By Lincoln Anderson
The opening party for the Kardashian sisters’ new DASH store, at 119 Spring St. in Soho, last Wednesday evening created what some residents said went beyond a mere mob scene to a “riot.”
There were several arrests for disorderly conduct.
In addition to the Kardashian sisters, there were other V.I.P.-type celebrities on hand, including hip-hopper Kanye West — who reportedly lives nearby — and a football player from the Giants.
The DASH party went on for four hours, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Soho residents complained it was all bedlam.
Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance, said, “I think it is reprehensible that they would tweet their fans to purposely create this zoo on our streets. They’re lucky no one was injured nor property destroyed. The arrests for disorderly conduct illustrate that the neighbors’ complaints were well-founded.
“The Kardashians are attempting to bring all that is wrong with Los Angeles to Soho, as well as to their fans — a generation of classless, tasteless and clueless sheep,” Sweeney fumed.
A Spring Street resident who lives across from the boutique and who requested anonymity, expressed concern that DASH could be an “ongoing serious problem” for the neighborhood.
“Apparently, the sisters tweeted their fans to come to the party, but they were not admitted,” she said in an e-mail. “Hundreds showed up. The sidewalks of the entire block were filled with screaming, excited fans who spilled into the street three to four people deep. There was no crowd control and little security.
“The noise was deafening. My husband feared for our glass front door as people were pressed up against it. Several people in our building independently called 311. When the situation became clearly out of control, practically a riot of crazed fans, I called 911 and asked for crowd control as I was concerned someone would get hurt. After the police arrived…several arrests were made for disorderly conduct.”
The neighbor said she was further concerned about reports that the Kardashian sisters were in New York to film a reality TV show called “Kourtney and Kim Take New York” that would be shooting at the store. That could mean future disruption by film crews, fans and stores parties, she said. She said residents will try to check to see if the Kardashians have all their permits needed for filming.
“The Soho stores have many celebrities attending their openings, but they have adequate crowd control with police supervision,” she said. “I hope we will never again experience what we did last night.”
This Wednesday, Julia Krane, a sales associate at DASH, said she wasn’t sure if filming for the show was through or not. The store is only 2,000 square feet, and they never let in the fans during big events, she added.
“It’s sporadic,” she said of the shoots at the boutique. “They don’t tell us when it happens.” She admitted the scene had been crowded at the opening, noting they were concerned about people pressing up against the store’s plate-glass window. “That’s why we have that little blocker by the window,” she noted.
Krane said the street is crawling with celebrities, noting she recently saw Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen walking by, and that Anne Hathaway was across the street just the other day. She called the opening party an “L.A.-style opening,” and said the Kardashians are bringing this exciting style of event to New York.
The store is especially popular with young women, Krane said.
Genet Nulugetta, 26, a huge fan of the Kardashians’ reality TV show, was visiting from Toronto with two girlfriends. She was disappointed, however, that none of the Kardashians — neither Kim, Khloé nor Kourtney — was at the store.
“I’d expect to see them — I mean, it’s their store,” she said. “I’d expect one of them to be here.”
Nulugetta said she wasn’t buying anything, though, because things seemed “a little expensive.”
The boutique’s price point ranges from $10 for a collectible bottle of DASH water up to $300 for a dress. Sales associate Krane said their $84 cashmere-blend sweater and other clothes are a very good buy, especially compared with the nearby and pricier Intermix.
