Shootings at Central Bar in East Village

October 1, 2012, 8:15 PM

Shootings Followed Open-Mic Battle at Central Bar

By SUZANNE ROZDEBA and originally posted HERE.  Click HERE for the WHOLE Story.

Daniel MaurerPolice vehicles at Campos Plaza last night.

The gunshots that rang out near the corner of Third Avenue and East Ninth Street last night followed a dispute atThe Central Bar, The Local has learned. That altercation ultimately led to anearly-morning shooting in Alphabet City that sent a man to the hospital, according to residents of Campos Plaza.

A source who reviewed Central Bar’s security tapes, but who did not want to be named, said the fight broke out at last night’s “Rock Da Blok” competition, staged by a longtime bouncer at the East Ninth Street sports pub. According to the source, there were about 30 to 40 people in the bar’s upstairs events space when a fight broke out around 10:40 p.m. “The fight lasted about a minute. I didn’t see anyone with a gun or anything like that,” he said. “The bouncers came in, broke it up, and the guys were thrown out. There were three or four people involved and it broke up quickly. I didn’t see anyone getting very badly hurt.”

Barry Feeney, a manager at Central Bar, told The Local that the organizer of the event was a “good guy and works hard.” He said, “One of my employees asked if he could use the upstairs for an open mic. There were 20 people there, mostly his friends, hanging out and singing at six, seven o’clock in the evening.”

After the men were ejected, shots were reported near the corner of East Ninth Street and Third Avenue.