Nightclubs feel Sandy pinch

Nightlife is still reeling from Hurricane Sandy, party promoters and club bigs say. In the wake of the storm the city’s been slower than usual in issuing permits for special events. Midtown club Liberty Theater had to close its doors Saturday night after hitting capacity at its newly launched weekly Lucent Encounter event — which has been billed as Cirque du Soleil meets “Sleep No More.” DJ Serge Devan
t was spinning at the weekend bacchanal and a food and clothing drive for Sandy victims was organized, but the Fire Department arrived after an alarm went off. Authorities then discovered the party was packed over the legal limit and ordered management not to let any more people in. Liberty’s marketing director Mark Baker tells us the venue applies for a special permit when it hosts larger events to raise its legal capacity from 500 to almost 1,000 people, but the process has been slowed since the storm. On Saturday, Liberty obliged the request to thin the crowd but the party shut down shortly afterward. This Saturday DJs the EC Twins will take over the Liberty’s Lucent Encounter.