.
Chrisk
Yep. If you know anything about hip hop clubs you know that the riff Raff is part of it. I’m sure that has more to do with it than anything.
Brian
“Period!”
OK, that settles it, I guess.
Curtispsf
This situation could benefit from a little looking at the “problem”. Were there more calls for police action during “hip hop” nights? If so, this could suggest a problem with the kind of clientele attracted to these nights and not some anti-gay or anti-POC bias. Cops don’t like violent crowds or problems with gunfire, stabbing and fights. That’s why cops uniformly like crowds of “stoners”; not much risk of violence from those folks. Maybe hip hop DOES draw a more thug like crowd. It would be interesting to see how the other non hip hop nights at the club fare to see if there is some anti gay bias.