2 months ago
23
A posh Atlantic City seaside residence, the Ocean Club Condominiums, is making attempts to block the staging of parts of BRT Weekend, one of reggae’s biggest festivals in North America.
Scheduled to take place from July 11 to 13, the three-day event is set to kick off at the Chelsea Beach Bar, now called Cocorico, Atlantic City, New Jersey. BRT Weekend typically attracts thousands of reggae fans from the New York tri-state region and beyond. At the core of the battle is a concern about noise and other alleged violations that will inconvenience the residents of the complex.
A suit filed in the Atlantic County Superior Court on Friday is alleging that the scheduled after-parties for the event violates an ordinance that forbids live entertainments events after 1 a.m. The suit was triggered last week when the condo association learned of beach bar plans to host ticketed post-festival events from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. The condo residents are further alleging that the beach bar and other entities named in the lawsuit don’t have proper insurance for the event.
The association is asking a judge to curtail the event, to stop ticket sales and to refund those already purchased. Stuart Lieberman, the attorney representing the association said he took legal action after advertising for the festivities began to surface. And in a counter-strike, Michael Linberg, an attorney who represents the beach bar fired off a cease-and-desist letter to the association, accusing them of making “false, fraudulent, disparaging, defamatory or misleading” statements about the bar’s operations.
No date has as yet been set for a hearing.
Hans Mullings, founder and CEO of BRT Weekend, spoke with The Gleaner about the recent developments.
“They are not suing BRT directly, they are suing the venue not for the main event but because the after-parties were advertised until 3 a.m.” he shared. “This is the third time that the association is in dispute with the venue and it’s just a demand to renegotiate terms for noise levels and times. This doesn’t affect us,” he added.
“With an average of over 5,000 hotel rooms sold whenever we’re in town, the city has welcomed us back with open arms,” Mullings concluded.
This year’s festival will feature the god apparent of dancehall Dexta Daps alongside Masicka, Jada Kingdom, Skillibeng, 450, Sizzla, Chronic Law, and others.
English (US) ·