Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Report: Sin Sin nixes temporary memorial for shooting victim



Last week, 37-year-old Devin Thompson died from his injuries after being shot twice outside Sin Sin at the corner of East Fifth Street and Second Avenue on Aug. 22.

Today, Patrick Hedlund at DNAinfo reports that Sin Sin's management nixed Thompson's sister's request to place a temporary memorial near the site of the deadly shooting.

Per the article:

The victim’s sister, Makeba Thompson, said that his family and friends wanted to simply hang flowers from a tree in front the nightclub as a temporary memorial to her brother.

But when she asked the club’s owner about adding the flowers, he asked her not to.

“He said we could do it anyway if we wanted to, but it will definitely bring negative attention to his establishment,” said Makeba Thompson, 41.

Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge owner Philip Quilter acknowledged that he requested the memorial not go up, explaining that it may offend neighbors who have complained about issues of violence and noise related to his establishment.

“I would think there would be a backlash from our neighborhood if there was a memorial put outside,” he said, noting that passersby have been calling members of his staff “murderers” and “killers” since the shooting occurred.


Previously on EV Grieve:
NYPD hosting meeting between Sin Sin and neighbors tonight

East Village noise wars new battlefront: Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge

Why the president of the East Fifth Street Block Association carries a baseball bat

6 comments:

Laura Goggin Photography said...

Offend the neighbors? Backlash from the neighborhood? Give me a break. A man died and this is the compassion they show - nothing for the victim or family, but all for themselves. If the sister is not allowed to hang flowers, I'll do it.

Anonymous said...

Face it, club owners are sometimes the worst kind of businesspeople--concerned ONLY with makng a buck, and caring little about their fellow human beings.

Anonymous said...

Sin Sin is a pox on the East Village. I doubt anyone who lives in the neighborhood has stepped foot in there in years. And this is coming from a 26 year old who lives in the neighborhood and frequents plenty of the nightlife establishments around the area.

Lisa said...

Oh come on you guys, give the man a break. Don't you KNOW how noisy those flowers can be when they're allowed to hang around? It's terrible!

Seriously - this guy's place in Hell is reserved. Velvet rope and all.

i feel fat said...

goggla I'm with you - gonna try to hang flowers out there... it gets sadder and sadder....

EV Grieve said...

If anyone happens to create a makeshift memorial, please take some photos! Dunno how long management may keep it around...